00

Those who know me well know that there are two things that fire me up above all else. The first, of course is what I talk about here most days: superhero comics. There are few things that get me as excited as superheroics. But there is one thing that reaches that level in my estimations: Gundam.

My two loves share a lot in common. In the world of superhero comics, we have people with astonishing abilities that often put them leagues above normal men and women. And so they put on brightly colored costumes and do battle for the things they believe in -- whether those things are truth, power, justice, money, or the American Way.

In the various worlds of Gundam (for you see, there is a multiverse of Gundam worlds) we have people with astonishing abilities that often put them leagues above normal men and women. And so they pilot brightly colored robots and do battle for the things they believe in -- whether those are truth, power, justice, money, or the Zeonic Way.

But, like superhero comics, the heart and soul of Gundam is not might and strength of arms. It is about the person behind the mask (and there's always a masked man in Gundam). It's about the human being who pilots that mobile suit. It's about his or her dreams and fantasies; it's about his or her hopes and fears.

In that, Gundam embodies the same things that I love in superheroes. For me, it's about justice and protecting the innocent. One of the hearts of Gundam has always been the strong fighting on behalf of the weak and the defenseless. When the forces of oppression and evil rise up and all hope is lost the Gundam will appear. Not so different from Superman...

I speak of Gundam this night because the most recent Gundam series -- Gundam 00 -- just reached its twenty-fifth and final episode. As with most Gundam series, there were unanswered questions -- a good thing, considering the second season begins in October.

But before we reached that end I got to see Gundam pilots -- who are the hearts and souls of their Gundams both literally and figuratively -- struggle, fight, and die for causes higher than themselves. They fought for truth, justice, and freedom. And that, my friends, is what it's all about.