Preventers

The Preventers (プリベンター, Puribentā) were a top-secret intelligence organization formed by the Earth Sphere Unified Nation in AC 196 to prevent conflicts from escalating. Led by Lady Une, the organization was also known as the “Firefighters” (火消し) for their mission to destroy excessive weapons (“kindling”) and stop large-scale insurrections and terrorist activities (“fire disasters”) before they began. The existence of the Preventers was highly classified, known only to the ESUN President and several key government members, as an armed peacekeeping force contradicted the pacifist ideals of the ESUN.

Overview

The Preventers operated in secrecy to maintain peace without compromising the ESUN’s public commitment to total pacifism. This dual approach—publicly advocating disarmament whilst covertly maintaining a small but capable force—reflected the pragmatic recognition that peace required both idealism and readiness to act against those who would disturb it.

History

Founding

In AC 196, after the end of the Eve Wars and the founding of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation, the Preventers were created as an intelligence agency that answered directly to the ESUN President. The organization’s existence was highly classified, since maintaining an armed peacekeeping force contradicted the ESUN’s pacifist ideals.

The mission statement of the Preventers was the preservation of peace and prevention of conflicts in the Earth Sphere. To accomplish this goal, the Preventers worked tirelessly to destroy excessive weapons (designated as “kindling”) and to stop large-scale insurrections and terrorist activities (designated as “fire disasters”) before they started. Because of this mission, they were also referred to as the “Firefighters.”

The organization was headquartered in Brussels, the capital of the ESUN. In addition, it controlled a lunar base where at least one cruiser was stationed.

Barton Foundation investigation

On the colonies, movements of the Barton Foundation—the original architects of Operation Meteor—didn’t go unnoticed by the Preventers or the Gundam pilots. Heero and Duo planned to infiltrate Colony L3 X-18999 to rescue kidnapped Vice Minister Relena Darlian. Sally and Lucrezia assisted them by destroying the mobile suits guarding the entrances.

Mariemaia Earth invasion

The Mariemaia Army was poised to invade Earth due to the ESUN’s dissolution of its armed forces. However, as the first wave of transports deployed, the Tallgeese III, piloted by Zechs Merquise (operating as “Preventer Wind”), destroyed all of them. Unfortunately, as he was poised to destroy the MO-III base, Dekim Barton threatened to drop colony L3 X-18999 onto Earth, completing the original Operation Meteor. Zechs had no choice but to let the other transports pass.

Fortunately, the Gundam pilots stabilized X-18999 and prevented it from dropping, allowing Zechs to destroy Dekim’s base. However, Dekim managed to escape.

Brussels battle

The ESUN capital of Brussels was invaded by the Mariemaia Army, taking control of the Earth Sphere. Lady Une infiltrated the presidential bunker from a secret passage whilst the Tallgeese III and a Taurus acted as distractions.

Both mobile suits fought against more than 400 Mariemaia Army mobile suits and managed to disable many of them without killing any pilots. Soon, three Gundams arrived to help, but they, along with the Preventer mobile suits, soon ran out of energy and ammunition due to the sheer number of enemies.

However, a heavily damaged Wing Zero suddenly appeared in the sky. Just as tensions peaked, Une saved Relena and Mariemaia from falling debris. Soon after, the populace decided to stand up against the Bartons. Dekim was killed by one of his own men, and true peace reigned over Earth.

Frozen Teardrop

In the year Mars Century (MC) 0022, Preventer agent Kathy Po, daughter of missing agent Sally Po, was given orders by ESUN President Dorothy Catalonia to launch Operation Mythos. She met her superior officer Master Chang (Chang Wufei) at the Mars Preventer Base to deliver vital data and information. There, she met the awakened pilot Heero Yuy, who joined the Preventers along with a mysterious priest named Father Maxwell (Duo Maxwell) and his son Duo for the mission.

Organization

Command structure

Lady Une served as the organization’s leader. Each Preventer agent was assigned a codename based on one of the classical elements:

Sally Po – Water
Lucrezia Noin – Fire
Lady Une – Gold (Endless Waltz novelization only)
Zechs Merquise – Wind
Chang Wufei – Rain (manga: Point Half Preventer 7)
Quatre Raberba Winner – Sand (manga: Point Half Preventer 7)
Trowa Barton – Thunder (manga: Point Half Preventer 7)
Duo Maxwell – Cloud (manga: Point Half Preventer 7)
Heero Yuy – Snow (manga: Point Half Preventer 7)
Kathy Po

The element-based codename system provided operational security whilst maintaining easy identification amongst team members.

Armed forces

Despite the ESUN’s commitment to total pacifism, the Preventers maintained a small mobile suit force for crisis intervention:

OZ-00MS2B Tallgeese III
OZ-12SMS Taurus
OZ-06MS Leo
Snow White
Warlock
Preventer cruiser
Preventer shuttle

This force represented the minimum capability needed to address threats that diplomacy alone couldn’t resolve.

Behind the scenes

The Preventers paralleled Londo Bell from the Universal Century timeline, as both were new peacekeeping forces that replaced previously corrupt organizations (the Preventers replacing OZ; Londo Bell replacing the Titans).

In Super Robot Wars Alpha Gaiden, former members of Londo Bell assumed the Preventers name for their forces, not only because of the Endless Waltz plot but also because they were trying to prevent a disaster that could befall Earth and the colonies.

The organization’s element-based codenames reflected the natural forces theme common in After Colony naming conventions, contrasting with the zodiac-based names used by OZ.

Appearances

The Preventers appeared in:

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz (OVA)
New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Blind Target (manga)
New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop (novel)

External links

Preventer on the Gundam Wiki