Mobius 1

"There's one thing I can say for certain. Heroes really do exist. We've just seen one, and now he's coming home."

Mobius 1 (メビウス・ワン Mebiusu Wan) is the main character of Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies, and is arguably one of the most successful aces ever to take to the skies. He was a key figure in helping the Independent State Allied Forces (ISAF) achieve victory in the Second Usean Continental War, as well as in its efforts against the Free Erusea forces following the war.

During his ISAF tour of duty, Mobius 1 flew various aircraft ranging from light interceptors to all-weather, multipurpose, ground attack, and even stealth-capable air superiority fighters. His signature aircraft was the ISAF blue-tinted F-22A Raptor, which remained his fighter of choice following the end of the Second Usean Continental War.

The total number of air victories achieved by Mobius 1 is one of the highest ever to be achieved by a single pilot. This is evident in his flawless track record, having never been shot down during a mission and having risen from the position of rookie to top ace in less than twelve months. In the aftermath of the Second Usean Continental War, his flying skill was evaluated to be equal to that of an entire squadron.

Mobius 1 remains iconic to the Ace Combat franchise to this day. Aside from occasional minor references, he is featured as a non-canonical character in several other games, and Mobius-based alternate color schemes have been made available for both in-game purchase and downloadable content across the series.

Biography

Second Usean Continental War

On his first combat mission, Mobius 1 singlehandedly shot down six Tu-95 Bear bombers, making him an immediate ace, along with their fighter escorts at New Field Island. Thereafter, Mobius 1 continued to perform extraordinarily well in combat operations; in particular, he is credited with the destruction of the Erusian super-weapons Stonehenge and Megalith. He also is the first pilot to shoot down a member of the world renowned and feared Erusian ace fighter pilot unit known as Yellow Squadron, personally shooting down both Yellow 4 (when that squadron responded to his destruction of Stonehenge) and Yellow 13 (during the Siege of Farbanti). He was the involved in such operations as:

Operation Rough Seas: Provided a strike role in the sinking of the "Invincible" Aegir Fleet.
Operation Countdown: Flew as of the defending air superiority pilots for the launch of a key ISAF satellite during the largest air battle since Operation Battle-Axe of the Belkan War, believed to have involved over three hundred aircraft. He made some key achievements: shooting down an SR-71 Blackbird, E-767, KC-10A Extender, 6 B-2A Spirit's, and landing a hit on a member of the Yellow Squadron, possibly Yellow 13.
Operation Bunker Shot: Flew close air support role during an ISAF amphibious landing on the southern coast of the mainland, allowing them to begin to retake the continent.
Operation Stone Crusher: Provided a major strike role, resulting in the singlehanded destruction of the superweapon Stonehenge, and achieving a confirmed kill on a member of Yellow Squadron. This event was a turning point in the war and led to him gaining worldwide fame.
Operation Fire Fly: Was a pivotal ace during the emancipation of San Salvacion, and the destruction of much of the Yellow Squadron, except for Yellow 13, whose plane was damaged by Mobius 1.
Operation Autumn Thunder: Flew as a leading ISAF pilot during the siege and capture of the Erusian capital city Farbanti. The (probable but unconfirmed) death of Yellow 13 and the destruction of several Eursian MV-22s carrying government VIPs.
Operation Judgment Day: Aided in the destruction of Megalith, the superweapon designed as a replacement for Stonehenge. He and his newly formed Mobius squadron defeated the last of the reformed Yellow Squadron, ending the war.

Mobius 1 was the only pilot of the 118th Tactical Fighter Wing throughout the entire war. During Operation Judgment Day the squadron was granted new pilots and renamed Mobius Squadron for their last official mission.

Operation Katina

In 2006, he returned to Erusea to defeat the last of the Erusian extremists calling themselves "Free Erusea." Only Mobius 1 and AWACS Sky Eye were sent, but together they effectively crushed the resistance putting a halt to their operations.

During the last battle against Free Erusea, Mobius 1 was engaged by four to six X-02 Wyverns. Despite the technologically more advanced Erusian fighters, he successfully managed to destroy them and return to base safely. There are no records indicating what became of Mobius 1 after the end of the conflict.

Characteristics and personality

Nothing is known of Mobius 1's identity, apart from his callsign and the nickname he earned later in the Second Usean Continental War. He is most likely male, given that SkyEye called Mobius 1 "he" or "him" repeatedly at the end of the game. The fact that he began the game as an aircraft carrier pilot may indicate he was initially part of the naval aviation of his country rather than a ground based air force pilot.

Appearances in other games

Mobius 1's legacy has led to several cameo appearances and references in future Ace Combat titles.

Ace Combat 5: The original color livery of the F-22A is the SP paint of the OADF F-22. However, the engine nozzles lack their golden coloring.
Ace Combat Zero: Mobius 1's paint scheme is the "Soldier" scheme of the F-22A. In addition, Mobius 1 makes a physical appearance as the end boss of the special stage, The Gauntlet. The game files contain a .vut file with the comment *Mebiusu 1_-_Megalith Alt, an allusion to the starting altitude of Megalith, 6666 feet.
Ace Combat 6: The Mobius livery is a download color for the F-22A, dubbed the "F-22A -MOBIUS-", which achieves high battle capability at the expense of losing all armor. In addition, a pilot called Mobius is referred to in background chatter in the Chandelier Mission when a character is heard saying "Mobius 1 back me up" softly. As well as him being mentioned in the Chandelier mission, Mobius 1's name can be heard in the cinematic clip at the beginning of the Selumna Peak mission.
Ace Combat: Joint Assault: Mobius is one of the "legacy" enemies appearing in the special mission "Ace of Aces", being the 70th aircraft the player must face. He intially fights slowly, but later adopts the aggressive flight patterns of the Varcolac Squadron.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon: Mobius 1's callsign and paint scheme are awarded to the player after being titled a "Hero" once in online multiplayer (dealing the final blow to the enemy's HQ in Capital Conquest).
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy: There is a customisation part called the "Mobius Loop".
Ace Combat Infinity: In line with the various references to Ace Combat 4, Mobius 1's nickname "The Grim Reaper" is adopted as the callsign of the player character, Reaper. Additionally, a reward-only variant of his F-22A, the F-22A -Mobius1- , was included in the game.

Trivia

Mobius 1 and Yellow 13's paint schemes are found in most games of the series following Ace Combat 4.
He makes many non-canonical appearance as an enemy ace in several games:
- In Ace Combat Zero, Mobius 1 can be fought in the bonus mission The Gauntlet. He only appears on Ace difficulty and under the condition that the player shoots down Espada Squadron in under one minute.
- In Ace Combat 6, Mobius 1 can be fought in the Ace of Aces DLC mission "Heavy Command Cruiser".
- In Ace Combat: Joint Assault, Mobius 1 appears as an enemy ace in the mission, Ace of Aces, after shooting down the 69th aircraft.
In Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception, an ace, callsign ORCA, flies an F/B-22 Concept in the colors of Mobius One.