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Mobile
Suit(s) of Choice: Gundam Deathscythe, Gundam Deatscythe Hell
Mobile Suits
Piloted: Gundam Deathscythe, Gundam Deathscythe Hell, Space-Type
Leo, Gundam Wing Zero
Sex: Male
Age: 15
Allegiance(s): Colonies
Alias: God of Death
"You'll all
die! Anyone whose seen me's got a date with his maker!"
~Duo Maxwell
Duo
Maxwell, the Actual Person
Energetic, boisterous, and
gregarious, and always wearing a provocative grin, Duo Maxwell is
by far the most happy-go-lucky of the five Gundam Pilots. Being
of American descent and distinguished by his waist-long hair and
his black suit complete with a ministers collar, nothing ever
seems to be wrong with Duo. He always manages to crack a joke out
of the toughest of situations.
That, of course, doesn't mean he's some stupid clown or anything. Quite the contrary - Duo can be very serious and very emotional. He's just not as depressive or introverted and reclusive as, oh, say Hiiro and Trowa. He likes to talk. He likes to smile. He likes to laugh, and he likes to make others laugh. He fights to make others happy. He loves to be the author of any smile.
Duo, however, can be a very irrational person. A lot of times he will rush into a situation before looking or thinking twice...maybe even before looking and thinking at all. This, of course, has the tendency to land him in some pretty sticky situations. It does, however, bring further testification to the point that Duo is capable of feeling emotions.
When Duo was a young boy, the war made him an orphan. Along with other orphaned friends, to which he was sort of the leader, he used to steal food in the Colony that he lived in...it was the only way for them to eat. One day, however, they attempted to steal from a Federation camp's food supply and were caught. Fortunately, before the kids could be punished or maybe even killed, a priest that watched the whole ordeal took them into his home - the Maxwell Church. It was there that Duo received his priest's outfit and got his hair, which was always long and he refused to have it cut, braided. Duo, the priest (known only as Father) and the nun that braided his hair, Sister Helen, always used to have discussions about the presence of God. Duo didn't believe in God because He should stop the war...but he believed in Shinigami, the God of Death, since he had seen so many corpses in his lifetime. While all the other kids were eventually adopted, Duo kept being sent back because he kept starting fights and such. However, Father and Sister Helen loved Duo immensely, and whenever the kid was there, laughter could be heard ringing throughout the church's halls.
One day, however, a rebellion sprung up right next to the Maxwell Church, which of course resulted in a battle between the Federation and the rebels. The rebels, of course without permission, took refuge in the church. Father and Sister Helen attempted to calm down the rebellion and were beaten up. Duo had grown to love Father and Sister Helen, and especially the time of peace the three of them had been enjoying together. The rebellion's leader informed them that all they needed to ensure their freedom was one mobile suit....just one. So, being the masterful thief that he had learned to be, Duo agreed to sneak in and get them their mobile suit if they would leave the Maxwell Church alone and take their fighting somewhere else.
He snuck in to the Federation's base and stole a truck with a mobile suit, the whole time ignoring the gunfire aimed at him, angered and asking himself why the war had to start again, when everyone had been so happy with peace. However, when he drove up to the Maxwell Church, all he found in its place was a mountain of rubble and the dying form of Sister Helen, who told him that Father had thought only of Duo until the bitter end. She informed Duo that the Federation had arrived and destroyed the church. She talked a little more about Father, who had preached peace until it had gotten him killed. Duo, tears running down his cheeks and angered, cursed Father's stupidity. Her hand on his cheek, Sister Helen wished God to protect Duo, and then passed away. Duo threw his head back and screamed into the smoldering rubble and the army of corpses that surrounded him.
The Death toll of that rebellion was 245. In the end, it took the cooperation of the Federation and Oz forces to calm the rebellion down. The event became known as "The Maxwell Church Tragedy." Duo, once again orphaned, donned the last name Maxwell and kept his priests' outfit and always kept his hair braided.
Eventually Duo attempted to sneak onto a spacecraft, apparently hitching a ride to somewhere. He was caught and brought to the leader of the craft, Professor G. Duo struggled against the arms holding him back and demanded he be let go, and, to the surprise of everyone, Professor G. ordered his release. Professor G. was interested in Duo - after all, he was only a kid and had broken through the defenses on his ship that he had thought were flawless. And that's how Professor G., the creator of the Deathscythe, and Duo Maxwell, the God of Death, met.
Duo's phsyical brute strength is never really shown all that much in the series, so there's no way to judge how massively strong he is, like with Hiiro. He is not by any means, however, limited to power only in mobile suits. He's got as much control over his own phsyical body as any other Gundam pilot (well, maybe not as much as Hiiro or Wu Fei...)...we're just not sure if he's able to snap a metal bar in two with his pinky finger. However, using stealthy tactics and evasive techniques, he can easily complete any mission on foot.
Duo is the proud pilot of the Gundam Deathscythe. Holding a sickle and cloaked in black and gray, Deathscythe is almost exactly the chilling embodiment of all the characteristics that make the Angel of Death so intimidating....and maybe that's the reason that Duo's given himself the nickname "God of Death" (Note: "God of Death" is masked by the term "Great Destroyer" in the daytime showings of Gundam Wing on Cartoon Network. In the nighttime airings, it is again the correct "God of Death"). While Duo's the only Gundam pilot that's given himself a nickname, I must say he picked a damn good one.
Fueled dominantly by his quest to liberate the Colonies he loves so much and the prospect of being able to go home after his mission is completed, Duo continues to fight, rarely developing serious rivals with anyone. Sneaking into facilities and distracting his enemies with his patented blinding light explosives, Duo destroys everything and everyone in his way. Grudges, chivalry, integrity, revenge, pride...such things are virtually meaningless to Duo. Don't get me wrong....he's not a jerk or anything like that. He just doesn't take that kind of stuff as seriously as Hiiro Yuy, Zechs Merquise, Treize Khushrenada or Wu Fei Chang.
Duo also seems to have some sort of subconscious fascination with Hiiro Yuy. He first met Hiiro at the receiving end of the barrel of his gun...realizing that Hiiro was the pilot of the Wing Gundam, Duo then rescued Hiiro from the hospital he was currently being contained at. Ever since then, the two have bickered, rivaled, and fought...both against and with each other. It's manifest from his reactions (especially the way that Duo worries about Hiiro) that Duo considers Hiiro one of the best friends he's got. And I'm sure Hiiro feels the same way....he just doesn't want to admit it.
Duo has also formed an important relationship with the girl named Hildy. The two of them first met when Duo signed up at Oz in order to sneak in and uncover some information...he then bumped into the Oz Officer, Hildy. Hildy soon realized Duo's true identity, and was able to learn something important from the God of Death...she learned to be courageous and strong enough to stand up and fight for what she honestly believed in. And, if you ask me...I'd say that the relationship between the two eventually blossoms into something a little more serious than "just friends," if you catch my drift. ^_^
Anyhow, Duo Maxwell is an important asset to the Gundam team. Not only is he strong and powerful, especially when paired with his Gundams Deathscythe and Deathscythe Hell, but it's also sometimes his support, obvious love, and encouragement that act as the only things that keep others standing and fighting...his influence on Hildy is a prime example of that.
"THE
GOD OF DEATH HAS RETURNED FROM HELL!"
~Duo Maxwell
Duo
Maxwell's Mobile Suit Piloting Skills
Duo just simply
wouldn't be a Gundam pilot if he didn't have any skills behind
the controls of a mobile suit. While I'm not sure if Duo went
through the rigorous training that Hiiro went through, there's
simply no way he could rival and defeat adult mobile suit pilots
without having some form of formal training.
Duo and his mobile suit Deathscythe seemed to have formed a special bond between each other. While it may not be as strong, dependent, and significant as the bond between Wu Fei and Nataku, it's still pretty damn strong. The two....well, they just simply "fit." The pairing of the two of them makes sense, and it seems like they get along well together. The way Duo reacted when Trowa was forced to destroy Deathscythe in front of his very eyes is enough to show how much the two matter to each other.
Duo, however, is not limited to only piloting that one suit. While he doesn't pilot a whole plethora of them like Hiiro does, he still gets his fair share of variety, and he's fully capable of kicking butt in all of them. Duo's even had his turn behind the controls of Wing Zero...and the way he reacted when he visualized himself accidentally hitting a Colony is further testament to just how much he loves and values his home.
While I can't say Duo's the best mobile suit pilot in the series, he's, of course, high on the chart.
"Tag
along...on my journey into hell!"
~Duo Maxwell
PJ's
Opinion of Duo Maxwell
Duo's definitely one
of my favorite characters. He may not be my favorite (that goes
to Hiiro Yuy, without a doubt), but I like Duo for a number of
different reasons.
For one, he's just cool. Honestly, the first time I saw the commercial centered on Duo on Cartoon Network, I thought, "Whoa, he looks cool." And he was. I also enjoy the way Duo acts. I guess you could kind of say that he's the "comic relief" of the show. He's pretty funny when he wants to be...but don't get me wrong. He's fully capable of being just as serious. Also, there's the whole "God of Death" thing. Man...I don't think I need to explain (well, I at least I hope I don't have to...) how freaking kick ass that is. And then there's the fact that in the dub he's voiced by one of my all time favorite American voice actors, Scott McNeil...that's a sure plus. And perhaps I'm just glad to see an American character be so powerful and respective and....well.....frankly, so accurate in a Japanese anime. That's a definite way to go.
Whatever your reasons are, there's no doubting that Duo Maxwell is an awesome character. How anyone could not like him is beyond me.
"My name is
Duo...I run, I hide, but I never lie! Duo Maxwell!"
~Duo Maxwell
Written by PJ