In the first few games Mavericks simply meant Reploid criminals who attacked and terrorized humans due to either a flaw in their design or the being infected with the Virus but as the series progressed, it soon began to permeate into Reploids who defy the government or other political opponents who had been unjustly caled mavericks. It soon kind of got to a point when Neo Arcadia rose to power and began to mean who considered to be anyone who suspected to be an enemy of Neo Arcadia, even if the accusation was false. After playing Mega Man X4 and Command Mission, I have to wonder what exactly is the deal with the term "Maverick" anyway? Prior to Zero joining the Maverick Hunters and the advent of the Maverick Virus, the "Mavericks" rebelled out of their free will or merely due to flaws in their design as Dr. Cain couldn't fully replicate x's design very well.
That is not to say that all the bosses in series were merely virus infectees, some like Vile were looking were just looking for opponents to fight while others were political opponenets who wanted to liberate the Reploids from their human oppressors. There some innocent victims during the Maverick Wars such as Dr. Doppler who manipulated by Sigma into creating a brand new battle body for Sigma while creating placebos to spread throughout Dopplertown, under the guise that he had found a cure for the infected Reploids. Repliforce rebelled against the humans due to large misunderstanding that cost countless lives that could had all been avoided if they simply complied with the Hunters but they would rather fight than lose their pride and was thus called Maverick. The Rebellion in Command Mission simply rebelled out of their own free will and the desire to create a world for Reploids. Even Sigma merely used the Virus to help Reploids explore their full potential, however it is important to note that the Virus has been known to bring out the violent side of Reploids.
I don't understand how Gate, Repliforce, the Resistance (Zero series), Dr. Doppler and others can be Maverick if they were victims in some way in the Maverick Wars? Can the term "Maverick" be a misnomer or is it justified in some way?