Zechs Merquise

Mobile Suit(s) of Choice: Tallgeese, Tallgeese III, Gundam Epyon
Mobile Suits Piloted: Tallgeese, Tallgeese III, Gundam Epyon, Wing Gundam Zero, Leo

Sex: Male
Age: 19
Alias: Milliardo Peacecraft, The Lightning Count, "Wind"
Allegiance(s): Colonies(?)
Alliances held with: OZ, Earth Sphere Alliance, Romefeller, White Fang

"I switch between two masks. My experience in battle has taught me to be cunning like that."
~Zechs Merquise

Zechs Merquise, the Actual Person
A wandering, shameful soul searching for something to protect in order to earn the title of a true soldier, Zechs, known around the world as the infamous Lightning Count, is one of the most confused and probably advanced characters in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. No other character has changed sides or his own mind as much as Zechs himself has. Not even Wu Fei seems as lost in his crusade as Zechs does.

Zechs is the son of the King of the Peacecraft monarchy, and the designated heir to the throne of the Sanc Kingdom. He is also the older brother of Relena Dorlain/Peacecraft. When the Federation destroyed the Sanc Kingdom, which was a devout pacifist nation and had no means with which to defend itself, Zechs was forever scarred. While he survived, he vowed revenge on his enemies and promised his dead father that he would someday rebuild the Peacecraft monarchy.

Zechs is a very laconic soul, full of shame and hatred for the hypocrite he's become. As a matter of fact, that's the main reason he wears that ugly, disfiguring mask. Its not because it looks pretty - it's because he's trying to hide the remaining shreds of dignity he has left from oblivion. He is, after all, being forced to fight and shed blood, which is basically like pissing all over his father's grave, in the hopes of someday bringing an end to all this idiocy. Countering idiocy with hypocrisy. You can see why he chooses to hide himself in shame, can't you?

Zechs became one of the most widely known heroes of OZ, excelling in tactical issues and mobile suit piloting skills. He became a figurehead of the Alliance and OZ and was widely respected. When the series begins, we notice how cocky and sure of himself Zechs is. We wonder if perhaps in getting himself close to his enemies and gaining escalating power that he lost view of his true goal, which was to exact revenge and sometime stand at the throne of a new, rebuilt Sanc Kingdom.

If this is the truth, then the appearance of the Gundams obviously woke him up to his true objective. He first battles with a Gundam pilot when a carrier he is on notices an unauthorized shuttle heading for Earth. Its none other than Hiiro Yuy in the Wing Gundam and Zechs, in what his underlings see as a rash action, challengesd Hiiro in a Leo suit. Amazingly, Zechs manages to grab onto the Gundam with his Leo and abandon it so that Wing, unable to pry from the Leo's hold, plummetts into the sea.

The appearance of the Gundams intrigues Zechs and sparks something inside of him. Suddenly, he realizes that he's getting nowhere being simply the figurehead of OZ and desires to be more.

It is at the Corsica Base that, after making a request, Zechs is introduced to the Tallgeese, a prototype of all Leos and a dangerously violent machine. Seeing the potential in the ancient machine, Zechs becomes determined to learn to use the mobile suit to defeat the Gundams, but more importantly, to reclaim the Sanc Kingdom.

After a failed attempt in which Zechs suffers a heart attack from the roughness of the Tallgeese, the Sanc Kingdom is reclaimed, not by Zechs, but by the hand of his friend, Otto. Otto, who was injured in a test flight of the Tallgeese, sees the seriousness in the situation and willingly sacrifices his life for Zechs's cause. With Zechs screaming for him to turn around, Otto flies the Tallgeese into a kamikaze run, straight into the heart of the Kingdom. The next day, Zechs walks amongst the rubble, finds a picture of his father, and takes a closer look at himself.

He takes off his helmet, and we realize why, in fact, Zechs wears the mask at all. He acknowledges the fact that all he's done is lived a life that counters the teachings of his father, and that his hands are too stained with blood to lead a pacifist nation. He finds a portrait of himself holding a baby Relena and finds the next objective in his crusade.

After the battle in which Hiiro self destructs, Zechs realizes just how dirty of an organization OZ is and finds it easier to part with it. Against their orders, Zechs takes a group of supporters into the depths of Antarctica, where he looks forward to a duel between himself and Hiiro. Their fight is interrupted, once by Relena and the next time by OZ search parties. Trowa and Hiiro offer to help Zechs fight off the party, which consists of over 100 Aries suits, but Zechs refuses and rushes into the midst of battle, alone, proclaiming, "Glory to all the colonies!"

Zechs is captured and everyone is suddenly bitter towards him. Many want him executed or courtmartialled. But his old friend, Treize Khushrenada, comes up with a better plan - that Zechs becomes a legend by sacrificing himself for OZ. Zechs agrees and fights off a huge group of Aries, Pisces, and Cancer suits, but still miraculously survives. In the fight, however, his mask cracks and shatters on his head, signifying Milliardo Peacecraft's freedom. Zechs crashes in the Tallgeese, crawls out of the cockpit, and faints on the beach.

He is rescued by Howard, who helps Zechs go into outer space, where, lost more now than ever, he will search for a cause. Claiming to be a representative of the Sanc Kingdom, Zechs meets with the peaceful personality of Lady Une and sees a glimmer of hope for peace in the future. However, too many bloody battles in the calm of outer space outweigh that struggling hope big time.

Eventually, in a fight, Tallgeese is destroyed and Zechs is able to climb into the cockpit of the Wing Zero, which was about to be destroyed. Amazed with the strength and frightened by the Zero System, Zechs takes the Wing Zero and goes looking for allies in the depths of outer space - mainly, the Gundam pilots.

As fate would have it, Zechs ran into Wu Fei, who was on one of his kicks at the moment, and in a fit of rash rage, attacked Zechs. They fought, Zechs not really wanting to, but Wu Fei just wouldn't listen to him. Wu Fei leaves, and Zechs is left alone, lost again.

When the Sanc Kingdom on earth is attacekd, Zechs rushes to earth, but arrives too late - the monarchy lies in shambles and the only sign of life left is Hiiro, stalking around in the Gundam Epyon. They fight, and the Zero Systems in both suits drive them to the brinks of insanity - they fall from the cockpits and sit across from each other, silently. Eventually, an OZ investigation party appears in the distance and Hiiro tosses Zechs the helmet of the Epyon - he figures that he understands Treize, the manufacturer of the suit, and therefor can understand the suit better than Hiiro could.

Later, whilst brooding in a tiny restaraunt, Zechs is approached by Quinze, the leader and founder of the White Fang, who offers Zechs a spot at the helm of the organization. THey need a figurehead and a symbol, and Quinze figures a former OZ hero and a Gundam will do nicely. To everyone's terror, Zechs, on television broadcasted to everyone in the colonies and in the world, claims his leadership of the WHite Fang, and war on the Earth sphere.

It is under Zechs's leadership that White Fang really prospers and becomes the terrible powerhouse it does. Suddenly, the Zechs Merquise and Milliardo Peacecraft everyone knew is gone, his hopes and dreams shattered, everyone's opinion of him warped insanely. No one, not even the woman in love with him or his blood sister, know what to think of him, and, with no other option, battle erupts.

Relena attempts to peacefully talk pacifism into him, but he simply ignores her, boarding her in the Libra but not listening to her pleads. Treize, meanwhile, on Earth organizes an outrageous attack force and an epic final battle appears inevitable. Suddenly, Zechs and his Libra are the targets of both Treize and the Gundams.

Treize offers Zechs a chance to settle the whole thing with a simple duel - that way, only one man's blood must be spilled. But Zechs declines, and Treize understands. The battle begins. Zechs stands atop a section, watching the battle and awaiting his opponent's appearance.

Meanwhile, Noin, who was with the Gundam pilots and Sally and Howard, breaks from the group when they begin their infiltration of Libra. She aplogizes and disappears, and Quatre understands perfectly. Soon she stands behind Zechs, whose still watching for Hiiro, and simply makes one request - to be able to stand by him. He accepts, and they stand and wait for Wing Zero to whisk Hiiro to the final battle.

Hiiro arrives, and even after everyone else stops fighting, the two of them continue to battle each other. They argue both verbally and physically, and, via Noin, the battle is transmitted throughout all of humanity. Eventually, Hiiro succeeds in chopping off Epyon's arm. Zechs, defeated, kneels and awaits death. Hiiro leaves him, however, to try and stop the falling Libra.

However, out of ammunition, Hiiro's only option appears to be self detonation. Suddenly Zechs appears and, claiming to be a true warrior, he thrusts his sword into the energy source of the Libra block. With Hiiro yelling for him to stop and the flames engulfing him, Zechs tells Hiiro they'll meet again.

An empty grave is resurrected in Zechs's rememberance, but his lover, Noin, refuses to accept him as dead.

Zechs has some pretty interesting relationships with the characters, the most important being the ones he holds with Relena Peacecraft, Lucrezia Noin, Treize Khushrenada, and Hiiro Yuy. First, his relationship with his sister. Zechs has always known himself to be a blood relative of Relena, but Relena just recently acquires such knowledge during the series. They don't get a chance to participate n friendly sibling activities, however, since most of their time together is spent on opposing forces of the war. While they have differing views, however, its obvious they love each other - they simply wouldn't go to such extremes as to risk their lives on the decisions of the other if they didn't. While we may not see too much love outside of a shaky, suspicious embrace, we can tell they do, in fact, trust each other.

Treize and Zechs, however, have a much weirder relationship. They were children together and grew up alongside one another. Treize, whose leadership and influential skills are godly and Zechs, whose got a knack for power and becoming a sort of symbol, made a perfect team - and for a while, they cooperated with one another. They had no trouble parting sides, however, and even end up on completely opposite forces in the final battle. But their frienship still shows through in such scenes as the one where Treize appears in Zechs's mobile suit comm system to request he rescues Lady Une, one of the few people in the world who understands him. Zechs agrees and does so, because he, too, is one of the very few that understand Treize Khushrenada.

Lucrezia Noin and Zechs share a shaky romance, unstable due to the presence of war. While they have differing views and comrades in the final battle, it wasn't always that way. Noin, who's more comfortable with her feelings than Zechs, has openly expressed her love for him. Zechs, while he never says it verbally, shows it with his actions instead of his mouth. They're love shines in scenes such as the one where, in the midst of a skirmish before the final battle, Noin is unable to shoot Zechs and Zechs is unable to destroy Noin. Maybe that's why Noin is the only one so confident in Zechs, so utterly in love with him, that she refuses to accept he can ever die...

And finally, we come to Zechs's relationship with Hiiro. They adopt a rivalry in the first episode and fuel its fire throughout the entire series. While its obvious they don't hate each other, they disagree with each other. In truth, they both may be the only two true soldiers left in existence. They may be coming from different sides, but they understand, even if they disagree with, each other, and that's probably the reason why they enjoy facing off with each other so much.

Did Zechs accomplish his goal? Wherever he is, be it in the afterlife or somewhere in space, is he satisfied with himself? Can he finally sleep at night with the assurance of his soldiership? Gundam Wing comes to a close with us unsure of these answers...

Endless Waltz...

"Treize, quit following me around."
~Zechs Merquise

In Endless Waltz...
Zechs appears in Endless Waltz in the office of Lady Une, a Preventer, and offers to fight for her, under the codename "Preventer Wind." We don't see his face, but we recognize both the voice and that smile.

See, if you ask me, Zechs was one of the characters that received the most out of Endless Waltz. When Gundam Wing came to an end, to many questions regarding him were left too open and we're unsatisfied. We want to know what happened to him, whether or not he reached his goal. Has his mental anguish finally been laid to rest? We really don't know.

Then Zechs appears in Endless Waltz, almost a completely different person. Fighting alone, as usual, he lays waste to MO-III, after calling Mr. Dechem Barton's bluff. Already, we realize just how much more confident Zechs is in himself and how he's finally leaped over a few major psychological hurdles.

Later, with Noin struggling to stay by his side once again, Zechs attempts to simply disarm enemy mobile suits, all of which are striving to kill him. He doesn't just up and kill the people, he just tries to simply break the machine and allow the pilot time to escape. Am I the only one that finds this really cool?

And, probably most importantly, we really see the effect of how much Zechs has grown up when he shows shame in how he acted in GW in the line, "I WILL NOT ALLOW ANOTHER MILLIARDO PEACECRAFT TO BE BORN!" This shows shame in what he was and pride in what he's become, and it's really probably the major signification of just how much Endless Waltz did for the character of Zechs Merquise.

"Rest in peace, the betrayed and outraged Milliardo Peacecraft."
~Zechs Merquise

Zechs Merquise's Mobile Suit Piloting Skills
Zechs is a great pilot, and it truly shows throughout the series.

From the very beginning, when he's able to take down Hiiro's Gundam with a pansy Leo suit, we can see that this guy is really something else. When he's the only one that can see any potential in the rickety old Tallgeese, we see that he is really something else. When we see the determination flaming inside of him to conquer the Tallgeese, we see this guy is really something else. And when we see him conquer the Tallgeese to such an extreme that he begins to think its breaking down, when in reality he's just become so fast that its response time seems slow, we see that this guy is really something else.

Zechs is one of the few that can cope comfortably with the Zero System, as well. He's willingly piloted both Wing Zero and Epyon, and wasn't afraid of the cockpit, although it has had its turn to screw with the man's mind a few times here and there.

Its also good to see that Zechs understands mobile suits for what they really are, too. We can tell he truly appreciates the Tallgeese when its destroyed and we see the 'funeral' Zechs gives it, and also when he uses three measly mobile dolls in the way they should be used and accomplishes running circles around four of the Gundam pilots all by himself.

A great majority of Zechs greatness is contributed to his understanding of mobile suits and just how comfortable he is with them.

"I still haven't acknowledged I'm one of the weak people in the world!"
~Zechs Merquise

PJ's Opinion of Zechs Merquise
Well, personally, when Gundam Wing came to an end, I wasn't quite sure what to think.

On one hand, we've got this really cool character. I mean, just look at him, preferrably without his turtle shell mask on. He just screams, I'm cool. And not only that, but he's really deep, if you can understand where he's coming from.

However, on the other hand, we've got a mountain of purposes, intentions, and goals, all of which are about as clear as mud. Sometimes, we question what the guy's doing. But, if you apply some deep, critical thought, you can usually find a reason behind just about everything he does. The MAIN PET PEEVE, however, is how unsatisfied Gundam Wing leaves you, when it comes to the area of Zechs.

I mean, you really want to know what happened to the guy. You feel sympathetic with him, even if you scoff at the awkwardness of some of the things he does. Thankfully, when Endless Waltz rolls around, all our fears are cast away and all our wishes granted.

So, in conclusion, Zechs is a really cool character. One of my favorites, definitely. He could almost be considered a Gundam Pilot, but its best to just keep it simple and convenient by keeping that circle closed to just our five Gundam boys. Its great to have someone like him around, you know? And when we see him develop throughout the series, especailly in Endless Waltz, it just makes you want to stand up and cheer for the man.

"My hands, they are too stained with blood. I'm completely unfit to lead the Peacecraft monarchy."
~Zechs Merquise

Written by PJ