Ribbons Almark
Ribbons Almark (リボンズ・アルマーク, Ribonzu Arumaku) is a fictional character in the Gundam series, Mobile Suit Gundam 00. He is the main antagonist of the series' second season. Ribbons is voiced by veteran voice actor Tōru Furuya, using the pseudonym Noboru Sougetsu.
Character biography[]
First Season[]
Initially, Ribbons is seen aiding Alejandro Corner, who affectionately calls him an angel whom he found one day on the streets [1], in his overzealous quest for world domination. Being a altered human like Tieria Erde, Ribbons has the unique ability to interface with Veda, the supercomputer for Celestial Being. He uses this ability to help Alejandro access all levels of Veda, eventually uncovering the preserved body of Aeolia Schenberg, the founder of Celestial Being. Alejandro quickly takes advantage of the situation and murders Schenberg, but this sets off a system trap that triggers the Trans-Am system of the completed GN Drives. Enraged by Schenberg's trickery, Corner turns to Ribbons and demands to know the meaning of this, but Ribbons claims to have no knowledge of it.[2]
Later when Alejandro is defeated in battle by Setsuna F. Seiei, Ribbons contacts Alejandro and reveals that he had been manipulating him the whole time. He calls Alejandro and smugly declares that he will be the one who leads the new world. Ribbons also tells him that it is no longer Aeolia's plan and rather that it has turned into his own plan. Alejandro slams his fist against Ribbons' countenance on the screen and curses him just before he dies as his Alvaaron explodes.[3] Four years later, Ribbons and his Innovator comrades take center stage in the international arena to begin the next step of his plan.
Second Season[]
Ribbons Almark in the second season
At the beginning of the second season, it is revealed Ribbons is the de facto leader of the Earth Sphere Federation's A-Laws, directing global military campaigns aimed at bringing about "international unity" while controlling the Federation's leadership from the shadows. Initially, he seems pleasantly surprised by the reappearance of the Gundams and Wang Liu Mei. Throughout the season, Ribbons is usually seen watching the battles between his forces and Celestial Being unfold from the comfort of his lair. Upon seeing the new GN-0000 00 Gundam, Ribbons is surprised to see Celestial Being's Twin Drive System. He curses Aeolia Schenberg for neglecting to inform him of this detail.
Although he looks down on regular humans, Ribbons tells Louise Halevy that he needs her wealth and financial power in order to "defeat the Gundams" during a party with A-Laws financial backers.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag
Later on, his first instance of him losing control over his emotions is displayed when he witnesses the 00 Raiser undergo quantization durng Setsuna's battle with Bring Stabity and Revive Revival. He displays evident disbelief and anger, roughly slapping a nonchalant Wang Liu Mei when she asks what happened without concern, calling her a "selfish girl".
During a face-to-face meeting with Setsuna F Seiei, it is revealed that Ribbons was the pilot of the 0 Gundam during the Kurdistan intervention in 2301 A.D (as shown in episode 1 of season 1). In order to keep this intervention secret, he was supposed to eliminate anyone who witnessed this event but he chose to spare Setsuna because of the way he looked up at him with such awe and reverence. Ribbons goes on to reveal to Setsuna that he was the one responsible for his appointment as a Gundam Meister. Towards the end of their conversation, Ribbons claims that the 00 Gundam was originally intended for him and now he wants it back (despite not knowing about the 00 and its abilities until it was introduced), but Setsuna refuses.
In episode 17 he once again orders the use of Memento Mori to suppress Hank Hercules`s Orbital Elevator coup. The elevator is destroyed, resulting not just in the death of thousands of people trying to evacuate but also endangering the lives of those living in nearby cities. In that same episode, in a conversation with Regetta, Ribbons claims that humans, with their limited lifespans, are incapable of learning from their past mistakes and are therefore bound to repeat them. Such was the reason Aeolia created the Innovators, claims Regene, to which Ribbons replies he alone had been created by Aeolia and then proceeded to create them. Therefore, he self-appoints himself as ruler of the world.
He is later seen with Louise Halevy in an A-LAWS ship, speaking with her about obtaining a new type of medicine in order to contain the cellular anomaly that's eating away at her body. He also proceeds to erase what doubt Louise has by forcibly commanding her through the use of Veda- revealing that Louise has become an Innovator- and by mentioning that she is in the A-LAWS to create a united world and to avenge her parents, also mentioning that he wants her to be the leader of humanity, the first Innovator amongst humans. It should be noted that, although Ribbons was thoroughly displeased towards Setsuna, a human, undergoing metamorphosis into an Innovator, his attitude towards Louise becoming the same is markedly different for reasons unknown. He is also the one who controls Anew Returner in her final moments, and also displays shock at the 00 Raiser's over-saturation of the area with true GN Particles forcibly cutting off his link to Anew.
After claiming once again that he is "The Creator" and revealing to Regene that he is aware of his treachery, as well as creating a clone of himself for the moment Regene actually tries to kill him, Regene loses his temper before killing the clone and realizing Ribbons was a step ahead of him. After Ali Al-Saachez kills Regene off, Ribbons than precedes to begin the final phase of his plan in the massive colony ship he claims to be where all of Aeolia's planning originated from. During the ensuing battle, Ribbons is surprised to find Tieria has managed to survive Seravee's near-destruction to make his way to Veda's core with intent to kill him.