I know I haven’t yet taken photos of Airmaster, but let’s keep the Year of Gundam X going anyway:
Poor Double X. This kit is probably one of the oldest ones on my backlog. Based on the timestamp of this photo, I bought it back in March 2021, so it has been sitting there for almost five years! And now it’s time to give it its due.
About the Mobile Suit
The Double X is technically the second Midseason Upgrade for Gundam X’s protagonist Garrod Ran, assuming you count the X Divider as the first.
Here is the machine translation of manual’s flavor text, slightly edited, cleaned up, and link-ified by me:
It is now A.W. (After War) 0015. The Earth's environment is finally beginning to stabilize. However, the ghosts of the past wars have begun to stir again. The new Federation forces have secretly constructed an even more powerful mobile suit than the old Federation forces' strongest NT (New Type) mobile suit, Gundam X.This is the GX-9901-DX Gundam DX (Double X). Its most distinctive feature is the incorporation of the "Satellite System Mk-I," a new heat dissipation system with a larger reflector that unfolds on the back, which improves cooling efficiency and increases energy capacity, resulting in an output several times greater than previous models.
Additionally, the corresponding twin-satellite cannon is capable of rapid-fire and has been improved so that the user does not need to support the weapon with their arms when in firing mode. The initial activation of the Satellite System required an NT compatible with the F (Flash) System, but the New Federation Forces were unable to secure the necessary personnel.
Therefore, Gundam DX was constructed by modifying the Gundam X piloted by Jamil Neate during the Seventh Space War. As such, it retains its ability to cooperate with G-Bit.
Although it is based on a machine from 15 years ago, it is one of the most powerful MS machines of the postwar era. It was originally intended to be the main weapon of the New Federation Army, but Aimzat, who was in charge of its development, removed it from its base on the artificial island of Zondar Epta. It was later seized by Garrod and came to be operated by Freeden.
Between its dark blue colors, and the fact that it was originally constructed by one of the show’s Capital-E Evil factions, the Double X has always reminded me a lot of the Mk II, which is probably why I initially found it so appealing.
In terms of its performance, it’s never been super clear to me whether the Double X’s baseline combat abilities are all that different or better than the original GX. The show certainly suggests that Garrod gets better as a pilot over time, but I never really got the impression that the Double X itself made things any easier.
(Mind you, this isn’t a knock on the Double X, just an observation. The idea that it might be roughly the same mobile suit with an extra Satellite Cannon actually makes a ton of sense, especially when you consider that the faction that built it was probably strapped for resources in the After War period)
And speaking of that extra Satellite Cannon, not only are there two of them now, but they can be fired hands free, and they can be fired multiple times on a single charge. Speaking of it purely as a superweapon, that certainly makes it an upgrade over the GX.
Newtypes and the Satellite System
Here is something I'm a little confused about. The show tells us that a Newtype is needed to initially register a mobile suits with the Satellite System out in space before the cannons can be fired. But why is it that the New UNE is able to make it work just by copying Jamil's brainwaves? Is that really all that's necessary?I feel like the only reason for this plot contrivance is to have a scene where Jamil sees his old, broken GX and gets wracked with PTSD:
Which, to be fair, does make for good drama.
Weapons and Stuff
The DX gets a new looking Beam Rifle and Shield, but otherwise has no new gear to speak of.
Appearances in the Show
The Double X is first teased roughly midway through the show. The Freeden crew just so happen to see what appears to be a Satellite Cannon firing off in the distance, and go on a quest to discover just what it is. TL:DR things happen, they wind up by the island of Zonder Epta, they end up getting trapped, and the New UNE forces them to surrender by revealing the Double X and priming its Satellite Cannons.
Eventually the crew hatches a escape plan, which includes a plan to also steal the Double X. But there’s a bit of a problem; like the GX before it, the Double X has a key-based activation system, and they don’t have the key:
Just kidding! The morons in the New UNE made the system backwards compatible with the original GX key. So Tiffa passes it on to Garrod, and well …
Garrod then uses his new mobile suit to make short work of the nearby New UNE forces, and then uses the Satellite Cannons to destroy the (new abandoned) island of Zonder Epta, rather than firing on the now-escaping New UNE fleet:
From then until the end of the show, Garrod pilots the Double X, passing his X Divider on to Jamil.
Double X in the Show's Intro
In the first half of the show, we see the GX on the title screen:
But once the Double X is introduced, it replaces the GX, but in silhouette (since it's new and mysterious and all):
But then once Garrod steals it and makes it his own, it appears in full color for the rest of the show's run:
About the Model Kit
I’m not sure what to expect from this one, as I’m going in entirely blind. It looks perfectly cromulent in all the promotional photos, and I don’t imagine the build will be significantly different than other Gundam X High Grades. We’ll just have to see how it goes.