Editing Mobile Suit Gundam (section)

==Universal Century==
This is the original, OG Gundam setting, the [[Prime Material Plane]] from which sprang the entire [[multiverse]] of Gundam we know today. As a result, there are more series and OAVs set in this continuity than in any other.

It all begins in the Year 0079 of the Universal Century (from whence this timeline gets its name). Decades ago, humanity united under the Earth Federation and then colonized the local Earth-Moon system with a series of free-floating country-sized space stations. However, some of those space colonies have united to form the power-bloc known as the Principality of Zeon, which desires nothing less than to be formally recognized as an independent sovereign nation, free of the Earth Federation's control. When the Federation wouldn't give it to them, Zeon responded in a calm, level manner.

...By which we mean they invented Mobile Suit technology, wiped out half of Earth's population with a combination of mass-scale nerve gas attacks, nuclear weaponry and crashing at least two space colonies into the Earth. They were surprised when the Federation refused to surrender, and now the war is raging on both Earth and in space.

The story of the Universal Century truly begins on a Federation-allied space colony, which has secretly begun production of two new super prototypes for the Federation military; an assault carrier spaceship called the White Base, and an ultra-advanced Mobile Suit, the titular Gundam. Zeon gets wind of these and goes after the colony, which leads to it being destroyed and the colony's survivors fleeing to Earth aboard the White Base, with a young prodigy named Amuro Ray piloting the Gundam to protect them. Thus begins the long, ''long'' bloody conflicts to follow...

The Universal Century is famous (or perhaps infamous) for its efforts to try and present both sides as morally ambiguous. The Principality of Zeon draws ''very'' heavily from [[Nazi]] and Imperial Japanese trappings and ideology, right down to viewing "spacenoids" (humans conceived and born in zero-gravity) as a superior race, and atrocities are practically their go-to tactic in war; gassing neutral colonies to scare others into signing up with them, launching nuclear bombardments, dropping colonies and meteors on Earth... seriously, the amount of war crimes that Zeon commits over the course of these series is ridiculous. And yet the Zeon officers we see tend to be noble, principled, efficient and genuinely idealistic, with a minority of raving bloodthirsty madmen (such as the founders of the movement). In contrast, the Earth Federation tends to be our nominal protagonist side, as well as the recurring victim of Zeon's onslaughts, and yet the people in charge of the whole shebang tend to be venal, self-centered, short-sighted and appallingly corrupt and astonishingly incompetent.

One of the few non-"Real Robot" elements of this dimension is the concept of ''Newtypes'', which are basically spacenoids who have vaguely defined [[psionics]], largely centering around extra-sensory perceptive skills that make them super-deadly Mobile Sit pilots, with some telepathy thrown on top.

The original 0079 was cut short during its run due to low ratings, yet was rescued by the efforts of a devoted fanbase that ensured that it sold enough toys to warrant a sequel. Said sequel, Zeta Gundam cemented the show's core themes and popularity and would become a benchmark upon which future entries would be judged. The followup ZZ Gundam was considered divisive for having a jarring tonal shift towards the lighthearted and comedic following the dark and brutal ending of Zeta. The capstone of that particular story arc was the film 'Char's Counterattack' that concluded the rivalry between original protagonist Amuro Ray and Char Aznable.
[[File:McChar.png|200px|thumb|right|The Darth Vader of Japan.]]
A note should be made about Char, who is to Japan what Darth Vader is to America. A morally grey and complicated figure who has been the rival in 0079, the mentor in Zeta and the big bad in Char's Counterattack, he has inspired legions of clones, copies and expies both within Gundam and beyond it. He has even advertised McDonalds in Japan. Hell, even [[Warhammer 40k|the grim darkness of the far future]] has [[Farsight|a Char clone of their own]].

* Mobile Suit Gundam (1979-1980 TV series)
* Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (1985-1986 TV series)
* Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (1986-1987 TV series)
* Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (1988 movie)
* Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (1989 OVA)
* Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (1991 movie)
* Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (1991-1992 OVA)
* Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (1993-1994 TV series)
* Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (1996-1999 OVA)
* G-Saviour (2000 live-action movie)
* Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO (2004-2009 OVA)
* Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (2010-2014 OVA)
* Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (2015-2018 OVA)
* Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt (2015-2017 ONA)
* Mobile Suit Gundam Twilight AXIS (2017 ONA)
* Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative (2018 movie)
* Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash (2021-ongoing movie trilogy)
* Mobile Suit Gundam Cucuruz Doans Island (2022 movie)