Leo (mobile suit)
The OZ-06MS Leo is a fictional type of mobile suit appearing in the Mobile Suit Gundam Wing anime series and derivative works. It is named after the Zodiacal Constellation Leo, following the convention established for mass-produced suits in the anime. Leos are operated by both the United Earth Sphere Alliance military and the Organization of the Zodiac (OZ), and multiple variants are in use.
The Leo holds the role of the standard "enemy" suit in the anime, much as the MS-06 Zaku II did in the Mobile Suit Gundam anime and derivatives, of which Gundam Wing is an alternate reality. In addition the suit also features one 'eye', a similar although blockier head design (although lacking the tubes) and the green color of the Zaku II. In materials displaying the technical data and statistics relating to the various fictional mecha in the timeline, the Leo is the standard of comparison.
Role in plot
Background
The Leo was the first mass-produced military mobile suit designed, following a scaling down of the prototype Tallgeese design. It entered service in After Colony 175 (20 years before the Gundam Wing anime), and its easily adaptable design was virtually unchallenged, except when the opponents were piloting another OZ-designed mobile suit.
Gundam Wing
When Operation Meteor was launched, Leo pilots found themselves significantly outmatched by the five Gundams arriving from space. Although a Leo could take on a Gundam when piloted 'properly' (by a major character), the inexperience of the military meant that the Gundam pilots were able to notch up many easy kills.
The Leo mobile suit was piloted by the majority of the major characters over the course of the series, and appeared in every derivative work associated with the After Colony timeline. Leos are regarded as cannon fodder, due to their easily destructible nature.
Design
Like all mobile suits, the Leo has a basic humanoid form, including hands able to manipulate objects. The suit was designed by Hajime Katoki, who would later go on to redesign most of the mecha featured in Gundam Wing for the Endless Waltz OVA.
Leos were depicted in several colours, which were used to indicate the organisation owning the suit. Those used by the Alliance military prior to the OZ takeover in episode 7 were olive, green, and brown; this colourscheme is taken by fans to be the default colour. Leos operated by OZ were coloured in dark blue shades.
Variants
Early Type
The OZ-06MS Leo Early Type was an earlier model of the standard Leo design, depicted as the previous version to those seen primarily in the anime. The differences were primarily cosmetic in nature, with similarities to the Tallgeese. Leo Early Types were seen primarily in episode 12, under the command of a military dictator using the events depicted in the series to establish his own nation.
Cannon Type
The OZ-06MS Leo Cannon Type was a minor modification on the frame of the standard Leo. The shoulder armour is larger and more squared off, and a pair of beam cannons rest on the shoulders, similar to the RX-77 Guncannon design appearing in Mobile Suit Gundam.
When seen, the Cannon Type is most often piloted by an officer of some type.
Space Type
The OZ-06SMS Leo Space Type was modified for movement and combat outside of Earth's atmosphere. The standard Leo operated poorly in outer space, so the Leo Space Type remedied that problem by the addition of a booster unit with additional maneuvering verniers and rocket thrusters to the backpack. Beam rifles carried by Space Type Leos featured a radar sensor instead of a visual sensor for targeting.
Space Types seen in the anime were used to blockade and police the orbital Colonies, and a force of Space Type Leos made up the majority of the force led by Treize Kushrenada against The White Fang organisation from episode 46 until the end of the series. They are also the only Leo design to appear while fighting, in the Endless Waltz OVA.
Space Type Leos were primarily violet in colouration. Those operated by OZ were blue, like their Earth-based counterparts.
EWAC Leo
A variant only existing in the Gundam War CCG and the G-Unit side story, the OZ-06MS EWAC Leo (unofficial name) was a Leo modified to carry a high-powered radome in the head section of the mobile suit. The suit is lightly armoured, and carries a customised machinegun as its primary weapon. Objects mounted to the left shoulder May Be additional weapons, but their nature or use was not indicated in Either appearance. they were used as war toys to people.
References
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