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Haman Karn (ハマーン・カーン Hamān Kān?) is an antagonist from Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and the main antagonist in its sequel Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ. She also plays a major role in the Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Deleted Affair: Portrait Of Young Comet manga series.

Personality & Character[]

When first viewed, Haman comes off as a cool, collected, and hardened leader. Despite this, she is very charismatic and seems to care for the well being of her soldiers, even teaching the principles of war to some. However, all this is a ruse to cover up her true self; Haman's real character is one that desires power, not caring who she has to use or discard to get it.

She is noted to be very manipulative, playing on the fear or ambitions of others so as to use them. Both statements are proven near the end of the First Neo Zeon War, when Mashymre Cello, an extremely faithful and devoted subordinate, sacrifices himself to take out as many of her adversaries as possible, with Haman denouncing his move and showing no remorse at his death, even after she took the time to train him as a soldier.

Judau Ashta, upon first meeting her commented that he felt a dark, malevolent aura around her, thus reflecting the depth of her dark personality, possibly even implying she is truly evil. While she believes in reforming the Earth for the better, she has no tolerance for Earthnoids, viewing them as corrupt, greedy individuals whose "souls are weighed down by gravity," and as such must be rid of, if Earth is to be saved under the aristocratic rule of Spacenoids, with her herself as empress, reflecting she is a possible tyrant at heart.

It is important to note that Haman was not always the way she was during the events of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ. The manga, Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Deleted Affair: Portrait Of Young Comet, and its mini prequel, One Day: Haman's Deleted Affair, reveal that Haman had a sweet disposition as a young teenager. The latter manga reveals that Haman grew up in Axis after the One Year War, never having seen the Earth, and had to endure a hard life growing up as Axis was not well suited to support life, and it was not any better with the looming threat of the Federation possibly attacking them.

The former manga also shows she was a romantic of sorts, as she became romantically involved with Zeon's Red Comet, Char Aznable. Though CDA also reaffirms what was said in HDA, as Haman had to train to be a soldier and possibly felt obligated to protect the people on Axis, viewing their treatment by the Federation as unjust. Thus Haman's personality in the anime is a result of her troubled upbringing, never having had the chance to be a child and enjoy life, she became dark, cold, and isolated from the rest of the world, which she states in Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ is what made her stronger and is her core strength.

However, the original Haman never disappeared completely, as when she meets Judau, his personality and beliefs slowly begin to reawaken Haman's old self, which she herself notes, and is possibly why she feels a kindred spirit in Judau, as he shared the same personality she did when she was fourteen. In their climactic duel at the end of the series, Haman reveals that she is happy to have met Judau, possibly because he represented what she could have become, had she not let herself be corrupted by war.

Skills & Abilities[]

Haman demonstrated that she was a highly-skilled mobile suit pilot, and a very powerful Newtype, on par with Paptimus Scirocco and even possibly surpassing Char Aznable. She was also a very capable politician and military leader, able to lead the Neo Zeon force on a campaign to invade the Earth Sphere immediately after the end of the Gryps War.

History[]

Early life[]

As the daughter of Admiral Maharaja Karn who led the exodus to Axis, Haman took over her late father's role at the recommendation of Char Aznable, in U.C. 0083. At age sixteen, she found herself in charge of a community of dispirited Zeon exiles. Despite being so young, Haman's charisma and determination allowed her to rally Axis Zeon for their eventual return to the Earth Sphere.

As regent to the young girl Mineva Lao Zabi, last of the Zabi royal family, Haman was the true leader of the "Axis Zeon" faction (which she later renames Neo Zeon), based in the asteroid of the same name. Her goals were chiefly the revival of the Zabi Royal Family, and social reform throughout the Earth Sphere. From her various speeches and her general disposition, we can surmise that she favors a monarchist system of government with a style of aristocratic meritocracy operating beneath it.

Garnering ideas from Zeon Zum Deikun, as all Zeon-based factions do, Axis Zeon also desired to overthrow the old ways and the institutions of the past, and to do away with the trade barriers and tariffs that had plagued the Sides before the outbreak of the One Year War in U.C. 0079.

The shrewd and ambitious Haman was a skilled pilot, a very powerful Newtype, and the former friend of Zeon ace pilot Char Aznable. Char was initially sent to earth in U.C. 0083 to act as what she called a forward scout, but she expressed disappointment when Char reveals that he did not agree with her goals and would no longer help her.

Haman's personal mobile suit was the AMX-004 Qubeley, which was equipped with a miniaturised Psycommu System and 12 remote weapons known as funnels. Her aptitude with the psycommu was extremely high.

Operation Stardust[]

During the Delaz Fleet's Operation Stardust, Haman, still hiding within Axis in the Asteroid Belt, lamented her many years spent in hiding rather than striking back at the Earth Federation.

The Gryps Conflict[]

HamanKarnUC0079

Haman in the Zeta Gundam Movie Compilation

Haman's Axis Zeon group used its political and monetary influence as well as its numerical superiority to maintain a high ground compared to both the Titans and the AEUG, and both factions found themselves courting Axis Zeon over the course of the Gryps Conflict. The monetary influence that Axis Zeon exerted was principally due to the fact that Axis used a system based on actual gold and silver, which proved itself superior to the system used by the rest of the Earth Sphere which had been in recession since the end of U.C. 0079.

The AEUG entered negotiations with Axis in the hopes of making the Titans a mutual enemy of both factions. However, when Quattro Bajeena (Char Aznable) tried to attack Haman during their meeting aboard Axis' capital ship, negotiations broke down between the two factions, and Axis instead allied itself with the Titans. At a convenient time Axis eventually exited the alliance with the Titans. The war culminated in a final battle between Kamille Bidan and Char Aznable representing AEUG, Haman representing Axis Zeon, and Paptimus Scirocco representing the Titans, ultimately ending with Kamille in his Zeta Gundam showing up to fight Scirocco's The O, while Haman in her Qubeley, defeats Char's Hyaku Shiki. Although Haman usually acted as if she had gotten over Char's rejection of her ideas and her affections, she tried at least twice to convince him to rejoin Axis Zeon. At the end of the Gryps Conflict, she appeared slightly saddened when it seemed that she had actually killed Char.

First Neo Zeon Movement[]

In the aftermath of that war, Axis was in a position of strategic and tactical advantage, and Haman's dreams were about to manifest in reality. Spearheading the next move, she ambitiously sent envoys to various colonies, and subsequently landed a full-fledged occupying force in the Earth Federation's capital at Dakar, spreading her influence throughout North Africa. Whether her reforms would have lifted the indigenous populations out of their backward state of development is unknown, since the blow-back of her own machinations began to visit her in the form of the AEUG remnants on the Argama, and their rising star pilot, Judau Ashta. The two encountered each other on multiple occasions, as Haman attempted to convince Judau to join her. Judau however, refused, being deeply suspicious of her ideas and motivations. In spite of this, they did begin to discuss philosophy and develop a sense of understanding towards the other. The third time they encountered each other in Dhakar, she accidentally shot Leina, driving Judau into a rage that managed to terrify Haman and induce a rare loss of self control.

As the push to occupy the Earth slowly ground to a halt due to various elements of resistance, the first Neo Zeon movement took a turn in a new direction, as Haman decided to use a weapon of mass destruction in the form of an colony drop onto Dublin, Ireland, to force a surrender from the Earth Federation. Curiously, the Earth Federation chose not to warn or evacuate Dublin, and instead allowed its own citizens to be killed for the purposes of population reduction. One Earth Federation minister privately expressed his lack of concern with the words, "It doesn't matter, at least we will have less mouths to feed".

After this distasteful sequence of events, Haman seemed to be on the path to victory. Unfortunately for Haman, one of her subordinates, Glemy Toto, had acquired a taste for power, and had gained enough influence within the organization to begin to challenge some of the finer points of Haman's philosophy and methods. This subsequently escalated into an actual civil war within Neo Zeon itself, as the Glemy Faction began to fight against the units that were loyal to Haman's leadership. During this internal confusion, the Earth Federation exploited the Neo Zeon's disarray due to its infighting, by pushing a task-force headed up primarily by the former AEUG personnel on the Argama directly into Neo Zeon's homeland area and attacking Haman's remaining units after the Glemy Faction had been defeated.

Haman found herself cornered, and was both disappointed and frustrated with the cards that fate had seemingly dealt her. In that final battle, The Battle of Axis, Judau Ashta piloted his personal mobile suit, ZZ Gundam, against Haman's Qubeley, fighting her to a stalemate as the Earth Federation fleet bore down on their position. Here, Judau and Haman's ideologies clashed in the fervor of combat. Judau insisted that people shouldn't simply make decisions by themselves, but Haman replied by telling him that she did not feel the need to change herself to satisfy others. The subject of Newtypes was also raised, Judau attempted to intimidate Haman with a vision of the will of those sacrificed in vain fights, Haman replying again with an individualist outlook, asking him if he thought that his view of Newtypes should be the only valid one. Judau implored her to surrender, claiming that Haman was trapping herself, but at that point Haman was prepared to see the fight through to the end.

Haman vs judau

Haman and Judau battle

Using a play on words, Haman replied that trapping (concealing) herself was actually her strength, and gave an impassioned statement, "All humans are alone, that is their destiny", shortly before rushing in to clash sabers with the ZZ Gundam one final time. Judau foresaw the attack, and disabled Haman's Qubeley as Haman also disabled Judau's ZZ Gundam. Haman realized that despite having disabled her foe, she was herself disabled and surrounded by the Earth Federation Fleet. Lamenting the turn of events, she accused Judau of following a childish and naive path, telling him that it was because of people's childishness, that the Earth would continue to be ruled by idiots.

Declining Judau's attempts to talk further, she then took her own life, expressing happiness at having met someone as decent as him.

Despite her death, Haman later appears as the pilot of AMX-114 Demeter. It's unknown if this is really Haman herself or an imposter.

Second Neo Zeon War[]

Years after her death, Char mentioned Haman Karn's ambitions as a result of the Earth Federation having grown corrupt from within, denouncing her as a false protector of the Zabi family and a contributing factor to the remnants of Zeon having been reduced to refugees.

Relationships[]

Page107

Char's Deleted Affair Vol 1

Char Aznable[]

Haman first met Char when he arrived with the remnants of the Zeon Space Forces at the asteroid base Axis after their defeat at The Battle of A Baoa Qu. Despite this being their first meeting, Haman would have had no trouble recognizing the infamous Red Comet, and it was probably because of Char's reputation that she was infatuated with him. Her feelings for him probably soon became genuine, after he saved her from a Federation attack on Axis, as seen in Char's Deleted Affair. Unfortunately, Char's defection from Axis and his unwillingness to support her own efforts to restore the Zabi family name to power turned her infatuation into spite. Despite this, Haman was never truly able to disregard her feelings for Char, causing her to continuously offer to let him rejoin her as a ruler of Zeon. Char's constant refusals resulted in a final duel within the Gryps Colony Laser, where Char seemingly perished. Unaware Char had once again cheated death, Haman finally put her feelings for him behind her, though not without some lingering regrets.

Mineva Lao Zabi[]

Kamille Bidan[]

Chara KamilleVsHaman ZGundamTV Epi47

Kamille Bidan resonates with Haman Karn

Haman's relationship with Kamille Bidan was mutual and total animosity from start to end. Both had crossed path in their mobile suits, the Zeta Gundam and Qubeley respectively, at the height of the Gryps War, with Haman considering Kamille a young man with powerful and dangerous Newtype ability, while Kamille regarded Haman as a warmonger and the root of all tragedies. Despite Kamille's effort to forge a mutual understanding via their Newtype communication during Operation Maelstrom, Haman considered his actions as an act of violating her privacy, including a revelation of her past relationship/romance with Char Aznable during their Axis days.[1] From that point on there was no way back between the two, but they never met again after the Gryps War.

Judau Ashta[]

HxJship

Haman Karn demonstrates her attraction to Judau Ashta

While Judau was walking around in the Neo Zeon home base Axis, Haman sensed him, but thought it was Char. They met as enemies in the Neo Zeon home base Axis, much like Haman had met Char years earlier. Upon meeting the two had no idea who the other was, though both left a profound impression on each other via their strong newtype presence. Haman had apparently had Judau on her mind for a while as she was eager to speak privately with him when he demanded she hand over his sister, who was kidnapped by Zeon. From their second encounter Haman has always tried to persuade Judau to join her side, and has even noted she gets highly emotional and does not act like her usual self when around Judau. This all implies that she at some point developed romantic feelings for the AEUG pilot, though it was never explained why. From what is seen in CDA, it is possible that Haman fell in love with Judau because he reminded her of the child like Haman who was naive and felt things could be changed through understanding one another. This is supported by Haman's final words, where she mentions she was happy to have met Judau and called him a good kid. Another possibility on falling for Judau was that Judau reminded her of Char, since she mistook Judau as Char the first time she sensed Judau nearby. Either way Judau disagreed with her dark ambitions and thus refused her advancements repeatedly. It is important to note that in their final duel he tried to unsuccessfully persuade her to abandon her ambitions and come with him, showing that he did feel some sympathy for her.

Mashymre Cello[]

A loyalist and mobile suit pilot serving under Haman Karn, they first met when she challenged and beaten Mashymre to a MS simulation battle that he had been on a winning streak before. After Haman's brave action in the battle with Earth Federation Soldier attacking Axis in U.C 0080, she was chosen as Minerva's regent. Because the ceremony was private, a parade was organized for the public of Moussa. Mashymre ran after the Haman's car and gave her a rose. When asked by Char if she known the boy, Haman replied "Yes". The rose Mashymre received years later maybe was a reminiscence of Haman of that particular event.

Mashymre's feeling to Haman was one-sided: He was extremely loyal to her, to the point he fought the Glemy Faction to death. Yet, when being informed about his end, Haman only showed a passing impressiveness, simply commented that the number of resources available to her had decreased by one.

Gallery[]

Character Designs[]

Anime[]

Manga[]

Illustrations & Artwork[]

Games[]

Notes and Trivia[]

  • Her name is sometimes spelled Haman Khan.
  • Similar to Char, Haman harbors a strong distaste for formal wear and pilot suits, often forgoing use of the later even while fighting in the vacuum of space. It was not until the first Neo Zeon conflict that Haman took to wearing formal wear, in the form of an ornate commander's uniform as a means to inspire troops, as well as wearing a custom pilot suit, both of which she secretly detested.
  • Haman is possibly named after Haman from the Book of Esther in the Jewish Torah/Christian Old Testament. Like her namesake, she is a corrupt usurper who uses a ruler to fulfil his/her ambitions. The only difference is that the Biblical Haman sought ethnic cleansing (particularly of Jews who were the mortal enemies of his ancestors the Amalekites), while the Universal Century Haman sought domination.
  • Haman appears in the Extreme Vs. series piloting her Qubeley while the disguised Haman also appears using the Acguy. Aside from being a playable character, Haman can also act as one of the player's navigators. Other characters that hold this dual purpose include Katejina Loos, Sthesia Awar, Nena Trinity, Lacus Clyne and Lunamaria Hawke.
    • Haman will notice Marida Cruz's connection to Ple Two and refers to her as Ple Two's "younger sister". She also comments of the ominous appearance of the Banshee, while Marida expresses discomfort upon encountering Haman.
    • She will have a low opinion of Rondo Gina Sahaku and will give him unflattering nicknames such as a "little demon" and "weak dog".
    • Nu Amuro will quickly express his hatred for Haman, though she will tell him straight that he will never be able to defeat her.
  • In the SD Gundam G Generation games Monoeye Gundams and DS, Haman was a member of the Flanagan Institute during the One Year War, and piloted the Elmeth Unit 3, which had a similar paint scheme to the Qubeley.
  • Due to her hairstyle and colors, fans often joke about Haman being "Evil Minky Momo (邪悪なミンキーモモ)". Super Robot Wars X-Omega had a crossover event with Magical Princess Minky Momo which poked fun of this meme.

Appearances[]

References[]

External links[]

Zeta Gundam characters
Anti Earth Union Group Kamille Bidan | Quattro Bajeena | Bright Noa | Emma Sheen | Henken Bekkener | Reccoa Londe | Fa Yuiry | Katz Kobayashi | Blex Forer | Apolly Bay | Roberto | Astonaige Medoz | Hasan | Anna Hanna | Toraja Toraja | Tripper | Samarn | Saegusa | Manity Mandana | Abu Dabia | Caesar | Callman | Hayai | Manack | Torres
Earth Federation / Titans Jamitov Hymen | Paptimus Scirocco | Jerid Messa | Four Murasame | Reccoa Londe | Rosamia Badam | Sarah Zabiarov | Bask Om | Buran Blutarch | Kacricon Cacooler | Franklin Bidan | Hilda Bidan | Jamaican Daninghan | Mouar Pharaoh | Yazan Gable | Ramsus Hasa | Dunkel Cooper | Ted Ayachi | Gady Kinsey | Loren Nakamoto | Gates Capa | Namicar Cornell | Ben Wooder | Ajis Aziba | Sydle | Adol Zeno | Haifan | Dava Balo | Masada | Matosh | Kitchman | Sorama | Kara
Axis Zeon Haman Karn | Mineva Lao Zabi
Karaba Amuro Ray | Hayato Kobayashi | Kai Shiden | Beltorchika Irma | Luio Woomin | Stephanie Luio
Civilians Wong Lee | Shinta | Qum | Mirai Noa | Mezun Mex | Haro
Gundam ZZ characters
Anti Earth Union Group Judau Ashta | Beecha Oleg | Elle Vianno | Roux Louka | Mondo Agake | Iino Abbav | Elpeo Ple | Bright Noa | Madchar Mucha | Emary Ounce | Astonaige Medoz | Anna Hanna | Toraja Toraja | Samarn | Saegusa | Abu Dabia | Caesar | Torres | Keithron
Neo Zeon Haman Karn | Mineva Lao Zabi | Glemy Toto | Elpeo Ple | Ple Two | Mashymre Cello | Chara Soon | Gottn Goh | Rakan Dahkaran | Illia Pazom | August Guidan | Arius Moma | Lance Gylen | Nee Gylen | Pampa Lida | Wyme Dee | Beanne | Danny | Dale | Deune | Amasa Pola | Dana Kirai | Degas | Creyue Oye | Nell Marsen | Yular Jamico | Conte | Flynn | Eyne | Beats | Magany
Earth Federation General White | Tandem | Rohm
Civilian and Miscellaneous Leina Ashta | Kamille Bidan | Fa Yuiry | Shinta | Qum | Wong Lee | Milly Childer | Rasara Moon | Sarasa Moon | Role | Yazan Gable | Gemon Bajack | Damar | Anma Damar | Chimatter | Benson | Cecilia | Taman | Anu | Desert Rommel | Masai N'gava | Dido Kaltoha | Gadeb Jasin | Elo Melloe | June Kock | Stampa Halloi | Roy Revin | Lucina Revin | Sayla Mass
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