Badlands | |
---|---|
Desty Nova and his assistants leaving the Scrapyard in Battle 29 | |
Part of | United States |
Type | Desert |
Debut | Battle 29 |
The Badlands is an umbrella term for the vast, desolate, and sparsely inhabited desert surrounding the Scrapyard. Other than the Factory Farms, Barjack City, the Granite Inn, and the Boiling Metal Battalion base, no other settlements are shown to exist in the Badlands. Bandits are a constant threat, requiring travel to be made by convoy.
Geography[]
The Badlands are made up of large dry deserts and crags. Many rivers flow through the region, creating small bands of grassy plains that hug the shores. The region has very little precipitation, though it is sometimes hit by dust storms that sweep the sandy flats.
History[]
No reasons for the rest of the midwestern United States being so desolate were originally given in Battle Angel Alita, but in Last Order it was revealed that a 70 year impact winter ensued following the Geo Catastrophe in ES 55. Following the end of the impact winter beginning in ES 126, the sea levels rose dramatically. Centuries later a vast area had never fully recovered, remaining desolate. Travel in the Badlands is dangerous due to the lack of human civilisation and threat of bandits such as Knucklehead and Sentinel.
Plot[]
Battle Angel Alita[]
After becoming a TUNED agent, Alita spent a decade carrying out various missions for the Ground Investigation Bureau (GIB) and trying to track down Desty Nova. Den, who had developed his aims and fighting skills after wandering the desert, founded the Barjack to rebel against the Scrapyard and Tiphares, initiating the Barjack War. To mark their territory, they erected grisly markers consisting of I-beams which were used to impale burnt out vehicles and the corpses of the passengers. Radio K.A.O.S. was operated from the Badlands, but did not have a permanent location as Kaos used a large truck to broadcast from.
In ES 586,[1] Alita carried out a mission to terminate Deckman 50 after he strayed off on his own following a convoy ambush. Four years later, she met Figure Four while he was serving as a rail mercenary and they ended up at the base of the Barjack's Boiling Metal Battalion. After Figure returned to Alhambra, Alita resumed her mission, tracking Nova to the Granite Inn. At the same time, the TUNED AR Series 2 androids came online and began to conduct operations against the Barjack.
Last Order[]
Following the fall of the GIB, the surviving ARs were forced to fend for themselves, leaving only three left a year later after Sechs began to turn on the others. Two of them, Elf and Zwölf, survived Sechs' rampage and were singers for a time at Barjack City, which is implied to be in the Badlands. Large numbers of former Barjack settled in the Badlands and were attracted by the promise of reviving the organisation at Farm 3 on August 15, ES 591.
Other appearances[]
The Badlands are a location in Gunnm: Martian Memory after the story shifts to the TUNED Arc.
References[]
- ↑ Gunnm: Another Stories - Gunnm LO History timeline.