MSZ-010 ZZ Gundam, pronounced Double Zeta, is the AEUG's transformable flagship mobile suit in Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (1986, U.C. 0088). Anaheim Electronics developed it as a direct follow-on to the Zeta Gundam, carrying the development code theta, and Judau Ashta flew it for most of the First Neo Zeon War.
What it does in the story
The suit came to the Argama in pieces: Roux Louka brought the Neo Core Fighter to Shangri-La, and the Core Top and Core Base caught up in transit. Judau assembled it in mid-flight during a battle and used the high mega cannon to drive off the Neo Zeon suits attacking the ship, Mashymre Cello's and Chara Soon's among them, and he stayed its main pilot through the campaign.
What makes it different
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It separates into three aircraft.
The Core Block System splits the suit into Core Top, Core Base and a Neo Core Fighter, all of which fly on their own. The same parts recombine into the G-Fortress, a heavy combat bomber used for cruising in space and in the air, with a wingspan of 18.52 m.
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The backpack engine was meant for a ship.
Its main thruster is a ship-class engine that could power a whole vessel, and in mobile suit form it produces thrust on that scale. Three compact high-output generators were fitted to solve the output shortfall that held the design back.
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The High Mega Cannon is a fifth of a colony laser.
The 50 MW cannon in the centre of the head is strong enough to wreck a mobile suit with a glancing hit and to destroy a shield outright. Its limit is the reactor, which cannot take repeated shots.
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The beam sabers double as beam cannons.
Two hyper beam sabers are stowed on the backpack, with hilts around three times the size of a standard saber's and blades about 1.5 times as long. Mounted there they fire as 10 MW beam cannons instead.
How big is it?
- Head height: 19.86 m, with a gross weight of 68.4 t and an empty weight of 32.7 t
- 1/144: roughly 13.8 cm
- 1/100: roughly 19.9 cm
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Frequently asked questions
1. Why is the ZZ Gundam also called the Theta Gundam?
Theta was its development code. In Anaheim's sequence it came after the Rick Dias, which carried the gamma code, so the next letter went to the ZZ.
2. Does the ZZ need three pilots to fly?
No. The full combination uses three Neo Core Fighters, but on the Argama only Judau's carried a pilot; the other two were unmanned.
3. What is the G-Fortress?
The ZZ's mobile armour form, reached by combining the same three blocks. It serves as a heavy combat bomber and cruiser, and transforming back retracts the large arm and leg verniers.
4. Why does the High Mega Cannon drain the suit?
The reactor cannot supply the cannon's demand repeatedly. One shot is enough to end most fights, but firing it leaves the ZZ short of power for everything else.
5. What is the Bio-Sensor on the ZZ?
A simplified Psycommu acting as an interface for Newtype pilots, mounted in the Core Block. It supports the control system with the pilot's brainwaves and stays inactive for a pilot whose Newtype potential is low.
Background sources: MSZ-010 ZZ Gundam — Gundam Wiki · ΖΖガンダム（日本語版 Wikipedia）
