Code Name: Duo Maxwell
Number: 2 (derived from Latin 'duo')
Real Name: Unknown
Date of Birth: AC180 *
Place of Birth: Colony L2 Cluster
Nationality: American
Mecha: Gundam Deathscythe (Shinigami)

The History of Duo Maxwell:

Duo was born into a small family on the L2 colony, a small manufacturing colony that orbites Earth so as to stay constantly in the shadow on the dark side of the Moon. Duo hardly knew his parents as they were both killed when revolution broke out on the colony, leaving Duo orphaned at a very young age. For most of his young life, Duo was a miscreant and a nuisance, running with a local group of war orphans who ransacked the town. It wasn't until Duo was 7 years old that he was finally adopted into a neighborhood church by a priest and nun who lived there, the Maxwell Colonial Church.

Duo began to settle in at the Maxwell Church and became deeply fond of the nun who took him in. But his happiness was cut short in late February of the following year. L2 was invaded once again by rebellious troops. The Maxwell church was leveled and Duo once again lost the only family he knew. And it was then that he decided he had had enough.

Taking on the church's name as his code name, Duo Maxwell began to refer to himself as Shinigami (The God of Death) since death was all he had known in his life. For the next four years, Duo hopped about from colony to colony, sabotaging the rebellion armies that were attacking the inhabitant. In his pursuits, he came across a colony scientist known only as Doctor S who had fashioned a nearly indestructible suit of Gundanium alloy for use in the Barton Foundations plans to drop a colony on Earth to destroy it. This was Operation: Meteor, and the mobile suit was Deathscythe.

Duo's hate and resentment for the growing Barton Foundation and the emerging Special Troops of OZ led Duo to attempt to blow up Deathscythe, then kill Dr S and himself. But Dr. S wasn't willing to participate in Operation: Meteor and sabotaged Duo's plans. Instead, he recruited Duo to pilot Deathscythe to earth to stop Operation: Meteor and the OZ organization.

After much consideration, Duo finally agreed to pilot Deathscythe. In March of the year AC195, Duo launched himself to Earth in Deathscythe in the disguise of a shooting star.

And so the events of Gundam W take place.

Personality of Duo Maxwell

To everyone around him, Duo Maxwell is a kind and caring boy, always seen with his head held high and a goofy smile on his face. He tends to be the comic relief of Gundam W and the first character to try to put a bright side to a horrible situation. He loves life and will do anything to protect it, including killing himself to do it.

But deep down, because of all the anguish he felt as a child, Duo has a dark and twisted sense of reality. He blows into battle as Shinigami, the God of Death, and takes no mercy on those who stand in his way. He still values life when in this frame of mind, but holds no mercy for those who don't share his opinions on life. He wants his enemies to fear him and what he has become, so his techniques on the battle ground are honed specifically to instill that fear. Deathscythe will appear like a grim phantasm in battle when the enemy least expects it, his Gundam outfitted with a menacing reaping scythe to as to appear to be Death itself. And through later upgrades and modifications, Duo outfits Deathscythe with demon wings that are used as defense in battle.

As either part of his personality as the God of Death, or to carry on the memory of the Maxwell Church, Duo appears to always be in priest habits unless forced to do otherwise (like wear uniforms at school, track clothes on the basketball court etc..). A large iron cross hangs from his neck, almost always hidden deep in his habits. His long hair, which reaches nearly down to his knees, is always tied back in a single, long braid that is the pilot's trademark.

From an imagerry perspective, Duo represents The Grim Reaper, Shinigami. To all those whom are fated to meet their doom, he is there to enact his punishment. He represents the savageness that can be formed from the human consciousness when faced with the horrors of war.