Gundam Mk-II


The RX-178 Gundam Mark-II is a fictional mobile suit from the Universal Century Gundam anime series. A collaborative design created by Kunio Okawara, Mamoru Nagano, and Kazumi Fujita, it is featured prominently as protagonist Kamille Bidan's mobile suit in the first half of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, and used by various secondary characters throughout the rest of that series and its sequel, Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ. It has appeared in a number of other media, including the PlayStation 2 title Mobile Suit Gundam: AEUG Vs Titans, the multi-platform title , the Super Robot Wars series, and PSP title Gundam Battle Royale, among many others.

In ''Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam''

The RX-178 Gundam Mk-II are three prototype mobile suits developed by the Titans, an elite special unit of the Earth Federation forces, in UC 0087 - the first Gundam units seen in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. Aside from a new paint job of dark blue and black with red and yellow highlights, the Gundam Mk. II bears great aesthetic similarities to its One Year War-era predecessor, the original RX-78-2 Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam. The Mk. II represented a small increase in mobility compared to the original, and with the deletion of the cumbersome and expensive core block system, room was freed upon for a more modern panoramic cockpit setup, which is designed to offer increased situational awareness to the pilot. Armaments are fairly standard Gundam fare, including a beam rifle and twin beam sabers. Vulcan guns are not installed in the Mk. II by default, unlike previous models; however, an optional set can be added as an ejectable pod. The Mk. II may also arm a "clay bazooka" weapon, which is capable of disabling a mobile suit's mobility via an adhesive warhead. Aside from the aforementioned mundane enhancements, the Mk. II's most substantial contribution to mobile suit technology and largest upgrade over its predecessor is the then-revolutionary movable frame construction, which later inspired the designs in the novel Gundam Sentinel. Paradoxically, the Gundam Mk. II is not armored with the wonderfully durable Gundarium alloy material, first introduced in the series on the original RX-78 Gundam, making it no more or less physically durable than mass-production mobile suits of the era.
Further development by the Titans was delayed indefinitely following a raid by the Anti Earth Union Group operatives where all three units were stolen from the Titans' headquarters at Green Noa II. Launched from the carrier warship Argama, this "Gundam Heist" also netted the AEUG the powerful Newtype Kamille Bidan, who would become the Mk. II's chief operator, as well as initiating the series-long conflict between Kamille and Titans pilot Jerid Messa. Of note, this act marked the first "Stolen Gundam" plot event in the franchise, which has become more common in recent years.
Though an initial boon against Titans mobile suits, the Mk. II's limited capabilities become quite apparent by the time the plot develops to the Jaburo drop operation, where even the Titans' new mass-produced RMS-108 Marasai mobile suits featured Gundarium alloy armoring. The Mk. II's shortcomings are mitigated, to an extent, by the attachment of the G-Defenser armor booster, constructed by Anaheim Electronics. When combined with the G-Defenser, the Mk. II's mobility is increased via numerous additional thrusters, its vulnerabilities are somewhat reduced with additional armor plating, and its offensive capabilities are boosted significantly - new weapons include a heavy beam rifle and a battery of missile launchers, among others. Additionally, the G-Defenser itself is constructed with Gundarium alloy armor, boosting the protective value of the areas covered on the Mk. II's body. This configuration, known as the "Super Gundam", enables the Mk. II to remain relatively competitive against all but the highest-performing Titans mobile suits, such as the RX-193 Hambrabi.
Kamille would eventually abandon the Mk. II when the titular MSZ-006 Z Gundam, which Kamille helped design, is completed and delivered to the Argama. The Mk. II is then used by former Titans pilot Emma Sheen, who defected episodes earlier, before the Jaburo drop operation. Katz Kobayashi takes up operating the G-Defenser, and the two form a competent and effective team in utilizing the "Super Gundam".
In the movie trilogy's trailer, it shows the Gundam Mk. II launched with a Long Beam Rifle, but flies separately with G-Defenser, which shows Gundam Mk. II has an ability to use Long Beam Rifle on its own, though Emma did not fire a single shot in Mk. II mode.

Other appearances and beyond

The concept of Isuzu VX 2 is inspired by RX-178 Gundam Mk-II as concept design arts released in the Jan/Feb 1998, as seen in issue no. 71 of the magazine Axis published in Japan.
The Mk. II appeared years before the official North American release of Z Gundam on the talk show Late Night with Conan O'Brien in a commercial bumper. Featured on an episode originally aired on September 30, 1998, the "Conan Mk. II" was formed from a Mk. II model kit altered with O'Brien's face, and a cartoon-like head on the shield, as typical of Late Night bumpers of the period. Zeta Gundam was not officially released in the North American market by Bandai until 2004. Late Night graphical designer Pierre Bernard is a self-stated anime enthusiast, though if he specifically created the "Conan Mk. II" bumper has not been confirmed by any official source.
As with most mobile suits from Zeta Gundam, the Gundam Mk. II received 1:144 and 1/100 scale model kits in 1987, along with a 1:220 scale "pocket model". In 1994, the Mk. II was featured in the limited-run 1:144 High Grade series, along with the original RX-78 Gundam and the Mk-II's successor MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam. With the 1:144-scale HGUC lineup, launched in 2000, the Mk. II has seen very heavy coverage. The Mk. II was released as a stand-alone model in May 2002, with the G-Defenser in "Super Gundam" configuration in November 2002, a limited production collector's "extra finish" version in May 2005, with the Flying Armor re-entry vehicle later that month, and as part of the "Gryphios War" 3-pack with the Zeta Gundam and MSN-00100 Hyaku Shiki in March 2006. The Mk. II joined the 1/100-scale Master Grade lineup in August 1998, in both AEUG and Titans colors. A Master Grade "Super Gundam" kit with the G-Defenser was issued in January 1999, Totally re-designed versions of the Master Grade Mk. IIs were released in October 2005 and March 2006, concurrent with the releases of the second and third Zeta Gundam movie compilations respectively. Finally, the Gundam Mk. II was inducted into the enormous 1:60-scale Perfect Grade line in November 2001, and again in Titans colors in July 2002. In May 2012, Gundam Mk. II & Gundam Mk. II was introduced into the new 1/144-scale Real Grade model kit series.