Anavel Gato

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Anavel Gato
Art Drawing of Anavel Gato
DOB:	UC 0057
Age:	25
Nationality:	Principality of Zeon
Allegiance:	Principality of Zeon
Rank/Position:	Lieutenant Commander
Love Interests:	Nina Purpleton (Former)
Ethnic Origin:	Spanish
Mobile Suit:	MS-09R Rick Dom [MSG] MS-14A Gelgoog [MSG] RX-78GP02 Gundam Physalis [MSG-0083] AMX-002 Neue Ziel [MSG-0083]

Anavel Gato is a fictional character appearing in Mobile Suit Gundam's Universal Century (U.C.) timeline.

[edit] Background

In the fiction Gundam Universe, Anavel Gato was a member of the Principality of Zeon's elite palace guard unit. During the One Year War, at the Battle of Solomon, Gato earned the nickname "Nightmare of Solomon" for singlehandedly holding off a Federation pursuit force while Zeon forces retreated. He was absorbed into Aiguille Delaz's fleet late in the war, and withdrew with Delaz and his supporters after Gihren Zabi's assassination at the hands of Kycilia Zabi, his sister. He returns to the earth in October of UC0083 to seize the RX-78GP02 Gundam Physalis, and later utilizes this Mobile Suit's nuclear weapon against the Earth Federation's Naval Review.

Anavel Gato is a skilled pilot and a man of few words. Throughout Operation Stardust, he repeatedly clashes with the Federation pilot Kou Uraki. Gato was mortally wounded inside the captured colony cylinder as he reprogrammed the thrusters to enable the colony to fall on North America. At the conclusion of Operation Stardust, Anavel Gato ordered the remaining Zeon troops to charge for the Axis Advanced Fleet. Although they fought bravely, most of the Zeon pilots attempting to break through Federation lines were killed, including Anavel, who elected to kamikaze the AMX-002 Neue Ziel into one of the Federation's Salamis class cruisers.

During Operation Stardust, Anavel Gato had command of his own fleet, which was centered around Gato's flagship, the Musai class cruiser Peer Gynt. His fleet was destroyed at the conclusion of the operation.

Although Gato was the series' nominal antagonist, he was a man of honor and a soldier through and through who cared greatly for his comrades, and devoted his existence to vindicate the memory of his family and friends who died at the hands of the Earth Federation. He believed in the ideal Zeon was attempting to fight for and fought for it to the bitter end. As fate would have it, Gato was right about the evil intentions of the Earth Federation, whose corruption emerged with the advent of the Titans in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. This secured his place amongst Japanese fans as one of the most beloved anime characters of all time, and many popular anime and video game characters have since been inspired by Gato's distinct character design (prematurely white/grey hair).

Like many other characters within the Principality of Zeon that have diverse ethnic backgrounds, Gato is of Spanish ancestry, having the appearance and combat flourish of a matador.^{[citation needed]}It should come as no surprise that Street Fighter II's own Spanish Ninja, Vega, bears a passing resemblance to the Nightmare of Solomon.

[edit] Trivia

Anavel Gato is the name of a generated character on the MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies.

He is voiced by Akio Otsuka in the original Japanese and by Kirk Thornton in the English dub.

In the video game Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space, Gato's Gelgoog is depicted as using a unique prototype beam rifle which is longer and more powerful than the standard Gelgoog rifle.

Also in the video game Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space, Gato is seen using a customized Rick Dom, armed with a high powered beam bazooka, in a fight against Amuro Ray in the RX-78-2 during the battle of Solomon. The battle between the two is inconclusive as unit is forced to retreat; however, Amuro is heard to say "I might not have survived a longer fight with him."