Technology & Combat Characteristics
Developed for amphibious assault from the sea, the Superbia GN-X is a special specifications version of the GNX-609T GN-XIII. It is able to operate underwater and on water surface due to the special equipment known as “Amphibious Assault Unit”, which is purged upon landing to lighten the mobile suit. As the number of mobile suits capable of operating underwater were limited, the Superbia GN-X could effectively conduct missions such as surprise attacks. In fact, data and technologies of the Superbia GN-X were subsequently utilized in the development of the GN-XIV as well as the GNMA-0001V Regnant.
Some of the innovative technologies utilized in the Superbia GN-X originated from the Innovators, who played a role in the mobile suit's development, and they also applied the same technologies in their machines such as the Regnant. For example, the Superbia GN-X and Regnant have the same sensor unit in their head, but as this sensor unit is forcibly mounted onto the head frame of the GN-X series, there are slight gaps around the face of the Superbia GN-X. The Superbia GN-X also incorporated data from the underwater mobile armor, GNMA-04B11 Trilobite. The camera part of the Amphibious Assault Unit's sensor unit is an improved version of the sensor elements used in the Trilobite. Besides the sensor unit, the Amphibious Assault Unit also consisted of a hover unit and two weapon packs that are equipped with GN Beam Guns and GN Missiles.
Since the Superbia GN-X was based on the GN-XIII, it looked similar to the latter, though there were several changes, such as new hardpoints on the chest and sides of the waist for mounting the Amphibious Assault Unit, and the head-mounted GN Vulcans of previous GN-X series units were relocated to the left and right of the waist. Its legs remain mostly the same as the GN-XIII's, but its feet have new parts in the toes and heels that could unfold into claws. Many mobile suits, including the Gundams, have retractable claws in the soles that can be deployed to secure a foothold, the Superbia GN-X's claws are however much larger and have a manipulator-like shape, allowing it to obtain a firmer footing. The Superbia GN-X's arms are also almost identical to the GN-XIII's, with a new addition being the pair of GN Kunais, multi-functional weapon that could be used for melee combat, shooting, and surprise attacks.
In Latin, "Superbia" means "pride", and since the word also includes "Super", which means "the best" in English, it was picked as the name of this mobile suit, reflecting the fact that its performance was close to the next-generation machine. Meanwhile, the letters "AA" in the model number stands for "Amphibious Assault". While the Superbia GN-X is regarded as an Earth Sphere Federation Forces' (ESF Forces) machine, the ESF Forces was already absorbed by the A-Laws when it was developed, and it was virtually used only for special missions led by A-Laws. Additionally, its pilots were members of A-Laws or license holders with special permissions. The Superbia GN-X participated in many missions, but most of the records are classified and details are unclear, making it a mysterious machine.
History
Piloting a Superbia GN-X, Hiling Care, one of the Innovators and a member of the A-Laws, was on a mission to infiltrate and destroy a base of the Celestial Being located on an uninhabited island. However, as fellow Innovator, Ribbons Almark, possessed Veda, a super computer that knew of all Celestial Being's previously built bases and their status, Hiling was aware from the beginning that the base was actually deserted. However, Hiling had no intention of telling other humans about this. To derive some enjoyment from what would be a boring mission, Hiling, who was also a license holder, applied for and obtained permissions to use the newly built Superbia GN-X.
The Superbia GN-X piloted by Hiling was a prototype unit that was still under testing. However, as the Innovators were involved in the mobile suit's development, Hiling was aware of the machine's degree of completion and was not unduly worried. Surprisingly, another mobile suit pilot, Amy Zimbalist, offered to go on the mission in Hiling's stead. His reasons for doing so were that he could not let a cute lady like Hiling go on such a dangerous mission, and he also deemed that a prototype machine was no different from a coffin. This was the first time Hiling was called "cute", but Hiling was neither male nor female. Created for combat, Hiling was of neutral sex, but to facilitate interactions with humans, Hiling assumed the female gender. Amy carried on that Hiling's eyes were cat-like and inferred that Hiling was a "bad" lady, the kind that he liked.
For a moment, Hiling considered whether to let Amy pilot the Superbia GN-X, but quickly dropped the thought and politely declined Amy's offer. The Superbia GN-X utilized special technologies of the Innovators, thus Hiling could not let any human pilot it. Hiling found the encounter with Amy interesting and while thinking about it, Hiling reached the destination. After firing the GN Missiles of the Amphibious Assault Unit, Hiling purged the equipment as the Superbia GN-X landed on the island's shore. Hiling's attacks set the base on fire, but as expected, there was no retaliation. Although Hiling enjoyed the one-sided destruction, Hiling also thought about completing the mission quickly and returning to base. Hiling wondered how Amy, who had sent Hiling off with a worried expression on his face, would react upon Hiling's return.