Name = Zechs Merquise Organization = OZ Age = 19 Ethnic origin = Northern European Place of origin = Sank Kinkdom Family: Sister Relena Eye color = blue Hair color = Platinum Blond

Mecha Zechs Merquise Piloted TallGeese Wing Zero Epyon Leo Mobile Suit

Zechs is one of the two most complex characters in Gundam Wing (the other being his long-time friend, Treize Khushrenada.) Because of this, fans often don't know what to make of him and their opinions of him can change wildly from the beginning of the series to the middle, and then change again at the end. The problem of Zechs is that he doesn't fit well with any typical American/Western animated sterotype.

Zechs is actually a prince, Marquise Milliard Peacecraft, the son of King Peacecraft of the Sank Kingdom, and the heir to its throne. His entire reason for fighting in OZ is based on an event that happened when he was was 6-years-old, living with his parents in the palace of Sank. Federation troops attack the kingdom and destroyed it in 24 hours. They killed the monarchs and catured the capital city. Six-year-old Milliard's whereabouts after the attack were never discovered. But Zechs joins the Specials at age 13 to fight for Treize. We learn early on in the series that the entire reason for Zechs' participation in the fighting is to get close enough to the Federation to take revenge on the officer in charge of the attack and destruction of Sank and it's king. So while others in the series fight for leadership (Treize) or for freedom from oppression (the gundam pilots) Zechs fights because he wants to avenge the death of his father and the destruction of his homeland.

As a soldier, Zechs' skill are unparalleled. He is the top mobile suit ace in the Specials force, and, once he receives and gains control of Tallgeese, arguably better even than Heero, the Perfect Soldier. (At least, he seems to always be beating Heero soundly when their duels are interrupted.) But Zechs is also a good judge of battle situations, and won't put himself or others in risky situations if he can avoid it. He's a shrewd soldier, whose men appear to worship him.

But underneath the skilled warrior's mask is a young man who is deeply and constantly disappointed with himself. His men die in combat with the gundams or by fighting recklessly for him, in his name and not OZ's, and he takes it as his own personal failure. If he'd only beeen a better soldier, his men who not have died. This profound lack of his own worth shows up again when he visits the ruined palace of the now-liberated Sank Kingdom. There he tells his father's portrait that because he's been a soldier, he's unworthy of the throne, and apologizes for disappointing his father. In my opinion, it's this dangerously low self-esteem, combined with an intense depression about his role in the war, that causes him to accept the leadership of White Fang.

That depression also seems to play a large part in his life. He tends to brood over things, usually his own failures, and that makes it hard for him to see the right path to take at times. It also makes him reckless. I believe that many of Zechs' more flamboyant behaviors (attack on Sank, the invitation to Heero to finsih their duel at the South Pole, his effort to speak with colony leaders about OZ, and his association with White Fang) result from the intense feelings he harbors about what's happening in the world and about his own ability to do something to change those events for the good.

The way I see it, Zechs' intense feelings, and his need to do something drastic to address them, are, in large part, what set up the final conflict (called "the Eve Wars") at the end of the series. Zechs has become despairing that the Earth wll ever be a place of peace. He believes that the people of the space colonies have somehow found a way to live beyond war, and that the Earth will remain a threat to that peace unless it is destroyed. At this point, peace itself has become more important to him that the Earth, and if the planet has to be eliminated for true peace to exist, then even that price is not too high to pay.

Eventually, Zechs realizes that his extreme views, like those of his sister, are not the way to achieve a truly workable peace. To that end, he appears to be willing to sacrifice his life to rectify the mistakes he has made as the leader of White Fang.