MSN-02 Zeong - Elsewhere and Miscellany

Elsewhere and Miscellany

Chronologically, Kunio Okawara designed the Zeong as a legless mobile suit (some sources, such as the Gundam War card game, have erroneously referred to it as a mobile armor) for the 1979 animation. The legged version, known as the "Perfect" Zeong and sharing the same model number, appeared in Mobile Suit Variations in 1983, entering canon as the "completed" design. Of the three Zeongs built, two of them were completed to Perfect form (the other remaining suit was sortied against the Gundam by Char Aznable before it was finished in the incomplete state near the end of Mobile Suit Gundam). Aside from the Perfect version's greatly increased height from its legs, it also features additional armor plating on its limbs and a new setup of head-mounted thrusters. The enormous Master Grade Perfect Zeong model kit is also furnished with an extremely long solid-state sword. According to the manual's historical section, this is purely an aesthetic accessory for the model, and was not used in the canon universe. It is speculated that this is a throwback to the 1982 manga Plamo Kyoshiro, where the Perfect Zeong appeared with a prodigiously-sized blade (having almost the same height to the unit), but this is unsubstantiated by any official source. In the PlayStation Portable game Gundam Battle Chronicle, the Perfect Zeong's special attack is a powerful sweep of this weapon, marking the second instance of the mobile suit being fitted with the giant blade in official media.

Of interesting note, the Zeong is the first mobile suit in the Gundam franchise to feature a detachable arm-based attack; it has since appeared sporadically in a handful of animations (including, but not limited to, ZZ Gundam's Hamma Hamma, Char's Counterattack's Alpha Azieru and Gundam 0083's Neue Ziel). While certainly not uncommon at the time (1979) in the giant robot genre (Go Nagai's Mazinger Z and Getter Robo come to mind), it did put a new "spin" on the concept: the Zeong's arms utilize beam cannons to perform a ranged attack, as opposed to the commonly-seen melee attack, often in the vein of Mazinger Z's famous "Rocket Punch" or Getter-2's "Drill Missile".

Despite its brief appearance in the animation, limited to a single sortie, the Zeong has enjoyed considerable coverage in the merchandise area. As with most mobile suits from the series, the Zeong received a 1/144th-scale model kit in 1981. It was featured in the 1/250th scale A Baoa Qu diorama, along with the RX-78 Gundam and an MS-09R Rick Dom, released in the same year. A 1/250th-scale Perfect Zeong was released along with other MSV kits in 1983. More recently, a 1/144-scale High Grade Universal Century kit was released in 2001, a Mobile Suit in Action (MSiA) figure in 2004, a 1/100th-scale Master Grade kit in 2002, and again in its enormous "Perfect" legged form in 2004. This kit is the largest, heaviest, and most expensive 1/100th-scale Master Grade kit to date. Expensive, high-detail resin kits have been released by B-Club. In addition to model kits and figures, the Zeong's likeness, specifically its unique mono-eye track, has appeared on Gundam-themed clothing items.

Perhaps the most bizarre iteration, a "Puchuu-ified" Zeong appeared in a Gundam/Leiji Matsumoto-themed episode of Excel Saga, along with a similarly Puchuu-ified RX-78.

The Zeong was also mentioned in the manga Crossbone Gundam Skull Heart where it was stated that it was built to counter a "Giant Gundam," which in reality was a GM Ball with a Gundam faceplate.