The TS-MA2 Moebius is a Mobile Armor introduced in the anime Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.
Contents
Technology & Combat Characteristics
The TS-MA2 Moebius is a mass production version of the TS-MA2mod.00 Moebius Zero and served as the main machine for the Earth Alliance's space forces. Omitting the wired gunbarrels of the Moebius Zero, which only a few pilots can use effectively, the Moebius instead has a pair of built-in vulcan guns and is often equipped with four missiles and the same linear gun as the Moebius Zero. The missiles and linear gun can be replaced by other weapons, including a gatling gun, a nuclear missile, etc., allowing the Moebius to perform more varied roles than the Moebius Zero. The Moebius also have excellent mobility and can move at high speed in space.
However, when the First Alliance-PLANT War broke out, the Moebius was hopelessly outperformed by ZAFT's mobile suits, such as the ZGMF-1017 GINN, with the average kill ratio of the Moebius against a GINN stated to be between three-to-one and five-to-one. Despite this, the Moebius still proved useful in a support role, utilizing its speed for "hit-and-run" attacks, as demonstrated by the Ortygia squad.[1] The Moebius was eventually phased out of the frontlines, replaced by the GAT-01 Strike Dagger, but near the end of the war, the mobile armor was deployed in large numbers as nuclear missiles delivery platforms, showing that it can still be useful in certain situations.
Armaments
- Linear Gun
- Mounted directly beneath the unit's main body, the linear gun fires electromagnetically accelerated physical projectile and usually serves as the main weapon. This linear gun is based off the model used on the TS-MA2mod.00 Moebius Zero and can damage a mobile suit's armor or a warship's armor. However, the weapon's limited rate of fire and the Moebius's poor mobility when compared to a mobile suit negates much of its power. This linear gun can be switched with other weapons depending on the mission's needs.
- Missile
- Slung underneath the section between the main body and the engine pods, the Moebius is often outfitted with four missiles, two on each side. When the missiles are launched, they are first dropped before the missiles' on board computer activates the missiles' thrusters. The missiles are typically launched two at a time, and can be switched for other weapons depending on the mission's needs.
- 40mm Vulcan Gun
- The Moebius has a pair of built-in 40mm vulcan guns as its only fixed armament. The vulcan guns are small caliber armament that is useful for restricting the movement of enemy units and intercepting enemy's attacks, but are enough to damage a GINN's armor with repeated hits.
- Mk5 Nuclear Missile
- Amongst the optional weapon that can be mounted to the Moebius is a nuclear missile, but this is at the expense of carrying other weapons. When loaded with the nuclear missile, the Moebius is essentially a mobile missile platform for the weapon of mass destruction. The nuclear missile is later fitted with Neutron Jammer Canceller to negate the effects of Neutron Jammers.
- 45mm Gatling Gun
- Gai Murakumo's Moebius uses a Gatling gun in place of a Linear Gun, giving it a high rate of fire.
- Experimental Long-range Beam Cannon
- Mounted under the unit's body, it is an experimental beam weaponry and to make it work with the Moebius, the cannon is equipped with its own power unit. Although the beam cannon virtually doubles the Moebius's mass, it does gives the mobile armor better firepower.
History
Created before the First Alliance-PLANT War, the Moebius was initially a swift and powerful weapon, but it became obsolete when the ZGMF-1017 GINN was introduced by ZAFT. Until the introduction of Natural-pilotable mobile suits, the Moebius was the backbone of the Earth Alliance forces, despite its inferior performance against enemy mobile suits. Nevertheless, it was a single Moebius unit which fired the nuclear missile that destroyed the PLANT colony Junius Seven, triggering full scale war between the two forces.[2]
The Moebius was removed from frontline use by late June, CE 71, replaced by the GAT-01 Strike Dagger.[3] Nevertheless, in September, several squadrons were launched from the Earth Alliance's Agamemnon-class carriers as nuclear missiles delivery platforms during the Battle of Boaz and the Second Battle of Jachin Due. Most of these Moebius units were destroyed, along with the majority of the Strike Daggers.
Legacy
After the war, the Alliance fully replaced the Moebius with mobile suits, and by late C.E. 73, the Moebius' role as a nuclear missile platform had been taken by the GAT-04 Windam, which could be equipped with a Multi Striker carrying twice as many missiles and still be effective in combat. Despite the introduction of mobile suits, many within the Alliance sought to resurrect the mobile armor as their frontline weapon and during the Second Alliance-PLANT War, the Alliance deployed a new series of mobile armors developed by the Adukurf Mechano-Industries, including the successor of the Moebius, the TS-MB1B Euclid.[4]
Gallery
Lineart
Anime
.png "Moebius Monitor (Seed HD Ep26).png (2.83 MB)")
.png "Moebius Vulcan Guns Firing 01 (Seed HD Ep47).png (3.27 MB)")
.png "Moebius Missiles Firing 01 (Seed HD Ep47).png (2.83 MB)")
.png "Agamemnon Launching Mobeius 01 (Seed HD Ep47).png (3.01 MB)")
.png "EA Fleet 02 (SEED HD Ep48).png (3.19 MB)")
Games
Notes & Trivia
- In many ways, the Moebius is analogous to the Universal Century's RB-79 Ball as both have more similarities to conventional combat vehicles than mobile suits, and are drastically outclassed by their respective enemies' mobile suits.
Appearance
- Television Series
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
- Episode 1 (HD Remastered Episode 1), False Peace - (First Appearance)
- Episode 5 (HD Remastered Episode 5), Phase Shift Down
- Episode 6 (HD Remastered Episode 6), The Vanishing Gundam
- Episode 8 (HD Remastered Episode 8), The Songstress of The Enemy Forces
- Episode 9 (HD Remastered Episode 9), The Fading Light
- Episode 13 (HD Remastered Episode 13), Stars Falling in Space
- Episode 27 (HD Remastered Episode 25), Endless Rondo - (In Flashback(s))
- Episode 47 (HD Remastered Episode 45), The Nightmare Reborn
- Episode 48 (HD Remastered Episode 46), Day of Wrath
- Episode 49 (HD Remastered Episode 47), The Final Light
- Games
References
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED X Astray
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED PHASE-07, The Scar of Space
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED PHASE-41, Trembling World
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny PHASE-38, A New Flag
External links
