Rau Le Creuset

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[Gundam SEED Web] [Character Introduction] is a fictional character from the popular anime series Gundam SEED. As Gundam SEED takes most of its elements from the original Gundam series, Le Creuset would fall into the position Char Aznable played as an antagonist to the main characters. However, he has more in common with Sephiroth of Final Fantasy VII fame than the infamous Red Comet: Rau is a true "ultimate villain" in every sense of the word, something which does not always exist in every series of the Gundam franchise, with its many installments that have become known for eschewing the traditional lines of "good" and "evil" in favor of exploring the motivations and emotions of those embroiled in opposing sides at war.

About the character

Rau Le Creuset is a unit commander in ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty). Cool, cunning, and very mysterious, Rau Le Creuset is an adept commander in his field and an excellent mobile suit pilot. He obtains his fame early in the war during the Battle of Yggdrasil as a Red Jacket, in which he used his ZGMF-1017M GINN High Maneuver Type mobile suit to destroy 37 Earth Alliance mobile armors and six warships. This feat earned him the Order of the Nebula, a decoration awarded to ZAFT's most outstanding soldiers. After the Battle of Endymion Crater on the moon, Le Creuset becomes the commander of the newly constructed Nazca-class ship Vesalius. Under his command, the ZAFT vessels Vesalius and Gamow attacked the neutral colony Heliopolis, where the military contractor Morgenroete was constructing prototype mobile suits for the Atlantic Federation.

The raid ended with four of the prototype G weapons being captured by ZAFT and the destruction of Heliopolis itself. The colony's destruction was due to the utilization of heavy weaponry on both sides of the conflict, as ZAFT tried to capture or destroy the GAT-X105 Strike as well as the mobile suit carrier, Archangel.

Apart from attempts to take down the "Ashitsuki (English: Legged Ship)" (as ZAFT codenamed the Archangel), he shares a strange connection with Earth Alliance Mobile Armor (MA) pilot Mu La Flaga and the two are shown to have a rivalry of sorts throughout the war.

Further character background

Despite his allegiance with ZAFT, Rau bears no loyalty to it, or anyone, for that matter. Fortunately his reputation is high enough that the ZAFT Defense Council Chairman, Patrick Zala, revealed to him the real plans for Operation Spitbreak. He betrayed Zala by giving whatever he was told to an informant named Muruta Azrael, who eventually is found to be the head of the Azrael Conglomerate, a military supplier to the Atlantic Federation, and the leader of the Blue Cosmos rulers of the Earth Alliance. This little betrayal caused a large percentage of ZAFT's earthbound forces to be lost during Operation Spitbreak. However, most members of the Supreme Council and the ZAFT military are either so intimidated or manipulated by Le Creuset that they would never suspect his treason. Only a select few individuals within ZAFT are not so easily misled, and suspected that Le Creuset was up to no good, including Andrew Waltfeld, Siegel Clyne, Athrun Zala, Dearka Elsman, and Lacus Clyne. Rau consolidated his power within ZAFT by sending the extermination squad that would murder Supreme Chairman Siegel Clyne, securing Patrick Zala's position as Supreme Chairman. Although Rau supposedly only answered to Patrick Zala, it becomes quite clear that Patrick was manipulated by Rau to the point that in all practicalities, Patrick was Rau's minion, and not the other way around. By the final battle of Gundam SEED, almost everyone loyal to Patrick Zala remaining in ZAFT was essentially under his complete control. However, Rau did not desire this power in and of itself, but rather achieved it simply as means to an end.

A chance encounter with Mu La Flaga and Kira Yamato in the abandoned colony of Mendel revealed his true identity and motives. In a shocking revelation, he exclaims that he is neither Natural nor Coordinator, but rather, something far more disturbing and sinister. His real name is Al Da Flaga, Jr., the direct clone of Al Da Flaga, Mu La Flaga's father! Considering his own son Mu as "nothing" because he was "diluted" by the inferior DNA of a woman, Al Da Flaga, a powerful and wealthy Earth Alliance politician (and perhaps one of the few Cosmic Era Newtypes alive at the time), conspired with Professor Ulen Hibiki to create several direct clones of himself, of which Al, Jr. would be the first, and the one to be considered his "perfect son" and heir, superior in every way to his brother, Mu, who was to be disinherited. Despite the fact that Coordinators had existed for quite some time, direct human cloning was illegal, but Al Da Flaga believed his wealth and influence put him above the law, and thus, Dr. Hibiki agreed to this transaction in exchange for the funds he would use to finance his Ultimate Coordinator project. By virtue of the Flaga bloodline, Al, Jr. was a Cosmic Era Newtype, a trait he apparently inherited from his "father" and shares with his "brother" Mu and thus, he possesses superhuman extra-sensory and mental abilities that far exceed that of ordinary Naturals and Coordinators. However, the cloning would not end with Al Jr.; there were two other clones that were accounted for: Rey Za Burrel, who would be seen with Rau when he was a child; and Prayer Reverie who piloted the YMF-X000A Dreadnought against Canard Pars and supposedly died of imperfections due to the cloning process. Any other clones that were created were destroyed when Mendel was abandoned. It is implied that these clones, containing Al Da Flaga, Sr.'s Newtype DNA, were the prototypes for the Ultimate Coordinator project in which Kira Yamato was the final product.

However, Al, Jr. was an imperfect clone due to short telomeres that caused rapid aging; at first, this was done intentionally, so that Al, Jr. could catch up to Mu in age and replace him. Once Al, Jr. reached Mu's physical age, they attempted to stop the accelerated aging process but found that they were not able to do so permanently. At this point, Al, Jr. understood that he was an abomination and loathed his own existence and his "father" even more so for creating him. He was forced to take a special drug that stabilized his aging; if he goes too long without taking the medication, he suffers intense pain. Because of the pain of his imperfection, Al, Jr. becomes mentally unstable, deciding that Naturals and Coordinators are both unfit for living, and sees to it that the imminent destruction of both parties, and all mankind, is accomplished. The beginning of his revenge is depicted in the flashback seen in PHASE 45, where a young Al, Jr. is heard laughing maniacally as his father is burned to death along with his estate by an angry mob that accompanied him to undertake this grim act of retribution. But it did not end there.

He would assume the name "Rau Le Creuset" - "le creuset" being French for "The Crucible," a reference to Arthur Miller's famous play about the Puritan Witch Hunts, which is symbolic of his twisted mission to "pass judgment on all of humanity by penalty of death" - and join the ZAFT military, where his piloting skills, keen intellect, and uncanny powers of persuasion ensured his rise to the highest ranks of command. He dons his trademark mask not to hide his identity but out of shame and hatred that he looks exactly like the one person he hated most: his father.

Rau believed that every human's sole purpose for living is to be "better" than everyone else, and that all people are miserable, selfish, and shameless creatures who will do anything to "get ahead." He justifies this point of view by virtue of his very existence: he is the direct result of the worst act of human hubris ever perpetrated - cloning. While he believes that humanity will eventually wipe itself out in time, he is not satisfied in merely waiting for that to happen on its own. As he is imminently doomed himself due to his unstable genetic makeup, he believes all life in the universe deserves to perish along with him and becomes hellbent towards making that end a reality. So it comes as no surprise that Rau is effectively able to manipulate any character consumed by mankind's "worst" motivations such as hatred, fear, revenge, greed, ignorance, or lust for power into doing whatever he wanted towards that end, including Flay Allster, Patrick Zala, Muruta Azrael, and, for almost the entire duration of the series, Yzak Joule. To facilitate this plan, he leaks to the Earth Alliance the N-jammer canceller technology used to create the ZGMF-X10A Freedom and the ZGMF-X09A Justice through a disc he entrusted to Flay Allster, a young Earth Alliance soldier (and a former crew member of the Archangel) that he captured during the Battle of JOSH-A. This eventually leads to the use of nuclear missiles again by the Earth Alliance, and the eventual destruction of the ZAFT military asteroid Boaz. With nuclear missiles on the Earth Alliance's side, and the GENESIS superweapon on ZAFT's side, it seemed as though all life will end and his goal fulfilled. It was only by the actions of the Three Ships Alliance at the Second Battle of Jachin Due that that plan was narrowly thwarted and mankind lived to see another day.

In the final battle of the war, Rau piloted the ZGMF-X13A Providence, the final ZAFT Gundam. Because of the Providence's sheer power, Rau managed to easily cripple the Strike and the Buster and short after destroyed an escape shuttle that launched from the Dominion that contained Flay Allster, after which he has a final battle with Kira Yamato in the ZGMF-X10A Freedom.

During his fight with Kira, Rau manages to cripple the Freedom using the powerful Cosmic Era technology installed in the Providence. However, the young Coordinator makes a comeback and in one final desperate attack, mortally wounds Rau by impaling his cockpit with a double-sided beam saber, and the Providence is then vaporized during a misfire of GENESIS, along with Rau. Rau dies with a smile on his face. Is it a smile of relief that his tortured existence has been ended, and that he was proven wrong by Kira about humanity's desire to continue on in search of peace and harmony, or was there a darker meaning behind it?

Two years have passed since the Second Battle of Jachin Due, but with the start of a new war between the Earth Alliance and PLANT and the subsequent use of nuclear weapons, Rau's words echo in Kira's mind: "This is a world where people's hearts are filled with hatred, where fingers have no purpose other than to pull triggers..." Rau's plans to end all of humanity may have died along with him, but Kira's fight is far from over...

Appearances in Gundam SEED Destiny

Although Rau dies at the end of Gundam SEED at the hands of Kira, Rau still makes a few appearances as a "character" of sorts in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, as Newtypes often do even after they are physically dead. Kira is still haunted by his memory of Rau, and he has devoted himself to ensure that no one like Rau ever threatens mankind's future to live in freedom ever again.

Most importantly, in Phase 29, Rau materializes as a ghost playing a metaphysical game of chess against his former friend and doctor, Gilbert Durandal, who is now Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council. This game of chess is a recurring metaphor throughout the series for their conflicting beliefs about humanity's future in the universe. Rau asks Gilbert why he feels humanity is worth saving, and pities him for believing that anything other than disappointment and shame will result from his efforts, mockingly reminding Gilbert of his own miserable failure to "save" him. Gilbert swears to Rau that he will do anything to ensure the continued survival of humanity, no matter what the end "cost" of that survival might be.

It could be suggested that Durandal may have had schizophrenia, and that his recurring "conversations" with Rau are the result of delusions and hallucinations induced by said disease. However, there is very little known about Durandal's behaviour and actions to suggest this; it may instead be a clue that Durandal himself is a Newtype like Rau.

Quotes & Notable Dialogue

• "If it's my fate to be shot down by you, I thought this place would be appropriate. . . However, it doesn't look like there's any chance of that happening. After all, how could the 'child' ever hope to defeat the 'parent'!?" (Gundam SEED, PHASE-44 "Spiral of Encounters")
• "Aren't you the least bit curious? About the ultimate extent of humanity's insatiable desires? About the fools who pursued their insane dream in the name of progress? Because after all, Kira, you're a child of this too." (Gundam SEED, PHASE-45 "The Opening Door")
• "You are the dream of humanity, the Ultimate Coordinator. It was in pursuit of that dream that Dr. Hibiki created the artificial womb. And you are the only viable child it ever produced. For that result, a very large number of your siblings were sacrificed." (Gundam SEED, PHASE-45 "The Opening Door")
• "They thirsted for knowledge! They sought to fulfill their desires! And ultimately, they forgot why they were doing it. Even as they proclaimed their reverence for human life, they began toying with it, and then they began destroying it!" (Gundam SEED , PHASE-45 "The Opening Door")

• "I am He, that arrogant fool who thought he could fool death itself with his money. Al Da Flaga, your father, but I am merely that man's defective clone." (Gundam SEED, PHASE-45 "The Opening Door")
• "The final door is about to open! And I am the one opening it! Then the world that we know of will come to an end! This world of insatiable desires will end!" (Gundam SEED, PHASE-45 "The Opening Door")
• "I am the only one who's earned that right in the entire universe! I alone have the right to judge all of humanity!" (Gundam SEED, PHASE-45 "The Opening Door")
• "Do you think you can change whats going to happen?! Nobody can do anything about it. The whirlpool of hatred is engulfing the universe!" (Gundam SEED, PHASE-45 "The Opening Door")
• "I'll give it a try. Anything that man can do, I'm sure I can do just as well." (Gundam SEED, PHASE-48 "Day of Wrath")
• "Oh Azrael, what a disappointment you were." (Gundam SEED, FINAL-PHASE "To an Endless Future")
• "It's a shame really, I did enjoy your songs. But the real world isn't as kind as the one in pop songs!" (Gundam SEED, FINAL-PHASE "To an Endless Future")
• "Why torment yourself saying, 'Eventually, someday?' How long have you been fighting with your thoughts clouded by that brand of sweet poison?" (Gundam SEED, FINAL-PHASE "To an Endless Future")

Rau Le Creuset: "What are the odds of you and I meeting again in this place!?"
Mu La Flaga: "Rau Le Creuset!"
Rau Le Creuset: "It was meant to be, Mu. I'm glad."
(From Gundam SEED, PHASE-44 "Spiral of Encounters")

Mu La Flaga: "Le Creuset! Is this what you were hoping for, you bastard?"
Rau Le Creuset: "You shouldn't blame me! This is mankind's dream, mankind's desire, mankind's destiny! To be the strongest, to go the farthest, to climb the highest."
Mu La Flaga: "You're pathetic!"
Rau Le Creuset: "To compete, to envy, to hate each other, and to devour one another."
Mu La Flaga: "I won't let your twisted logic make things worse."
Rau Le Creuset: "But you're too late, Mu. You see . . . I am the product of all of this. That's how I know."
(From Gundam SEED PHASE-49 "The Final Light")

Rau Le Creuset: "You're something that shouldn't have been allowed to exist, boy!"
Kira Yamato: "Just shut up!"
Rau Le Creuset: "If people learned of your existence, they would want to be just as you are! They would want to become like you!"
Kira Yamato: "That's garbage!"
Rau Le Creuset: "And that's the reason why your existence cannot be allowed!"
Kira Yamato: "I'm not. . . even if that's true. . . I'm not defined by my abilities alone!"
Rau Le Creuset: "Who's going to believe that line!? Will they understand that!? Of course they won't! Nobody will!"
(From Gundam SEED, FINAL-PHASE "To an Endless Future")

Rau Le Creuset: "This is our destiny, people knew where they were heading when they chose to walk this path!"
Kira Yamato: "Shut up!"
Rau Le Creuset: "Justice and faith, ignorance and escapism, they never learn, they never listen! We have reached the end of that path, there is no way to prevent it now! Mankind vanquished at last, just as they deserve!"
Kira Yamato: "I won't allow it!"
(From Gundam SEED FINAL-PHASE "To an Endless Future")

Kira Yamato: "You're crazy! and so's your logic!"
Rau Le Creuset: "That's how people think! You know it!"
Kira Yamato: "No way! You're wrong! People aren't like that at all!"
Rau Le Creuset: "Hah! How are they not like that!? What's your proof!? This is a world where people's hearts are filled with hatred, where fingers have no purpose other than to pull triggers! What do you believe in!? And why do you!?"
Kira Yamato: "You don't understand anything else!"
Rau Le Creuset: "Of course! after all, people can only understand what they've experienced!"
(From Gundam SEED FINAL-PHASE "To an Endless Future")

Rau Le Creuset: "No matter what happens now, I've won! When Jachin self-destructs, GENESIS will fire! Theres no way the process can be stopped, Earth will burn, and the ensuing cries of the victims will trigger battle anew!"
Kira Yamato: "It can't!"
Rau Le Creuset: "This will be a day of reckoning for everyone!"
Kira Yamato: "I won't allow it!"
Rau Le Creuset: "This is their destiny! They led us to the inevitable end!"
(From Gundam SEED FINAL-PHASE "To an Endless Future")

Mobile Suits

Apart from being an excellent commander, Rau Le Creuset backs up his intellect through his experience as a mobile suit pilot. Throughout the series, he takes part in various operations, but mostly stays behind on the Vesalius. Like Char Aznable, he pilots a custom-colored mobile suit with ruthless efficiency, all the while doing it without a pilot suit on. Some of the mobile suits that he piloted throughout the series are:

• ZGMF-1017M GINN High Maneuver type- custom mobile suit adjusted for higher performance than the standard GINN. Won his ace status in at the Battle of Yggdrasil
• ZGMF-515 CGUE - high-performance mobile suit issued to ace pilots and team commanders such as him
• AMF-101 DINN - atmospheric flight mobile suit, used by Rau on Operation Spitbreak
• ZGMF-600 GuAIZ - latest ZAFT Mobile Suit incorporated in the last months of the war; used a silver commander's version, heavily damaged by Kira Yamato in the ZGMF-X10A Freedom
• ZGMF-X13A Providence - the last of ZAFT's nuclear-powered Gundam designs during the First Bloody Valentine War, equipped with the DRAGOON System; piloted in the final battle of the war. Heavily damaged by Kira Yamato's ZGMF-X10A Freedom and destroyed by GENESIS.

Voice actors

In the Japanese version of Gundam SEED, Rau is voiced by veteran seiyuu Seki Toshihiko, who also voiced Duo Maxwell from Gundam Wing.

The English version (dubbed by the Ocean Group) has the character played by Mark Oliver.

References

{| align="center" class="toccolours" width="640" |- !colspan="2" style="background-color:#ccccff;text-align:center;"| Cosmic Era characters |- ! align="center" | OMNI Enforcer | align="center" |Flay Allster | Shani Andras | Muruta Azrael | Natarle Badgiruel | Clotho Buer | Morgan Chevalier | Lord Djibril | Al Da Flaga | Edward Harrelson | Neo Roanoke | Stellar Loussier | Auel Neider |

Sting Oakley | Orga Sabnak | Tolle Koenig | Canard Pars |- ! align="center" |

ZAFT | align="center" |Nicol Amarfi | Shinn Asuka | Rey Za Burrel | Meer Campbell | Siegel Clyne | Rau Le Creuset | Gilbert Durandal | Dearka Elsman | Talia Gladys | Lunamaria Hawke | Meyrin Hawke |

Courtney Heironimus | Yzak Joule | Heine Westenfluss | Patrick Zala |- ! align="center" | ORB Union
TSA/Terminal | align="center" |Cagalli Yula Athha | Uzumi Nara Athha | Jean Carry | Lacus Clyne | Martin DaCosta | Dearka Elsman | Mu La Flaga | Meyrin Hawke | Miriallia Haw | Yzak Joule | Kojiro Murdoch |

Murrue Ramius | Rondo Ghina Sahaku | Rondo Mina Sahaku | Yuna Roma Seiran |

Andrew Waltfeld | Kira Yamato | Athrun Zala |- ! align="center" |Miscellaneous | align="center" | George Glenn | Lowe Guele | Ulen Hibiki | Prayer Reverie |-