Gundam: We Break Down The Most Angelic Mobile Suit – The Wing Gundam Zero
The Wing Gundam Zero is perhaps the most Gundam of all the modern Gundams. For better and worse. We break it down.
Built out of the remnants of a destroyed prototype, the XXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero was so powerful the scientists who created it feared its potential. It carried a unique neural interface that allowed pilot and Gundam to act as one. And thanks to the heroic efforts of Heero Yuy, the Wing Gundam Zero managed to thwart the ambitions of the Organization of the Zodiac and help decide the Eve Wars.
But none of this would have even been possible, if it hadn’t been for the efforts of five separate scientists who labored in secret to create one of the most advanced mobile suits the Earth Sphere Alliance had ever seen. But what made this Gundam so powerful? Was it its weapons? Its armor? Or something more?
Wing Gundam Zero – Design And Capabilities
The Wing Gundam Zero was developed as a mobile suit by five different scientists in AC 175. Their plan was to develop a mobile suit that could adopt technology so advanced that it didn’t yet exist. At some point, they began to fear its power and sealed away its plans until AC 195, when Quatre Raerba Winner broke the seal and the plans were not only unleashed, but possible at last.
That’s right. Twenty years prior to the unsealing of its plans, the Wing Gundam Zero was an impossibility. But, with advanced weaponry and newer material – like Gundanium, used in its armor – the Wing Gundam Zero was finally possible.
Its weaponry leans very heavily into a strict upgrade from its predecessor, the XXG-01W Wing Gundam. The Wing Gundam Zero carries a Twin Buster Rifle, which is a double-barreled Buster Rifle that somehow boasts more than twice the power of the Buster Rifle. Don’t ask me how that works, I’m not a Gundam scientist.
The Wing Zero also carried two modified Beam Sabers that incorporated Gundanium Alloy into their construction, which allowed for increased power, function, and durability for the iconic weapons. And, since doubling things was the order of the day, it carried two large-caliber Machine Cannons on both shoulders, as well as a linked pair of vulcan guns, known as Wing Vulcan, built into the side of its shield.
The shield was also made out of Gundanium Alloy. Naturally.
Look! Up In The Sky! It’s A… Neo Bird? With A Zero System?
One of the big advantages of the Wing Gundam Zero was a function called “Neo Bird Mode.” When going into Nero Bird Mode, the Wing Zero transformed into a bird like shape, concentrating the vectors of its vernier thrusters, giving it a high-speed cruising mode. While in Neo Bird Mode, both barrels of the Buster Rifle were deployed along the Gundanium Shield, which became its aerodynamic nose.
This also repositioned the center sensor system. Scientists called it the Search Eye. It was a large, chest-mounted jewel that could gather visual and radio-wave data.
But one system made the Wing Gundam Zero more powerful than any other mobile suit. One system made it terrify its creators: the Zoning & Emotional Range Omitted System, or ZERO System for short. The ZERO System was a neural interface that made pilot and machine function as one. But it did more than that – it was designed to “eliminate human weakness.”
It did this by analyzing the mountain of data gathered by its sensor suite, presenting the pilot’s brain with multiple possible scenarios, allowing the pilot to find a path to victory. However, this was often without regard for the human side of things. The ZERO System was designed for tactical victory, and didn’t weigh consequences like collateral damage, morality, potential harm to the pilot. It took a powerful will to maintain control of the system.
A Real Heero – And A Real Human Being
The ZERO System was so potent it drove all who tested it into a destructive state. Though eventually Heero Yuy, after experiencing the ZERO System’s control multiple times, was able to resist its pull. Heero proved a real hero when he fought the ZERO System’s instruction during an atmospheric reentry battle.
So potent was Heero’s willpower, that the ZERO System had to convince him to make one last stand against the Mariemaia Army. The two would form a bond that would allow Heero’s memory to be restored years later. Andso , eventually, the very thing that made him a monster, ended up saving him.
But that is a story for another time.
