Minoru Suzuki (ミノル・スズキ) was a character introduced in the Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam: Steel 7 manga series.
Personality & Character[]
A warm and kind-hearted man, Minoru cared deeply for the pilots under his tutelage. Because of this, he was filled with sadness and guilt by the deaths of many students over the years, becoming disillussioned in the Earth Federation Forces as a result. Still, he expressed understanding towards his student Harrison Madin when he chose to stay within the EFF and do what he could to change the system from within. As an instructor, Minoru could be harsh when he needed to. For example, his first lesson to Mitchell Derek Nar was that "When you are in real trouble, nobody would be able to help you".
Skills & Abilities[]
Minoru was a skilled mobile suit pilot and training instructor, earning the nickname "Blue Flash" during his time as an instructor. In addition, he was also a shrewd tactician, as he was immediately able to identify the flaws in Tobia Arronax's plan to stop the Jupiter Empire using the F99 Record Breakers and proposing what would eventually become Operation Steel 7. Despite his age, he was still adapt at hand-to-hand combat, as shown when he subdued a Jupiter Empire soldier with a shoulder throw.
History[]
Early Life[]
When he was 12, Minoru witnessed the Axis drop, which inspired him to join the Earth Federation Forces. However, after he became a soldier, the Federation experienced a long period of peace, and he eventually retired from active service without ever seeing combat.
Despite having no combat experience, Minoru proved to be an exceptional MS pilot instructor, even earning the nickname "Blue Flash". However, he eventually passed the nickname on to his student, Harrison Madin. During the Cosmo Babylonia War, Minoru lost many of his students due to the incompetence of the EFF leadership, and he left the military because of the guilt.
Callisto's Arrival[]
In U.C. 0136, Minoru was the MS instructor for SNRI's 2nd Lunar Development Lab's test team. He was responsible for training the test pilots for the F99 Record Breaker. When Tobia and the Crossbone Vanguard arrived to requisition the Record Breakers to stop Jupiter Empire's plan to attack Earth using a Colony Laser, Minoru immediately refused, explaining that it would be impossible to stop the colony laser using only three Record Breakers. Instead, he suggested they needed at least two squads, each composed of a long-range support unit, a close-range support unit, and an attacker. They also needed a commander to lead the two squads, meaning seven units in total. He also noted that even if the plan succeeds, the chance of any team member returning alive was near zero.
However, the lab suddenly came under attack by Jupiter Empire forces led by Callisto's Shadow in the Cornix. During the ensuing battle, all three Record Breakers were destroyed, and all the test pilots save for Mitchell Derek Nar were killed. Just as Callisto was about to destroy the Crossbone Gundam X-1 and kill Tobia and Europa, Minoru interrupted him in an XM-10 Flint. Callisto later retreated, but not before destroying the F99 factory and all development data. As the battle finished, Minoru was saddened by the deaths of yet more of his students.
Recruiting the Pilots[]
Despite the loss of the Record Breakers, SNRI revealed that there was still hope: one year ago, they observed an Anaheim Electronics experimental unit they codenamed "Icarus", which was apparently equipped with Minovsky Drive technology, crashing into Earth. They then assigned Minoru and Derek to support the Crossbone Vanguard and a Nozzle support craft. Having decided to join the attack on the colony laser and knowing that Tobia would join no matter what, Minoru declared that they must find "Icarus" and five more capable pilots on Earth within the next five days.
After Tobia decided not to recruit Kincaid Nau because he had already started a family on Earth, Minoru informed him that there was no record of "Icarus" in the Federation's database and that Jupiter Empire forces had already landed on Earth. He also told Tobia that even for SNRI, the number of mobile suits they could use without letting the Federation know was limited, most of which were captured Jupiter Empire mobile suits. However, there was also a usable F90 Gundam F90.
Inspired by Minoru's remark, Tobia decided to recruit the former members of the Death Gale Team. While they recruited Barnes Gernsback with no incident, Callisto's Shadow appeared again when they attempted to recruit Giri Gadeucca Aspis. While Giri distracted Callisto, Minoru and Barnes subdued the Jupiter Empire soldiers holding them.
While Tobia pursued Callisto by sneaking aboard his Elcopty, Minoru, Barnes, and Giri subdued all his soldiers. Minoru explained that these soldiers were not used to Earth's gravity and were demoralized when their leader left them. When Harrison Madin brought Tobia back to the trio, he was shocked to see his past instructor. They discuss why Minoru left the military and why Harrison decided to stay, with the latter replying that he believed there needed to be people working within the system to try and improve it.
Minoru joined Harrison and the EFF to find and recover the "Icarus" and asked Derek to help Tobia find Rosemary Raspberry, the last member of the Death Gale Team. Derek asked Minoru why he asked him to join this operation, to which Minoru replied that no one could help him in times of real trouble. As they left, Harrison asked Minoru why he took Derek along, to which he replied that while he did not plan on dragging him to Jupiter, helping him regain his confidence would be his last task as an instructor.
Recovering the Icarus[]
At the Great Canyon, Minoru discovered "Icarus" (now revealed to be named Speed King) and was shocked that it was far larger than he expected. He informed Tobia and asked him to come quickly since the Jupiter forces had already begun to move. He then contacted Harrison to have the Federation Forces assist in its recovery. When the Jupiter forces launched a diversionary attack from the Atlantic Ocean, Harrison left to engage them but left behind his Mass Production Gundam F91 for Minoru to use.
When Callisto's Shadow (now piloting the Impulse Cornix) and his forces arrived to destroy the Speed King, Minoru, together with Tobia in the XM-X1C Crossbone Gundam X-1 Patchwork and Giri in an EMS-VSX1-C Quavarze Mass Production Type, engaged them. While Tobia and Giri fought Callisto, Minoru focused on stopping the other Jupiter mobile suits. After destroying the Jupiter mobile suits, he also joined the fight against Callisto. However, he and Giri were quickly immobilized by the Impulse Cornix's attacks.
Callisto and Tobia fought a heated battle at close quarters. While Tobia was momentarily distracted by an explosion in the Speed King's direction, Callisto prepared to finish him off. However, he was simultaneously hit by Giri and Minoru using the Quavarze's beam gun and the F91's machine cannons, fatally wounding Callisto.
As Tobia and his team departed from Earth in the Speed King and rendezvousing with the Little Grey, Minoru asked Europa to be the commander of the attack teams, much to her shock, since the Callisto brothers could read all of her thoughts. Minoru replied that now that they knew this would happen, they could prepare for it and use it to their advantage. However, they still needed one more pilot.
At this point, Derek volunteered. Minoru immediately objected, concerned that no one would be able to take care of his mother and younger sister if he died. Derek replied that it would be the same if Earth was destroyed, and he wanted to finish what he must do. Minoru relented but ordered him not to die. He then gave Harrison's F91 to Derek, saying that he could use it better as the former test pilot of the F99. Since the decision was made at the last minute, Umon Samon complained that he had already added Minoru's "M" emblem on the F91, but Derek said it was okay since his name, Mitchell, also started with an M. Minoru then asked for Derek's "RB" emblem to be added to his machine, the F90I-I Gundam F90 Intercept Type Jupiter Battle Specification.
Operation Steel 7[]
As the preparation for the attack on the colony laser neared its end, Minoru announced the role of each member: the Death Gale Team would be Squad A, while Squad B would be made up of him, Derek, and Tobia. Finally, Europa would be the commander of both squads. The codename of the operation was "Steel 7". At the start of the operation, Minoru asked them not to lend their lives to him and to survive this mission no matter what.
When the attack began, Minoru and the other pilots fought their way through countless Jupiter mobile suits. However, as he approached the colony laser, he was confronted by Jurisdis Sinistra Dictus, which was piloted by Callisto's Light. While Giri fought Callisto's Light in his XM-07B Vigna Ghina II Jupiter Battle Specification, Minoru closed in on the colony laser and fired all of the F90's nuclear missiles at it. However, they were all intercepted by the Jupiter mobile suits.
With only four minutes left before the colony laser fires, Minoru asked Europa to resupply him so he could launch another attack run. Ultimately, he was too late to stop the colony laser. However, Giri and Barnes sacrificed themselves to make it miss Earth. Europa ordered all survivors to regroup at Minoru's location and launch one final attack.
Unfortunately, while Europa supplied Minoru's F90 with another set of nuclear missiles, Callisto's Light destroyed the missiles with the Dictus' beam cannon. While Callisto's Light was locked in combat with Tobia's XM-X1 Crossbone Gundam X-1 Full Cloth, Minoru and Derek attempted to attack the colony laser. The Libertas Dextra Dictus, piloted by the bio-brain copy of Callisto's Shadow, immediately began pursuing them.
Callisto's Shadow soon caught up to Minoru and destroyed the legs of his F90, but Derek activated his F91's full operating mode and began repeatedly attacking the Libertas Dextra Dictus with his VSBRs, eventually scoring a direct hit on its vulnerable back. However, as his F91 overheated, it was destroyed by the Dictus' beam cannon, killing Derek. Angered, Minoru stabbed the Dictus in the back with his shot lancer, destroying it.
When Tobia and Europa entered the colony laser to destroy it, Minoru stayed behind in his immobilized F90 to cover them from the remaining Jupiter mobile suits. As he was gradually overwhelmed, he was saved by the arrival of Rosemary - who was presumed dead early in the operation - in the Arana Abijo.
When the colony laser self-destructed and the Jupiter resistance arrived, the remaining Jupiter Empire forces lost the will to fight and retreated. With both Tobia and Europa apparently dead, Minoru shed tears, asking why so many young people died while an old man like him survived. Rosemary comforted him, saying that few people could decide how long they lived and when to die, and told him to live on.
Later Life[]
Following the defeat of the Jupiter Empire, Minoru and Rosemary married due to Rosemary's promise that she would marry whoever survives the operation. The two were assigned as the Federation's Jupiter inspectors due to their reputation, being hailed as heroes by the Jupiter resistance and feared as demons by the Jupiter Empire remnants. Five years later, Minoru passed away.
Gallery[]
