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What Could Have Been / Gundam

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The Gundam franchise has had What Could Have Beens aplenty:


Examples:

  • The original Mobile Suit Gundam would have had the original RX-78-2 Gundam destroyed not by the Zeong, but by a grunt unit. As well, Char would have taken up a unit known as the Kikeroga and used it to drop Luna II on Earth, predating his Axis asteroid drop by 13 years.
    • Another interesting turn of events was the case of Miharu, the Zeon spy girl that became Kai's love interest. According to source books, she was originally going to be a member of the Zabi family!
    • Another was that the meeting between Degwin Sodo Zabi and General Revil would have been much different had the series been allowed to be fully completed: they would have met on the White Base and during the meeting, Degwin would have spotted Sayla and, recognizing her as Zeon Zum Daikun's daughter Artesia, would break down and beg for forgiveness, revealing that he indeed murdered Zeon.
    • Yoshiyuki Tomino wanted the Gundam to be all-white like a Star Wars stormtrooper, a notion vetoed by the producers, who wanted kid-friendly primary colors.
    • Rather than the complete Hitler analogue he ended up being in the final product, Gihren would have been a more stereotypical James Bond type of villain, complete with a Collapsing Lair and Bond Villain Stupidity (his last words are literally "Damn you, Newtype!", though it is not recorded whether or not he would have indignantly shaken his fist at Amuro in his last moments). Because of Char being a serious Adaptational Dumbass, however, Gihren also would have gotten to enjoy a Near-Villain Victory.
    • Amuro would not have killed Lalah, which would have spared himself and Char both 14 years of angst and surreal swan dreams. Instead, Lalah's killer would have been a discarded character named Paccadelia, one of Challia Bull's proteges (he would have at least three, none of which ended up being used).
    • What Amuro would have done instead was destroy the entire Solar Ray single-handedly (!!). This concept ended up being used decades later in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing to build up requisite Char Clone Zechs.
  • At one point, there were plans to make a manga known as MSX, set a few years after the One Year War and featuring a whole new slew of Mobile Suits. However, it ended up getting canned when Zeta Gundam was announced. The mechanical designs from that series still made it into canon though.
  • The original 1984 proposal for Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is recognizable, but is often times a completely different animal from the final product. Consider:
    • The series focus would have been on Char Aznable in his Quattro Bageena alias as the main character rather than Kamille Bidan, with a Downer Ending of Char being decisively defeated by Paptimus Scirocco and a Sequel Hook involving Kamille leading a new group, possibly to Take Up My Sword.
    • Char is described at some length as a Perilous Old Fool whose abilities are dwindling and is thrusting himself back into battle in an attempt to regain the powerful feelings he had during the One Year War. On the other hand, there is no indication he would have been the Manipulative Bastard he ended up being in the final product, and one line even indicates he would have been a believer in the Hindu goddess Shakti.
    • Much of Kamille's background remains the same, but there is no indication his parents would have been Titans as they are only described as working for "the military". It is also stated that his parents would have "raised him with the strict discipline of Western tradition", a statement that comes across as nothing short of laughable since the rise of the Tiger Mom stereotype.
    • The judo coach who punches Kamille out in the first episode and never appears again was given a name (Mezun Mex, which is never used in the final product) and would have taken Astonaige's place as the main mechanic character who works with Kamille.
    • Emma would have had a much stronger relationship with Amuro, who would have been the reason why she defected from the Titans. She is also described as 'the source of a rift' between Kamille and Fa.
    • Reccoa would have been arguably a much more sympathetic character than she ended up being in the final product, as there is no indication that she would have betrayed the AEUG or sided with Scirocco. Nor would she have been hung up over Char — instead Kamille would have been the focus of her affections, with Char mercilessly teasing her about it.
    • Interestingly, Haman is listed among the protagonist characters rather than the antagonists, despite being described as a radical Newtype ideologue. She also apparently would have been very gymnastic, with an entire paragraph devoted to the topic, none of which ends up used in the final product.
    • Katz would not have joined the AEUG or gone to space, a change which most Zeta viewers would probably agree on as being for the better.
    • Melanie Hue Carbine, Mysterious Backer of the AEUG in the final product, would have been a much more overtly villainous figure, being described as a Hidden Villain and Greedy Jew (yes, really) who is Playing Both Sides of the Federation vs Zeon conflict (a role that would later be taken up by Scirocco's organization, the Jupiter Energy Fleet). Oy vey!
    • On that note, Scirocco wouldn't have been affiliated with the Jupter Energy Fleet at all, as he is explicitly described as an agent of the Federation and in fact their "own champion to battle Char" (and in fact would have defeated Char in the finale without even needing help from Haman). He also would have survived the series, and completely ripped off Char's callsign, being called "The Comet from Jupiter". Thankfully he got his own callsign in Zeta.
    • Jamitov would have been the lord of All Devouring Black Hole Loan Sharks, as he is described as acquiring power through his complete control over the gambling industry. He also would have led a company called the Continental Restoration Corporation, which would have made his motives a little more clear than they ended up being in the final product.
    • Bask wouldn't have been the sheer Hate Sink he ended up being and his strange appearance is speculated to be the result of radiation exposure.
    • A discarded character concept on the Titans side was a cyborg Church Militant named Rizalda Goldy.
    • The Zeta Gundam would have been slightly smaller and the secret to its success would have been a new Gundarium variant that made its Transforming Mecha design feasible.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ was supposed to have Char reappear and lead the rebellion against Haman Karn, but when Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack got greenlit, Glemy Toto replaced him.
    • Judau Ashta ended up as a fairly stock All-Loving Hero. In the original draft however he was more readily violent and out for himself and his gang. While this personality is arguably more fitting for a street child surviving by their wits like Judau, it didn't mesh well with the comedic and lighthearted tone they wanted for ZZ. Ironically the series took a Darker and Edgier turn midway through.
    • As well, there are a number of abandoned Mobile Suit ideas as to what could have shown up. Included were a G-Defensor Mk-II (the original destroyed at the end of Zeta), two different Gundam Mk-IIIs (one of which was a contender for the main hero unit. A Mk-III would later become a Mobile Suit Variation), and a Double Zeta Gundam which utilized various combiner parts, which suggest that they had different, almost Super Robot-like ideas for the suits.
    • The Zeta Plus line was originally meant to have shown up in ZZ, however it was shot down as the idea of having so many Gundams running around alongside the Gundam Team would be too confusing for audiences. It would be until the anime of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn that the Zeta Plus would arrive.
  • Speaking of Char's Counterattack, Tomino had originally proposed a different version that was rejected (said proposal was later published as a novel titled Beltorchika's Children); it would've featured Beltorchika Irma taking Chan Agi's place (although unlike Chan, she would've survived) and being pregnant with Amuro's child, an entirely different mobile suit for Char to pilot (the Nightingale), and Quess would've been killed accidentally by Hathaway Noah, leading into Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash.
    • Nu Gundam was, at one time, planned to be naeed "HS Gundam" or "Hi-S Gundam" meaning "the Gundam that surpasses Char". The "S" in the name was because Yoshiyuki Tomino accidentally spelt "Char" as "Shar".
  • Mobile Suit Gundam F91 was supposed to have been a full-fledged series, but was shortened into a movie instead. While the Crossbone Gundam manga answered several questions, the question remains as to what the series could have been if it went that way.
  • This happened with Victory Gundam: the titular Gundam was to be introduced in the fourth episode instead of the first. However, thanks to the new Bandai management wanting the Gundam to appear from the start, the fourth episode was broadcast first, much to Tomino's consternation. It happened again with Gundam SEED, which was originally to follow the 'Big Bang' aftermath of ∀ Gundam, tying into the UC timeline and, as an interview said, "planting the seed for the future". The concept was not followed up on by Fukuda, however, and, once again, Tomino was not happy about it. Most recently, it happened yet again with the revelation that Mizushima wanted Gundam 00 to be originally set in the UC timeline, a proposition Sunrise turned down.
  • After Victory, reportedly the plan was to have a UC series called Polka Gundam, focused a struggle between people on Mars attempting to get back to Earth and Earthlings; however, as Victory underperformed, Bandai opted to go with a series that would be a safer bet, choosing Mobile Fighter G Gundam (likely due to the popularity of Dragon Ball Z at the time). However, the ideas in the series were likely reused in the Crossbone Gundam Manga, ∀ Gundam, and possibly Mobile Suit Gundam AGE.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: In one of his artbooks, mechanical designer Kunio Okawara revealed his original designs for the Gundams. Deathscythe, which hailed from Europe, had more Gothic design elements like a gargoyle head on the scythe (which had a metal blade at one point) and a large shield shaped like a coffin lid. Meanwhile, Heavyarms was the American Gundam and had a clown motif; Okawara, realizing this was too silly, changed its motif to "the American military", producing the familiar Gatling- and missile-laden design that would remain even after Trowa was made the European member of the team. Hajime Katoki would end up incorporating gothic elements into his redesign of the the Deathscythe Hell Custom (including a stylized gargoyle-head design on the scythe) in Endless Waltz.
    • Out of the main cast, the character that went through the most changes was Wu Fei. At various points in the creative process he was African rather than Chinese, had the Newtype power to Detect Evilnote , and was going to be voiced by Wataru Takagi instead of Ryuzou Ishino. Takagi would go on to play The Hero of the next series.
    • While Zechs is infamous as the series' resident Char Clone, Noin was almost a Garma Clone, being created as a much more sinister character. The only vestige of Garma!Noin that remains in the final version of the show is the Taurus, which was originally meant to be her personal MS and designed with the keywords "sleek and sinister".
    • Among the other characters, Zechs originally kept his Peacecraft surname even when masked ("Merquise" came along later in the process), Treize had a character design highly reminiscent of Gihren Zabi (hard to imagine him being Estrogen Brigade bait like that), and Lady Une was conceived as a naive country girl who was in love with Treize and did her best to impress him.
  • Had After War Gundam X not tanked and got its full 49 episodes, Dark Action Girl Ennil El would have gotten her own Gundam-esque Mobile Suit, the Esperansa II.
  • Speaking of Turn-A, Tomino didn't just want all the Gundam series used in this series, he wanted to use ALL the mecha series he created, including Ideon and Daitarn 3. That was shot down.
  • Gundam SEED had a number of things planned for the second half of the series, including having Flay pilot the Strike Rouge as propoganda material for the Earth Alliance, Flay and Sai dying in an attempt to save the Archangel from a bomb and even killing just about everyone save Athrun (who'd lose a leg). This never happened due to the immense popularity of the Seed characters among the viewers.
    • And a close fight between Strike Freedom and Destiny in the Gundam SEED Destiny finale, both terribly damaged from all the fighting.
    • Also from SEED Destiny was the rumor that Neo Roanoke would pilot the N Dagger N, an MSV-based suit based off of the Blitz Gundam. Instead, he rode in on the Exus.
    • Speaking of SEED Destiny, the original names for the Strike Freedom and Infinite Justice were the "Super Freedom" and "Knight Justice", respectively. In the case of the former, it would have explained the "Super DRAGOON" and "Super Lacerta" names. The "Knight Justice" name would see a nod years later with the Justice Knight Gundam in Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE
    • Shiho Hahnenfuss was to have been voiced by Nami Tamaki (who sang one of the theme songs in both SEED and SEED Destiny), but she declined the role.
  • In Gundam 00, the incredibly feminine Tieria Erde was at one point planned to be a beautiful woman dressing like a man. Interestingly, despite this plot point being dropped early, there is still arguably some foreshadowing for it in early episodes of the first season, such as the name and visual metaphors his gundam presents, Tieria's feminine appearence multiplying several thousand fold when he's upset, and the Pronoun Trouble he experiences after revealing his extremely masculine gundam's inner female form that dips in to the gender neutral. Sadly, fans lost a probable Ms. Fanservice and a chance to get a female "main" pilot in the series in exchange for what's probably the closest we're going to get for a canonically gay Gundam pilot.
  • Years before Gundam Wing came to American shores, Sunrise released a pilot for a series called Doozy Bots, which had a scientist named Professor Doozy turn a bunch of stereotype high school students into SD versions of various heroic Mobile Suits to battle laughable versions of Zeon-based Mobile Suits.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans was in development as early as 2009, but due to a combination of director Tatsuyuki Nagai's involvement with other projects (Waiting in the Summer, Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, A Certain Scientific Railgun) and Mobile Suit Gundam AGE, it was stuck in Development Hell until 2014.
  • There was actually a live-action Gundam planned in 1983! The ambitious retelling of Mobile Suit Gundam would have done away with a lot of the original lore, make it a little more akin to Star Trek, make Amuro and Char brothers and the massive threat being a runaway AI called "Ziong".
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury was initially planned to have the corporate warfare angle be the main angle. However, during discussions, the director casually dropped the school setting and the duel system, which became the main drive forward.

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