Virgo (mobile suit)

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For other uses of Virgo, see Virgo (disambiguation).

The Virgo series is a set of related mobile suits from the fictional anime series New Mobile Report Gundam Wing. The name "Virgo" is derived from the constellation, continuing OZ's trend of naming their mobile suits in such fashion.

[edit] OZ-02MD Virgo

Developed late in After Colony 195, the Virgo was the first pure mobile doll. Based off of their data, the Romafeller Foundation determined that it would be more effective to remove the pilot entirely than enhance him, a decision which lead to the resignation of OZ's leader Treize Khushrenada and several other like-minded individuals who opposed the de-humanization of war. The Virgo was first deployed during Operation Nova, Romefeller's military strike to conquer as much of the Earth as possible. However, the Virgo saw the end of its life shortly thereafter, as the succession of Relena Peacecraft and Treize Khushrenada as Romefeller's leaders would put an end to Romefellers's use of mobile dolls.

The Virgo draws its inspiration from the OZ-13MSX1 Vayeate and OZ-13MSX2 Mercurius, mobile suits designed by the Gundam engineers. While Vayeate focused on all-out offense and Mercurius on defense, the Virgo was intended to strike a balance, giving it well-rounded abilities. Its only weapon was a beam cannon mounted on the right arm, which connected to a miniaturized version of Vayeate's energy collector in the shoulder. The left shoulder mounted a set of four planet defensors, the electromagnetic force field generators used by Mercurius. These disc-shaped objects put out a field that could only be penetrated by a strong concentrated attack, such as a laser cannon or a melee weapon's strike. The Virgo was commonly deployed in teams of three, so that they could unite their defensors into a dome of protection from all sides.

[edit] WF-02MD (OZ-03MD/OZ-02MD2/WF-03MD) Virgo II

Despite the Virgo's success, Romefeller was not content to rest on its laurels and commissioned an improved model. Unfortunately for them, the Lunar Base at which the Virgo series was constructed was soon after captured by White Fang, who put the Virgo II to use for themselves. Despite his distaste for mobile dolls, White Fang leader Zechs Merquise made effective use of three of them as wingmen, with effective coordination allowing him to take on three of the Gundams single-handedly. Shortly afterwards, Zechs would have his assistant Dorothy Catalonia run a copy of the ZERO System and use it to help manage the Virgo IIs better in battle. Though the plan worked once, the Gundam pilots responded by giving ZERO to their best tactician, Quatre Raberba Winner, which allowed him to out-maneuver Dorothy. Despite its potential, the ZERO-Doll plan was discarded after this, probably at Zechs' insistence. At the end of the war, the Virgo IIs would be dismantled as part of the road to peace.

[edit] OZ-04MD Virgo³

Appearing in the manga sidestory Battlefield of Pacifists, the Virgo³ (pronounced "Virgo Cube"; also called "Virgo Cubed") is something of an enigma; though it bears an OZ model number, it is fielded by the supposedly pacifist organization P3 (Perfect Peace People), and its origins have never been revealed. What is known is that P3 used the Virgo³ in several of its battles, most notably the former Lunar Base in an attempt to capture or destroy the Gundams stored there. Despite the fact that they were apparently later models than the Virgo II, the Virgo³ fared poorly against the Gundam pilots and the experienced pilots of OZ's 4th Flying Brigade.

The Virgo³'s most distinguishing feature is a return to the style of the original Virgo. Its right arm mounts a beam cannon, but rather than an energy collector, it seems to run directly into the Virgo³'s body, implying that it draws power straight from the reactor. The Virgo³ only uses two planet defensors, but these new versions have spreading Y-shaped arms which allow the two to perform about as well as the ones used by their forebears. The PlayStation game SD Gundam G Generation F depicts the Virgo³ as being colored mint green with black and red details, as well as giving it a beam saber, but it is never shown using this weapon in the manga.