Mecha Profile: Fafner Mark Nicht - Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor

If something exist, it will eventually return to where it came from – Nothingness. The duality of Existence and Nothingness is one that the world cannot be without. To balance out the Aspect of Existence (Sein), there has to be an Aspect of Nothingness (Nicht). The cursed Salvator model that was created alongside Sein and piloted by another fated child – Soushi Minashiro and the Fafner Mark Nicht is an inseparable duo.

I. History:
– The Fafner Mark Nicht is one of the two first Salvator Models (alongside Sein) created by the Neo UN Army, under the hands of Youji Hino and Mitsuhiro Bartland. While the Mark Sein was given to Kazuki Makabe, the Mark Nicht was hijacked by the Festum and used to fight against Tatsumiyajima. Later on, the reborn Soushi was entrusted with the Mark Nicht – after he went to the Festum’s world and taught them about pain and losses.

– Soushi Minashiro is a resident of Tatsumiya Island. He was one of the few people who were allowed to leave the Island and travel outside to see what the world truly is like. Due to an accident when he was young, Soushi’s left eye got a scar running over it. This also causes an awkward relationship between him and Kazuki Makabe – pilot of the Mark Sein. However, after the two understood each other, they became closer and turn into the absolute powerhouse of Tatsumiyajima.

– The Mark Nicht was completed at a Neo UN Base, but the original test pilot Yukie Kariya was assimilated and lost her life. It was subsequently hijacked by Idun – a Master-strain Festum. Idun then used it to fight against humanity during the 1st Operation Azure, but was subsequently defeated. However, Soushi Minashiro was lost along with the Mark Nicht and he went to the Festum’s world to learn about them and teach them about what it means to be human.

– During Heaven and Earth, The Mark Nicht returned with the Festum Misao as its pilot. The Mark Sein and Kazuki then fight it and successfully convinced Misao to stop the war with human. Miraculously, Soushi was revived as a vessel for the Mark Nicht. At this point, he is more Festum than human. Alongside Sein and Kazuki, Soushi and Mark Nicht protected the Expedition Force per the Island Core’s will. At the end of Exodus, Soushi finally, completely went over to the Festum side. Inside the Nicht, a baby was left inside, and he grew up to be identical to Soushi.

II. Technical Specs & Armaments:

– The Mark Nicht (Nicht is “Nothingness” in German) is a Salvator-model. Unlike the Mark Sein, the Mark Nicht has an almost black color and giant back modules in Dead Aggressors. It is also bulkier than the thin Mark Sein. It was not until Heaven and Earth that the Mark Nicht was “reborn” with a new purple and green color scheme as well as its iconic silhouette that we usually see. The Mark Nicht should be slightly taller than most Island’s Fafner models as well.

– The Mark Nicht was never shown to have any conventional fixed armaments like the Tatsumiya’s Fafner, due to being made by the Neo UN Army. The back modules of the Mark Nicht resembled feathered wings – with the feathers being wired “fangs” that it can shoot out to do a variety of attacks – either dealing damage directly or taking control of its target. The original Soushi used this gimmick to take control of a battleship’s battery and use it to fire at enemies.

– The Mark Nicht can freely manipulate wormholes – spheres that will obliterate anything in its area of effect. Aside from generating them and use them like projectiles, the Mark Nicht can also alter the shape into whatever it like, most notably a disc to slice through targets. The Mark Nicht can cover a large area with its wormholes – destroying hundreds of targets at a time. While Sein’s power lean towards assimilation and “cure”, Nicht’s power is geared towards destruction. Another use of wormholes is teleportation, the Mark Nicht can envelope itself in its own wormhole and teleport to another location. The further it teleport, the more strain is put on the pilot.

– While the original Soushi didn’t use any handheld weapon, young Soushi and its temp pilot – Misao Kurusu – used the Luger Lance as a weapon. Young Soushi even used twin Luger Lances in battle – as he was taught swordsmanship by Reo Mikado. Mark Nicht can materialize its weapon freely using wormholes. It’s unclear that he teleported it from somewhere or just construct the weapon on the spot.

III. Gallery: