McGillis Fareed

McGillis Fareed (マクギリス・ファリド) is a character that appears in the Mobile Suit Gundam IRON-BLOODED ORPHANS television series. He is a young officer from Earth who works for Gjallarhorn. By the middle of the first season, he uses the alias Montag (モンターグ) and presents himself as a representative of the Montag Company, and assisted Tekkadan in bringing Kudelia to Earth to expose the disorder within Gjallarhorn. After Season One, he has completely usurped his father's position as head of Fareed Family and has become the leader of the Outer Earth Orbit Regulatory Joint Fleet.

Personality & Character
McGillis Fareed is polite, courteous, and can be considered even charming, but he can be very serious about his work, which makes him seem cold-hearted to those who don't know him personally. He is analytical and thoughtful, and usually more reserved and serious than his friend Gaelio Bauduin, but he will have an occasional cheeky smile and does have a sense of humor.

He also seems to care about people he knows. McGillis isn't the type of person to just accept things as they are and believe what everyone says; he is known to be very fastidious and will get down to the truth using what he's got. He has a habit of picking the strand of hair that hangs in front of his face and toying with it in his right hand when he is calculating or thinking critically. He also shows a soft spot for children such as Biscuit's sisters and his fiancee, Almiria.

He is among the few members of Gjallarhorn who is aware of the organization's deterioration due to ongoing corruption among members. He wishes to reform the organization so as to get rid of the corruption. To do so, he begins to don a wig and a mask to hide his identity and seeks Tekkadan's help, supplying them with weaponry using his connection to the Montag Company.

However underneath his professional demeanor is a man who is willing to do anything in order to attain absolute power. He had masked his true nature from many of his close friends and colleague for many years without them ever knowing who he truly was as a person. McGillis' childhood has instilled in him that only the strong survives while the weak can only submit to the strong. Thus for most of his life, McGillis sought to attain the absolute pinnacle of power he could find; Gundam Bael, the most powerful symbol of Gjallarhorn and the soul of Agnika Kaieru, the founder of Gjallarhorn. Due to his power hungry nature, McGillis did not see any personal value in positive emotions such as love, trust, and friendships. He did however see those emotions as useful tools for him to use against his colleagues, manipulating them to help him further his own agenda. Despite this, he does feel some genuine remorse for his actions particularly betraying Gaelio.

Skills & Abilities
McGillis has had the Alaya Vijnana surgery which grants him greater spatial awareness and information transfer rate. This allows McGillis to pilot Gundam Frames to their full potential. Unlike other users of the system who have a spinal spike near the neck and uses a dome-shaped piece for connecting to the system's cable, McGillis has a hexagonal metal plate in the middle of his back instead.

Despite having the Alaya-Vijnana surgery, McGillis is a very skilled mobile suit pilot without it and had no problem switching between different mobile suits unequipped with the interface. Although he is proficient in all forms of mobile suit combat, he seems to prefer close quarters combat, evident by his frequent use of swords as standard equipment in most of his mobile suits. Unlike most Gjallarhorn pilots, he was able to identify Tekkadan pilots as users of Alaya-Vijnana merely by watching their mobile suits' movement patterns.

McGillis is also a highly intelligent audit officer. He can piece together clues that perhaps no one else could, such as how he knew Kudelia Aina Bernstein was still on the Tekkadan ship Isaribi​​ based off of the fact that Todo Mirconen was kicked off the ship and sent to to their cruiser. ​According to Gaelio, McGillis is very fast and good at his job, and if his subordinates are made to work at his pace, "their bodies can't keep up". McGillis is an excellent senior officer according to Gaelio. McGillis has proven to be a very charismatic speaker and skilled manipulator, deceiving Gaelio into installing Ein with the Alaya-Vijnana System and authorizing Carta to pursue Tekkadan, exploiting her rigid honorable personality.

History
From a young age, McGillis had to kill and steal in order to get his next meal. While eating a bag of rotten apples, he was knocked unconscious by two men and sent to what was presumably a brothel catered towards older men. McGillis suffered physical and emotional abuse from many of the boys and implied sexual abuse from the clients. It is also at this time that he first met Iznario Fareed. McGillis realized early on displays of power and force was the only way to ensure his survival so he began to fight. At some point in time, Iznario Fareed adopted McGillis into the Fareed family. Despite being adopted, McGillis was neglected by Iznario which gave McGillis time to explore and discover how to better himself in order to reach his goals. After Izanario decided to make McGillis his heir, Izanario took McGillis to his main residence where he meet Gaelio and Carta for the first time.

One night, McGillis found a book on the life of Agnika Kaieru, the founder of Gjallarhorn. McGillis realized that Agnika Kaieru's life and legacy would give the absolute power that he craved so he began to work within Gjallarhorn to achieve that goal. By Post Disaster 323, McGillis is a very well known figure throughout Gjallarhorn and likely has a lot of influence within its ranks.

Post Disaster 323
McGillis, together with Gaelio Bauduin, were sent to Mars to inspect the Gjallarhorn's branch there. During the inspection, the duo noticed that a company sent out days ago did not return. Coral, the commanding officer of the Mars branch, came up with an excuse to throw them off and tried bribing them but McGillis would have none of it. McGillis and Gaelio then landed on Mars and arrived at a location where a battle was reported a few days ago. By piecing together what information he had, McGillis figured out that Coral had sent the missing company to capture Kudelia in order to get into the Regulatory Bureau's good grace and pass the inspection. Afterwards, they came across a cornfield, and nearly crashed into Cookie Griffon and Cracker Griffon. This created a ruckus, and prompted Mikazuki Augus to strangle Gaelio. McGillis subsequently apologized and gave the twins chocolates.

Later on, he dons a mask with a wig on it, becoming Montag and appearing in front of Kudelia Aina Bernstein and Fumitan Admoss to convince them to leave Dort 3, and informing them it was Nobliss Gordon who sent the weapons for the workers' coup d'état via Tekkadan. He also revealed that Fumitan is an agent of Nobliss.

McGillis later made contact with Tekkadan and the Turbines under his Montag alias and offered aid in bypassing the Gjallarhorn's Outer Earth Orbit Reglatory Joint Fleet barring their path to Earth. He subsequently crossed paths with Mikazuki, who recognized his voice and identified him as a Gjallarhorn officer to Orga Itsuka, Biscuit Griffon, and Eugene Sevenstark. McGillis assured them that he had nothing to gain trying to trick them and explained his goal of reforming Gjallarhorn. As such, helping Tekkadan is a means of ensuring his goal, but threatened to end their deal if they revealed his identity to anyone else.

As Tekkadan tried to enter Earth's atmosphere, McGillis sorties in his V08-1228 Grimgerde and helps Mikazuki and his ASW-G-08 Gundam Barbatos in defeating Carta Issue's Squadron that was guarding Earth's orbit. Later on, as McGillis Fareed, he manipulates Carta by giving her the information and whereabouts of Tekkadan, who was headed to Edmonton, escorting Togonosuke Makanai. The battle led to Carta's death. Eventually, he intervened in the battle between Mikazuki's Barbatos and Gaelio's ASW-G-66 Gundam Kimaris Trooper. McGillis reveals his plan to Gaelio, which prompted the latter to lash out after finding out that they were used. He then presumably killed Gaelio by stabbing the Kimaris' chest with the Grimgerde's sword.

As the Arbrau Incident ended with Makanai being re-elected as prime minister, the collusion between McGillis' father, Iznario, and Henri Fleurs was exposed, forcing his father to go into exile. As they parted ways, Iznario reminded McGillis that he saved him from despair and promised that only despair will await him. McGillis subsequently went to Almiria's side and comforted her as she grieved over her brother's apparent death.

With Iznario removed, McGillis took his place as the head of the Fareed Family and was later promoted to Brigadier General. However, despite his father's disgrace that exposed the corruption in Gjallarhorn, self-interest still festered within Gjallarhorn, notably Rustal Elion.

McGillis, under his Montag alias once more, hired Tekkadan to capture the leader of the Dawn Horizon Corps, Sandoval Reuters, sending Isurugi Camice in one support ship to assist them. Tekkadan took on the job, having earned an enemy in the Dawn Horizon Corps due to them assaulting an Admoss Company half-metal mine. Despite the Dawn Horizon Corps outnumbering them, and the subsequent interference of the Arianrhod Fleet, Tekkadan managed to capture Reuters and forced his forces to surrender.

McGillis later traveled to Mars and covertly assisted Tekkadan as Orga and Mika dealt with Terra Liberionis leader, Allium Gyojan. Allium was later executed by Mikazuki, and his supporters were arrested by Gjallarhorn.

Gjallarhorn

 * Iznario Fareed - McGillis' adoptive father. McGillis seems to be having some issues in regards to his relationship with Iznario, as he says he doesn't want to see him so often and avoids going home. Nevertheless, McGillis respects Iznario as the head of the Fareed family. McGillis is aware of the agreement between Iznario and Henri Fleurs, and thwarts their plan for greater power in the Arbrau government by exposing the corruption within Gjallarhorn. While he respects his father, McGillis does not seem at all intimidated when Iznario threatened to throw him back into despair.


 * Gaelio Bauduin - McGillis works alongside Gaelio Bauduin, his inspector collegue and escort. McGillis is set to marry Gaelio's nine year old sister, Almiria, once she is old enough, making Gaelio his future brother-in-law. This arranged marriage between Almiria Bauduin and McGillis was organized by both Fareed's and Gaelio's parents, perhaps suggesting that their parents have known each other for some time and that McGillis and Gaelio have known each other since they were younger. McGillis is very open, honest, and relaxed around Gaelio and seems to care very much for him. Gaelio in turn is also very open and helps McGillis in his investigations. McGillis and Gaelio have a very close friendship and work closely together, and McGillis even goes to Gaelio's house. McGillis constantly reminds Gaelio to not be so impulsive in trying to go after Kudelia Aina Bernstein and the Tekkadan crew in space. On Earth, during Tekkadan's battle outside Edmonton to send Kudelia and Makanai to the parliament, McGillis exposes his ties to Tekkadan in front of Gaelio and confirms himself to have orchestrated Carta's death, prompting the latter to attack him in blind rage before being killed. Although killing Gaelio was part of his plan to become the sole heir apparent of Bauduin family, he still regrets doing it as his friendship with Gaelio was rather genuine. In 325 P.D, Gaelio revealed himself to McGillis, alive and well. All traces of their previous friendship forgotten, McGillis sees Gaelio as an obstruction towards his plans to reform and lead Gjallarhorn and welcomes the chance to defeat Gaelio. This sentiment is mutual between the two with Gaelio proclaiming to the world that he will defeat McGillis.


 * Almiria Bauduin - McGillis' nine-year old fiancee. Part of an arranged marriage between the Fareed and Bauduin families. McGillis admires her cuteness as a little girl, but he doesn't seem to like the fact that he has to soon marry a nine-year old girl and he is probably doing it for family reasons. However, knowing he must marry her, he has a charming affection and perhaps a true love for Almiria, calling her "the finest among all ladies" and telling her to forget the fate they will face together as a couple. Despite McGillis' affection for her, he still sees her somewhat as a chess piece for his machinations because he will become the sole heir to the Bauduin family through her after killing Gaelio.


 * Ein Dalton - McGillis had a meeting with Ein on the Mars Branch HQ in space about the attack on the former company CGS back on Mars, now known as Tekkadan. Ein requested if he could join the pursuit force and McGillis let him join. He seems to take notice of Ein's great dedication and loyalty, although Ein is more on the less-talkative side. While respectful of Ein's loyalty, McGillis doesn't hesitate in using him as a pawn to show Gjallarhorn's corruption and convinces Gaelio to allow Ein to be modified with Alaya-Vijnana after being severely wounded in a battle against Tekkadan, even though Gjallarhorn doesn't stand for that at all. McGillis uses Ein's modification to show Gjallarhorn's hypocrisy towards Alaya-Vijnana, using it when they say they shouldn't, and the corruption within Gjallarhorn.


 * Carta Issue - A childhood friend and colleague. Her family is also one of the Seven Stars of Gjallarhorn and she was taken in by McGillis' father, Iznario Fareed, after her biological father fell ill. It seems that he doesn't know that Carta has a crush on him. McGillis 'looks up' to her and admires her personality, but orchestrates her death at the hands of Tekkadan just to further his agenda. McGillis had considered his friendship with Carta to be genuine like the one with Gaelio, but deemed that she needed to die for his plan to work.

Tekkadan
Upon realizing that Tekkadan can fit into his plan of exposing Gjallarhorn's inner corruption and disorder, and eventually the reformation of the organization, McGillis used his alias as Montag, the representative of Montag Company, to provide them with various kinds of support. However, his act of sending Carta to stop them from reaching Edmonton is somewhat dubious either as an act of betraying them or simply just to have Carta killed. In the second season, McGillis forms an alliance with Tekkadan wanting to continue gaining power to reform Gjallarhorn. McGillis has high expectations for Tekkadan, recognizing their combat record and potential as allies and promises Orga Itsuka that he will never abandon them.


 * Mikazuki Augus - McGillis first encountered Mikazuki at Mrs. Sakura's farm (Episode 4), when Mika was choking Gaelio. He noticed Mika had the Alaya-Vijnana system and that he moved quickly against Gaelio's punch, making McGillis suspicious that Mika wasn't just any ordinary "farmer" as he pretended to be. McGillis then encounters Mika again in space, in his Gundam Barbatos. McGillis considered Mika an adequate pilot, as he escaped one of McGillis' attacks that could've caused great damage. He was rather excited to be fighting against a legendary Gundam frame and he realized how Mikizuki was able to use the Alaya-Vijnana system to his advantage in the Gundam. Mikazuki calls McGillis "Chocolate Man". McGillis has a silent rivalry forming against Mikazuki and his Gundam Barbatos. Although in disguise, Mikazuki was the first to recognize him through his voice and in turn, McGillis removes his masks' eye shades and asks for the whereabouts of Biscuit's sisters. Two years later, when McGillis proposed an alliance with Tekkadan, Mikazuki seems wary of him; however Mikazuki willingly protects McGillis from Galan Mossa during the war between Abrau and SAU under Orga's command due to their alliance. McGillis thanks Mikazuki for saving him at the end and gives him a chocolate to show his gratitude. McGillis mentions that Mikazuki saving him in Barbatos Lupus was like watching a scene from the legend of Agnika Kaieru. After Mikazuki brutally defeated the Hashmal, McGillis' respect for Mikazuki grows. McGillis sees Mikazuki as a source of inspiration and credits Mikazuki for showing him that only true power will help fan the flame of revolution, leading the world to the ideal path.

Quotes
""But it's hard to let go of a power once you obtain it. Humans are like that. Even if it is a power that could destroy themselves." --Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, Episode 1 (S1)"

""Machines with that name have appeared many times at historical turning points, and has been a great influence on the history of man." (referring to the Gundam Frames) --Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, Episode 5 (S1)"

""It might be the pilot, rather than the machine." --Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, Episode 6 (S1)" ""Friendship, love, trust...such soft-hearted emotions will unfortunately not reach me. As I have lived in anger. -Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans, Episode 25 (S1)" ""And in my entire life...you were my only friend. (Final words to Gaelio) - Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans, Episode 25 (S1)"

""I want to reform this corrupted Gjallarhorn. To do this, I need to be in a position with more power." (to Orga Itsuka) --Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, Episode 4 (S2)"

Notes & Trivia

 * Takahiro Sakurai previously voiced Sir Trillram in ALDNOAH.ZERO with Biscuit Griffon's voice actor, Natsuki Hanae.
 * In episode 5, McGillis has a habit of fiddling with his bangs when he thinks and Mikazuki Augus called him the "chocolate man", due to McGillis giving chocolate to Cookie and Cracker in the previous episode.
 * In episode 15, McGillis dons a mask and a wig to obscure his appearance as he carries out his own plans; this is a homage to Char Aznable from the original Mobile Suit Gundam.
 * McGillis can be considered as an inversion of the "Char Clone" trope to the Gundam franchise; while most Char Clones dons aliases while affiliating with the enemy faction of their series, McGillis has already sided within the enemy faction in his true name and use his alias to support the protagonist.
 * His past life is a tribute to the original Char; an illegitimate child of a politician and a mistress whom tries to demolish a faction they align with from within. They are also friends with a purple haired man, Garma Zabi and Gaelio Bauduin, and eventually killed them as part of their hidden agenda, though does regretting it as their friendship was genuine. Also similar to Char Aznable, McGillis is very charismatic and a natural leader and will use people to his advantage.
 * McGillis also pilots a red mobile suit, the Grimgerde, like Char Aznable who also piloted a red mobile suit.
 * The relationship that McGillis seems to have with his father, Iznario, is similar to that of Athrun Zala and Patrick Zala of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.
 * McGillis's character shares similarities with Zechs' character from Mobile Suit Gundam Wing:
 * Both characters have blond hair, blue eyes and wear masks that pays homage to Char Aznable.
 * Both start off as the protagonist's enemy, but later assist them for own purposes.
 * Similar to Graham Aker, Tatsuya Yuuki, and Luin Lee, his true identity is shown first, and his "masked" persona is introduced later.
 * Montag is actually German for "Monday".
 * Takahiro Sakurai voiced Suzaku Kururugi from Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion which is another Sunrise show. As a reference to the series, McGillis dons a Montag persona similar to Suzaku sporting Zero due to the fact that they have masks that represents them as a Char Clone. McGillis has some similarities to Suzaku as both are willing to betray their friends to gain power to change their nation. Both have an ally who would later turn into an enemy Shin Hyuga Shaing/Gaelio Baudauin (Vidar) who shares the same Seiyuu.