Evangelion 13

Evangelion 13 debuts in Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo as a unit unlike anything NERV has fielded before. A pair of pilots is required, initially Shinji Ikari and Kaworu Nagisa, because controlling the unit and wielding two Spears at once demands two souls, though its systems can shift full authority to a single seat. Gendo Ikari later merges with the machine himself.

At a glance the unit recalls Unit-01, but the differences pile up quickly. Green accents give way to pale yellow at the knees and forearms, deeper purple and black spread across heavily segmented plating, and the redesigned legs carry squared hips, enlarged knee pads, and heel-like foot guards. Four glowing yellow eyes sit in a helmet with a crooked horn, and a black cross covers the chest where a core would normally be visible. Its sheer scale is another anomaly: Unit-02'γ barely reaches its elbows. Entry plugs are absorbed straight through red points on its back rather than inserted through hatches.

Several features set 13 apart mechanically. It trails no cable and carries no visible battery, implying an S² Engine, and it produces no A.T. Field whatsoever; anti-A.T. Field rounds simply crumble against its body. Protection comes instead from four jellyfish-like drones called RS Hoppers, housed in its shoulder pylon containers, fast-moving devices that project a barrier and double as weapons before exploding violently when destroyed. A second pair of fully functional arms folds across its chest, granting the strength to wield both Spears, and like the Adams it fires beams of light at far greater power. Consuming an Angel's core sends it into an Awakened state, a pseudo-evolution that turns it into a Giant of Light bearing two vertically growing halos, one per soul aboard, and leaves it nearly untouchable; the AAA Wunder rams it at full speed without leaving a mark, and stopping it ultimately requires both Spears of Longinus and the loss of both pilots.

In 3.0, Gendo and Fuyutsuki unveil the unit from its incubation dome as their Final Executor. Deployed into Central Dogma alongside Mark.09 to recover the Spears from Lilith's corpse, 13 fends off Asuka's Unit-02'γ and Mari's Unit-08β with its RS Hoppers. Shinji pulls the spears despite Kaworu's warnings, and the Twelfth Angel sealed within Mark.06 breaks free. 13 devours it, awakens under its own will, opens the Doors of Guf, and begins Fourth Impact, raising the Black Moon from underground. Kaworu drives both spears into the unit's chest and dies to the DSS Choker, and Mari's forced ejection of Shinji's plug finally shuts the giant down. In Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon A Time, the dormant unit hangs crucified above a lake of LCL until it activates, destroys Unit-02, and absorbs Asuka along with her angelic power. Gendo then reveals its true purpose, resurrecting Yui in Minus Space, and fuses with it as its controlling soul. There it duels Shinji's Unit-01 across landscapes drawn from memory, a battle that resolves in conversation rather than victory before Gendo uses the Spear of Gaius to erase 13 and every other Evangelion.

Shinji Ikari and Kaworu Nagisa share the cockpit in 3.0, and the souls tied to the unit include Kaworu's, the original Asuka Shikinami Langley's, and eventually Gendo Ikari's, who becomes its final occupant and primary controller. Mari Makinami Illustrious, never a pilot, theorizes from its awakening that 13 is one of the surviving Adams. A display screen labels the unit 13α, and its two halos are said to represent the paired souls of Kaworu and Shinji, where Unit-01's single halo stands for Shinji alone.