Mike Howard (Howard) – Gundam Wing

Mike Howard (マイク・ハワード, Maiku Hawādo), better known simply as Howard (ハワード, Hawādo), was a Sweeper Group engineer in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. He was one of the original six scientists who designed the OZ-00MS Tallgeese, along with the men who would become the Gundam Scientists. Unlike them, however, he chose to live a relatively calm life, operating a salvage boat on Earth as part of the Sweeper Group. His Hawaiian shirts and wraparound shades made him the most colourfully dressed character in the series.

Overview

Howard represented a different path from his fellow Tallgeese designers. Whilst Doctor J, Professor G, and the others built Gundams and plotted revenge, Howard stayed on Earth, established a legitimate business, and chose to help the Gundam pilots without sacrificing his principles or others’ lives.

Appearance

Howard was an older man with grey hair, typically styled in a casual manner. His most distinctive features were his laid-back Hawaiian shirts, sandals, and wraparound sunglasses—attire he wore whether repairing mobile suits or commanding spacecraft. This casual dress reflected his easygoing personality and contrasted sharply with the militaristic uniforms worn by most other characters in the series.

Personality & traits

Despite his genius as an engineer, Howard was very laid-back and easygoing, lacking the sociopathic tendencies of his fellow Gundam Scientists. He believed in doing the right thing without sacrificing others and maintained a relaxed demeanour even in crisis situations. His personality was reflected in his casual attire and his preference for a simple life running salvage operations rather than pursuing grand schemes of revenge or political power.

Howard possessed a strong moral compass and genuine concern for the Gundam pilots, particularly Duo Maxwell. He provided support and guidance without the manipulative tendencies displayed by the other scientists, treating the pilots as people rather than weapons.

Biography

Early life

Howard was one of the six scientists working on the first mobile suit, the OZ-00MS Tallgeese, as part of an OZ development project. During this time, he met a young Treize Khushrenada during the Tallgeese’s construction, establishing a professional relationship that would later prove significant.

However, when the United Earth Sphere Alliance began to oppress the colonies, Howard left the project. Unlike his five colleagues who fled to the colonies to build the Gundams as instruments of revolution, Howard chose a different path. He stayed on Earth and established a business on the seashore as a member of the Sweeper Group, a group of salvagers who recovered and recycled space debris and mobile suit wreckage.

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing

During Operation Meteor, Howard assisted Gundam pilot Duo Maxwell, providing him with supplies and repairs for his Gundam Deathscythe. Howard’s experience with mobile suit engineering proved invaluable, and his Sweeper Group operations gave him access to parts and resources that Duo needed.

When OZ launched a coup d’état against the UESA, Howard helped defector Zechs Merquise, repairing the Tallgeese (or Tallgeese Flugel in Glory of the Losers) and helping Zechs reach space. Howard also retrieved Peacemillion, which he used as Zechs’ refuelling station.

Later, Howard ran Peacemillion as the Gundams’ base during their battle with White Fang. He repaired all the Gundams and performed crucial upgrades, transforming the Heavyarms into the Heavyarms Custom and the Sandrock into the Sandrock Custom. These upgrades significantly enhanced the Gundams’ combat capabilities during the final phase of the Eve Wars.

Howard’s technical expertise extended beyond repairs—he demonstrated mastery of vernier technology, as evidenced by his modifications to both the Heavyarms and Sandrock Gundams. His work ensured the Gundam pilots could continue fighting even as the conflict escalated.

After the Eve Wars

Howard survived the Eve Wars and remained at the former Lunar Base as custodian of the Gundams in AC 196, watching over the mobile suits that had become symbols of both war and the hope for peace.

Skills & abilities

Like the Gundam Scientists, Howard was a gifted engineer with exceptional technical expertise. He was particularly skilled in vernier technology, demonstrated by his successful modifications to multiple Gundams. His engineering prowess extended to spacecraft systems, mobile suit repairs, salvage operations, and improvisational problem-solving under combat conditions.

Unlike his more obsessive colleagues, Howard balanced his technical brilliance with practical wisdom and common sense, making him both an effective engineer and a reliable ally.

Relationships

Duo Maxwell

Howard served as mentor, mechanic, and friend to Duo. He provided not only technical support for the Deathscythe but also guidance and a stable presence during the chaotic Eve Wars. Howard’s laid-back personality complemented Duo’s more energetic nature, and their relationship was characterized by mutual respect and genuine friendship.

Gundam Scientists

Howard shared a history with Doctor J, Professor G, Doctor S, Professor H, and Master O as co-developers of the original Tallgeese. However, he chose a fundamentally different path—staying on Earth and living peacefully rather than building weapons of revenge. This divergence highlighted the different ways the scientists responded to the Alliance’s colonial oppression.

Zechs Merquise

Howard’s assistance to Zechs demonstrated his willingness to help those fighting for the right cause, regardless of their affiliation. He repaired the Tallgeese—a mobile suit he had helped create years earlier—and provided Zechs with the spacecraft support needed to continue his mission.

Behind the scenes

Howard’s character design, featuring Hawaiian shirts and sunglasses, made him one of the most visually distinctive characters in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. His casual appearance contrasted sharply with the series’ generally militaristic aesthetic, reinforcing his role as an outsider to the conflict who chose to help from the sidelines.

His decision to remain on Earth rather than join the colonial rebellion represented an alternative response to the Alliance’s oppression—one based on building a legitimate life rather than pursuing violent revolution.

Appearances

Mike Howard appeared in:

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (TV series)
New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop (novel)

External links

Mike Howard on the Gundam Wiki

Mike Howard