TV-Series
Description
Ple Two is a young Cyber Newtype soldier who appears in the later portion of Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ as a formidable opponent who eventually becomes an ally. She is the first of twelve clones created from the genetic material of Elpeo Ple, a Newtype girl who defected to the side of the protagonist Judau Ashta. The clone project was conducted in secret by the Neo Zeon officer Glemy Toto, who intended to produce an army of ultimate Newtype soldiers. Ple Two was designed to be a perfect combatant with superior abilities and unconditional loyalty to Neo Zeon, and she spent her early existence in cold sleep aboard the flagship Gwadan until Glemy decided that her deployment was necessary. She closely resembles Elpeo Ple in appearance, being a girl of about ten years old with similar orange hair and features, though her hair is somewhat longer and her expression sharper, and her demeanor reflects her upbringing as a soldier.
Her personality stands in sharp contrast to that of her progenitor. Where Elpeo Ple was warm, energetic, and childlike, Ple Two is cold, professional, and belligerent. She regards herself as a weapon rather than a person, approaches combat and relationships with clinical detachment, and shows unwavering obedience to Glemy. Some descriptions characterize her as mentally unstable and filled with hatred, and she resents the fact that she and Elpeo Ple are essentially the same person, directing particular hostility toward the original who represented everything she was not allowed to be. Her conditioning appears to have been reinforced while she was in cold sleep, giving Glemy the opportunity to shape her personality to suit his purposes. Even so, traces of empathy remain beneath the surface; she sometimes spares opponents she could have killed, and she is visibly surprised when a civilian calls her a good person. Her initial motivation is simply to fulfill her role as a weapon and execute Glemy's orders, but over time she comes to desire something else: to be recognized and to act as her own person rather than as an instrument of war.
Ple Two's first combat mission occurs when Glemy awakens her and sends her out in the massive MRX-010 Psycho Gundam Mk-II to destroy the Argama and Judau's team. She proves to be a formidable opponent capable of pushing the ZZ Gundam to its limits. During this battle she confronts Elpeo Ple, and the two share an unsettling connection that allows them to anticipate each other's movements perfectly because of their shared genetic origin. The encounter ends with Elpeo Ple sacrificing herself by ramming her Qubeley Mk-II into the Psycho Gundam Mk-II to save Judau. The death of her progenitor shakes Ple Two more deeply than she initially acknowledges, and from this point onward the spirit of Elpeo Ple begins to influence her through their Newtype bond, gradually eroding her soldier conditioning.
Following this, Ple Two continues to serve Glemy as his right hand. She experiences severe headaches and psychological strain when fighting other Newtypes, a consequence of both her artificial enhancement and her unresolved connection to the deceased Ple. When Glemy launches his own rebellion against the Neo Zeon leader Haman Karn, she accompanies him and fights against both Haman's forces and the Argama, piloting several powerful machines including a red AMX-004-3 Qubeley Mk-II. During the final Battle of Axis she pilots the enormous NZ-000 Queen Mansa. When she faces Judau in this battle, the combined influence of his Newtype abilities, his words, and the lingering presence of Elpeo Ple finally breaks through her conditioning. She recognizes the love her progenitor felt for Judau, defects from Glemy's faction, and begins calling Judau "big brother" just as Elpeo Ple had done. Her defection distracts Glemy at a critical moment, allowing Roux Louka to shoot him down with the Zeta Gundam's beam rifle.
The Queen Mansa explodes as Ple Two attempts to escape, and she is badly wounded. In her final act, she uses the last of her strength to reach the bridge of the Ra Cailum-class ship Nahel Argama, orders a high-mega particle cannon shot against the collapsing asteroid Moussa, and guides Judau to safety before collapsing. The television series leaves her fate somewhat ambiguous, with no explicit confirmation of her death, though later materials including the novelization depict her death and funeral as a clear acknowledgment of her redemption.
Her relationship with Judau is the core of her growth throughout the story, evolving from enmity to a surrogate sibling bond as she moves from treating him as a target to be eliminated, to hesitating to kill him, and finally to acting out of the same selfless love her progenitor showed. Her relationship with Glemy, her creator and commanding officer, is defined by his treatment of her as a tool rather than a person, which ultimately contributes to her rebellion against him, though she bears him no personal hatred and views their conflict as a necessary step toward becoming human. As the second of the Ple series, she is also connected to the other clones, including the youngest, Marida Cruz, the twelfth clone who appears in later Gundam stories, though the two never meet directly.
As a Cyber Newtype, Ple Two possesses artificially induced psychic abilities that allow her to sense other Newtypes and control Psycommu-guided remote weapons such as funnels with great precision, even from outside her mobile suit through a special head-mounted device. Her powers are generally regarded as superior to those of Elpeo Ple, and her piloting skill is exceptional, enabling her to master machines ranging from the enormous Psycho Gundam Mk-II and Queen Mansa to the agile Qubeley Mk-II. Her story ultimately explores themes of identity and self-determination, as a being created as a copy struggles against her programming and chooses, at the end, to act according to her own will rather than as a weapon.
Her personality stands in sharp contrast to that of her progenitor. Where Elpeo Ple was warm, energetic, and childlike, Ple Two is cold, professional, and belligerent. She regards herself as a weapon rather than a person, approaches combat and relationships with clinical detachment, and shows unwavering obedience to Glemy. Some descriptions characterize her as mentally unstable and filled with hatred, and she resents the fact that she and Elpeo Ple are essentially the same person, directing particular hostility toward the original who represented everything she was not allowed to be. Her conditioning appears to have been reinforced while she was in cold sleep, giving Glemy the opportunity to shape her personality to suit his purposes. Even so, traces of empathy remain beneath the surface; she sometimes spares opponents she could have killed, and she is visibly surprised when a civilian calls her a good person. Her initial motivation is simply to fulfill her role as a weapon and execute Glemy's orders, but over time she comes to desire something else: to be recognized and to act as her own person rather than as an instrument of war.
Ple Two's first combat mission occurs when Glemy awakens her and sends her out in the massive MRX-010 Psycho Gundam Mk-II to destroy the Argama and Judau's team. She proves to be a formidable opponent capable of pushing the ZZ Gundam to its limits. During this battle she confronts Elpeo Ple, and the two share an unsettling connection that allows them to anticipate each other's movements perfectly because of their shared genetic origin. The encounter ends with Elpeo Ple sacrificing herself by ramming her Qubeley Mk-II into the Psycho Gundam Mk-II to save Judau. The death of her progenitor shakes Ple Two more deeply than she initially acknowledges, and from this point onward the spirit of Elpeo Ple begins to influence her through their Newtype bond, gradually eroding her soldier conditioning.
Following this, Ple Two continues to serve Glemy as his right hand. She experiences severe headaches and psychological strain when fighting other Newtypes, a consequence of both her artificial enhancement and her unresolved connection to the deceased Ple. When Glemy launches his own rebellion against the Neo Zeon leader Haman Karn, she accompanies him and fights against both Haman's forces and the Argama, piloting several powerful machines including a red AMX-004-3 Qubeley Mk-II. During the final Battle of Axis she pilots the enormous NZ-000 Queen Mansa. When she faces Judau in this battle, the combined influence of his Newtype abilities, his words, and the lingering presence of Elpeo Ple finally breaks through her conditioning. She recognizes the love her progenitor felt for Judau, defects from Glemy's faction, and begins calling Judau "big brother" just as Elpeo Ple had done. Her defection distracts Glemy at a critical moment, allowing Roux Louka to shoot him down with the Zeta Gundam's beam rifle.
The Queen Mansa explodes as Ple Two attempts to escape, and she is badly wounded. In her final act, she uses the last of her strength to reach the bridge of the Ra Cailum-class ship Nahel Argama, orders a high-mega particle cannon shot against the collapsing asteroid Moussa, and guides Judau to safety before collapsing. The television series leaves her fate somewhat ambiguous, with no explicit confirmation of her death, though later materials including the novelization depict her death and funeral as a clear acknowledgment of her redemption.
Her relationship with Judau is the core of her growth throughout the story, evolving from enmity to a surrogate sibling bond as she moves from treating him as a target to be eliminated, to hesitating to kill him, and finally to acting out of the same selfless love her progenitor showed. Her relationship with Glemy, her creator and commanding officer, is defined by his treatment of her as a tool rather than a person, which ultimately contributes to her rebellion against him, though she bears him no personal hatred and views their conflict as a necessary step toward becoming human. As the second of the Ple series, she is also connected to the other clones, including the youngest, Marida Cruz, the twelfth clone who appears in later Gundam stories, though the two never meet directly.
As a Cyber Newtype, Ple Two possesses artificially induced psychic abilities that allow her to sense other Newtypes and control Psycommu-guided remote weapons such as funnels with great precision, even from outside her mobile suit through a special head-mounted device. Her powers are generally regarded as superior to those of Elpeo Ple, and her piloting skill is exceptional, enabling her to master machines ranging from the enormous Psycho Gundam Mk-II and Queen Mansa to the agile Qubeley Mk-II. Her story ultimately explores themes of identity and self-determination, as a being created as a copy struggles against her programming and chooses, at the end, to act according to her own will rather than as a weapon.