Duo Maxwell
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| Duo Maxwell [1] | |
|---|---|
 Duo Maxwell, Gundam Deathscythe |
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| Alias: | Shinigami (God of Death) |
| DOB: | February 2, AC 180 |
| Age: | 15 (series) / 16 (movie) [1] |
| Nationality: | L2 colony cluster (American) [1] |
| Allegiance: | Gundam Pilots, Sweepers; |
| Height: | 156 cm (5ft, 1 1/2in) [1] |
| Weight: | 43 kg (94.8lb) [1] |
| Hair Color: | Chestnut Brown |
| Eye Color: | Cobalt Bluish-Violet eyes [1] |
| Mobile Suit: | Gundam Deathscythe Gundam Deathscythe Hell Wing Gundam Zero Leo |
Duo Maxwell (デュオ・マックスウェル Dyuo Makkusuweru?, derived from Latin duo, lit. "two") is a fictional character from the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. He is a central character of the anime and several of the derivative works that make up the After Colony fictional universe. Duo is the pilot of Gundam Deathscythe, one of the five Gundams sent to Earth during the events of the anime. His voice in the animated works is provided by Toshihiko Seki (Japanese), Scott McNeil (English), Paolo Domingo (French) and Marcelo Campos (Brazilian).
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[edit] Person and Personality
Of American origin, Duo is the pilot of the Gundam Deathscythe. [1] He wears his hair in the form of a thick thigh-length braid and his signature outfit is a pair of dark pants and a cassock-style shirt with a white turtleneck shirt underneath; giving it the appearance of a clerical collar. In the Endless Waltz movie, Duo wears what seems to be a red-zippered turtleneck underneath a leather motorcycle jacket with the sleeves rolled up. He is an expert salvager and a member of The Sweeper Group, a group of salvagers and tinkers.
Duo refers to himself as the Shinigami (God of Death). The reason why he gave himself this nickname is explained in Episode Zero because he believes that those who get close to him are doomed to die, due to his sad and tragic past.
On the exterior, Duo seems like a happy, charming, relaxed, and laid-back jokester, and for the most part he is; however, he is also a deep person with a terrible childhood with many dark feelings that he doesn't allow the other pilots to see. He always tries to be the prankster of the group and never misses a chance to crack a joke. Duo tries to hide behind his laughter from the bad parts of the world he lives in, especially from the killing he does as a Gundam pilot.
[edit] History
[edit] Episode Zero
- The events described here are as portrayed in material set before the Gundam Wing anime.
The manga story Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz tells the stories of six major characters in the Gundam Wing anime, prior to the events of the anime series. The story for Duo shows him as an orphan child growing up in the L2 colony cluster, knowing nothing about his family or real name. [2] In the year After Colony 187, he was a part of a street gang of orphans, which had to steal to survive. [2] He adopted the name "Duo" after the gang leader, Solo, died of a fever. [3] Before he died, Solo said to Duo that he would always be with him, so Duo said, "If Solo's with me, we'll be Duo."
Later on, he and the rest of the gang were taken in by the Maxwell Church. [2] The other children were eventually adopted, but Duo's foster parents sent him back. [2] He was adopted by Father Maxwell and Sister Helen, the priest and head nun of the Maxwell Church, respectively. [2] During his time at the church, Duo's hair is first placed in its recognizable braid, and he asserts that he believes not in God, but in a God of Death, as he'd "never seen any miracles, but [he'd] sure seen lots of dead people". [2]
Sometime in the next year, a rebellion occurred on the colony Duo lived on. Rebels claimed the church, and Duo promised to steal a mobile suit for them so that they would leave the church alone. [2] He succeeds in capturing a mobile suit, but returns to find the church destroyed, Father Maxwell dead, and Sister Helen alive long enough for her to die in Duo's arms. [2] Following the defeat of the rebellion, which was later named the "Maxwell Church Tragedy" when 245 people were killed in the suppression, Duo took on the surname Maxwell. [2] [3]
In After Colony 192, Duo stowed away on a spaceship that was owned by Professor G and the Sweeper Group. [2] He was caught, and introduces himself as "Duo Maxwell, who may run and hide, but never tells a lie", prompting Professor G to ask if he is like Maxwell's demon. [2] Duo replies with his "God of Death" alias. [2]
As shown in both the manga and flashbacks in the Endless Waltz OVA, Duo joins the Sweeper Group and becomes the pilot of Gundam Deathscythe. [4] Duo expresses his opposition to the original Operation Meteor, and after failing to destroy the Gundam, steals it under Professor G's prompting. [4]
[edit] Gundam Wing
- The events described here are as portrayed by the Gundam Wing anime series, and focus on Duo's role in the series. See List of Gundam Wing episodes for general plot information.
After landing on Earth in the first episode, Duo attacked a mobile suit factory and then attacked an Earth Alliance naval fleet when they were attempting to salvage the Wing Gundam. Duo met Heero Yuy during the second episode, attempting to kill the former due to a misunderstanding. After recovering Wing and breaking Heero out of an Alliance hospital in episode 3, Heero uses Deathscythe's components to repair Wing and vanishes. The two encounter each other during an attack on the New Edwards Base in episodes 7 and 8, during which Duo meets the other three Gundam pilots; Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba Winner, and Chang Wufei.
Duo works alongside Heero until episode 10, when Heero self-detonates Wing. Duo joins with Quatre and the Maganac Corps, laying low until the decision to travel into space is made by the Gundam pilots in episode 17. In episode 19, Duo and Deathscythe are captured by OZ and taken to the Luna Base. Duo escapes with Heero's assistance in episode 19, Deathscythe is destroyed in episode 20, and Duo is recaptured by Hilde and the Gundam Scientists in episode 23. He remains imprisoned until episode 25, when he is freed by Lady Une, and escapes again, taking the incomplete Deathscythe Hell with him.
Duo's next major appearance is in episode 32. He had been living with Hilde and working on completing Deathscythe Hell, but is made to test Wing Gundam Zero's ZERO System by OZ officer Trant. In episode 36 he encounters Trowa again while visiting the circus with Hilde (Trowa was believed dead after the events of episode 25), and informs Quatre in episode 38. He joins with Trowa, Quatre, and Lucrezia Noin after saving them from OZ in episode 39, and in episode 40, the group links up with Duo's Sweeper friend Howard, who is commanding the spaceship Peacemillion. Sometime during these episodes, Duo is approached to join the White Fang rebellion, but turns it down due to their similarities to OZ.
Duo works alongside the other Gundam Pilots and their allies during the rest of the series. In episode 45, he goes to save Hilde from the rebuilt OZ-13MSX1 Vayeate and OZ-13MSX2 Mercurius mobile dolls, which were programmed with combat data taken from when Heero and Trowa tested the original prototype suits. Duo is able to defeat both mobile dolls. In episode 48 and 49, Duo locates the five Gundam Scientists, and assists them in seriously damaging the superweapon Battleship Libra. He fights alongside the Maganac Corps and Earth nation soldiers against White Fang, and helps to destroy the wreckage of Libra before it enters Earth's atmosphere.
[edit] After Colony 196
- The events described here are as portrayed in the mangas set between Gundam Wing and Endless Waltz.
Duo Maxwell appears in the three manga series set during the fictional year After Colony 196.
[edit] Endless Waltz
- The events described here are as portrayed in the Endless Waltz OVA, and in materials set after this date.
After working with Quatre to send four of the Gundams into the sun, Duo went with Heero to rescue Relena after she was captured by the Mariemeia Army. During their entrance to the colony, Duo captured a Leo mobile suit, and was pitted against Trowa in a Serpent (who had infiltrated the Mariemeia Army). The three Gundam pilots are able to prevent a colony drop from being performed, and Duo is knocked out by Heero to allow the latter to escape and reclaim Wing Zero.
After escaping from his cell, Duo, alongside Trowa and Quatre, recover their Gundams and travel to Earth, fighting the Mariemeia Army's invasion force. he and the other pilots are able to defeat many enemy Serpent suits without killing any pilots, and after Heero and Relena defeat Dekim Barton, Duo self-detonates Deathscythe Hell. The end credits show Duo and Hilde together; working in a scrapyard in the OVA version, and in the city eating in the movie version.
The Episode Zero story Preventer 5 shows Duo still with Hilde in the year after Endless Waltz. [3]
[edit] Trivia
- For the English version of Gundam Wing edited for showing on Cartoon Network, Duo's God of Death nickname was changed to The Great Destroyer. Cartoon Network also aired an unedited English dub with the original nickname in post-midnight timeslots.
- Duo's nickname, Shinigami is shared with the character of Terry Sanders Jr. of Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team. Sanders' nickname is dubbed in English as "the Reaper".
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g Profile: Duo Maxwell. GundamOfficial.com. Bandai America. Retrieved on 2007-03-07.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Katsuyuki, Sumisawa [July 2003]. "Duo Maxwell", Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Episode Zero, Art by Akira Kanbe, English language trade paperback (in English), San Francisco, California, USA: Action/VIZ, pp. 5-29. ISBN 1-56931-994-4.
- ^ a b c Katsuyuki, Sumisawa [July 2003]. "Duo's Story", Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Episode Zero, Art by Akira Kanbe, English language trade paperback (in English), San Francisco, California, USA: Action/VIZ, p. 30. ISBN 1-56931-994-4.
- ^ a b Katsuyuki, Sumisawa [July 2003]. "Operation Meteor", Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Episode Zero, Art by Akira Kanbe, English language trade paperback (in English), San Francisco, California, USA: Action/VIZ, pp. 185-233. ISBN 1-56931-994-4.
[edit] External Links
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