In the year After Colony 195, Operation Meteor begins. Five teenage boys are sent to Earth in advanced Mobile Suits called Gundams to wage a guerrilla war against the oppressive Earth Sphere Alliance and the secret organization OZ. Heero Yuy's Wing Gundam is intercepted by Zechs Merquise, plunging into the ocean.
Heero washes ashore and enrolls in Relena Peacecraft's school to maintain his cover, threatening to kill her when she learns too much. Meanwhile, Duo Maxwell arrives with the Gundam Deathscythe, thwarting Heero's attempt to destroy the sunken Wing Gundam.
The existence of multiple Gundams becomes undeniable to OZ. Trowa Barton in the Heavyarms and Quatre Raberba Winner in the Sandrock make their explosive debuts on Earth, systematically dismantling Alliance military bases.
Zechs investigates the Victoria base massacre, realizing the sheer, terrifying power of the Gundams. Chang Wufei launches a solo assault on the Lake Victoria academy in the Shenlong Gundam, proving his ruthless dedication to justice.
Relena travels to the Earth Sphere Alliance peace conference, where the tragic history of the pacifist Sanc Kingdom and her true heritage as a Peacecraft are finally revealed to her.
Relena hosts a high-society party, but the event becomes a battlefield when Heero and Duo infiltrate to target an OZ commander. Relena is forced to confront the violent reality of the world she has just stepped into.
Treize Khushrenada sets a brilliant, devastating trap for the Gundam pilots at the New Edwards base. By manipulating them into attacking the facility, Treize tricks Heero into assassinating the Alliance pacifists, clearing the way for OZ to seize global control.
Trowa and Wufei attempt to assassinate Treize in the chaotic aftermath of New Edwards. Wufei engages Treize in a sword duel but is completely outmatched. Treize spares him, leaving Wufei's pride completely shattered.
OZ begins its global takeover, sweeping aside the old Alliance. Zechs travels to the ruins of the Sanc Kingdom, revealing his true identity as Milliardo Peacecraft, Relena's older brother, and his desire to destroy OZ from within.
Cornered by OZ forces and Lady Une, Heero refuses to hand over the Wing Gundam. In one of the most iconic moments of the series, Heero initiates the Gundam's self-destruct sequence, sacrificing himself to protect the mission.
Heero miraculously survives the explosion but is left comatose. Relena struggles with the burden of her Peacecraft lineage while the world rapidly falls under the absolute control of the Romefeller Foundation and OZ.
Trowa rescues the heavily injured Heero and hides out with a traveling circus. A depressed Wufei crosses paths with Sally Po, a former Alliance officer turned guerrilla fighter, who helps reignite his warrior spirit.
Trowa decides to self-destruct the Heavyarms in a suicide mission against an OZ base. Catherine, a performer at the circus, breaks through his emotional walls and tearfully stops him from throwing his life away.
Zechs secretly rebuilds the Wing Gundam, intending to finish his duel with Heero on equal terms. Romefeller discovers his insubordination and orders the absolute destruction of the Wing Gundam.
Heero travels to the desolate ice fields of Antarctica to face Zechs in a final, honorable duel. However, their isolated battlefield is quickly discovered and surrounded by a massive OZ strike force.
Heero and Zechs clash in a breathtaking battle over the Antarctic ice. Relena arrives to try and stop the fighting, discovering Zechs' true identity as her brother just before the duel is interrupted by OZ reinforcements.
With Earth firmly under OZ control, the space colonies shockingly declare the Gundams as their enemies. Betrayed by the very people they were sent to protect, the pilots are forced to retreat to space.
Zechs formally rebels against the Romefeller Foundation, defending the Sanc Kingdom from OZ forces. He is ultimately overwhelmed, and the legendary Tallgeese is heavily damaged in the defense.
Duo returns to space but is horrified to find the colonies actively cooperating with OZ. He launches a desperate, angry assault on the massive space fortress Barge but is ultimately captured.
Heero infiltrates the OZ lunar base. Wufei is also captured, and the original five Gundam scientists are forced by OZ to develop the terrifyingly advanced Mobile Dolls (unmanned mobile suits).
Quatre returns home to the colonies only to witness his pacifist father assassinated by the citizens they tried to protect. Consumed by grief and betrayal, Quatre completely snaps and vows revenge on the entire universe.
Lady Une's dual personality fractures further as she struggles to balance Treize's ideals with Romefeller's brutality. The colonies begin to arm themselves, setting the stage for total war.
Heero and Duo manage to escape the lunar base, but the Gundam scientists remain behind to secretly sabotage OZ's new mobile suits. Heero leaves Duo behind, coldly prioritizing his mission above teamwork.
A deranged Quatre completes the legendary Wing Gundam Zero, an incredibly powerful prototype deemed too dangerous by the scientists. Using the hallucinatory Zero System, Quatre begins indiscriminately destroying space colonies.
Heero and Trowa intercept Quatre. In a desperate attempt to snap Quatre out of the Zero System's murderous influence, Trowa absorbs a direct hit from the Twin Buster Rifle, seemingly sacrificing himself to save his friend.
Following the devastating blast from the Wing Zero, Trowa is left missing in action and presumed dead. Heero and Quatre are captured by OZ forces, forcing Quatre to deeply regret his murderous rampage under the influence of the Zero System.
A reflective recap episode. Heero and Relena's intertwined destinies are examined, detailing how the stoic soldier and the pacifist princess have profoundly influenced each other's paths during the war.
Treize Khushrenada reflects on the escalating conflict, the tragedy of the Gundam pilots, and his own shifting role in the war as the Romefeller Foundation pushes to replace human soldiers with soulless Mobile Dolls.
Relena Peacecraft officially restores the Sanc Kingdom as an absolute pacifist nation, inviting refugees and displaced citizens from around the globe. Romefeller views her growing influence as a massive political threat.
Heero travels to the Sanc Kingdom, secretly acting as a shadow guardian for Relena's fragile pacifist state. Meanwhile, Quatre and Noin head to Earth to gather the remaining Gundam pilots.
Heero formally enrolls in Relena's academy to stay close, while OZ begins launching covert military strikes against the Sanc Kingdom to test its pacifist resolve.
Duo is captured in space and forced to test the Wing Zero by an ambitious OZ officer named Trant. The overwhelming psychological strain of the Zero System causes Trant to lose his mind.
Zechs meets with a confined Treize Khushrenada. Disgusted by Romefeller's reliance on unmanned Mobile Dolls, Treize entrusts Zechs with his ultimate masterpiece: the close-combat Gundam Epyon.
Heero engages in a brutal battle to defend the Sanc Kingdom. He crosses paths with the Epyon, discovering that it utilizes a system identical to the Wing Zero, pushing the pilot to fight purely on violent instinct.
Wufei finally returns to space and receives the heavily upgraded Altron Gundam from the captive scientists. He launches a one-man assault against OZ's lunar base to prove his justice.
Romefeller launches a massive, overwhelming invasion of the Sanc Kingdom. To prevent the complete slaughter of her people, Relena makes the agonizing decision to officially surrender her nation and dissolve her government.
Heero (in the Epyon) and Zechs (in the Wing Zero) clash in a legendary, system-driven duel amidst the ruins of the Sanc Kingdom. Realizing their machines reflect the other's destiny, they mutually agree to trade Gundams.
In a shocking political maneuver, the Romefeller Foundation appoints Relena as their Chief Representative, intending to use her peaceful image to control the world. Relena accepts, planning to dismantle them from the inside.
Quatre locates an amnesiac Trowa working at a circus. When the circus is attacked by OZ, Trowa's combat instincts return, and he slowly begins to piece together his shattered memories.
The radical space rebel group known as White Fang recruits Zechs Merquise as their supreme commander. Zechs completely abandons his identity, preparing to declare all-out war on the Earth to force peace through mutual destruction.
White Fang launches a devastating assault on the massive OZ space fortress Barge. The Gundam pilots are caught in the crossfire as the political landscape violently fractures.
White Fang completes construction of the Libra, a colossal space battleship capable of obliterating the Earth. Treize Khushrenada steps back into power, rallying the Earth's forces to intercept them.
Zechs formally declares war on the Earth, preparing to use the Libra's massive main cannon. Relena steps down as Queen, realizing that words alone can no longer stop the impending massacre.
For the first time in the entire war, Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei officially unite as a single team. They launch themselves into the chaos of space to stop both Treize and Zechs from annihilating humanity.
The Eve Wars officially begin. Treize's World Nation fleet clashes with Zechs' White Fang Mobile Doll army in a massive, chaotic battle orbiting the Earth. The Gundam pilots tear through both sides to reach the Libra.
Relena travels to the Libra to plead with her brother one last time. Zechs coldly rejects her, fully committing to his role as the ultimate villain to unite the Earth and space in their mutual hatred of him.
The battle reaches its bloody climax. Wufei confronts Treize in a final, honor-bound duel amidst the wreckage of the fleets, seeking to finally prove his worth as a warrior.
Treize deliberately allows Wufei to strike a fatal blow, dying with a smile. With the World Nation leader dead, Zechs sets the massive Battleship Libra on a catastrophic collision course with Earth.
Heero and Zechs fight a legendary, final duel inside the crumbling Libra. Following Zechs' defeat and apparent sacrifice, Heero uses the Wing Zero's Twin Buster Rifle to obliterate the falling wreckage, saving the Earth and ushering in a new era of peace.