#Odysseus Gundam

[gremoria411]

Mobile Suit Generations in the Universal Century

Alright, another lineage post, kinda (I will finish that 00 one eventually).

Now in my post about how the Zaku series changed over time, I mentioned briefly that I don’t really see the Universal Century Gundam series as being much of a lineage, primarily because it’s an absolute mess. However, I do want to do a post talking about the Gundam “line” in some more detail at some point. So I thought I’d make this post beforehand as a sort of preliminary excercise. Because it’s rather difficult to talk about Gundams in universal century without talking about Mobile Suit Generations themselves.

So, What are Mobile Suit Generations?

In brief; as mobile suit technology in Universal Century developed, there were a number of concepts that would revolutionise the entire field, and lead to mobile suit design being completely different as time went on. New technologies, new theories, new design ethos, that sort of thing. And because Gundam units were so often cutting-edge, these new ideas would typically be applied to them. A new generation represents a massive leap forward for the technology, meaning that development occurred very quickly. I’ve thrown around the terms before, typically when talking about fourth-generation mobile suits, but I figured I’d do a post outlining the different mobile suit generations, what their characteristics are, give some examples and talk about any noteworthy oddities.

Disclaimer: as it ever is with UC, there’s a lot that doesn’t divide cleanly here. Some mobile suits are easier to categorise than others, and there can be a lot of overlap between the generations, so I’ll be looking more at broad trends than categorising everything. I’m also gonna skip over a lot of detail here in the name of this post actually being of reasonable length.

First Generation Mobile Suits

Named retroactively and also the easiest to categorise. First-Generation mobile suits encompasses every mobile suit built prior to the Gryps War - Zaku’s, GM’s, RX-78’s, Pale Riders, the Gundam Development Project - all First-Gen mobile suits. First-Gen’s a broad category because it’s every suit on both sides of the OYW, and because mobile suits were still a very new technology there was an absolute range on design ethos and styles. First-Generation mobile suits really only share a timeframe of manufacture, there isn’t really much else to tie them together.

Second Generation Mobile Suits

The only (technically) Mobile Suit Generation to straight-up replace its predecessor and also one of only two generations to incorporate actual definitions (at least as far as I can tell). While the later generations tended to focus on one aspect of mobile suits, Second-Generation mobile suits were an all-around improvement over the second generation. They were characterised by three main features:

The movable frame - rather than just providing structure as was the case previous, the movable frame incorporates all the critical components required to actually move the unit, with the weapons armour and propellant tanks being externalised. This allows for easier maintenance, greater mobility and improved energy efficiency.

360-degree panoramic cockpit and linear seat - technically two improvements, but a “better cockpit” in a nutshell. The 360-degree panoramic cockpit allowed for a much greater field of view for the pilot, especially when compared to the old, cramped cockpits of the OYW, while the linear seat helped reduce the effect of g-forces on the pilot (and also made it easier to eject in the case of being shot down).

Gundarium y alloy - one of several refined versions of the original Gundarium used in the RX-78 series, Gundarium y was lightweight and durable, making it the armour of choice for second-generation mobile suits, allowing them to shrug off blows that would be lethal to earlier models, while remaining manoeuvrable enough that they could dodge such blows.

The most famous Second-Generation mobile suits would be the Gundam Mk-II and the Rick Dias, despite the fact that they each lacked one feature from the above list (the Mk-II had the older titanium alloy ceramic composite armour, whereas the Rick Dias lacked a movable frame). As previously mentioned, Second-generation mobile suits became the benchmark going forwards, and this wasn’t changed until the advent of miniaturised mobile suits in the U.C. 110’s. The Jegan, which would be the mainline mobile suit for the federation for over sixty years, was a Second-Generation mobile suit, typically likened to a mass-produced Gundam Mk-II.

Which brings us to our first oddity I want to talk about - the Dowas Custom. The original Dowas was the final production unit of the Zeon’s Dom line during the One Year War. The precise shakedown of their use and deployment is unclear - the Dowas is derived from the Rick Dom II, which was part of the latewar United Maintenance Plan, but there are reports of Dowas Desert types conducting operations in the wake of the Battle of Odessa - they could be early prototypes, or the Desert units came first and were later refined into the regular Dowas, or the Pezun Dowadge doesn’t count because it wasn’t a production unit…….

Anyway, at least one Dowas unit was brought to Axis by Zeon remnants fleeing A Baoa Qu, where it would be refined and upgraded with Axis’ latest technologies, and then supplied to the nascaent AEUG. That unit was the MS-09SS Dowas Custom, seen in Anaheim Laboratory Log. I won’t spoil the precise details of the hand-off, but you can probably guess from the colour scheme that it involves a certain individual who’s never heard of this Char Aznable fella, dear me no.

But the reason I’m talking about the Dowas Custom here is that it would be reverse-engineered in order to create the Rick Dias, one of the first Second-Generation Mobile suits. But where does that leave the Dowas Custom? Is it First-Gen, or Second-Gen? Well, it’s got Gundarium Alloy Armour (presumably y, since it’s the best one), however we know it doesn’t have a movable frame - neither the original Dom, nor its successor the Rick Dias incorporate one, so it’s very unlikely it has one. So then we come to the cockpit, and I’ve genuinely no idea what kind it employs. So I tend to consider it as an in-between, generation wise.

Third-Generation Mobile Suits

Transformable mobile suits, in a nutshell. Transformable mobile suits were considered an huge advantage during the gryps war, as they allowed for faster deployment, increased scouting range and, in many cases, were able to be transferred from Earth to space more easily than standard mobile suits. The latter half of the Gryps War and early stages of the First Neo Zeon War (Zeta Gundam to ZZ Gundam), are typically considered the golden age of Transformable mobile suits, with such luminaries such as the Zeta Gundam, Bawoo, Messala and Gabthley. Due to the aforementioned advantages, Third-Gen suits continued to develop after this period, giving rise to the Rezel and Delta Plus seen during Unicorn.

Interestingly, what is technically the first Third-Generation mobile suit, the Delta Gundam, was laid down during the early stages of the Gryps War but never built, simply because Anaheim couldn’t figure out how to make the frame work until Kamille Bidan managed to fix the problems with the Zeta, at which point Anaheim was so busy with other projects (like the Zeta Project) that they didn’t have time to review the Delta Gundam until after the war.

However, it is nice to have at least one generation with the relatively simple description of “if it transforms, it’s probably a third-generation suit”

Right?

If it wasn’t for this fucking thing.

Cards on the table, I really like the Gundam Mk-V. It’s nice. But, maddeningly, it’s also one of the only suits that we have an actual, in-universe definition for which mobile suit generation it falls into - “A third-generation mobile suit with the firepower of a fourth”. So it’s a third-generation mobile suit that doesn’t transform. What. Also, It’s the only thing that’s like this - The Gaza-C is a third-gen, because it can transform - The Jegan is a second-gen, because it doesn’t fit into third or fourth-gen categories. Why is a non-transforming suit a third-gen? Very annoying. Based on this, I’m led to conclude that what qualifies a suit as a member of the Third-Generation *has* to be something to do with frame structure, not necessarily transformation, given that the Mark-V doesn’t transform (Or it’s an error on the part of whoever wrote the description).

Fourth Generation Mobile Suits

Speaking of, I should really define fourth generation mobile suits, shouldn’t I? In one word: firepower. Fourth-Generation mobile suits were a product of greatly improved generator output, plus several noteworthy developments in Newtype tech. Any Newtype-specialist mobile suit after the gryps war is most likely part of the Fourth-Generation. The best-known fourth-generation mobile suits would be the ZZ Gundam, S Gundam and Döven Wolf. Axis was a major leader in Fourth-Gen tech, with such units as the Hamma-Hamma and, of course, the Qubeley. Several of these mobile suits were also combiners, such as the aforementioned Gundam’s, though this was later dropped as it led to compatibility and maintenance issues. Fourth-Generation mobile suits were also comparatively rare compared to those of earlier generations - likely due to the rarity of the newtypes that were typically their favoured pilots. The Döven Wolf has the distinction of being one of the few mass-produced Fourth-Generation mobile suits, likely because Axis had the resources to devote to it. Fourth-Generation mobile suits are also unique in that we (arguably) see an upper limit to the technology - the Gundam Unicorn, which is pretty goddamn scary.

Fifth-Generation Mobile Suits

A very easy one here, a) there’s only two mobile suits classed as fifth-generation at present - the Xi Gundam and the Penelope; and b) it’s got a nice, simple definition - fifth-generation mobile suits are equipped with a Minovsky craft system, allowing for unrestricted flight within the atmosphere.

The Minovsky Craft system is essentially how Gundam deals with all those horribly un-aerodynamic flying mobile armours - they incorporate minovsky craft systems, allowing for flight within the atmosphere (like the Psycho Gundam and the Adzam). The Xi Gundam and Penelope however, are actually light and aerodynamic, meaning that they can function more as mobile interceptors as opposed to flying city blocks. Honestly, I don’t have much more to say on this one.

Miniaturised Mobile Suits

Not really a generation per se, but I figured I’d cover my bases here. Miniaturised mobile suits were pioneered by SNRI, the Earth Federation’s in-house weapon development team, in around the UC 90’s to UC 100’s (such as the Loto and Heavygun). It eventually became standard practice after SNRI development data was stolen in UC 116, allowing other manufacturers to develop miniaturised mobile suits.

The main distinctions between miniaturised mobile suits and their forebears is, well, they were smaller. The Gundam F90 stood at only 14.8 meters tall compared to the original RX-78’s 18 meter height. This was due to a miniaturisation of the thermonuclear reactor used in mobile suits, and the development on new armour materials that allowed the armour and mobile frame to be made lighter without compromising its structural strength. Miniaturised mobile suits also used less resources than traditional ones to construct, allowing militaries to get more bang-for-their-buck, as it were (though given the prevalence of large mobile armours in late UC, being able to spend those resources elsewhere may also have something to do with it).

[fyonnkalnonn]

I'm pansexual, which is not the same as being bisexual. I'm attracted to several genders: women, paladins, dark knights, white mages, and cyborgs.

[sundown-ing]

HGUC 1/144 RX-104FF Penelope

[uncontinuous]

I can and have dealt with so much of shit that FGO has pulled between whatever the fuck they did to Indian mythology or making Laxmibai a fucking darker Jeanne D'Arc. I delight in some of their bullshit.

But Odysseus' fucking Gundam NP is the one thing my brain refuses to wrap it's head around. It haunts me. No matter whatever lore explanation FGO gives my brain just goes "why the fuck does the Greek Hero have a fucking gundam"

[hath-e]

Omg this thought just came to me:

The Xi Gundam has green eyes right

And the Penelope/Odysseus has red eyes

And the Xi looks like a twisted monster full of sharp edges, this represents the fact that inspite of his actions there's still good within Hathaway

And the Penelope/Odysseus being a normal Gundam with red eyes shows that the federation is corrupted and twisted from the inside

That is all than you coming to my talk

[ms-06-borjarnon]

Odysseus Gundam

[tag-that-oc]

sometimes a couple is:

a cursed library assistant (and former princess of the nation (hes TRANSGENER!!!)). he can't die but also his entire being is slowly decomposing. he's very much the edgy anime boy personality wise which makes the fact that he collects the in-universe equivalent of gundam assembly kits even funnier. born to nerd out over robot knights forced to be victorian gothic. he also bakes and crochets and plays violin and cleans to destress. not to mention that he's also one of the best swordsmen in the nation...truly the undefeated king of gap moe

a traveler who changes jobs, names and entire life stories everywhere he goes. his main personality trait and biggest power is the fact that he's a really really good liar. his main weakness is that he has a nonexistent sense of direction and also doesn't know his own backstory (no parents, no place of birth, no birthday, just a name). so far he's had 248 arrest warrants out for him and he's trying to reach higher. also he's based off of odysseus (from the odyssey) and when he's not busy lying he's busy telling stories to his librarian boyfriend (the first guy)

theyre the funniest guys ever to me. AND THEY WERE ROOMMATES BTW!!!

they sound v fun

[neonmetro]

I love Telemachus so much 👉🏽👈🏽 such a cutie

Also you got me thinking with the Odyssey Gundam thing. My dad is a HUGE fan so I used to binge the series with him and work on gundam model kits. This WILL be on my mind for all of this week.

-Ulysses loving anon

HE'S SO SILLY ISN'T HE... he was originally a unrelated design from a friend and i was begging them for him (i gave them art)

he actually does have a human form and looks very similar to ulysses but in novaturient he got mauled by the suitors like they planned and almost died

YESSSSS GUNDAM ODYSSEY !!! ok do you know how aerial gwitch is actually a person. imagine its penelope in penelope in the suit and odysseus is trying to get her back and everyone's trying to stop him.

[emperorbubblegum]

This is just a gundam lol

Like at least with Odysseus and Tezcatlipoca you can see where the mech designs came from, and while I do kinda get what they were going for with the statue/temple aesthetics, that is litterally just a gundam.

[scoobertfoo]

so we were gifted the Penelope/Odysseus Gundam and man

this thing might be a HG but you'd be forgiven for thinking it was a full on MG, not just for size but build quality as well!

building the Odysseus Gundam on its own was really fun & satisfying, if this kit was just the Odysseus alone i would've been satisfied but NOPE

THERE'S THIS THING

and i am SO impressed with the build quality of it. I was worried the legs would simply flop down from all the additional weight but nah! it poses AND stands just fine!

(there's a limited range of motion due to all the added armour but that's more or less unavoidable)

did i mention this thing is BIG? because it's Big

(normal HG barbatos for comparison)

I'm very, very happy with both the build process and finished product. 10/10 would suggest getting if you're in the mood for some big plastic

[murfpersonalblog]

Power Types in Fandoms

I was up in the middle of the night arguing with my ceiling about fictional characters, Death Battle style, and decided to make a ❗rudimentary❗ list, from weakest to strongest Power Types. Because it's a gradient, each progressively higher power type can (and often does) contain the abilities of lower types.

⚔🤖💉🤺🤰🧜‍♂️🔮👽

⚔ Standard Fighters

OP warriors with maxed out skills, but main character plot armor saves them from outrageous situations

Conan the Barbarian, Tuxedo Mask (Sailor Moon), Link (Zelda), Yujiro Hanma (Baki), Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Robin Hood, Odysseus (Greek mythology), Xena Warrior Princess, etc

🤖 Tech/Mech Warriors

Fight with technology; but caught slipping butt naked with ZERO gear (wifi signal, power generator, fancy gadgets/weapons, power suits, etc) and they don't stand a chance without hax/plot armor

Low Level tech (borderline realistic/futuristic gear)

Ratchet & Clank, Doom Guy (Doom), Master Chief (Halo), Batman, Power Rangers, etc

High Level tech (science & magic blur)

Gundam, Xenosaga, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Iron Man, Guts (Berserk), Sailor Moon, Perseus (Greek mythology), etc

💉 Roid Rage

Ate/drank something, or got bit/injected/dunked/exposed to something out in nature or in a lab--scientific, biological, or magical-- that permanently altered their bodies, genes, & abilities. Often "immortal/indestructible," depending on the universe.

Scientific (Lab Accidents/Hijinks/Procedures)

Frankenstein*, The Powerpuff Girls, S.H.I.E.L.D. (Black Widow, Hawkeye, etc), Captain America, The Hulk, The Flash, Harley Quinn (& The Joker, kinda), Dr Manhattan (Watchmen), Dr Robotnik (Sonic), TMNT, etc

Biological (technically Scientific, sure)

Spider Man, Morbius, Poison Ivy, Witchers (Geralt of Rivia), etc

Magical/Supernatural (technically Biological?)

Black Panther, Luffy (One Piece), Aquaman*, Achilles (Greek mythology), Danny Phantom, Werewolves*, Titans (Attack on Titan), Homunculi (Wrath & Greed, Full Metal Alchemist), Sephiroth (Final Fantasy)

🤺 Androids/Cyborgs

Deliberately created part man, part tech/mech. Can be/look more or less "human," or barely at all. (More or less "immortal/indestructible," depending.). "Science" & magic blur.

Androids (Dragonball), Wolverine, Dororo, Sekiro, Robocop, Bionic Woman, The Terminator, Frankenstein*, Homunculus (FMA), The Borg (Star Trek), Darth Vader, etc

🤰Mutations

Born to regular human parents, but with unexpected supernatural abilities and/or appearance. These abilities are random AF and their power can fluctuate wildly depending on the character/universe.

Mutants (X-Men), Killer Croc (Batman), Namor (Black Panther), Aquaman*, etc

🧜‍♂️ Hybrids

Born to at least one (1) human parent, but with unexpected supernatural abilities and/or appearance. The non-human parent can make their abilities fluctuate wildly, depending on the character/universe.

Animal/Creature Hybrid

Centaurs, Minotaurs, etc (Greek mythology), werewolves*, etc

Magical Race Hybrid (Low Level--dwarves, elves, sorcerers, etc)

Luke Skywalker, etc

Magical Race Hybrid (High Level--undead, spirits, gods/demons, aliens, etc)

- 1/2 vampire Dhampirs: Blade, Alucard (Castlevania, Helsing), etc

- 1/2 demon Cambions, yokai, etc: Abe no Seimei, Merlin, Inuyasha, etc

- 1/2 god Demigods: Hercules (Greek mythology), Gilgamesh (Mesopotamian mythology), Sailor Pluto (Sailor Moon), Kratos & Atreus (God of War), etc

🔮 Magicians

(Human) magic users who can either manipulate the senses, control spirits and/or the elements, bend/break the laws of nature (gravity, matter, shapeshifting, physics, space, time, etc), or all of the above. Includes: magicians, mages/sages, witches, wizards, sorcerers, mediums, psychics, hypnotists, exorcists, ghost hunters, etc. (Depending on the universe, these terms might be used interchangeably, or only for specific types of abilities.)

Manipulate the senses

Hypnotists -- (Naruto (low level ninjas))

Control/commune with spirits/demons (and/or the elements)

Exorcists, mediums, psychics, witches, etc -- (John Constantine, Van Helsing, Talamasca & Mayfairs (Anne Rice), etc)

Control the elements & bend/break the laws of nature

Dovahkin (Skyrim), Benders (TLAB), Alchemists (FMA), etc

All of the Above

Harry Potter (witches/wizards), The Avatar (TLAB), Jedi (Star Wars), Naruto (high level ninjas), Onmyoji (Shintoism), Cultivators (xianxia), etc

👽 Extraterrestrials

Transcendent beings not of this world/planet, terrestrial plane, or dimension. Are not subject to Earthly laws of nature (gravity, matter, shapeshifting, physics, space, time, etc)--e.g.: many alien races are physically much stronger than humans because their planet's gravity is heavier, etc. Depending on the type of world, being, character, or universe, their abilities can fluctuate wildly.

Aliens

The Doctor(s) (Doctor Who)

Vulcans, Romulans, Klingons, oh my~! (Star Trek)

Saiyans (Dragonball)

Kryptonians (Superman, Zod, etc)

Spirits/Undead

Undead: Zombies, Ghosts, Vampires, etc

Fae:* fairies, elves, goblins (Labyrinth), giants, kitsune, etc (depends on the lore)

Angels/Demons

Fae* (depends on the lore/mythos/religion)

Demons/Yokai, etc: Hellboy, Darkness (Legend), Sesshomaru (Inuyasha), etc

Djinn/Genies* (depends on the lore)

Shinigami: (Bleach, Black Butler, Death Note, Yu Yu Hakusho, etc)

Angels: (Constantine, Good Omens, Maiar (LOTR), etc)

Gods

Q (Star Trek), Chthulu (Lovecraft), Majin Buu (Dragonball)

Dragons (depends on the lore/mythos/religion)

Fae* (depends on the lore/mythos/religion)

Sun Wukong (Journey to the West)

Zeus (Greek mythology), Amaterasu & Susa No O & Izanagi & Izanami etc (Japanese mythology), Odin & Thor & Loki (Marvel/Norse mythology), etc

👽🔮🧜‍♂️🤰🤺💉🤖⚔

Again, this is just a rudimentary list of characters/fandoms off the top of my head; and I'm sleep deprived. I likely forgot a lot of powerups, retcons, AUs, and more--oops.

[asirenfgo]

I did not expect Odysseus to pop up when he did, LOL.

… I really should have realized sooner that Odysseus would be a Gundam fan. 😂

[nonameisgood]

I feel like it was a missed opportunity to have Melusine not be a huge fan of Gundam or Zoids, i say this from her voice line for Odysseus.

[sundown-ing]

HGUC 1/144 RX-104 Odysseus Gundam

[hath-e]

So the RX-104ff Penelope, or the Xi's direct rival and a unit I should talk about some more

Before I even get into the general shape, I need to talk about it's head.

The Penelope's head looks and feels like that of any prior Gundam, with it's straight V-fin, it's fully covered face plate featuring 2 exhaust ports, the main sensor above the eyes, if it was placed next to the head of the RX-78-2 one could easily say that the Penelope originates from it, and yet it's unlike (almost) any other (yes I remember the Ez8, the Banshee and the S with Alice). The Burning red shining where the green should be, it's like it's hiding it's nature behind a false face, pretending to be a normal Gundam, the red inside showing how the Federation is corrupted from the inside even though it's showing a "nice" face.

The Penelope aside from it's head shares a really similar silhouette to the Xi Gundam, that is both because the Xi is a sister unit to the Penelope and because both utilize the Minovsky Flight System, with the Penelope using a external attachment instead of the integrated system on the Xi.

The Penelope itself as mentioned is a attachment onto a 2nd generation Gundam Odysseus, a Gundam that stripped of it's wings looks like any other, aside from it's red glow, the wings that make it look like more of a monster. The Penelope flight unit gives it's base form the features of Pterodactyl, the fake head unit, the long tail and the extra features on both the legs and arms combining into something that looks more like a spread wingspan. The RX-104ff Penelope is a dinosaur, the same way that the Federation is, old and monstrous, and yet it still holds on, no matter what.

While the Xi is a mirror onto Hathaway, the Penelope is a mirror onto the Federation, especially it's evil parts, which twists the hope that a Gundam is supposed to represent.

Tomorrow Gundam Narrative, the day after the Taxi scene in Gundam Hathaway

(image source under cut)