PMX-003 The-O

The PMX-003 The O is a mobile suit from the series Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. The unit is piloted by Paptimus Scirocco.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
The fourth of five mobile suits built by the Newtype Paptimus Scirocco on the Jupitris, the PMX-003 The O is Scirocco’s personal mobile suit, and perhaps the most powerful. It was designed as his own personal unit from the outset, reflected in its independently developed control system to take advantage of his rare spatial recognition abilities. Its control interface has been specifically tuned for Scirocco's use, making the The O impossible to pilot except by Scirocco himself. The generator output specifications are modest at less than 2,000Kw; however, The O is equipped with a large-scale thermonuclear reactor comparable to that of a warship.

The PMX-003 The O has very thick armor that can withstand direct beam hits, such as from the AMX-004 Qubeley's funnels. Although very bulky and heavy, The O is outfitted with enough thrusters to maneuver and fly at very high speed, demonstrating powerful thrust similar to mobile armors. It's extremely agile despite its massive frame, with performance that greatly surpasses common MS and displaying tremendous space combat capabilities. By taking advantage of The O's large size, it is possible to load large amounts of propellant into various parts of the body and the skirt armor to extend operation time. The leg and armor units incorporate a complex multi-joint structure that allow a high degree of freedom of movement. These parts significantly differ from those found in typical mobile suits.

In terms of weapons, The O is only equipped with 4 beam sabers and an optional beam rifle. However, thanks to its unique sub-arms, The O can wield all four sabers at once, something that no other mobile suit could do and allowing The O to excel at close-quarters combat. The O is a robust machine designed with emphasis on mobility instead of excessive firepower, and features an excellent interface that reflects the skill of the pilot.

The last special feature of The O however is the Bio-Sensor (no relation to the device installed in the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam), which functions like a psycommu system and allows the powerful Newtype Scirocco to more easily interface with his suit.

Armaments

 * Beam Rifle
 * The O's main weapon is its custom beam rifle. Combined with the Quick Reload feature, makes this beam rifle a potent firing force. The O's specific model of beam rifle is more powerful than average, having a power rating of 2.6 MW. According to the The O MG manual, the rifle can fire shots as powerful as the HM Launcher, meaning that there is no need for an optional HM Launcher. This beam rifle cannot be used by any MS other than The O.


 * Beam Saber
 * The O can utilize up to 4 beam sabers simultaneously. Along with its 2 standard arms, The O has two sub-arms that extend from the armor beneath its torso. These extra hands allow The O to battle with 4 beam sabers simultaneously. The beam sabers are stored in The O's waist armor, and they generate a beam that is stronger on one side of the weapon.

Special Equipment & Features

 * Bio-sensor System
 * A technological variant of the Psycommu System developed by Anaheim Electronics. Although its full capabilities are unknown, its primary purpose was to allow a Newtype pilot to more easily interface with his mobile suit via mental commands. The bio-sensor could also have a rather surprising side effect when the pilot was mentally and emotionally focused enough (usually when angry or upset), causing the Bio-sensor to amplify the power, speed and strength of the mobile suit for a short period of time.


 * Quick Reloader
 * This feature allows The O to quickly reload it's beam rifle. This proves important in battle, as The O can maintain a constantly rapid barrage of beam shots.


 * Sub-arm
 * A unique feature of The O is that the mobile suits possesses two sub-arms. These arms are typically folded behind The O's front skirt armor, and are different in design to The O's main arms, being much thinner and possessing only three manipulator fingers. These sub-arms allow The O to utilize up to four hand-held weapons, usually three of its beam sabers and its beam rifle, which, when combined with its surprising agility, makes it a formidable opponent in close combat.


 * Since arms are complex limbs to operate, it is difficult for any pilot to effectively control a mobile suit with more than two in combat. Control of the sub-arms is aided by the Bio-sensor.

History
The O was first fielded in the last days of the Gryps Conflict during the negotiations with Haman Karn, Jamitov Hyman and Char Aznable on board the Axis Zeon flagship Gwadan. After Scirocco betrays Jamitov Hymen and takes control of the Titans, he uses The O to engage Haman in her AMX-004 Qubeley, with Sarah Zabiarov in her PMX-002 Bolinoak Sammahn and Reccoa Londe in her PMX-001 Palace Athene as backup. During the battle, Scirocco engages Haman in a Newtype battle until Katz Kobayashi interferes in the G-Defensor, resulting in Sarah getting killed.

Later, during the Battle of Gryps, Scirocco has a big battle with Kamille Bidan’s MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam, which also uses the Bio-sensor. Despite Scirocco’s great Newtype powers and the strength of The O, he is finally defeated by Kamille who rams the Zeta Gundam in Waverider form into The O’s cockpit, impaling Scirocco on its tip and The O against the Jupitris. Before his death, however, Scirocco uses the Bio-sensor to cripple Kamille’s mind, followed by The O exploding and taking the Jupitris with it.

At the same time the PMX-003 The O was being developed, Scirocco was also creating a "sister" unit, the PMX-004 Titania, which was to be piloted by a woman of his choosing.

Variants

 * PMX-003 The O II (Neo Geo/Hauser)
 * PMX-004 Titania
 * PMX-005 Breda

Notes & Trivia

 * It's model number, PMX, stands for: P (Paptimus Scirocco); M (MS/MA); X (Prototype), and, although the number 003 might mean it's the third mobile suit made by Scirocco, it's actually the fourth, with the first being the PMX-000 Messala.
 * Its name represents "God" or "The will of God".
 * The O's Sub Arms would see a re-imagining in the GN-008 Seravee Gundam of Mobile Suit Gundam 00.
 * In Gundam Vs. Gundam Next Plus, The O is unlockable as a PSP Exclusive unit. It has the ability to revive more than once (3 times only) if the assault awakening & Mobility awakening were not used. In the hands of a skilled player, The O is able to outlast most Mobile Suits in the game.
 * With the price of 12000 yen, The O holds the record as the most expensive non-special version Master Grade (MG) model kit so far.
 * In Gundam Battle Assault 2, The O's Game Data is in the game and can only be played by using a PS1 Gameshark device, it is unclear why it was removed.
 * In Gundam Extreme Vs, The O also appears as an unlockable unit, but as DLC (Downloadable Content).
 * In many G Generation (and some SRW) games, The O often ends up with a lack luster attack list (Beam Saber, Beam Rifle) and it's rarely seen using its subarms. Its stats are generally pretty good for a Zeta-era mech.