Siegel Clyne (シーゲル・クライン) is a character introduced in the anime Mobile Suit Gundam SEED. He is the father of Lacus Clyne and was Chairman of PLANT as well as a member of the moderate faction of the PLANT Supreme Council during the First Alliance-PLANT War.
Personality & Character[]
Siegel Clyne is in private an amicable and gentle person, as evident by his interaction with Athrun Zala and Kira Yamato. In public, he is the steadfast statesman and politician that battled the Sponsor Nations on the political battlefield at every turn and negotiated trade deals with nations on Earth. He is also a man of action, being the co-founder of PLANT's independence movement and led PLANT's struggle for independence. Siegel was seen as a very important figure within PLANT, as evidenced by him retaining a seat in the Supreme Council even after Patrick Zala was elected as his successor. Although he had dedicated his life to the independence of PLANT, Siegel harbored no ill will toward Naturals in general, and only opposed the Sponsor Nation's control of PLANT. During the first Alliance-PLANT war, Siegel tried every way to end the war quickly and deter any radical actions as much as he could on the part of PLANT.
Skills & Abilities[]
Physical Aspects & Clothing[]
History[]
Siegel Clyne was born in C.E. 22 in the Kingdom of Scandinavia. As the genetic enhancement procedure was still illegal around the world at the time, he, like many coordinators in his generation was born "illegally". Later in life, he moved to Lagrange Point 5 and participated in the construction of new space colonies.
In C.E. 43, Siegel met Patrick Zala in Lagrange Point 5. A few years later, when the coordinator population exceeded ten million, anti-coordinator organizations began carrying out acts of terrorism. Which caused Siegel and Patrick, along with others in the colonies to become increasingly dissatisfied as time goes on and the attacks continued.
In the 50s, Siegel laid the foundation for his lifework. Siegel and Patrick founded the political advocacy group Zodiac Alliance in C.E. 50, with the goal of obtaining autonomy, and independence for PLANT colonies. The two worked to abolish food production restrictions and secure self-defense rights for the PLANT, but their work was suppressed by the Sponsor Nations of PLANT, forcing the group to go underground. Despite the suppression, the Zodiac Alliance continued to grow its power and influence, attracting more followers. Around this time, Siegel married a woman, and in C.E. 55 the two had a daughter whom they named Lacus. A few years later, his wife passed away. In C.E. 58 Siegel along, with Patrick, was elected to the PLANT supreme council.
In the 60s, the call for independence within PLANT grew ever louder, and Siegel rose to prominence as one of the leaders of the independence-seeking PLANT. In C.E. 63 Siegel and Patrick became the leaders of a Supreme Council faction that sought independence from the Sponsor Nations, at the same year, militarization, as well as research into mobile suit's military application, also began in secret. In C.E. 65 Zodiac Alliance rebranded itself as the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty (ZAFT), three years later, PLANT's militia adopted the ZAFT moniker. In C.E. 68 Siegel was elected Chairman of the Supreme Council, which was already controlled by the independence-seeking ZAFT. Sponsor Nations responded to the election result with a show of armed force, and PLANT started to carry out a military expansion of its own, resulting in a standoff.
That same year, Siegel signed secret trade treaties with United States of South America and Oceania Union; exporting PLANT's manufactured goods to these power blocs in exchange for food imports. Learning of these treaties, the sponsor nations demanded the dismissal of Chairman Clyne, the dissolution of the PLANT Supreme Council, and the complete renunciation of autonomy for the PLANT. These demands were rejected by the PLANT.
In C.E. 69, Siegel ordered the colonies Junius 7, 8, 9, and 10 remodeled for agricultural production, allowing PLANT to become self-sufficient in food production. The sponsor nations, determined to prevent the PLANTs from producing their own food, began intimidation maneuvers. At this point ZAFT and its mobile suit forces made their combat debut, driving the combined forces of the Sponsor Nations out of the PLANT space. Using the new-founded legitimacy and power from the military victory, Clyne issued demands for complete autonomy and trade equality to the sponsor nations. Siegel also promised to halt all exports to Sponsor Nations should no response arrive by January 1 of the following year.
First Alliance-PLANT War[]
In C.E. 70, the United Nations hosted the Copernicus Conference in an attempt to break the deadlock between PLANT and the Sponsor Nations. Siegel was delayed due to technical issues with his ship and was thus spared from the terrorist bombing that killed everyone else at the conference. On February 18th, C.E. 70, following the Bloody Valentine Incident, Siegel issued PLANT's formal declaration of independence, and swore to resist the Earth Alliance to the very end. In order to reduce any potential support for the Alliance among Earth's nations, he offered to give trading preference to nations that decline to join the Alliance.
During the war, Siegel tried everything in his power to end the war quickly and restore peace between Naturals and Coordinators. However, his term ended before Operation Spitbreak and he was succeeded by the more aggressive Patrick.[1] The two disagreed on various fundamental issues regarding Coordinators and Naturals; Patrick viewed Coordinators as the new mankind and had no interest in reverting to Naturals; Siegel didn't see Coordinators as the next step in evolution and was very concerned regarding the sterility occurring in third-generation Coordinators.[2]
As Operation Spitbreak began, Siegel was taken aback when Eileen Canaver informed him that the entire PLANT Supreme Council had been deceived by Patrick and the true target of the operation was not Panama Base, but EA headquarters JOSH-A.[3] Following the failure of Operation Spitbreak, and the discovery that Lacus helped Kira Yamato steal the ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam,[3] Siegel and Lacus were deemed by Patrick to be traitors.[4] Patrick fabricated accusations about the Clynes leaking vital information about Operation Spitbreak's true target to the EA, leading to the operation's failure.[4] He also ordered the detention of members of the Supreme Council who sympathized with the Clynes.[4] Siegel went into hiding, protected by loyal officers, but was found and killed with everyone around him by Patrick's men.[5]
Gallery[]
Anime[]
Notes & Trivia[]
- Siegel's Seiyuu, Yōsuke Akimoto, also voiced Master Asia from Mobile Fighter G Gundam and Hardie Steiner from Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket.
Appearances[]
- Television Series
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
- PHASE-07, The Scar of Space
- First Appearance
- PHASE-08, The Songstress of The Enemy Forces
- Mentioned only
- PHASE-10, Crossroads
- Mentioned only
- PHASE-15, The Respective Solitudes
- Flashback(s) Only; HD Remaster Only
- PHASE-20, On a Calm Day
- PHASE-32, In the Promised Land
- PHASE-34, Seen and Unseen
- PHASE-36, In the Name of Justice
- In Flashback(s)
- PHASE-41, Trembling World
- Decease
- PHASE-42, Lacus Strikes
- PHASE-07, The Scar of Space
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
- PHASE-20, Past
- Movies
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom
- Flashback(s) Only
References[]
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED PHASE-32, In the Promised Land
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED PHASE-20, On a Calm Day
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mobile Suit Gundam SEED PHASE-34, Seen and Unseen
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Mobile Suit Gundam SEED PHASE-36, In the Name of Justice
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED PHASE-41, Trembling World
Cosmic Era timeline from Archived Gundam Official Website