Marino

"I don't care who this Rebellion Army is. All I know is I'm not gonna stand by while they steal stuff I could be stealing!"

- Marino, when joining the party

Marino (マリノ) is a female Reploid encountered by X in the Gigantis Island region, at Gaudile's laboratory. Marino prides herself a thief, akin to Robin Hood, and sought to steal Professor Gaudile's new technology from him.

History
First appearing in Chapter 4, she uses X's groups entry as a cover to intrude unseen into the Eternal Forest area of Gaudile's lab, where she discovers Cinnamon. The two quickly form a bond, as Marino realizes she must take Cinnamon with her--especially if she is to make off with the new technology she was after. During her escape, Dr. Psyche soon finds them and she ends up nearly killed by his Preon companions. While Marino survives thanks to Cinnamon's healing ability, she falls unconscious until X rouses her. She decides to join forces with X to get Cinnamon back. After the party defeats Dr. Psyche, Cinnamon encourages Marino to join X's group with her.

At the start of the final chapter, before heading up to the Helipad to await the transport that Colonel Redips had arranged to ferry X, Zero, and Axl back to base, Marino mentions that she's going to try a more legitimate lifestyle, though she does admit to maybe just stealing on the weekends. When Redips later exposes himself to be a Maverick and frames X and his friends, she compares his actions to that of a corrupt corporate executive, "That's the way suits operate. Once you're no longer useful, they toss you out like so much garbage."

Weaponry
In battle, Marino fights like a ninja, or more specifically, the kunoichi. She utilizes a pair of laser knives initially, (held to her back by a magnetic holder/sheathe) which she draws with lightning speed. Later on, she can be equipped with elementally themed shurikens and even a laser-bladed Chakram, with which she shows off her martial arts prowess and performs a 1-2-3 combo of slashes and a high-kick. Also, the visor attached to her helmet can be pulled down over her eyes to provide telescopic vision, at the very least.

Trivia

 * Inspirations for this character are a mix of the popular female ninja (above mentioned kunoichi) and the female thief character archetype which emerges in several Japanese video game, manga, and animation characters, Rouge the Bat for example. This could explain why Marino's garb consists of Go-go boots and not sandals and tabi socks, like a more traditional ninja; and to also better fit the Mega Man X character style.


 * One of her early designs, resembles a character style from the Zero and ZX series.