MSN-02 Zeong

The MSN-02 Zeong (ジオング) is a fictional mobile suit designed by Kunio Okawara for the anime Mobile Suit Gundam. It has also appeared in many video games and other media, including, but not limited to, the PlayStation 2 titles Federation vs. Zeon, Encounters in Space and Climax U.C., the Gundam Battle Assault series of fighting games, Super Robot Wars, the motion simulator attraction Gundam the Ride: A Baoa Qu, and in its Perfect form, the PSP titles Gundam Battle Royale and Gundam Battle Chronicle.

In Mobile Suit Gundam
The Zeong is the last mobile suit piloted by primary antagonist Char Aznable in Mobile Suit Gundam, appearing at the end of One Year War to defend the A Baoa Qu space fortress. It was portrayed as the first combat-ready mobile suit intended specifically for Newtype pilots. Previously, Psycommu systems had only been installed in large mobile armors due to bulky size. While the Psycommu system had been scaled down somewhat, a very large mobile suit was still required, and normal-sized mobile suits would not be equipped with Psycommu technology until the events of Zeta Gundam, set 8 years later.

To help make up for its large size, the Zeong is exceptionally heavily armed, mounting nearly a battleship's worth of mega particle cannons. Each of the mobile suit's digits mounts the barrel of one cannon, and a pair are installed in its torso. A final cannon is mounted in the mobile suit's face directly under its mono-eye track. The Psycommu system allows the Zeong's forearms to detach and operate independently of the main body, enabling it to perform "all range attacks", the Gundam franchise's term for a multi-directional attack. A wire connects the arms to the mobile suit's main body, presumably to provide power and/or commands from the Psycommu system, somewhat limiting its maximum range when compared to a completely wireless bit. Unlike most mobile suits, the Zeong's cockpit is positioned in its head. If the main body is destroyed or otherwise rendered inoperative, the head can be ejected to escape, or continue fighting.

Three MSN-02 units are confirmed to be built, though only one appeared in the animation. At Kycilia Zabi's behest, Captain Char Aznable requisitoned a Zeong to help defend A Baoa Qu against a large-scale attack by the Earth Federation Space Force in episode 42 of Mobile Suit Gundam. This Zeong was only "80% complete" as its legs had yet to be installed; otherwise, it was fully combat capable (in zero gravity, at any rate). Char made a single sortie with the Zeong, sinking a Federation warship in the process, before it and Amuro Ray's RX-78 Gundam were mutually destroyed within A Baoa Qu during the final episode of the anime. Indeed, RX-78 Gundam received a hit which destroyed, first, its head, and, then, one of its legs. Both Char and Amuro escaped their crippled mobile suits to continue their battle in hand to hand combat.

Elsewhere and Miscellany
Chronologically, Kunio Okawara designed the Zeong as a legless mobile suit (some sources, such as the Gundam War card game, have erroneously referred to it as a mobile armor) for the 1979 animation. The legged version, known as the "Perfect" Zeong and sharing the same model number, appeared in Mobile Suit Variations in 1983, entering canon as the "completed" design. Of the three Zeongs built, two of them were completed to Perfect form (the other remaining suit was sortied against the Gundam by Char Aznable before it was finished in the incomplete state near the end of Mobile Suit Gundam). Aside from the Perfect version's greatly increased height from its legs, it also features additional armor plating on its limbs and a new setup of head-mounted thrusters. The enormous Master Grade Perfect Zeong model kit is also furnished with an extremely long solid-state sword. According to the manual's historical section, this is purely an aesthetic accessory for the model, and was not used in the canon universe. It is speculated that this is a throwback to the 1982 manga Plamo Kyoshiro, where the Perfect Zeong appeared with a prodigiously sized blade (having almost the same height to the unit), but this is unsubstantiated by any official source. In the PlayStation Portable game Gundam Battle Chronicle, the Perfect Zeong's special attack is a powerful sweep of this weapon, marking the second instance of the mobile suit being fitted with the giant blade in official media.

Of interesting note, the Zeong is the first mobile suit in the Gundam franchise to feature a detachable arm-based attack; it has since appeared sporadically in a handful of animations (including, but not limited to, ZZ Gundam's AMX 103 Hamma Hamma, Char's Counterattack's Alpha Azieru and Gundam 0083's Neue Ziel). While certainly not uncommon at the time (1979) in the giant robot genre (Go Nagai's Mazinger Z and Getter Robo come to mind), it did put a new "spin" on the concept: the Zeong's arms utilize beam cannons to perform a ranged attack, as opposed to the commonly seen melee attack, often in the vein of Mazinger Z's famous "Rocket Punch" or Getter-2's "Drill Missile".

Despite its brief appearance in the animation, limited to a single sortie, the Zeong has enjoyed considerable coverage in the merchandise area. As with most mobile suits from the series, the Zeong received a 1/144th-scale model kit in 1981. It was featured in the 1/250th scale A Baoa Qu diorama, along with the RX-78 Gundam and a MS-09R Rick Dom, released in the same year. A 1/250th-scale Perfect Zeong was released along with other MSV kits in 1983. More recently, a 1/144-scale High Grade Universal Century kit was released in 2001, a Mobile Suit in Action (MSiA) figure in 2004, a 1/100th-scale Master Grade kit in 2002, and again in its enormous "Perfect" legged form in 2004. This kit is the largest, heaviest, and most expensive 1/100th-scale Master Grade kit to date. Expensive, high-detail resin kits have been released by B-Club. In addition to model kits and figures, the Zeong's likeness, specifically its unique mono-eye track, has appeared on Gundam-themed clothing items.

Perhaps the most bizarre iteration, a "Puchuu-ified" Zeong appeared in a Gundam/Leiji Matsumoto-themed episode of Excel Saga, along with a similarly Puchuu-ified RX-78.

The Zeong was also mentioned in the manga Crossbone Gundam Skull Heart where it was stated that it was built to counter a "Giant Gundam," which in reality was a GM Ball with a Gundam faceplate.