Dr. Wily wanted to create a powerful maverick when he caught a glimpse of Dr. Light’s plans on a reploid with free will, which later became Megaman X. He designed one with hopes of using it to destroy his troublesome partner, Bass and Light’s previous creation, the original Megaman. But when Megaman was raiding one of his castles, the castle collapsed, alongside Wily's project. Wily later moved to another secret base where he designed and successfully created Zero, another backup plan he had in case of an emergency.

After years of the castle’s collapse, this unnamed prototype rose up from the ashes. It had no personality, identity or mission, only his free will. Educating itself on what evil plans Wily wanted him to commit. With the limited information gathered in the castle, the reploid set out on a quest to better understand what his purpose is. It mantled itself with a new name, No-man, or Megaman N while wearing a basket hat so nobody recognizes its ties with Dr. Wily.