Following the development of the Prototype Unit 00 and Test Type Unit 01, Unit 02 was the first Evangelion Production Model. Addressing many of the flaws identified in the development of Units 00 and 01, Unit 02 was designed for combat, and according to its pilot, the first "true" Evangelion.
Despite being a Production model, it still relies on an external power source. While it requires a constant feed of power from an umbilical cable, it can operate on its own internal battery. However, this only allows for five minutes of operation time before it automatically shuts down.
In terms of basic armament, it is equipped with a progressive knife. However, unlike the knives of Units 00 and 01, its design is similar to a box cutter, in that parts of the blade are segmented allowing the Eva to keep fighting with the knife, even if part of its blade is broken off.
Additionally, it can be equipped with spike launchers within the shoulder fins. These are utilised when in close range of a target, usually during melee combat, effectively catching the target unware.
By addressing the flaws discovered in its predecessors, Unit 02 - along with its pilot - has proven to be consistently reliable in combat. Because of this, it usually serves a frontline combat role when battling Angels.
Rebuild of Evangelion
Coinciding with the release of the Rebuild of Evangelion films, Unit 02 has received a minor redesign. The most notable difference from its TV counterpart, is the design of the head, where it features two small protuding horns, giving it a demon, or "oni" motif.
While also having identical weaponry to its TV counterpart, their designs have been altered. Its progressive knives no longer resemble box cutters, but seem to take the shape of double edged knives. Also, in a departure from Units 00 and 01, the knife does not fold away for storage in the shoulder fins.
Also, the spike shooters appear to have been realigned in that they fire forward, rather than upwards, eliminating the need for Unit 02 to lean foward to fire. The shoulder fins seem to have some modularity in terms of basic weapon loadout to best suit the combat situation where progressive knives and spike shooters can be interchanged.
Finally, Unit 02 has a hidden feature. Taking cues from Evangelion Unit 01, Unit 02 has a "weaponised" mode of a berserker, codenamed "The Beast." By purging much of its armor, and ejecting a number of sealing pylons from within its body, Unit 02 takes on a form akin to a wild animal and gains an incredible boost in speed and power. However, as the umbilical cable is also ejected, Unit 02 can only operate in this mode for as long as the internal battery lasts. Furthermore, as a consequence of discarding its human form, the entry plug and pilot are plunged deeper towards Unit 02's core, making it impossible for any kind of monitoring of the pilot's condition. Also notable is that the pilot's eyes will glow like Unit 02's, highlighting the degree of synchronicity between them.
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