Treize Khushrenada

Treize Khushrenda is a fictional character on the anime series Gundam Wing, and along with his sometime friend Zechs Merquise, is one of the primary antagonists of the series. His name is taken from the French for "thirteen"; as a traditionally unlucky number this may be intended to allude to his role as the villain of the piece. A calm, calculating man, Treize is one of the most complex characters in the show, playing both the chivalrous, anachronistic knight, and the ruthless tyrant with ease. He is the only real friend of Zechs Merquise, has unresolved romantic tensions with his subordinate, the schizoid Lady Une, and is considered the archrival of Gundam Shenlong and Altron's pilot, Chang Wufei. In the English dub of the series he is voiced by notable villain actor, David Kaye.

Gundam Wing
Treize appears sporadically throughout the series. He is first introduced as the colonel in charge of OZ's elite force, the Specials. His role as Zechs' best friend is soon established, and he is revealed to be one of the few characters - along with Noin - who already knows of Zechs' true identity as Milliardo Peacecraft. Treize's contempt for the Earth Sphere Alliance is revealed soon after the Gundams arrive; he comments to Zechs that if they were in charge this would never have happened. A member of the pro-war faction in the Alliance, Treize has his right-hand woman, Lady Une assassinate Relena Peacecraft's adopted father, who had been using his position as Vice-Foreign minister to press for peace with the colonies. When the Alliance's peace faction - headed by Alliance CINC, Marshal Noventa - holds a meeting, Treize capitalises on the appearance of the Gundams, leaking information that suggests this is a council of war. Attending the meeting with Lady Une, Treize leaves with fellow war-hawk General Septum on a private plane; moments later, the pacifists transport is destroyed by Heero Yuy and the Wing Gundam.

Following the murder of Noventa and his allies, Treize and Une coerce General Septum into making a televised statement condemning the colonies and the Gundams. Having no further need of him, Treize has Une dispose of Septum; with all his rivals dead, he succeeds the late Noventa as Commander-in-Chief of the Alliance, and its new ruling junta, OZ. Around the world, Treize's Specials, each a card-carrying member of OZ turn on their units, placing most of the planet under Treize's control.

It's not all that easy though. Furious at the way the Gundams have been manipulated, Chang Wufei tracks Treize and Une to the former's ship. He defeats Une's modified Leo in combat, then prepares to attack Treize, who simply waits for him, tapping a sword against the palm of his hand. Intrigued, Wufei dismounts and fights Treize hand to hand. Victorious, Treize nevertheless allows the boy to escape. Impressed by Wufei's skill, Treize remarks to Une that next time they will have to use Wufei's forte, mobile suits.

As the series progresses, Treize consolidates his hold on earth. However, it is quickly demonstrated that he is not as powerful as he appears. Although technically the planet's dictator, Treize is also an agent of the Romefeller Foundation, and as such must answer to their leader Duke Dermail, with whom his relationship is rocky at best. Treize is shown to be in oppostion to Chief Engineer Tsubarov and his Mobile Doll faction whom Dermail supports, even going so far as to sabotag a demonstration of thier abilities. This is the first time we see Treize pilot a mobile suit and it provides an effective yardstick for measuring his skill as he defeats all the mobile dolls using only an unmodified Leo. He is also forced to spend increasing amounts of time covering up Zechs' various indiscretions, which include rebuilding the Wing and becoming involved in a personal vendetta against Heero. When Zechs is finally arrested and court-martialled Treize helps him fake his death and escape to space. Lady Une has also been sent to space as an ambassador; Zechs and the Tallgeese occasionally put themselves at Treize's disposal, coming to Lady Une's aid when her multiple personalities get her in trouble.

Eventually Treize's opposition to the Mobile Dolls (which he considers unsporting) gets him into trouble. He is forced to step down by Romefeller, and Dermail takes direct control of the world. Tsubarov then attempts to murder Lady Une; she is left comatose, which seemingly removes all of Treize's influnce. The former tyrant spends much of the second half of the series under house arrest in Luxembourg, musing on the horrors of war and brooding over his newfound realisation that he is in love with Une. Treize is far from finished though. A group of rebellious OZ pilots styling themselves the "Treize faction" make trouble around the world for Romefeller, while Treize bides his time, waiting to seize the reins of government once more. In the interim he is visited by Heero Yuy; the two discuss the meaning of war, then Treize hands Heero the keys to the Epyon, a mobile suit he himself has designed, which ultimately ends up in Zechs' hands. In outer space, Zechs, Quinze and the White Fang begin a colonial rebellion against Romefeller; when Dermail flies out to face them his shuttle is shot down, facilitating Treize's return to power.

Once loose, Treize wastes no time. Playing on his immense popularity with the troops, he resumes his role as CINC and launches a military coup against Queen Relena, Dermail's puppet ruler. In one of the most moving scense in the show, he bids goodbye to an unconcious Une, before heading to space, leading the world's nations into a final confrontation with Zechs and the White Fang, and their Libra superweapon.

Piloting the much refined and upgraded Tallgeese II, Treize challenges Zechs to a duel and is refused. The two go to war and Treize downs numerous Mobile Dolls, finally showing his true abilities as a pilot. The newly awakened Une saves him from a blast from the Libra and takes over as his chief-of-staff. The Gundam pilots-with whom he has a temporary alliance disable Libra, and Treize, knowing the battle is won, confronts Wufei and his Altron for the last time.

During their duel Wufei demands to know if Treize has any idea how many people have died for him. Treize lists the exact number, expressing regret at what he sees as sad, but necessary deaths. They resume their duel, with Treize dominating Wufei for most of the fight, before suddenly launching a kamikaze bullrush at Wufei that leads to the Tallgeese II's cockpit being pierced by the Altron's beam trident, and his own death. He thanks Wufei telling him this is a beautiful way to die, closes his eyes, smiles and dies. His last words are "I'll be waiting for you on the other side Milliardo.

Note: Treize and Wufei's closing comments, along with the uncharacteristic recklessness of Treize's final attack have caused it to be generally accepted that the dictator allowed Wufei to kill him. This has caused speculation that Treize's true goal was not to rule to world, but to end war by wrecking the world's two largest armies, demonstrating war's brutality to a world that had not seen a serious one in years, and ensuring the deaths of all the warlords, including himself. This is unconfirmed. The jury is still out on Treize Khushrenada and will likely remain out for some time to come.

Personality
On the surface Treize is cold and reserved, rarely speaking or letting his emotions get the best of him. He professes to love war, believing that when properly conducted it brings out the best in humanitiy. He expresses an interest in honour and chivalry roughly compareable to that of an old fashioned aristocrat, believing that one should settle matters of honour in single combat. This attitude is somewhat at odds with the ruthlessness he demonstrates in pursuit of his amibtions; when it comes to holding onto power, Treize displays few scruples; that said he is always reluctant to compromise the few he has.

Beneath the surface Treize is a very different person. He is fanatically loyal to his friends and is even capable of love, although he himself seems unaware of this. He dislikes hurting people, and suffers a great deal of guilt over the deaths he has caused, which may explain why he ultimately allows Wufei to kill him. He is a conflicted man.

Relationships
Treize often comments that few people truly understand him. The three people who he believes do, are Wufei, Zechs, and Une.

Zechs Merquise
Treize considers Zechs to be his best friend, even after they have become mortal enemies. They work well together, and Zechs shares Treize's disdain for the old guard of the Alliance. When Treize has Une assassinate Relena's adopted father, he tells her to be sure not to hurt Relena, who is Zechs' sister.

Wufei Chang
Although they only meet twice, Treize believes that Wufei is one of the people who can understand him and thus refrains from slaying him at thier first meeting. It is commonly accepted that Treize allowed Wufei to defeat him because he wanted to die at the hands of someone he respected.

Lady Une
Like much else about him, Treize's relationship with his schizoid aide, Une, is complicated. From the beginning of the show it is clear that she is in love with him. Treize however, seems to view her as little more than a tool, using her sadistic personality to commit murders while he keeps his hands clean. Later, during Une’s tenure as Colonial Ambassador, when her saner personality takes over and comes out in favour of Mobile Doll construction, Treize actually starts to view her as a threat. Une, like so many others, seems to be just another of the tyrant’s pawns. Appearances are deceiving though. When Une is shot and near fatally wounded by Tsubarov, Treize is horrified. He is later seen looking at pictures of both her personalities, before—surprised by the depths of his grief—he confesses that he may have been “a little bit in love with her all along.” Before leaving for what he knows will be his last battle, Treize deposits roses at her bedside and confesses his love to the unconscious woman in one of Wing’s few genuinely romantic moments. After Treize’s death, Une is seen caring for her former superior’s illegitimate daughter.

Abilities
Treize is a master politician, and a manipulator second to none. He is able to respond rapidly to any unforeseen political situation—such as the arrival of the Gundams—with great rapidity, suggesting either prior knowledge or an unequalled ability to improvise on the fly. He is an expert strategist and tactician; it is largely due to his leadership that his army is able to hold its own against Zechs’ technologically superior forces. Treize is a crack shot, a superb, Western-style fencer, and a mobile suit designer of great ability, having built both the Epyon and the Tallgeese II to his own specifications. It is a mobile suit pilot though that Treize truly excels, equalling, or perhaps even surpassing the Gundam pilots in capability. Early on he disables Tsubarov’s early model Mobile Dolls using only a Leo; later, while piloting the Tallgeese II he cuts a swathe through Zechs’ elite Mobile Dolls. It is not until his final duel with Wufei however, that Treize’s true ability is revealed. Going one on one with the Altron Gundam, Treize fights it to a standstill despite its superior armament; indeed it seems likely that had he not willed it otherwise he would have defeated the Gundam. Just how good Treize was will never be known, but it seems likely that he is at least on par with Wufei, if not better.