Episode 1 U.C.0079

Char Aznable
At the beginning of the One Year War, Char fights in the Battle of Loum as a mobile suit pilot of the Principality of Zeon forces. His exploits will later earn him the nickname “Red Comet,” and make him an object of terror among the Federation Forces. Char wears a mask to conceal his true face.

Denim
A Principality of Zeon mobile suit pilot, with the rank of chief petty officer. During the Battle of Loum, he serves under the command of Lieutenant JG Char, and pilots the mobile suit MS-05 Zaku I during its first deployment in a fleet battle. Roughly nine months later, Lieutenant Commander Char will order him to infiltrate Side 7 in pursuit of the Earth Federation Forces' Operation V, leading to a battle with the Gundam.


Gaia
A Principality of Zeon mobile suit pilot. During the Battle of Loum, he pilots an MS-06R-1A Zaku II High Mobility Type. Thanks to his achievement in capturing General Revil, he is then promoted from lieutenant junior grade to full lieutenant. From their exploits, and their black mobile suits, the team of Gaia, Ortega, and Mash become known as the "Black Tri-Stars."
Ortega
A Principality of Zeon mobile suit pilot, and Gaia's subordinate. Piloting a Zaku II High Mobility Type during the Battle of Loum, he helps capture General Revil and is then promoted from ensign to lieutenant junior grade. The team of Gaia, Ortega, and Mash later become known as the "Black Tri-Stars." Ortega's specialty is melee combat.
Mash
A Principality of Zeon mobile suit pilot, and Gaia's subordinate. Together with Ortega, he aided in the development of the mobile suit. Thanks to his exploits in the Battle of Loum, he is promoted from ensign to lieutenant junior grade. The team of Gaia, Ortega, and Mash later become known as the "Black Tri-Stars." Mash only has one eye.



Johann Ibrahim Revil
Appointed as supreme commander of the Earth Federation Space Force in U.C. 0078, he serves as an admiral leading the Federation space fleet against the Principality of Zeon forces when war breaks out the following year.
However, his flagship Ananke is destroyed by the humanoid mobile suit weapons that the Zeon forces deploy in the Loum sector, and he himself is taken prisoner in the course of this crushing defeat.