In the original Gundam series Char is Zeon's most famous ace pilot, nicknamed the "Red Comet" after his mobile suit's color scheme. In the Battle of Loum at the start of the One Year War, Char sank five Federation battleships singlehandedly, spurring speculation that he might be a newtype of the kind predicted by Zeon Deikun. Once he encounters the Gundam he begins a fierce rivalry with Amuro, which escalates after Amuro inadvertently kills Char's newtype protege Lalah Sune. In addition to his color preference, Char is a man of many eccentricities. He is seldom seen without his face-obscuring helmet, which serves to conceal his secret identity from his fellow Zeon soldiers. He refuses to wear a pilot suit in battle. And, as far as we can tell from the animation, he is unable to drive a car. It's ultimately revealed that Char is the son of Zeon Deikun, spirited out of Side 3 ten years ago and brought up to carry out a mission of vengeance against the Zabi family which supposedly assassinated his father. Having infiltrated the Principality of Zeon's military in order to get close to his targets, Char doesn't let such trivia as his longstanding friendship with Garma Zabi get in the way of his quest, but his growing rivalry with Amuro proves to be a major distraction.