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The Gundam franchise has one of the more complicated multiverses in pop culture media. While the initial series and shows were part of one continuous timeline, each succeeding Gundam anime began taking part in its own continuity starting with Mobile Fighter G Gundam in 1994. The original series timeline, re-labeled as the Universal Century, is often revisited through mini-series, OVAs, and films. Each new Gundam timeline has its own name, which explains why there are timelines called Cosmic Era, After War, and Correct Century, among others. Complicating matters further is that Turn A Gundam implies the entire franchise takes place in a singular timeline, with each Gundam show unfolding in a specific era that is so far removed from the others.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead for Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX!
Some timelines and eras receive their own spin-offs and sequels, including Gundam Seed Destinya sequel to the original Gundam Seed from the Cosmic Era. Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX further complicates the multiverse by being an alternate universe of the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime from 1979. It’s part of the original Universal Century timeline with the same characters and lore. The final episode of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX reveals what broke the timeline, leading to the creation of timelines similar yet separate from the classic Universal Century.
Char’s Death Broke the Gundam Multiverse
Throughout Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuXcharacters were after something called the Rose of Sharon. It turns out the Rose of Sharon was actually the mobile armor Elmeth from the classic series, piloted by Lalah Sune, who is trapped in a weird stasis. Shuji Ito revealed in the final episode that the Lalah in the Elmeth comes from an alternate universe that was the exact same as the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime, except that Char dies in the fateful duel between him, Amuro, Lalah, and Sayla Mass. Char takes the blow that originally destroyed the Elmeth in the classic series. This caused Lalah great distress, and using her Newtype powers, she was able to splinter the Gundam timeline in that moment.
She invented multiple different universes in hopes of creating one where Char will live. Each attempt led to failure until she made an universe where Char stole the RX-78-2 Gundam, meaning there was no mobile suit strong enough to stop him. Char piloting the Gundam led to the Principality of Zeon winning the One Year War, and the Zabi family taking control of the colonies in space, creating the Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX timeline. Kycilia Zabi was hoping to find the Rose of Sharon to power the Yomagn’tho, a powerful device that can unleash Zeknova, a strange phenomenon where bright lights envelope a person. Machu, who bonded with a variant of Lalah in the Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX universe, decides to free the Lalah in Elmeth.
Was the original Gundam Series Not The Main Timeline?
Shuji’s explanation at the end of the series suggests that the original Gundam timeline was the one where Amuro kills Char during the One Year War, which is dissimilar from the original canon timeline. In the classic Universal Century timeline, Amuro and Char would survive the war and become begrudging allies in the Zeta Gundam anime. They would end up becoming rivals again when Char reformed Zeon and decided to hurl a meteor onto Earth, pushing humanity to migrate into space. The duo is last seen together at the end of the Char Counterattack movie, where both disappear when Amuro in the Nu Gundam successfully stops the meteor from hitting Earth. They are considered to be missing-in-action, though, Gundam Unicron strongly implies they are spirits.
If Shuji’s explanation is accurate, that means the original Universal Century timeline is an offshoot of the reality where Char dies. The classic series is another failed attempt by Lalah to save Char’s life, meaning it isn’t the prime universe. However, there is a possibility that the universe in which the Lalah in Elmeth comes is the original Universal Century timeline. Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX ends with Lalah leaving that reality to return to her own timeline. She may end up sacrificing herself the same way she did in the original show, re-establishing the Universal Century as the prime universe again. Nonetheless, that is only speculative. Furthermore, Gundam GQuuuuuuX establishes that people with Newtype abilities can summon Zeknova to traverse different dimensions or realities, giving fans the hope that the original Amuro and Char are still out there at the end of Char’s Counterattack.
