GN-000 0 Gundam

0 Gundam was the first mobile suit to be equipped with a GN Drive. It is the original prototype that lead to the development of all current Gundams. The unit was piloted by Ribbons Almark, and later by Lasse Aeon.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
0 Gundam has basic complements for combat, a Beam Saber, Beam Gun, and Gundam Shield. For long range combat, the unit would deploy its gun and shield for shoot-and-block tactics. For close range combat, a beam saber can be pulled directly from its backpack for shield-and-strike tactics. When first tested, 0 Gundam's experimental GN Drive produced excessive GN particles, creating an angelic wing-like effect known as GN Feathers. After additional tuning and modifications, the unit produced GN particles normally. 0 Gundam was later refitted with a GN particle storage tank (its GN Drive was given to 00 Gundam) for combat.

GN Feathers
By releasing large amounts of GN Particles, together with control by the Clavical Antenna, the 0 Gundam can form huge wings of light. It provides stability to the unit while in mid-air while disrupting and jamming enemy radar.The wings of light combined with the Gundam's overwhelming power and presence creates a powerful psychological effect. Since the 0 Gundam was the 1st Generation test suit, the wing's enormous output was considered to be too inefficient and was not used in later development.

Intervention in Kurdish Republic
O Gundam's first known sortie was an intervention mission in the Kurdish Republic. The pilot of 0 Gundam, Ribbons Almark, was suppose to kill all the combatants in the area; however, upon upon seeing the awed young Soran Ibrahim (who would later grow up to be Setsuna F. Seiei), Ribbons perceives the boy's look to be one of utter admiration and worship, and lets him live. Afterwards, he went and tampered with Veda's files (something that Tieria Erde would eventually pick up on) in order to make Soran a Gundam Meister by replacing Exia's original pilot Echo with Setsuna.) He would later commented as a "momentary impulse... but also a sort of mercy."

00P
0 Gundam did appear in the 00P side story, although it wasn't stated who piloted it. In one of the Dengeki Hobby Magazine, it was stated that 0 Gundam carried the helpless GNY-001 Gundam Astraea, while it was also mentioned that Grave Violento sortied in the GN-XXX Gundam Rasiel with another unknown pilot along with 0 Gundam.

Shadow Interventions
After the development of second generation GNY-Gundams, 0 Gundam's solar furnace was removed and given to Fereshte to operate their Gundams as the shadow group behind the Ptolemy group. With only a single GN Drive, the solar furnace was often swapped between all four GNY-Gundams and piloted primarily by Fon Spaak in their shadow armed interventions.

Resisting Team Trinity
During their armed interventions, Fereshte encountered the Gundam Throne Meisters who tried to claim 0 Gundam's GN Drive. They claimed that it was orders from Veda itself and demanded Fereshte to stand down their operation and relinquish control of their only true solar furnace. Fon Spaak used the Gundam Plutone to resist the Trinity's attempt to confiscate the GN Drive. Upon being informed of Fon's disobedience by Johann Trinity, Veda then detonated Fon's explosive collar. Fon would have died of internal bleeding, save for the intervention of Hanayo who took remote control of Gundam Plutone. She scuttled the mobile suit's body and escaped with the GN Drive and Spaak in Plutone's core fighter. The GN Drive was later transferred to one of Celestial Being's resource satellites (L1 or L3) for maintenance.

Four Year Aftermath
Nearly four years after "Operation Fallen Angels" and the near destruction of Celestial Being, Wang Liu Mei and Hong Long visited one of Celestial Being's secret asteroid bases to oversee the recent developments (L1 or L3 satellite). She wanted to see the first Gundam and Ian Vashti opened the container doors for her to see 0 Gundam. Ian Vashti commented that 0 Gundam's GN Drive has been temporarily removed for an overhaul on 0 Gundams systems. The GN Drive was later moved onto 00 Gundam for testing.

Twin Drive Testing
Ian Vashti removed 0 Gundam's GN Drive and adapted it to 00 Gundam's Twin Drive System. He wanted to test out the synchronization and compatibility of dual GN Drives with little success. All combinations of the GN Drives failed and he hoped that Exia's GN Drive would fare better. When Exia returned to Celestial Being, compatibility tests resumed with only a 73% (needs to be 80%) synchronization rate. When A-Laws attacked Ptolemy II, Setsuna risked Trans-Am in attempt to level out the synchronization of 00. Setsuna managed to synchronize the Twin Drive System at 87% and defeated A-Laws opposition. With 0 Gundam without a solar furnace, the unit was placed in indefinite storage.

Return to Battle
0 Gundam was eventually moved to an alternate Celestial Being resource satellite, Lagrange 5. With the war against the A-Laws and the Innovators building to a climax, Celestial Being rallied every mobile suit they could. 0 Gundam was considered for reactivation for battle. Without a GN Drive, Linda Vashti and her engineers retrofitted the otherwise powerless 0 Gundam with a large GN particle storage tank. The Gundam was given a new paint job (hallmark colors of the original RX-78) and armed with its original GN Beam Rifle and Shield. Lasse soon sortied in 0 Gundam, to protect the Ptolemy crew and Gundam Meisters from kamikaze Innovator clone units, Gaga Forces. Despite a valiant effort, Lasse depleted 0 Gundam's supply of particles, forcing him to abandon the mobile suit. Due to Ptolemaois II movements, 0 Gundam drifted out of the hanger until Ribbons, in his damaged Reborns Gundam, found it and fitted 0 Gundam's original GN Drive onto the 0 Gundam, which he had stolen earlier from 00 Raiser. Ribbons then boarded his original mobile suit to engage in combat against Setsuna. 0 Gundam was ultimately defeated in the final confrontation; Ribbons fate is unknown. It's unclear if 0 Gundam was ever recovered and restored.

Trivia

 * The fact that 0 Gundam resembles the RX-78 Gundam, and Ribbons being its pilot, made it a considerable in-joke, as Ribbons shared that same Japanese voice actor of Amuro Ray, the pilot of the RX-78.


 * Ribbons Almark, an innovator, was first revealed as the pilot in the novel, which was then confirmed in S2 Ep. 14.


 * The new paint job which the 0 Gundam features in S2 Ep. 22 is the same as the one of the original RX-78 Gundam.
 * The role of the 0 Gundam is reflected from the RX-78 Gundam, in which the former was the precursor to all Gundams of Celestial Being, and the lattter is the first Gundam mobile suit in the metaseries

Variants

 * GN-000FA Full-Armor 0 Gundam