MMS-01 Serpent

Template:Infobox/Mobile Weapon Ver.2 MMS-01 Serpent (aka Serpent Custom) is a mass-produced heavy assault mobile suit by the Barton Foundation. The unit is featured in OVA/movie New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz. It was designed by Hajime Katoki.

Technology & Combat Characteristics

Based on the development data of Gundam Heavyarms, the Serpent is similarly armed with a large variety of long-range weapons, allowing it to adapt to multiple combat scenarios.

The only fixed armament installed on the Serpent were two 8-tube missile launchers, one mounted in each shoulder. Besides these launchers, the suit could carry a variety of hand weapons, including a bazooka, a beam cannon and a double Gatling gun, similar to the ones carried by the improved XXXG-01H2 Gundam Heavyarms Kai. Despite these strong weapons the Serpent lacked any close combat weapons, putting the suit at a disadvantage if any enemy was able to come into close proximity to the suit.

Defense-wise, the Serpent was built using an alloy known as Neo-Titanium, a material that is both lighter and more durable than Gundanium alloy, but also even more costly to produce.

The Serpent's cockpit is identical to the OZ-06MS Leo's aside from enhanced targeting and lock-on systems, allowing its pilot to better make use of the suit's weapons.

Armaments

• 8-tube Missile Launcher

Stored in the shoulders of mobile suit, is a missile launcher that shoots 8 missiles from each shoulder. When not in use the shoulder armor closes up, concealing the missiles. It is the only fixed armament installed on the mobile suit. They possess enough power to destroy a MS.

• Double Gatling Gun

A double-barreled gatling gun identical or nearly-identical to the ones used by the XXXG-01H2 Gundam Heavyarms Kai, these weapons shoot a rapid amount of fire power. When not being used, it is attached to the storage rack on the back of the mobile suit. Unlike the Heavyarms Kai, most Serpents only carried one Double Gatling Gun per unit.

• Bazooka

A weapon of destructive force, that is held over the shoulder of the Serpent when firing. It is stored on the back of the mobile suits storage rack when its not being used. It fires explosive rounds.

• Beam Cannon

Is a handheld weapon that shoots a powerful beam. It can be equipped to the storage rack on the back of the mobile suit when its not being used during battle. It was derived from the beam cannons of the OZ-13MSX1 Vayeate and OZ-02MD Virgo. While it doesn't have a high fire rate, it makes up for it with sheer power.

System Features

• Storage Rack

A simple easy to reach storage rack that is placed on the back of the mobile suit. Its holds the double gatling gun, bazooka, and the beam cannon when they are not needed in battle.

History

The Serpent was developed in A.C. 195 as a general-purpose replacement for the Leo. However, the war ended before its development could be finished. In December, A.C. 196, the production facilities at the L3 colony of X-18999 were claimed by the Barton Foundation, who then began to produce this type of mobile suits using the reconstruction budget of X-18999, to be used in an attack on the now-pacifistic Earth Sphere Unified Nation. All in all 500 Serpent units were produced. The Serpent bears similarities to the Gundam Heavyarms, most noticeably its missile pods and Gatling guns, as both were constructed by the Barton Foundation.

In Endless Waltz, Trowa Barton briefly pilots a Serpent while infiltrating the Mariemaia Army, although he abandons it in favor of his Gundam after escaping X-18999. In Brussels, the Tallgeese III and Noin's Taurus, as well as three Gundams (Deathscythe Hell, Heavyarms, Sandrock) were put through a hard battle against more than four hundred Serpents. The Gundams and the Preventer mobile suits managed to disable most of the Serpents, leaving only around fifty, before exhausting their energy and ammunition. Following the death of Dekim Barton, the remaining Serpents dropped their weapons and surrendered.

According to the novelization of Endless Waltz, the Winner Family plans to melt down all Serpents into Neo-Titanium and use them to reinforce colony walls after the Mariemaia Rebellion.

Picture Gallery

Serpent - color art

Serpent line art - front view

Serpent line art - rear view

Bazooka - line art

Beam Cannon - line art

Missile Launcher - line art

Serpent equips with Double Gatling Gun

Serpent equips with Bazooka

Serpent equips with Beam Cannon

Serpent as featured in SD Gundam G Generation World/Overworld

Serpent as featued in Gundam War card game

Serpent CG rendered

Giant Musha Gundam with Serpent (left) (from Gundam Build Fighters)

Serpent arms with Double Gatling Gun (from Endless Waltz OVA)

Gundam Perfect File data

Gunpla

1/144 HG Fighting Action MMS-01 Serpent Custom (1998): box art

1/100 HG MMS-01 Serpent Custom (1998): box art

1/100 HG MMS-01 Serpent Custom featured in Model Graphix magazine

1/100 HG MMS-01 Serpent Custom (Model Graphix)

1/100 HG MMS-01 Serpent Custom (Model Graphix)

1/100 HG MMS-01 Serpent Custom (Model Graphix)

1/100 Serpent　Second (non-canon) model conversion based on 1/100 HG MMS-01 Serpent Custom

Notes and Trivia

• The Serpent's name is derived from "Serpentarius" which is a reference to "Ophiuchus" being the thirteenth Zodiac sign, which is recognized by astronomers but not used in astrology.
• The Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Technical Manual mentions that the Serpent has a beam saber, however, they were never seen using it, and this was not mentioned in any other sources. The Serpent is only seen using the beam saber in several Super Robot Wars games.

External links

• MMS-01 Serpent on MAHQ.net