New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Ground Zero

New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Ground Zero (新機動戦記ガンダムＷグランド・ゼロ, Shin Kidou Senki Gundam W: Ground Zero) is a one-shot manga written and illustrated by Reku Fuyunaga, originally released in Japan in 1998. The manga comprises four chapters and was published in English by Viz Comics from August to November 2000 as monthly issues, later collected in graphic-novel format by Viz Graphic Novels in April 2002. The story takes place after the conclusion of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, featuring Heero Yuy and the other Gundam pilots in a tense confrontation involving mind control, assassination, and the stolen Wing Zero.

Synopsis

Just when he thought life was returning to normal, Heero Yuy received a cryptic message from a person claiming to have stolen the Wing Zero and requesting a rendezvous at a remote space station. There he found the station deserted except for his fellow Gundam pilots, all of whom had received similar messages. But only a handful of people were capable of piloting the Wing Zero. As tension and distrust grew, Heero was pitted against his comrades with mind control, assassination, and a loaded gun thrown into the standoff.

The story begins with the Gundam pilots inside a computer room. Duo Maxwell pulled up data on all of them and then deleted it from the net when Heero said that all data related to them and their Gundams had been banned from the net.

Heero was later seen in a college basketball court, where he dashed forward and won the game for his team after several other students wondered who the transfer student was. Later, sitting on a bench, Heero had a flashback in which Relena told him that the war had ended. He then received an email from an unknown sender that referred to him as “White Knight” and stated that the sender had stolen the Wing Gundam Zero, directing him to point 4.20.17. When Heero went to where he had placed the Wing Zero, he discovered that it was, in fact, missing.

Development

Conception

Ground Zero was created by Reku Fuyunaga as a post-war story exploring the Gundam pilots’ attempts to return to normal life and the lingering threats they faced. The manga presented a mystery thriller format, with the pilots manipulated into confronting each other through an elaborate scheme involving the stolen Wing Zero.

Production

The manga was originally published in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten in 1998 as a one-shot volume. Viz Comics licensed it for English publication, initially releasing it as four monthly comic issues from August through November 2000, before collecting the issues into a single graphic novel in April 2002. The manga was also translated into German.

Reception

Ground Zero presented a number of incongruities with the primary Mobile Suit Gundam Wing timeline as well as other relevant works published after the completion of the series. Such examples include the plan to send the Gundams into the sun for disposal—a plan enacted during Endless Waltz—being suggested during the course of this story, as opposed to following the events of Battlefield of Pacifists. The manga also attempted to explain the Wing Gundam Zero’s design change into the new design created by Katoki Hajime to represent the Gundam in Endless Waltz, where it was presented as always having looked as such rather than a custom refit as it was referred to in Ground Zero.

Characters

The manga featured the five Gundam pilots:

Relena Darlian also appeared in flashbacks.

Mobile suits

The manga featured:

Chapters

The manga comprises four chapters:

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Afterward

Appearances

New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Ground Zero appeared in the following formats:

One-shot manga (Japan, 1998)
Four-issue monthly series (United States, August–November 2000)
Graphic novel collection (United States, April 2002)

External links

New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Ground Zero at About Gundam Wing
New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Ground Zero on the Gundam Wiki