Professor (Mega Man Network Transmission)

"Hehehe... I'm about to start hacking into military computers around the world. The world's final war is about to begin! I'll blast human civilization to bits! For Wily's principles! (Lan: Not if I stop you!) Aahhh hahahhahaaa! What do you think a worm like you can do! Squirm!?"

- The Professor

The Professor (real name unknown) is a human operator and an antagonist in the Mega Man Battle Network series. He is a high-ranking WWW agent and views Lord Wily highly, aiming to continue his glory.

Mega Man Network Transmission
He has long been a WWW member and had great admiration for Lord Wily, even adopting his ambitions and ideals. After Lord Wily's disappearance at the end of the first game, the Professor took matters into his own hand, creating the Zero Virus and Life Virus to do so. He begins by releasing the Zero Virus from the Zero Account and spreading it widely. He also employs StarMan.EXE to sell a fake vaccine that, in actuality, would only spread the virus further. This also gives the Professor needed money and resources for replicating the Life Virus. By the time Lan and MegaMan reach him, the Life Virus is already back and ready to attack. Thankfully, Lan and MegaMan defeat it before it could cause any major destruction. The Professor, however, confidently claims that he can simply use his anonymity to start anew and replicate the Life Virus as many times as he can. However, he finds that he is not as untouchable and anonymous as he thinks, as Zero is able to notify the police of his location, and he is imprisoned before continuing his nefarious deeds. He does not appear in any game after this point.

Role in the Anime
As in the games, the Professor is a fanatic of Lord Wily, and in this version, he even quits World Three upon Wily's disappearance, as according to him, World Three has no purpose without Wily. He went on to be an independent researcher, still heavily inspired by Wily's ideology. His hideout in this version is directly underneath a sushi factory which he also owns as a cover. Lan, Maylu, and Dex uncover this base when escaping security droids in this factory. As in the games, Zero is a mere pawn to him, and when Zero leaves him, the Professor creates a duplicate Zero that feels no emotions and can only serve him. The original Zero sacrifices himself to destroy the clone and the Professor's airship with the Professor still in it. The Professor manages to escape with a parachute, though he is promptly imprisoned.