Divine Crusaders

The Divine Crusaders (or DC, for short) refer to an Earth-based army of mecha and soldiers that have made appearances in the Super Robot Wars series. The first appearance of the Divine Crusaders was in Super Robot Wars 2, however, the main force of the Divine Crusaders was composed of several different enemies from different animated series. In , they would be the initial enemy faction the playable cast must face. In , the DC would be reconstructed into the Neo Divine Crusaders, or Neo DC, for short (in the original Japanese, it is not Neo but "Neue", meaning "New" in German).

Background

When the Earth Federation didn't heed Bian Zoldark's warning of an impending alien invasion, he would take matters into his own hands by forming the Divine Crusaders, using his EOTI Institute (on the fictional island of Aidoneus in the Marquesas Islands) as its headquarters. After destroying the Aerogater delegation in the Antarctic, he would publicly announce his faction's existence to the Earth. With the allied help of the United Colony Corps, the DC established a significant military power on Earth.

However, most of its leaders would be killed during the Divine Crusaders War. Few officers and soldiers defected to the Earth Federation Army, and the United Colony Corps submitted to the Earth Federation and disarmed its forces. Dr. Adler Koch would head the remaining DC loyalists, relocating to the Earth Cradle, and eventually attempted to seize the Earth Federation capital in Geneva, just as the Aerogaters began their invasion. Unfortunately, the attack on Geneva would prove to be Adler's demise, effectively destroying the main DC force, leaving scattered "DC Remnants" around the globe, after the L5 Campaign.

In Original Generation 2, the DC Remnants, led by Colonel Van Vat Tran, reestablished the faction into the Neo Divine Crusaders. Although much smaller in number to the original DC, the Neo DC would attempt to retake their former glory as a military power through the aid of the Shadow-Mirror, who was unknown to them. Sadly, the Neo DC would meet its end during Operation Plantagenet, when several of its officers would defect to the Shadow-Mirror, ultimately destroying the last remains of the Divine Crusaders. The survivors would be integrated into the Earth Federation Army.

Characteristics

The Divine Crusaders is a rebel faction, seeking to destroy the current Earth Federation government and establish a new one, one where its leaders are more aggressive and hostile to extraterrestrials. Having recruited former Earth Federation Army officers (most of whom defected, due to past vendettas against the Federation), talented scientists and engineers and potential pilots, the DC quickly made use of resources, assembling a vast army, incorporating technology the Earth Federation Army did not have yet, such as the Tesla Drive, installed in the DC's various Lion models. Unlike some honorable members of the DC, a few officers would resort to cowardly, terrorist actions, such as holding a space colony captive with poison gas, loading a bomb onto a Lion unit and have it make a kamikaze attempt to sink a battleship, and threatening the safety of citizens. As such, the DC is interally corrupt, as certain officers are cruel, only wanting the war to turn in their favor for personal gain.

Technology and units

Most DC units were commonly Armored Modules. Unlike the Personal Troopers of the Earth Federation Army, Armored Modules were cheap to manufacture and quick to mass-produce. This was an advantage to the DC, as it quickly established itself as a military power by overrunning many Earth Federation bases during its initial rebellion, after Bian's announcement. The DC has been seen to field the following units:

*Lion variations
*Barrelion variations
*Guarlion variations
*Granzon
*Valsion/Valsion Custom
*Valsione

The Neo DC had retained most of its units from the DC War, but with aid from the Shadow-Mirror, they acquired new units for its troops to utilize. The Neo DC has been seen to field the following units:

*Lion F
*Landlion
*Cosmolion
*Barrelion V
*Guarlion Custom
*Valsion Custom Type-CF
*Laz Angriff
*R Eins M
*Randgrith
*Wild Falken
*Rapiéçage

Notable officers

Divine Crusaders

*Bian Zoldark (Killed in action)
*Shu Shirakawa (Missing in action)
*Adler Koch (Killed in action)
*Sanger Zonvolt (Missing in action)
*Elzam V. Branstein (Missing in action, defected to Earth Federation Army in OG2)
*Maier V. Branstein (Killed in action)
*Julia Hainkel (Killed in action)
*Leona Garstein (Officially defected to the Earth Federation Army)
*Siebel Mistrel (Killed in action)
*Lily Junkers (Submitted to the Earth Federation Army)
*Tempest Hawker (Killed in action)
*Filio Presty (Officially defected to the Earth Federation Army)
*Tenzan Nakajima (Presumably killed in action)
*Thomas Bright (Missing in action)
*Hans Weber (Killed in action)
*Lorenzo Di Montegnacco (Missing in action)
*Ryoto Hikawa (Officially defected to the Earth Federation Army)

Neo Divine Crusaders
*Van Vat Tran (Killed in action)
*Archibald Grims (Officially defected to the Shadow-Mirror)
*Yuuki Jaggar (Officially defected to the Earth Federation Army)
*Águila Setme (Officially defected to the Shadow-Mirror)
*Cuervo Sero (Officially defected to the Shadow-Mirror)
*Ricarla Borgnine (Officially defected to the Earth Federation Army)
*Seolla Schweizer (Officially defected to the Earth Federation Army)
*Arado Balanga (Officially defected to the Earth Federation Army)
*Ouka Nagisa (Officially defected to the Shadow-Mirror)
*Egret Feff (Officially defected to the Shadow-Mirror)