Field Marshal Noventa

Field Marshal Noventa (ノベンタ元帥, Nobenta Gensui) was a high-ranking official in the United Earth Sphere Alliance and advocate of pacifism in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. When the Gundams began their attacks on OZ bases, Noventa convened Alliance officials to advocate demilitarization and opening dialogue with the colonies. His assassination on 19 May AC 195 became the catalyst for OZ’s coup against the Alliance, eliminating the Alliance’s peace faction and allowing the Romefeller Foundation to advance their plans.

Overview

Field Marshal Noventa represented the possibility of peaceful resolution between Earth and the colonies. His death at the hands of the Gundams—manipulated by OZ through false intelligence—demonstrated the ruthlessness of Treize Khushrenada’s strategy and the tragic consequences of warfare.

Appearance

Noventa was an elderly man with white hair and black eyes. His dignified bearing and formal military attire reflected his high rank within the Alliance. His aged appearance suggested wisdom and experience, qualities that informed his pacifistic philosophy.

Personality & character

Noventa possessed genuine compassion and strategic vision. Unlike many Alliance officials who viewed the colonies as territories to be controlled, Noventa recognized the futility of continued oppression and sought diplomatic solutions. He maintained faith that the Gundam pilots would understand peaceful intentions once demilitarization began, demonstrating his belief in human rationality and the possibility of reconciliation.

His advocacy for peace required considerable courage, as it directly opposed the militaristic faction within the Alliance led by General Septum and secretly undermined by OZ.

Biography

Advocacy for peace

When the Gundams began their attacks on OZ bases, Alliance officials convened at the New Edwards base to discuss the crisis. Field Marshal Noventa advocated demilitarization of the Alliance military and opening dialogue with the colonies to end their futile oppression.

However, General Septum argued that the Gundams were sent by the colonies to destroy the Alliance. Noventa reasoned that once they began their peace plans, he was confident that the Gundam pilots would understand their intentions and cease hostilities.

Assassination

Just as the conference progressed, the Gundams attacked the base, having been led by false information from OZ that all the OZ leaders had gathered there. Treize Khushrenada had deliberately fed this misinformation to the Gundam pilots, knowing they would attack and eliminate the Alliance’s peace faction.

Noventa insisted that they contact the pilots of the Gundams to explain the situation, but Treize had the entire conference evacuated before meaningful communication could occur. As Noventa’s plane departed, it was struck down by Heero Yuy piloting the Wing Gundam, killing Noventa and all Alliance advocates for peace.

With their deaths, OZ immediately began to simultaneously turn on their Alliance cohorts, furthering the Romefeller Foundation’s plans for control of the Earth Sphere.

Aftermath

Heero later sought out Noventa’s daughter and wife, seeking to receive judgment for killing the Field Marshal. This encounter demonstrated the weight of guilt Heero carried for unintentionally eliminating the one Alliance leader who genuinely sought peace.

Noventa’s assassination became a pivotal moment in the Eve Wars, demonstrating how OZ manipulated the Gundam pilots into serving the foundation’s interests whilst eliminating obstacles to their coup. The loss of Noventa and his peace faction removed any possibility of diplomatic resolution between the Alliance and the colonies, ensuring continued bloodshed.

Relationships

Sylvia Noventa

Noventa’s granddaughter Sylvia represented the personal tragedy of his death. When Heero sought out Noventa’s family to face judgment, his encounter with Sylvia forced him to confront the human cost of his actions. Her existence served as a reminder that military targets were also fathers, grandfathers, and family members.

Heero Yuy

Though they never met directly, Noventa’s assassination profoundly affected Heero. Killing a genuine advocate for peace whilst believing he was striking at OZ leadership demonstrated to Heero how easily he and the other pilots had been manipulated. This realization contributed to Heero’s evolving understanding of warfare’s complexities and the importance of distinguishing between true enemies and those seeking peace.

Treize Khushrenada

Treize orchestrated Noventa’s death through careful manipulation, feeding false intelligence to the Gundam pilots about the conference’s attendees. By eliminating Noventa and the peace faction, Treize removed the primary obstacle to OZ’s coup whilst simultaneously framing the colonies and their Gundams as indiscriminate killers. This demonstrated Treize’s strategic brilliance and his willingness to sacrifice innocents for his vision.

Behind the scenes

Field Marshal Noventa’s character parallels General Revil from the Universal Century timeline. Both were the highest-ranking commanders of their respective Earth factions and attempted to make peace with the space colonies, only to have their efforts cut short by assassination.

Noventa’s brief appearance and tragic death served to establish the moral complexity of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing’s conflict. His assassination demonstrated that not all Alliance officials were oppressive tyrants and that the Gundam pilots’ black-and-white view of the conflict was dangerously simplistic.

Appearances

Field Marshal Noventa appeared in:

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (TV series)

External links

Field Marshal Noventa on the Gundam Wiki