Mobile Suit Gundam Wing - Plot

Plot

In the distant future, Mankind has colonized space (with clusters of space colonies at each of the five Earth-Moon Lagrange points), and, down on the Earth, the nations have united as the United Earth Sphere Alliance. However, the Alliance oppresses the colonies with its military power. The colonies desire a peaceful resolution to the situation, joining together in a movement headed by the pacifist Heero Yuy. In the year After Colony 175, Yuy is shot dead by an assassin (believed to be Odin Lowe), forcing the colonies to search for other paths to peace. The assassination also prompts five disaffected scientists from the Organization of the Zodiac (more commonly referred to as OZ) to turn rogue after the completion of the mobile suit prototype Tallgeese.

The story of Gundam Wing begins in the year After Colony 195, with the start of "Operation Meteor": the scientists' plan for revenge against OZ. The operation involves five teenage boys, who have each been chosen and trained by each of the five scientists, then sent to Earth independently in extremely advanced mobile suits (one designed by each of the scientists) known as "Gundams" (called such because they are constructed from a rare and astonishingly durable material known as Gundanium alloy, which can only be created in outer space). Each Gundam is sent from a different colony, and the pilots are initially unaware of each other's existence.

The series focuses primarily on the Gundam pilots: Heero Yuy (an alias, not to be confused with the martyred pacifist), Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba Winner, and Chang Wufei. Their mission is to attack OZ directly, in order to rid the Alliance of its weapons and free the colonies from its oppressive rule. The Gundam pilots each start out on separate missions, but encounter each other and then join forces later while on Earth.

Along the way, Heero meets Relena Darlian, the seemingly ordinary daughter of Earth's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. However, after her father is assassinated by OZ's ruthless second-in-command, Lady Une, it is revealed to Relena that she is really Relena Peacecraft, heir to the pacifistic Sanc Kingdom.

Although the five Gundams succeed in destroying several of OZ's supply bases and mobile suit factories, the sinister organization is still able to complete its ultimate goal of overturning the Alliance and becoming the new ruler of Earth and the colonies. Wufei attempts to kill OZ's ambitious yet chivalrous leader, Treize Khushrenada, only to be defeated in a sword duel. Treize, however, admires Wufei's fighting spirit, and allows Wufei to escape so they can fight again another day.

Throughout the series, Heero has several mobile suit battles with OZ's "Lightning Count," Zechs Merquise (whose true identity is Milliardo Peacecraft, Relena's older brother). During their second encounter in Siberia, however, the colonies are held hostage by Lady Une, who tries to force the Gundam pilots to surrender their mobile suits to OZ; Heero, in response, self-destructs his Gundam, nearly killing himself in the process.

Later on, the Gundam pilots return to outer space, only to find that the colonies they were sent from have now sided with OZ. Marked as rebels, they fall on hard times; Quatre witnesses his father's murder, Heero, Duo and Wufei are captured by OZ, and Trowa enlists as a soldier of OZ (secretly as a double agent).

At this time, the Wing Gundam ZERO is introduced. This mobile suit was the original Gundam designed by the five scientists, but was never constructed due to its signature feature: the ZERO System, a combat system that directly interfaces with the pilot's brain and feeds the pilot tactical data on the fly. The downside of this is that prolonged exposure causes hallucinations, and in some cases, insanity. Quatre, who has been driven mad with grief over his father's death and the colonies' betrayal, discovers the schematics for Wing ZERO and has it built. He then uses it to go on a rampage against OZ and avenge his father's death, but he is eventually stopped by Heero and Trowa (although Trowa is nearly killed and suffers temporary amnesia).

After returning to Earth, Heero and Quatre take refuge in the newly restored Sanc Kingdom, which is governed by none other than Relena. The kingdom, however, is being pressured by the Romefeller Foundation (the group that controls most other countries, as well as OZ) to dissolve. By this time, the Foundation has reformated OZ's military force to consist primarily of mobile dolls.

Trieze has been confined to Romefeller's headquarters due to his outspoken dislike of the use of unmanned suits in combat (which he feels negate the true spirit of battle). In his confinement, Treize builds the Gundam Epyon and later gives it to Heero. Much like Wing ZERO, Epyon is equipped with the ZERO System. After being affected by the System, Heero fights once more against a returning Zechs, who is piloting Wing ZERO. After the battle ends in another draw, they exchange Gundams and part ways.

At the same time, Relena formally dissolves the Sanc Kingdom due to the tremendous pressure from Romefeller. She then becomes the chief representative for the Foundation (at first as a figurehead, but gradually gaining more and more power) under the title "Queen of the World".

Eventually, Treize is released from confinement, and he relieves Relena of her crown, telling her that while she has successfully laid the foundation for true peace, he is the one with the strength to bring it to fruition. Treize then takes control of the Romefeller Foundation; at the same time, Zechs returns to space to become the leader of the White Fang organization under his true name: Milliardo Peacecraft. White Fang has seized control of a Peacemillion-class battleship OZ was building for Romefeller to show its military power, called Libra. Zechs fires Libra's main cannon at the Earth, causing great damage to the planet. This prompts Treize to start gathering all of the military power he can muster from Earth's forces to retaliate, while the Gundam pilots remain neutral.

White Fang continues to battle the Earth forces by taking out the only remaining OZ base in space: Space Fortress Barge. Eventually, the Gundam pilots choose to fight against White Fang. During the epic final battle, Treize is killed (of his own volition) in a rematch against Wufei, while Heero fights against Zechs one last time. Their battle is broadcast to all of Earth and space by Lady Une. When the citizens see the meaningless battle, they put aside their differences, whether they are from the colonies or from Earth, and form what becomes the Earth Sphere Unified Nation. However, White Fang refuses to surrender, and sends Libra plunging on a collision course with Earth. After several attempts from the other four Gundams to prevent this, Heero intercepts the battle station's remains as it enters Earth's atmosphere and destroys it with Wing ZERO's twin-barrel buster rifle, bringing an end to the war.