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So you just found out that the enemy is developing a new Super Prototype that will alter the course of the war. What are you gonna do about it?
The simplest answer seems to be to destroy it, but this more often than not ends up with some Ordinary High School Student Falling Into The Cockpit, and then you're really boned. You can come up with prototypes of your own to counter it, but this could just end up creating a Sorting Algorithm Of Evil that'll lead right to your doorstep.
Better yet, why not just take it for yourself? This has a double benefit: Not only does it deny the enemy a powerful weapon, but you gain said weapon in the process. You might wanna kidnap, steal or wipe out the project data and/or the inventor(s) while you're at it.
If this is done by the hero, the story usually focuses on their attempts to get back into friendly territory with their prize. If the story is told from the view of the inevitable pursuers, then they will be attempting to recover or destroy the new unit before it can get away.
See also Phlebotinum Rebel, where the heroes Gundamjack themselves. Not to be confused with the lumberjack-themed Canadian Gundam from G Gundam.
Examples:
- The Trope Namer in this case would be Gundam 0083, specifically the title of the first episode, where Anavel Gato does just that, setting off the plot of the series. Of course, how said Gundamjacking is pulled off should go down in the annals of badassery...
- Zeta Gundam has the first example of this trope in Gundam with Camille helping the AEUG pull this off.
- Similarly, Gundam SEED begins with the ZAFT G-boys snatching four of the Alliance's five new Gundams. Gundam SEED Destiny begins with the Alliance stealing three of ZAFT's new Gundams. And, of course, Kira comes by his Mid Season Upgrade by Gundamjacking the Freedom, with help from Lacus.
- Of course, in the Cosmic Era, due to theft and salvage, everybody has at least one Gundam on their side. Even the organization that's basically a Garbage union IN SPACE ON STEROIDS
- Gundam X's protagonist hijacks a normal mobile suit in the first episode, but comes by the titular Gundam more honestly.
- Ali Al-Saachez hijacks Gundam Throne Zwei in season one of Gundam 00, despite the manufacturers finally thinking to put in a biometric scanner. Fucking Ribbons!
- A large portion of Gundam 00 revolves around the various antagonist factions trying to steal the Gundams.
- Subverted in Season 2 when Revive and Anew fail to get the 00 Gundam because they couldn't bypass the security.
- In the last episode of Gundam 00, Ribbons jacks the 0 Gundam after Lasse abandoned it when its GN particle tank ran out. Amuro and the RX-78, together again at last!
- In a rare hero on hero version, look at episode two of Gundam ZZ. Judau jacks the Zeta Gundam simply because it's the only mobile suit for him to use.
- Even though they were the intended pilots (for the most part), the Gundam Wing team stole their Gundams once they learned that the original plan for Operation Meteor was to Colony Drop the Earth, then crush all remaining opposition and take over the world, opting instead to fight the enemy that was oppressing the colonies and leaving the civilians out of it.
- Well, technically... Trowa wasn't the original pilot of Heavy Arms, as it was shown in Endless Waltz that the original Trowa Barton was killed by an engineer who had family on Earth.
- Zone Of The Enders starts with an attempt to steal the previously-jacked Jehuty back, until Leo complicates things by Falling Into The Cockpit.
- The sequel, The 2nd Runner, does the exact same thing, although Jehuty was in a container in Calypso rather than in a military base.
- The anime prequel Zone of the Enders: Idolo climaxes with a failed attempt at this.
- The movie Firefox is about Clint Eastwood's character making off with a Soviet prototype jet.
- The movie averts the No Plans No Prototype No Backup trope by having him subsequently get chased down by the other prototype and forcing him into a dogfight with it. Apparently the Soviets made at least two, and certainly still have the plans (although not necessarily the scientists) to make more but don't want the Americans reverse-engineering it before it goes into production.
- Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries did this trope once, with a faction hiring you to help steal a superheavy Clan-technology mech for their side. Possibly a double-dip of this idea, because you had the option to grab it away from them, too!
- Also occured in at least one of the Mech Commander games (the Masakari TWO Cing mission in the original springs to mind) and most of the novels at one time or the other.
- The Liao False Flag mission was basically this, send in several salvage craft in, steal the Davion Clanmechs and send the Steiner a nice middle finger barrage with it.
- It's a very common idea in the whole Battletech universe. Since building mechs is fairly difficult, killing the pilot and capturing the mech is a very common goal according to the universe lore. Though generally this was done on the battlefield: disable the 'Mech, kill the pilot, and then drag the 'Mech to your repair bay and now it's yours.
- The Xenogears plot is kicked off by one of these operations. (Well, not really, the plot starts a long time before that.) The game starts with the stealing team making a stand against the pursuit team. Neither side gets it, since Fei "fell into" the cockpit.
- Then everyone try to take the pilot with them, so the plot turns into a series of Feijacking
- Megas XLR begins with the Earth forces having already stolen the enemy Super Prototype; the beginning of the first episode has the Glorff trying to take it back again.
- Getter Robo Hien has the protagonist jacking Getter-1, then having to talk the other two pilots into working with him. Given that they were in the middle of a battle at the time, they don't have too much of a choice.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion has at least two angels that hijack an Eva for their own personal use.
- Lelouch hijacks the strongest robot in the first season from Britannia.
- More hilariously, in R2, the Chinese Federation captures Kallen and her Guren Nishiki, which are turned over to Britannia. Britannia heavily upgrades the Guren, only to have it stolen BACK, by Kallen herself, before they are ever able to use it.
- Metal Gear Solid 2 starts with Ocelot stealing Metal Gear RAY from The Patriots for The Patriots. It's as complicated as it sounds, this is Ocelot after all.
- Akito Tenkawa hijacks an (advanced but not exactly Super Prototype) Aestivalis in the first episode of Martian Successor Nadesico. He meant to use it as a convenient escape vehicle, but ends up providing just the distraction the good guys needed.
- In both the original Get Smart TV series & the 2008 movie, Hymie the robot was stolen from KAOS & reprogrammed by CONTROL.
- The King Gainer of Overman King Gainer is stolen from a museum run by the ruler of Wulgusk. The Duke wants it back, only to clam up when Gain reminds him that the London IRA wouldn't like it if he had a working Overman on display. Later in the series Adette steals a bunch of Silhouette Machines to supply her troops.
- Star Wars example: Slave I, the vehicle that Jango and Boba Fett pilot, was a prototype vehicle stolen by Jango; he then blasted the other prototypes with it. Eventually more models are built...because of the popularity of the design as a result of Boba Fett being the galaxy's best bounty hunter.
- This is how Kamina from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann gets his Gurren. They later pull the same feat by hijacking the Dai-Gurren.
- To an extent, this is also how the Arc-Gurren and Chouginga-Gurren are attained. There aren't any troops, but they are super prototype ships that didn't belong to the Dai-Gurren Brigade.
- This is how Team Dai-Gurren got all their Gunmen except for Simon's Lagann.
- In the PC game G-Nome, you can capture enemy HAWCs by forcing the pilot out with a special gun, then killing them.
- Similarly, in the Activision version of Battlezone, you can steal enemy vehicles by sniping the pilots.
- And Front Mission 3, you can jack every vehicles without pilot. Though only the normal Wanzer can be keep afterward.
- The pornographic epic Tailgunners has a lovely, lusty female American pilot making her way across WWII-ravaged Europe to steal the Nazi superbomber.
- In a kind of inversion, the Soviets try on several occasions to steal Airwolf. This is not quite the same as the first story, where Stringfellow Hawke has to Gundam Jack-back the previously stolen chopper from Libya.
- Anise Azeat of Galaxy Angel II steals an Emblem Frame/Angel Wing/whatever-they've-decided-to-call-them-this-week from the Luxiole early in the game, but gets to keep it after her Heel Face Turn and joins the Rune Angels.
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