Char Aznable (シャア・アズナブル, Shaa Azunaburu), born Casval Rem Deikun (キャスバル・レム・ダイクン, Kyasubaru Remu Daikun) and also known as Édouard Mass (エドワウ・マス, Edowau Masu), is a fictional character from the Gundam franchise.

Despite having opposed Earth Federation soldier Amuro Ray several times, in the sequel Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam he becomes Quattro Bajeena (クワトロ・バジーナ, Kuwatoro Bajīna), an Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG) pilot fighting alongside the series' main characters against the elitist Titans.

In his final appearance in the Prime-UC in Char's Counterattack, he assumes leadership of the Neo Zeon movement, and becomes the titular antagonist of the film.

An alternate Char debuts in Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, which sets in an alternate-UC branching timeline, he steals the Gundam and becomes it's pilot instead of Amuro, setting the series' alternate events culminating in Zeon's victory of the One Year War, though Char would mysteriously disappear on the final battle.

Char Aznable was based on historic fighter-pilot Manfred von Richthofen who shared a similar nickname, "Red Baron".

They live for a time in a house set up by Texas Colony's chief manager Roger Aznable, still under Teabolo Mass's care.

He displays superior fighting abilities during the Battle of Loum, single-handedly destroying five Federation Magellan-class battleships by pushing his red-painted Zaku to fly at a breakneck speed, which earned him the nickname "Red Comet".

When his subordinates sent out on a reconnaissance mission are destroyed by the RX-78-2 Gundam, including their Zaku, he sneaks into the colony himself and is reunited with his sister, Artesia (Sayla), who had evacuated to the White Base to serve in the army, and then has his first confrontation with his eventual rival, Amuro Ray.

Although Char overwhelms Amuro, who is unfamiliar with combat, from start to finish, he is unable to overcome the Gundam's strong armor that can bounce back his attack and its powerful beam rifle.

He launches numerous attacks, including infiltrating the Federation Forces' space fortress Luna II, where the White Base has escaped, and sabotaging it, but he fails.

However, during a surprise attack aimed at the White Base's entry into the atmosphere, despite the numerous casualty of his squad, he succeeds in bringing it down under Zeon controlled territory, which is under the leadership of Garma.

Unknown to many, Char is secretly plotting revenge against the Zabi family, and utilize the opportunity by luring Garma and his fleet within the firing range of the Federation's White Base, resulting in his death.

Later in the war, Char begins a bitter rivalry with Federation pilot Amuro Ray, and he develops a relationship with Lalah Sune, a Newtype girl he saved from a brothel.

In the Battle of A Baoa Qu, Char and Amuro's bitter rivalry reaches the level that they engage in a gunfight and then a sword fight after both lose their mobile suits.

Almost immediately, he finds himself involved in conflicts against the Earth Federation's newly formed Titan Task Force, fighting and shooting down two enemy warships within hours of acquiring his new identity.

In the course of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam even Bright Noa, who lost crew to Char's attacks on the White Base, urges him to drop the Quattro facade and become a leader to the Spacenoids, or those raised in space colonies.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam portrays Char's image as a hero who is always willing to stand up and fight for the freedom of spacenoids.

He intends to create a nuclear winter by dropping the massive asteroid base Axis on the Earth, hence forcing a complete migration into space, which he believes will make all of humanity evolve into Newtypes.

Only one thing stands in his way: the Federation's Londo Bell task force, and their top ace pilot, his old archrival Amuro Ray.

In the second Neo Zeon movement, both Char and Amuro pilot mobile suits equipped with an advanced psycommu system known as psycoframe.

Char authorized Anaheim Electronics to pass the psycoframe technology to the development team responsible for Amuro's Nu Gundam, effectively planning a fair showdown between them in advance.

The intense willpower of Amuro and all the pilots assisting him causes Nu Gundam's psycoframes to resonate and overload, resulting in a spectacular aurora with Axis pushed out of Earth's orbit.

During the final battle, his attempt to prevent the Solomon asteroid being dropped onto Lunar City Granada results in a mythical phenomenon, and his whereabouts is unknown.

[9] Char, along with five other notable mecha and pilots from the various Gundam series, were recognized in the second set of "Anime Heroes and Heroines" stamps, released in Japan in 2005.

[16] According to Aaron J. Kane from University of Vermont, Tomino managed to create a realistic series by prioritizing on Amuro and Char rather than focus more on the robots like his previous works.

Creator Yoshiyuki Tomino believes that "having satisfaction in such products just because they are popular and can earn money is a sin, since it cannot teach a correct social sense to the newer generation".

[19] In the 2017 live-action adaptation of Gintama, Char makes a cameo appearance, arriving at Gengai's lab and repair shop to pick up his Zaku 2 Commander type, much to the astonishment of manga-obsessed swordsman Gintoki.

In a planned spaceflight for 2006, Soyuz TMA-9, a Japanese internet investor named Daisuke Enomoto had asked to dress up as Char Aznable.

The macro-action of Char's Counterattack briefly pauses whenever pilots are forced to dock mid-battle in order to attend to repairs and refueling.

Such specific attention to the details of the mobile suits in the movie simultaneously be re-created in the model kits that would be released after the film's debut.