He was introduced as one of the antagonists of Mobile Suit Gundam and later becomes one of the protagonists of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam before finally returning as the main antagonist of Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack.
He is a charismatic young man who is highly respected, and his subordinates, both younger and older, follow him faithfully. On the other hand, he also has a cold-hearted side that is willing to kill even his friends in order to achieve his goals.
Despite his outstanding abilities as a leader and a soldier, he is mentally fragile. As the son of Zeon Zum Deikun, a great saint who was revered by the world, he is a complex character who is burdened with the pain of being expected to succeed his father, and the lonely anguish of not being able to receive sufficient affection as a boy because of the political struggle that the Zabi family had waged against him since he was a child.
He is as an extremely competent soldier, and his days at the Zeon Space Defense Military Academy helped him hone his combat skills as a foot soldier, such as using firearms, detonating explosives, and fencing. His bold leadership which he is well known for also developed at the military academy.
As a mobile suit pilot, he is also excellent and highly skilled, and in MS battles, he is good at high-speed maneuvering. Albeit being an excellent pilot, Char's abilities are far less than those of Lalah Sune and Amuro Ray, and only developed as a result of long-term training. Char is also a cunning strategist and tactician, managing to outsmart many of his enemies, even when he is not piloting a mobile suit.
