Gesicht is a German robot detective, assigned to arrest Pluto for his crimes against other robots he committed in several countries. Gesicht is made out of a special metal called zirconium, which allows him to be near-indestructible and survive extreme electricity. His name means "face" in German.
Story[]
In both the manga and 1980 series, Gesicht appears in the Greatest Robots arc. Before he can go out to find and arrest Pluto, he is visited by Pluto at his own home. Gesicht attempts to approach Pluto with an arrest warrant like a regular detective, but the two have no other choice but to fight. Gesicht's unique body indeed helps him withstand the electricity from Pluto's horns, but Pluto splits his horns while Gesicht is holding onto them, tearing him in half.
Abilities[]
Gesicht's zirconium body is extremely sturdy, and makes him impervious to gunshots and extreme energy levels. He has superstrength, is able to tunnel underground, and can jump several meters in the air very fast. There is a large assortment of laser guns in Gesicht's shoulder and abdominal sections, which he can fire at a target by merely flexing his arms. In the 1960s anime, Gesicht is also shown to be able to fly.
Pluto[]
In the remake created by Naoki Urasawa, Gesicht's role in the World's Greatest Robot story was expanded upon as he is depicted as a more humanoid robot. In this version, he is working for Europol. His body is made out of an alloy called "Zeronium", and he is capable of firing a devastating blast using the alloy as ammunition. He is also shown with a wife named Helena. Gesicht and many other robots are given humanoid appearances in the manga's plot, where he solves a case of robot and human deaths. The case becomes more puzzling when evidence suggests a robot is responsible for the murders, the first one in eight years.
Note: the following section contains spoilers for the Pluto anime and manga.
Over the course of the case, it is gradually revealed that Gesicht had previously murdered Haas' brother, a serial robotic child murderer. His death comes after Gesicht's own adopted robotic child was kidnapped and destroyed by him. The trauma and subsequent feelings of hatred were so overwhelming that it left subsequent 'echoes' in Gesicht's memories, such that even after his memories were deleted by Europol (to avoid controversy regarding a robot taking the life of a human), he continued to have nightmares about this event. Gesicht would experience a recurring memory of an elderly man that worked at a robot junkyard where he would sell a damaged and outdated robotic child to Gesicht. In this memory, the man is telling Gesicht the price of the young robot. This memory grew more audible and clear as he begins to rediscover himself. Brau-1589 similarly hints at this during each of their meetings, teasing at Gesicht's past.
Gesicht eventually recalls his own memories when he is tasked with protecting Haas, filling him with intense feelings of grief, sorrow, and hatred. Despite this, he continues to protect Haas and his family while they remain in witness protection, and does not blame Haas for the actions of his brother. As Gesicht defends Haas from ensuing Anti-Robot Faction members, he shields Haas from a blast that is thought to be capable of destroying even Gesicht. While on a stretcher, Gesicht poignantly asks Haas if the hatred ever leaves, Haas answers by stating that he is not sure if it ever does, but that he now desires to no longer hate Gesicht.
Gesicht returns home to Germany to receive repairs after receiving further damage to his Zeronium shell by extremists of the Anti-Robot Faction. Following preliminary adjustments, he continues his investigations into Pluto and Sahad, wherein he ultimately corners Pluto, but a third party informs him that Dr. Hoffman is in danger and would only be released if Gesicht does not kill Pluto. Gesicht is ordered by his superiors to eliminate Pluto, at the cost of Dr. Hoffman's life, however, Gesicht does not obey and leaves Pluto alive. This would leave a lasting memory of Gesicht's insubordination among his Europol higher-ups. Gesicht ultimately chooses to abandon further police work as he deals with the conflict of knowing that he has killed a human being, and that his memories had been deleted without his consent.
While purchasing flowers for his wife Helena, Gesicht runs into who he believes to be a flower-selling robot named Anton that he has met while in Amsterdam. Upon closer inspection, this turns out to be the body of Ali, an orphaned child robot that had informed Gesicht about Sahad's existence in the first place. Ali, under some sort of outside control, has a cluster cannon welded to his previously damaged left arm; the latter shoots the unprepared and delusional Gesicht. Perhaps the delusion was caused by Gesicht reminiscing about his robotic child upon seeing Ali. Initially, Gesicht thinks of the loud shot to be gunshots from somewhere near, as he explains how he wishes to leave the dangerous area. He does not realize that he is the one that was shot, and as Ali falls, Gesicht tries walking over to him. Gesicht shares the same fate as he drops to the floor from the accumulated damage of a gaping hole in his torso while also not having fully recovered from the Anti-Robot Faction's blast that left him in a stretcher. Gesicht succumbs to his injuries very soon after, as his eye colour changes to a dull colour. His final memories transmit images of Helena and their life together with their robot child.
Gesicht's memory chip is ultimately handed over to Helena as part of his remains. Helena chooses to give this to Dr. Tenma, who subsequently installs Gesicht's final memories - what Tenma believed to be hatred - into the unconscious Atom as a bid to wake up the boy.
Trivia[]
- In the original manga, Gesicht's name was Gerhart, and in the 1980s anime his name was Zeron.