OZ-00MS Tallgeese

The OZ-00MS Tallgeese was the first armed mobile suit ever constructed and the common ancestor of both the Gundams and all mass-production mobile suits in the After Colony era. Designed by the five Gundam Scientists and Mike Howard and completed in AC 175, Tallgeese represented the pinnacle of mobile suit performance with its powerful “Super Vernier” boosters and well-rounded armament. However, its immense acceleration placed deadly G-force strain on pilots, with forces reaching as high as 15 Gs during high-speed maneuvers. This dangerous performance characteristic led to its design being simplified into the mass-production OZ-06MS Leo, whilst the five scientists took the data to create the prototype Wing Gundam Zero.

Overview

Tallgeese was simultaneously the first mobile suit and the most dangerous one for pilots to operate. Its Super Vernier boosters provided acceleration performance unmatched by any subsequent mobile suit, but the G-forces generated during high-speed movement could kill pilots lacking exceptional physical conditioning. When OZ officer Otto test-piloted the restored Tallgeese in AC 195, he was gravely injured despite only brief operation, demonstrating the mobile suit’s lethal performance characteristics.

Only pilots with extraordinary resilience could safely operate Tallgeese. Zechs Merquise, the OZ ace pilot who became Tallgeese’s primary operator, possessed both the physical conditioning and piloting skill necessary to withstand and exploit the mobile suit’s performance. In Zechs’ hands, Tallgeese proved more than a match for the Gundams, despite lacking their advanced Gundanium alloy construction and specialized weapons.

The mobile suit featured a well-rounded armament that exemplified the balanced design philosophy that would characterize subsequent mobile suits. The shoulder-mounted Dober Gun provided excellent long-range firepower, whilst beam sabres stored in its shield enabled effective close combat. This versatile loadout made Tallgeese equally dangerous at any range, embodying the ideal of a general-purpose mobile weapon.

Design

Concept and development

In AC 175, the five scientists who would later create the Operation Meteor Gundams worked together with Mike Howard to design the first armed mobile suit. Previously, mobile suits had been primarily industrial machines—the Tallgeese represented humanity’s first attempt to create a military mobile weapon system. The scientists approached this challenge by creating the most powerful machine possible, incorporating cutting-edge technology and accepting no compromises in performance.

The name “Tallgeese” was said to derive from “theurgist” (トールギスト, tōrugisuto), a ritualist who attempts to channel divine power to work miracles—an apt description for a machine that pushed human capability to supernatural limits. The design featured heavy titanium alloy armor coupled with revolutionary “Super Vernier” boosters that provided extraordinary thrust.

However, the scientists’ pursuit of maximum performance created an unforeseen problem: the immense acceleration placed G-force strain on pilots that could prove fatal. Theories suggested pilots experienced as much as 15 Gs during high-speed maneuvers. This was not merely uncomfortable—it was lethal to pilots lacking exceptional physical conditioning and could cause blackouts, organ damage, or death.

To solve this problem and reduce production costs, the design was simplified to create the Leo, sacrificing performance for pilot safety and manufacturing affordability. Meanwhile, the five scientists each took copies of Tallgeese’s design data. They used it as the basis for the Wing Gundam Zero, incorporating even more advanced technology whilst attempting to manage the G-force issue through better cockpit design and pilot interface systems. The original Tallgeese was mothballed at the Alliance’s Corsica base, deemed too expensive to mass-produce and too dangerous for regular pilots.

Technical features

Tallgeese stood 17.4 metres tall and weighed 8.8 tonnes empty, making it slightly larger and heavier than most mobile suits. Unlike the Gundams that would follow, Tallgeese was constructed from conventional titanium alloy rather than the exotic Gundanium alloy. Despite this limitation, its armor proved effective against most weapons of the era.

The Super Vernier boosters were Tallgeese’s defining feature. When all verniers fired simultaneously—including those in the wings, legs, and shoulder armor—the acceleration performance surpassed even advanced units like the Wing Gundam. This extraordinary thrust enabled combat maneuvers impossible for other mobile suits, allowing Tallgeese to engage and disengage at will and achieve positional advantages over technically superior opponents.

The cockpit used a standard design rather than the floating cockpits with shock mitigation featured in later Gundams. This made pilots more vulnerable to the G-forces generated during high-speed maneuvers. Additionally, Tallgeese lacked the panoramic monitors of more advanced units, using conventional displays that limited situational awareness compared to newer designs.

Armament

Dober Gun

The Dober Gun was Tallgeese’s primary ranged weapon, mounted on the right shoulder for rapid deployment. This high-powered weapon featured a long barrel with an old-fashioned muzzle brake to improve accuracy. The Dober Gun was capable of destroying a Leo easily and could shoot accurately over long ranges with an excellent rate of fire.

Sources disagreed about whether the Dober Gun fired beams or shells. Some accounts described it as a cartridge-fed gun firing solid projectiles, whilst others classified it as a beam weapon. The Glory of the Losers manga depicted a shot from the Dober Gun cancelling out a blast from the Wing Gundam’s buster rifle, suggesting beam weapon capability. The output of the weapon’s shots could be varied for different tactical situations. Only Tallgeese could withstand the Dober Gun’s recoil—similar weapons were fitted to Leos but the mass-production units lacked the structural integrity to handle repeated firing.

Shield

Tallgeese carried a round shield that hung off the left shoulder, leaving the left hand free to wield other weapons. The shield provided protection against both beam and physical attacks. On its back, the shield stored a pair of beam sabres in a dedicated rack, allowing quick access during close combat.

Beam Sabres

Tallgeese carried two beam sabres powered by internal energy capacitors. These handheld close-combat weapons focused plasma into blade shapes that could cut through any object not treated with anti-beam coating. The beam sabres gave Tallgeese effective melee capability to complement its long-range firepower, embodying the balanced design philosophy.

Missile Pod

Tallgeese could carry a handheld missile pod consisting of two triple missile launchers connected by a central grip. The loaded missiles featured their own sensors and had wide blast radii, making them effective against multiple targets or area denial. A pair of missiles from this pod proved sufficient to obliterate two atmosphere entry transport units, demonstrating considerable destructive potential.

Heat Lance (“Tempest”) and Heat Halberd (Endless Waltz variant)

In the Endless Waltz redesign, Tallgeese gained two additional melee weapons. The “Tempest” Heat Lance used thermal energy to heat the lance to super-high temperatures for penetrating armor, developed as an anti-Gundam measure based on late Walker’s combat data. It could emit energy to cancel enemy beam attacks and could be arm-mounted or handheld. The Heat Halberd consisted of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on a long staff, effective for slicing and stabbing attacks. It could be broken down into parts for battlefield assembly.

Special equipment

Super Vernier System

The Super Vernier boosters represented the cutting edge of propulsion technology in AC 175. By concentrating thrust from verniers located throughout the frame—wings, legs, and shoulder armor—Tallgeese achieved acceleration that surpassed even Gundams designed twenty years later. However, this performance came at the cost of extreme G-forces that endangered pilots.

Booster Unit

After Zechs defected from OZ, Howard equipped Tallgeese with a large detachable booster unit nearly twice the mobile suit’s size. This optional equipment enabled Tallgeese to escape Earth’s atmosphere for space operations. The booster had multiple configurations: parts could be attached to reduce weight for short-term space travel, the complete unit could be fitted for long-term space travel, and the entire assembly could be jettisoned during combat to eliminate additional weight.

Self-destruct System

Like the Gundams, Tallgeese featured a self-destruct system that pilots could activate via a remote detonator in the cockpit. The system overloaded the mobile suit’s power systems with sufficient explosive force to destroy several city blocks. This served as a last-resort tactic to prevent capture or as a large explosive device against major targets.

Operational history

Development and mothballing

Completed in After Colony 175, Tallgeese served as the prototype for all subsequent mobile suits. The five scientists and Mike Howard had created a machine of extraordinary capability, but it proved too expensive for mass production and too dangerous for regular pilots. The immense thruster output that made Tallgeese so formidable in combat also made it lethal to operate.

The design was simplified into the OZ-06MS Leo, the first mass-production mobile suit. Leo sacrificed Tallgeese’s overwhelming performance for pilot safety, affordability, and ease of training. Meanwhile, Tallgeese itself was mothballed at the United Earth Sphere Alliance’s Corsica base, preserved but unused for twenty years.

Restoration and Zechs Merquise

In AC 195, when the five Gundams began attacking Alliance bases as part of Operation Meteor, OZ ace pilot Zechs Merquise sought a mobile suit capable of combating them. Learning of Tallgeese’s existence, Zechs acquired the mothballed prototype and supervised its restoration to operating condition over several months.

The refurbished Tallgeese underwent testing by OZ officer Otto. Despite limited operation, Otto was gravely injured by the mobile suit’s immense thrust, demonstrating that Tallgeese remained as dangerous in AC 195 as it had been in AC 175. Most pilots simply lacked the physical conditioning to survive its performance.

Zechs, however, possessed both exceptional physical resilience and extraordinary piloting skill. He took Tallgeese into combat against the Gundams on several occasions and proved more than a match for them despite Tallgeese’s conventional armor and twenty-year-old design. His skill in exploiting Tallgeese’s superior acceleration allowed him to compete with pilots operating more advanced mobile suits.

Defection and space operations

After Zechs defected from OZ over ideological differences with its leadership under the Romefeller Foundation, Mike Howard fitted Tallgeese with an optional booster unit. This equipment allowed Zechs—now operating as Milliardo Peacecraft—to visit the space colonies and continue his fight. Zechs joined Howard aboard the battleship Peacemillion and launched independent attacks against OZ’s space forces.

During this period, Tallgeese engaged OZ mobile dolls and piloted mobile suits in space combat. However, with Zechs’ piloting skills surpassing Tallgeese’s limits and OZ deploying increasingly advanced mobile dolls, the prototype mobile suit proved insufficient for the evolving conflict.

Final battle and sacrifice

During a space battle against several OZ-12SMS Taurus mobile dolls, Zechs found himself outnumbered and outmaneuvered. OZ forces were also attempting to destroy the Wing Gundam Zero, which they had captured. Recognizing both the tactical necessity and the opportunity, Zechs made a critical decision.

He activated Tallgeese’s self-destruct system, using the explosion as a diversion that allowed him to reach and claim the Wing Gundam Zero before OZ could destroy it. Tallgeese was destroyed in the detonation, ending the operational history of humanity’s first armed mobile suit. The remaining spare parts from Tallgeese were later assembled into the OZ-00MS2 Tallgeese II for use by Treize Khushrenada.

Production

Design and development

The OZ-00MS Tallgeese was designed by Katoki Hajime for the 1995 anime series Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. As the prototype that preceded all other mobile suits in the After Colony timeline, Tallgeese’s design needed to appear both advanced and classical—powerful yet representing the foundation upon which newer units were built.

The mobile suit’s distinctive white and blue colour scheme became iconic, copied by numerous subsequent units including the Leo and its variants. The shoulder-mounted Dober Gun and round shield became signature elements that would appear on mass-production units throughout the series.

Katoki also created the Endless Waltz redesign, which featured slightly different proportions and additional weapons including the Heat Lance and Heat Halberd, emphasizing Tallgeese’s versatility in both ranged and melee combat.

Reception

The Tallgeese became extremely popular amongst fans for its powerful yet elegant design and its role as the prototype for all mobile suits. Zechs Merquise’s exceptional piloting of the mobile suit—competing against technologically superior Gundams through pure skill—made it a fan favourite. The concept of a prototype so powerful it endangered its own pilots resonated strongly with audiences.

The mobile suit has been featured extensively in model kit releases, including multiple Master Grade, Real Grade, and SD versions from Bandai. The Real Grade Tallgeese, released in 2018, was particularly acclaimed for its engineering and detail. Otto’s comment about Tallgeese being “three times faster than the Aries” was widely recognized as a reference to Char Aznable’s famous red MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type, creating a meta-textual connection between the two franchise entries.

Specifications

Specification	Value
Model number	OZ-00MS
Name	Tallgeese
Unit type	Prototype general-purpose mobile suit
Manufacturer	The Gundam Scientists, Mike Howard, OZ
Operator	OZ, United Earth Sphere Alliance, Long Clan
First deployment	AC 175
Accommodation	Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso
Height	17.4 m
Weight	8.8 t (empty)
Armour	Titanium alloy
Powerplant	Ultracompact fusion reactor
Equipment	Super Vernier boosters, Optional booster unit, Self-destruct system
Fixed armament	Dober Gun, Shield with 2 × Beam Sabre
Handheld armament	Missile Pod, “Tempest” Heat Lance (EW), Heat Halberd (EW)
Pilots	Zechs Merquise, Otto

Variants

Tallgeese Zi-Long

Another Tallgeese nicknamed “Zi-Long” was developed by Master O of the Long Clan (of which Chang Wufei was a member) and piloted by Long Meilan. Compared to the standard Tallgeese, the Zi-Long featured slightly different shoulder and knee armor and lacked the face cover, making its head identical to a Leo’s. The Tallgeese Zi-Long was destroyed whilst defending the Long Clan’s colony in After Colony 194. It appeared in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Episode Zero and Glory of the Losers.

OZ-00MS2 Tallgeese II

Following the original Tallgeese’s destruction, remaining spare parts were assembled into Tallgeese II for use by Treize Khushrenada.