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Hardie Steiner

Captain of the Principality of Zeon's elite Cyclops Team during the One Year War.
Jenxi Seow Published 15 Jun 2025 Updated 15 Jun 2025
Hardie Steiner

Hardie Steiner was the captain of the Principality of Zeon’s elite Cyclops Team during the One Year War. An experienced mobile suit pilot and special forces commander, he led several critical missions for Zeon before his death during Operation Rubicon in December UC 0079.

Biography

Early military service

Hardie Steiner was an experienced soldier who had served with the Principality of Zeon throughout much of the One Year War. By UC 0079, he had risen to the rank of Captain and was placed in command of the elite special forces unit known as the Cyclops Team. The team consisted of approximately twelve members trained in various skills including mobile suit piloting and espionage.

In March UC 0079, Steiner and the Cyclops Team departed from Granada with the 1st Terrestrial Mobile Division to participate in the First Landing Operation in Europe. Acting as vanguard to the main force, they disrupted communications, captured bridges, and threw the Earth Federation Forces into chaos. However, the harsh nature of their missions resulted in a high attrition rate among team members.

Gordon rescue operation

In November UC 0079, following the disastrous Battle of Odessa, Lieutenant Colonel Killing ordered the Cyclops Team to rescue a group of captured Zeon youth forces and, more importantly, Accountant Major Gordon from Federation imprisonment. The team had been reduced to only four members by this point: Steiner as team leader, Mikhail Kaminsky as de facto second-in-command, Andy Strauss as vehicle specialist, and Gabriel Ramirez Garcia as firearms and explosives expert.

Steiner successfully infiltrated the Federation base by posing as a Federation soldier whilst the rest of the team boarded their mobile suits to provide support. He found the tortured Gordon and freed him after the base commander departed. Due to the execution of several Zeon youths during Gordon’s interrogation, Steiner relented to Gordon’s pleas for revenge and confronted the base commander instead of making an immediate escape.

After the Federation soldiers were eliminated by the Cyclops Team’s mobile suits, Steiner made a significant moral decision. He handed his service pistol to Gordon, allowing him to take revenge against the base commander, but warned him that he could never go back from such actions. Following their escape, Steiner refused to take back his pistol from Gordon, believing it would serve as an eternal reminder of the accountant’s actions.

Arctic base assault

Following Gordon’s rescue, the Cyclops Team was assigned to stop a key Federation transport carrying the experimental mobile suit G-IV, using their new MSM-03C Hygogg and MSM-07E Z’Gok-E units. However, the mission proved costly when Steiner’s best friend and fellow teammate Andy Strauss was killed during the assault on the Earth Federation’s Arctic base on 9 December UC 0079. The team failed to prevent the transport from launching, though they tracked its destination to Side 6.

Operation Rubicon

After the Arctic base failure, Steiner obtained crucial intelligence about the RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1 “Alex” from his old friend Charlie, a Zeon spy who managed the Pink Elephant bar in Ribo colony. Lieutenant Colonel Killing subsequently assigned the Cyclops Team to execute Operation Rubicon—a mission to infiltrate the neutral Side 6 colony and either capture or destroy the new Gundam prototype.

Despite Steiner’s request for an experienced veteran to replace the late Strauss, Killing instead assigned rookie pilot Bernard Wiseman to the team. Steiner gradually realised that their mission was effectively a suicide operation and that his team was not expected to succeed in capturing the Gundam Alex. Instead, they were merely pawns in Killing’s larger plan to gain justification for a nuclear strike against Side 6.

Steiner demonstrated his tactical acumen by having Wiseman transport parts for their MS-18E Kämpfer to Ribo through a battlefield whilst posing as a construction worker. When young Alfred Izuruha reported their suspicious activities to the police, Steiner defused the situation and even made Alfred an honorary member of Zeon, both to prevent him from exposing their mission and to keep Wiseman occupied.

During a meeting with Charlie, Steiner expressed his frustration about being given a rookie pilot, being sent on a suicidal mission, and witnessing Zeon’s inevitable defeat. He remarked that Ribo was a peaceful colony and wondered if he might be able to settle there once his mission was complete.

Final mission and death

On 19 December UC 0079, when the Kämpfer was ready and the Gundam’s hangar located, Steiner led the final assault on the Federation base. The team obtained Federation uniforms from Charlie to infiltrate the facility, with Kaminsky acting as a decoy. Unfortunately, Wiseman compromised their cover by incorrectly answering security questions, leading to a firefight inside the base.

During the battle, Steiner was mortally wounded and Garcia ordered Wiseman to evacuate the captain whilst Garcia attempted to destroy the Gundam Alex with explosives. Garcia was killed before he could complete his mission, and Kaminsky was subsequently defeated by the Gundam’s pilot, Christina Mackenzie.

Wiseman managed to escape with the wounded Steiner to a nearby forest clearing. Upon regaining consciousness, Steiner immediately inquired about the Alex’s fate. Wiseman attempted to comfort his captain by lying that Kaminsky had successfully dealt with the Gundam, but Steiner saw through the deception. Nonetheless, he offered no reproach and shortly afterwards succumbed to his wounds. Wiseman later crafted a makeshift grave marker for his captain beside his damaged MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai.

Personality and traits

Steiner possessed a strong and calm personality that exuded natural leadership qualities. He was highly skilled at conversation and could pose convincingly as a harmless civilian when required by his missions. His professionalism was evident in how he consistently placed mission objectives ahead of personal pride or Zeon patriotism.

While Steiner did not enjoy unnecessary killing, he was pragmatic enough to use even children to accomplish his objectives when required. This duality reflected the harsh realities of warfare and special operations during the One Year War. Despite his willingness to involve civilians, he maintained a moral compass, as demonstrated by his decision to allow Gordon to take revenge whilst warning him of the consequences.

Steiner’s leadership style inspired loyalty amongst his team members, even as he recognised the futility of their final mission. His growing disillusionment with the war and Zeon’s prospects was evident in his private conversations, yet he continued to fulfil his duties with characteristic professionalism.

Skills and abilities

As captain of an elite special forces unit, Steiner possessed exceptional military skills across multiple disciplines. He was proficient in mobile suit piloting, having operated both amphibious units like the Z’Gok-E and the Hygogg during various missions. His expertise extended beyond combat to include infiltration, espionage, and tactical planning.

Steiner’s ability to pose as enemy personnel was particularly notable during the Gordon rescue operation, where he successfully infiltrated a Federation base whilst maintaining his cover. His tactical acumen was evident in his planning for Operation Rubicon, including his decision to have equipment transported covertly and his management of operational security.

His leadership capabilities were perhaps his most significant asset, enabling him to maintain unit cohesion despite heavy casualties and increasingly desperate circumstances. Even facing certain death, he continued to provide guidance and maintain discipline within his team.

Relationships

Andy Strauss

Andy Strauss served as Steiner’s best friend and the Cyclops Team’s vehicle specialist. Their friendship was one of the few personal connections that transcended the professional military relationship within the unit. Strauss’s death during the Arctic base assault deeply affected Steiner, contributing to his growing disillusionment with the war and his understanding that the Cyclops Team was being treated as expendable.

Bernard Wiseman

Bernard Wiseman joined the Cyclops Team as Strauss’s replacement, much to Steiner’s dismay. Initially frustrated with being assigned an inexperienced rookie when he had specifically requested a veteran, Steiner gradually came to appreciate Wiseman’s earnestness, even whilst recognising his limitations. During their final moments together, Steiner showed paternal concern for the young pilot and attempted to shield him from the reality of their mission’s failure.

Charlie

Charlie served as both an old friend and valuable intelligence source for Steiner. As a Zeon spy operating the Pink Elephant bar in Ribo colony, Charlie provided crucial information about the Gundam NT-1’s location and helped outfit the team for their infiltration mission. Their relationship represented one of the few stable connections from Steiner’s past, and their conversations revealed Steiner’s private thoughts about the war’s progression and his personal desires for peace.

Mobile suits

MSM-07E Z’Gok-E

Steiner piloted the MSM-07E Z’Gok-E during the mission to intercept the Federation transport carrying the G-IV experimental mobile suit. This amphibious mobile suit was well-suited to the team’s diverse operational requirements and demonstrated Steiner’s adaptability as a pilot across different mobile suit types.

MSM-03C Hygogg

The MSM-03C Hygogg was another amphibious unit used by Steiner during Cyclops Team operations. Like the Z’Gok-E, it provided the team with capabilities for both underwater and surface operations, essential for their special forces missions that often required unconventional approaches to targets.

Behind the scenes

Hardie Steiner was voiced by Yosuke Akimoto in the original Japanese version of Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket. The English dub featured Barry Stigler in the role. Akimoto would later become well known for voicing Master Asia in Mobile Fighter G Gundam.

The character’s name has appeared in various forms across different media. In the original OVA, he was referred to simply as “Steiner” in both dialogue and credits. Early video game appearances and English sources used “Steiner Hardy,” including 3rd Super Robot Wars and the now-defunct GundamOfficial website. However, since “Steiner” is a real German surname rather than a given name, newer official sources use “Hardie Steiner” with the Japanese romanisation ハーディ・シュダイナー.

The character’s design and background appear to draw inspiration from Lieutenant Colonel Kurt Steiner, the protagonist of Jack Higgins’ World War II novel The Eagle Has Landed, and Sergeant Steiner from Sam Peckinpah’s war film Cross of Iron. The given name “Hardy” may reference German actor Hardy Krüger, who frequently portrayed German officers in World War II films.

In an interesting character detail, Steiner was depicted with an apparent smoking habit in the series, though he was often shown holding unlit cigarettes in his mouth rather than actually smoking them. This behaviour suggested either a smoking cessation attempt or a nervous habit reflecting the stress of his missions.

Appearances

See also