Degwin Sodo Zabi emerges as a pivotal architect of the Universal Century’s political landscape, rising from Chief of Staff under revolutionary visionary Zeon Zum Deikun to steward of the fledgling Republic of Zeon. When Deikun succumbed abruptly to illness in U.C. 0068, Degwin seized control, citing an ambiguous succession mandate while whispers of his complicity lingered. He methodically eradicated dissent among Deikun’s adherents, restructuring the Republic into the autocratic Principality of Zeon by U.C. 0069 and crowning himself Sovereign, entrenching the Zabi lineage as its unchallenged rulers. As the One Year War escalated, Degwin’s grip weakened, his authority ceded increasingly to heirs Gihren and Kycilia. The loss of his youngest son, Garma, fractured his resolve, driving him into isolation and widening the rift with Gihren, whose draconian strategies he condemned. Publicly likening Gihren to despots like Hitler and Napoleon, Degwin foresaw his son’s hubris precipitating collapse. Though reluctantly endorsing the Solar Ray superweapon, he covertly pursued peace with Earth Federation’s General Revil, arranging a summit in neutral space. This overture collapsed when Gihren preemptively unleashed the Solar Ray on December 30, U.C. 0079, annihilating both leaders’ vessels and sealing Degwin’s fate. Alternate narratives diverge: the *Mobile Suit Gundam* novelization depicts Degwin surviving the war only to be ousted after Gihren and Kycilia perish, replaced by Char Aznable. In *Super Robot Wars OE*, his continued existence shifts the conflict’s arc as Gihren, thwarted in an assassination plot, forges Neo-Zeon. *Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin* delves into his pre-war pragmatism, navigating colonial uprisings and countering Gihren’s extremism—opposing the annihilation of Side 5 (Loum) and engaging Revil before the Antarctic Treaty’s dissolution. Degwin’s familial bonds were fraught: Garma remained his favored son, Kycilia his trusted spymaster, while Dozle’s military acumen drew skepticism. Gihren’s voracious ambition haunted him as a dual menace to both dynasty and state. His trajectory mirrors the Zabi legacy’s unraveling—a strategist eroded by loss and futility, his reign a testament to the corrosive toll of militaristic absolutism.