Awesome / Code Geass

Lelouch

• Let's not mince words; Lelouch is a terrible Knightmare pilot. And even so, beginning in the second episode and coming into full focus in the eleventh, Lelouch goes into battle. He's in a mook, is not equipped for dealing with the Ace Pilot foes in his way like Cornelia. And he still goes into battle and takes the same risks as his forces, all the way up until he gets the Gawain. And even then he's easily outmatched by anyone not a mook in combat. Still goes into battle. Lelouch living by his "if the king does not lead, his men will not follow" creed takes balls of steel and he does it throughout the entire series.
  • This also ties into his words about "the only ones who should kill are those prepared to be killed". Lelouch is prepared for his path to end in death and makes a point of taking the same risks of his forces as early as Narita to prove it.
  • Early as Narita might be a little too late. He puts himself front and centre in Stage 4 when he goes to rescue Suzaku. Either he saves Suzaku or he dies in a horrible fashion. And he saves him thanks to careful wordplay and his Geass.
• Lelouch Lamperouge, the protagonist of Code Geass, is a Magnificent Bastard of the first stripe, and everyone who has watched the show agrees that the plans he used to outmaneuver Mao in episodes 15 and 16 are incredible. However, his original Moment of Awesome may be his facial expression at the end of the first episode. He had just effortlessly killed a squadron of armed soldiers with his new power, getting splashed with blood in the process, and after spending a minute looking shocked and disgusted, his internal monologue reached a conclusion, and a Psychotic Smirk appeared without warning. It gave the audience a clear impression of the kind of Anti-Hero they were dealing with, and they loved it.
• He then kicks off the second episode by not flinching despite Villetta shooting around him with her Knightmare. He keeps his calm, quickly figures out the first weak point of his Geass, and tricks Viletta out to get her Knightmare Frame. The rest of the episode, until Suzaku shows up, is mostly Lelouch proving just how much of The Chessmaster he is by taking control of Kallen's group and turning the whole fight around. Once Lelouch could actually fight back, Clovis and his forces didn't stand a chance; it's only thanks to the Wild Card that was the Lancelot that Lelouch's plan went off the rails, forcing him to improvise...which wasn't hard since the means for him to walk up and get at Clovis was already cleared.
• Zero defeating the Purist faction by first publicly taking credit THEN using his Geass to force their leader to help them escape. As such their plan to purge the government of Honorary Britannians ends up backfiring and reducing their power.
• Minor bit in episode 6; Lelouch deliberately falls off the roof, trusting Suzaku to catch him so that he won't spot the Zero helmet that Arthur had on his head. Not only is it's a heartwarming nod to their relationship, Lelouch is that confident and holds that much trust in Suzaku. He then uses the situation to acknowledge Suzaku as his friend, defending him from the racist bullies and getting him accepted into the student council. Never say Lelouch is not a master of multi-tasking.
• The speech that Zero gives at the end of episode 8 is nothing short of EPIC.
  • Episode 8 in general is awesome; Lelouch, upon seeing his friends in danger (and implied by his epic speech he would have done it anyways) he starts trying to figure out a way to help. Once he knows Euphemia is in danger, he's able to use that to build a plan to rescue all the hostages and debut the Black Knights. It goes off with only a minor hitch thanks to the Lancelot being sent in; Lelouch did what he promised at the end of episode 7 and made the conditions so that he would win no matter what as promised to C.C.
• He also gets a pretty big one at the Battle of Narita. When Tamaki questions his motives, Zero gives Tamaki a freaking gun, telling the group, "All routes of escape have been cut off. If you feel you can make it out without me, feel free to kill me." He then adds, "Ever since you've joined the Black Knights, you've only had two choices: To live with me, or to die with me." To give guys that you know don't fully trust you that sort of opening takes Sakuradite balls.
• Zero beating Cornelia at Mount Narita. It forced her to actually admit defeat.
• When Lelouch tricks Mao with a recorded conversation
  • In R2, he uses this exact same trick to defeat and Geass Schneizel.
  • Lelouch's crowning moment in that arc was when he Geassed himself so that he wouldn't remember giving Suzaku his instructions, thus rendering the info Mao was getting from Lelouch's mind inaccurate.
  • "NEVER SPEAK AGAIN!!!" Best. Geass. Ever. Also a touching motive for doing so. Mao hurt his best friend.
• Lelouch shows his greatest strength; Awesomeness by Analysis against the Lancelot. If it wasn't for Suzaku's experience with Tohdoh's fighting style, he might as well have ended up dead instead of exposed. Which leads to much anguish from Lelouch, particularly since he wanted to work with Suzaku but since he's not only in the army but the very enemy that keeps getting in his way as Zero that completely falls apart.
• Despite the incredibly narmy pose he does it in, when Lelouch declares his plans for the United States of Japan.
• During the first Assault on the Tokyo Settlement.
  Lelouch: These hands of mine have been dirty for a long time now, Suzaku. Your coming to face me now doesn't matter at all. Hell, I welcome it even. I mean of course, you and I are friends. (begins laughing crazily as the Tokyo Settlement collapses around him)
  • What makes it even more awesome is that, in the next episode we see how it was done, he geassed the people who controlled the system holding the city up during earthquakes, and told them to deactivate it as the attack starts. This not only causes mass destruction and chaos, but wipes out a lot of the Brittantian army massed against him.
• Season Two: After Lelouch gets his real memories back, he proceeds to... just be Lelouch. Seriously, words cannot describe the scene.
  • At which point two giant mecha crash through the ceiling, KNEEL BEFORE HIM, and ask him to give them orders.
• R2 turn 2. Lelouch drops a building so the Black Knights can escape and kill Governor Calares.
• Episode 4 has Lelouch agree to duel Guilford, a vastly superior warrior, for the freedom of his captured men. At first everyone thinks he's crazy - and when he requests that the combatants be limited to a single weapon, claiming a Knightmare-sized riot shield for his, they KNOW he's crazy. And then the plate holding them up starts to tip, sliding the carriers that hold the Black Knights into the Chinese Federation's embassy, effectively putting them out of Britannia's grasp. Lelouch follows this up by surfing the plate on the riot shield, decapitating one Knightmare by railgrinding its slash harken wires. The scene was so iconic that when Bandai made an action figure of Zero's Burai, it came with the shield specifically so that fans could re-create it.
  • Then, later in the same episode, he seemingly has to deal with Rolo, his watcher with a hypnotic Geass that can stop people in their tracks. But Lelouch had been studying Rolo's profile and his Geass before the battle and exploits both to their fullest. One: He Geasses one of the Darltons to fire on Rolo, knowing that Rolo's Geass only affected perception and was useless against the nonliving. Two: Lelouch takes the bullet! The reason? Rolo's personality was rather unstable, and this sudden demonstration of loyalty makes Rolo suffer a Villainous BSoD, allowing Lelouch to basically force him to Heel–Face Turn.
• Lelouch spends a good chunk of Turn 7 in a Heroic BSoD due to Nunnally becoming Viceroy, him unable to rescue her in the previous episode, and her announcement to bring back the SAZ. But once he gets out of it (with a little help from his friends)? He pulls of a major Big Damn Heroes moment for the Black Knights, turning an entire battle where they are entirely out numbered around with three orders, using the terrain to his advantage again to knock out the entire fleet with bubbles. There is a reason why Lelouch is needed for the rebellion.
• The 1 million Zeros scene from Ep 8. It's so ridiculously over-the-top that, much like the Brittanians, you have to let it go. It says something that the entire plan hinged on his belief that Suzaku wouldn't let a massacre take place (even though he came within a few seconds of doing just that), and still worked perfectly.
  • That was part of Lelouch's brilliance. He knew Suzaku would prevent a massacre because it would invoke memories of the "Princess Massacre" all over again.
• In episode 9 of R2. After Xingke breaks into the middle of Tianzi and Odysseus's wedding, Zero drops in, holding a gun to her head. Xingke calls him "filthy scum". Zero responds with "Oh, am I?" then begins an Evil Laugh that ends the episode.
• Shinkiro. Keyboard robot. Any questions?
  Xingke: I don't care who, but please... someone save her!
  Zero: I understand... Your wish is granted.
  • And he proceeds to show off the Shinkiro's capabilities— it's one of the sturdiest, if not THE sturdiest Knightmare Frame in the series (what else can stand up to the Mordred's Stark Hadron Cannon?), it looks badass, it can transform into a submarine for better mobility (and travel between the Chinese Federation and Area 11), and it can hold it's own very well in a fight (It has it's own spherical Hadron Blasters, and it has it's signature Zero Beam which can be used to directly blast a foe or can be launched into a crystal which then pinpoints and covers a very large range), against the Knights of the Round. Needless to say, the Shinkiro is one of the most badass Knightmare Frames in the series, with badass controls, badass weaponry, BADASS DEFENSE, and a definitely badass pilot, Lelouch vi Britannia. It's too bad it gets mercilessly destroyed in Turn 24, though. The series was coming to an end however, and Lelouch was caught off guard.
  • Still more awesome of a Moment of Awesome was when Lelouch subsequently revealed that he had broadcast his entire conversation with the High Eunuchs, thereby turning the entire population of China, India, Pakistan, and assorted other countries against them.
• Lelouch's reaction to Rolo telling him that he killed Shirley. Lelouch was genuinely devastated at the time, and there was a gun right on the floor next to him, but instead of impulsively using it, he pretends to be happy about it so he can continue to use a valuable asset. Lelouch has always been a Manipulative Bastard extraordinaire, but that how many Heartbroken Badasses do you know that can keep such a convincing facade even after their Love Interest dies?
• R2 episode 17 is titled, "The Taste of Humiliation" (or Dirt, depending on the translation) and is one of his low points. Made worse by the fact that his brother Schneizel surprises everyone by showing up and capturing Lelouch. But even in such a low point, though, Lelouch had made sure to keep a trump card. Before the meeting, he had drawn Lord Guilford into an encounter where he could use his Geass on him and leave a compulsion. Lelouch employs this trump card, making Guilford believe Lelouch was Cornelia, triggering his natural tendency to rescue and protect her, allowing Lelouch to escape.
• In the Second Battle of Tokyo, Lelouch manages to hold off four of the Valkyrie Squadron by himself for several moments.
• In R2 Episode 20, after the Black Knights betray him, and he loses almost everyone that he loves, Lelouch, left with nothing but his Geass and his submersible Knightmare Frame Shinkirō, decides to go out with a bang, and finally loses his moral qualms about using his Geass to rob people of their free will. As the Black Knights rant about Lelouch using them as pawns, Lelouch shows how he would have acted if he had really been doing so; sneakily subverting an entire military base (by making their Geassed friends hold their eyes open in some cases), as well as part of his father's royal guard. Arriving on Kaminajema, where his father is rebuilding the Sword of Akasha, Lelouch appears with a relevant pink kaboom, and finally expresses his internal ham without his Zero mask, showing that he does not truly need the mask to be the Large Ham that he is. As he walks away from the explosion, he explains just who the hell he is, pulling off what would have been a wangsty speech awesomely.
  "My name is Lelouch Vi Britannia! I am the eldest son of Empress Marianne— the prince who was abandoned by his Empire!". (Two columns of Geassed Knightmare frames line up, kneel and salute him with their spears, forming an arch for him to walk under) If anyone wishes to stop me, let them try. If there is anyone who can go beyond my despair...!"
  • This deserves more explanation; by subverting the forces, no one knew who was friend or foe in this situation. It made even Bismarck hesitate on how to get involved; he fully tied up the entire army that was meant to be guarding Charles and was able to just flat up walk in to deal with him without any interference!
• Then he confronts his immortal father within the Sword of Akasha, and shows how he deals with someone which you cannot kill nor control, by blowing the exit behind him, sealing them in the dimensional pocket where the Sword of Akasha resides.
  Charles: You sealed the exit?!
  Lelouch: Yes! You, I , and the power of Geass are now sealed in this space together. And, if you can no longer interfere with the real world, then all your plans will be meaningless in the end. You may as well be dead!
  Charles: Lelouch!
  Lelouch: [with a terrifying expression on his face] This system, which you created, has become a prison which now holds your own soul captive. Now, let us suffer together... repenting together for all eternity!
• And Lelouch's later plan to foil Charles' Assimilation Plot by geassing the collective unconsciousness of mankind (Charles' "gods") to disobey Charles. At first, nothing happens, but as Lelouch passionately repeats his appeal he finally gains mastery of his geass (acquiring it in both eyes) and his command takes effect. And he remains remarkably cool moments later when Charles starts dissolving in purple sparkles, flies at him, and starts trying to choke him.
  Charles: Even if that's true, what can you do? The Ragnarok Connection has already begun.
  Lelouch: I don't know about that. I'm Zero — the man who creates miracles!
  • Why has nobody quoted the single cheesiest and most badass exchange in this entire series? Allow me to perfectly paraphrase how ridiculous this moment is: LELOUCH IS COMMANDING THE EQUIVALENT TO GOD IN THE CODE GEASS UNIVERSE. He is literally commanding the collective unconscious of all of mankind to kill an immortal man and take up arms for the future. He turns the tide so quickly and so suddenly, bringing the Sword of Akasha crashing down, and all of the work which went into it breaking to pieces. Every action taken in this scene exemplifies everything right in this series.
    Charles: You're a fool, Lelouch! God cannot be defeated with the power of the king!
    Lelouch: I DON'T INTEND TO DEFEAT GOD! This is a request! Yes, now I know who I really am! GOD! COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS! PLEASE, DON'T STOP THE MARCH OF TIME!
  • The best part in this is during this whole time, which can also add as a little Tear Jerker considering what's happened to him, Lelouch gives a big "The Reason You Suck" Speech to his father and mother.
    Lelouch: You now want a world without change? How stagnant. You could hardly call it life, the same as a world of memories: just a world that's closed and completed. That's a place I wouldn't want to live in. [...] You both believe that this new world you envision will be best for all, but forcing your good intentions on others is no different from an evil act.
    Charles: In time, the people will come to accept it.
    Lelouch: THAT TIME WILL NEVER COME! Only one thing is undeniably certain [...] The hard fact remains that you abandoned us in a foreign land!
    Marianne: But we did that to protect you!
    Lelouch: Then why didn't you stop the war between Britannia and Japan?! The plan was such a priority for you both that it didn't matter to either of you if Nunnally and I were alive or dead! That's why you abandoned us! All you have left are self-serving excuses! You don't give a damn about the future!
    Charles: The future is the Ragnarok Connection. Once it's finally done, the gentler existence that Nunnally spoke of will—
    Lelouch: STOP IT! The world you're speaking of will be kinder and gentler only for you! The world that my sister wished for is one in which kindness is extended to everyone! Even strangers! [...] Do you have any idea what the meaning is behind Nunnally's beautiful smile? [...] Why don't you understand? Nunnally was blinded, my own sister was crippled! She knew...she knew that there were things in this world that she would never be able to do by herself...so her smile...Nunnally's smile was her way of expressing gratitude!
    Charles: You're laboring under a delusion!
    Lelouch: I WILL NOT LET YOU CALL THAT A LIE! Over my dead body! Your refusal to face reality, content to watch us from afar...don't make me laugh! There's only one truth here! You, my own parents, YOU ABANDONED US!!!
    Charles: YOU CLEVER LITTLE FOOOOL! Can't you understand if you refuse me and what I offer, you will inherit his world! Schneizel's world! Do not judge me! Good and evil intentions are on each side of the same card! Even then you'll still have—
    Lelouch: No matter what, I'll always reject the world you envision. BEGONE NOW!
• For all who have seen the 21st episode of R2: ALL HAIL LELOUCH!
  • Additionally, Finally a Spinzaku I like! All Hail Knight of Zero!
    • Lelouch's line before that is a Moment of Awesome as well. "Let me make this easy for you all to understand..." *Raises hand in front of face then sweeps it away to reveal his double-Geass eyes* "ACKNOWLEDGE ME AS EMPEROR!"
• In episode 23, Lelouch pushes back an overwhelming army by shooting a volcano at it.
  • Lelouch has a lot of awesome moments that involve him beating the enemy by using the terrain against them. He's especially good at Geassing people to blow up support columns and induce a sinkhole. His tactic in episode 23 of R2 is the ultimate extension of these.
  • Consider this: the Black Knights used to be Lelouch's army, meaning that they know his fondness for weaponizing the geography better than anyone else, but they likely thought he couldn't do it in an aerial battle with no geography to exploit. Oh boy, how wrong they were.
• In episode 24, Lelouch gets the final checkmate on Schneizel by pre-recording himself, predicting what Schneizel would say in response, using the recording to initiate a conversation with Schneizel over live transmission, then making his way down to him while he's distracted to Geass him from behind, forcing Schneizel to devote his entire being to serve Zero. This same strategy had already been used against Mao in the first season, making it a classic, but he managed to get it to work on Schneizel, the smartest guy this side of hell, for crying out loud!
  • Explanation: he ordered him to obey Zero rather than himself, so that Schneizel would continue serving Suzaku (who becomes the next Zero) rather than running off after Lelouch's death. Keikaku doori!
• The entire "Obey me world" scene! Never has a hostile takeover of the whole world been so frickin' badass!
  Lelouch: Lelouch Vi Britannia commands you! Obey me, subjects! Obey me, WORLD!
• Finally, the great finale of the entire series, in which Lelouch arranges his own ASSASSINATION in order to let the sins and hatred of the world die with him. While the world is cheering the reappearance of "Zero", the great saviour, Lelouch quietly dies in Nunnally's arms while she and the Black Knights realize the truth of what just transpired and the reasons behind Lelouch's actions for the past three months.
• Not only that, but right before his death, he uses the below line, made awesome by the fact that he demonstrates one of his own beliefs in the scene.
  Lelouch: The only ones who should kill are the ones prepared to BE killed.
• Lelouch's awesomeness also carries over into the Alternate Continuity of Knightmare of Nunnally, in which his most notable trait is not so much his Magnificent Bastardry as it is his ability to fight Knightmare Frames with his bare hands (via an altered form of Geass acquired through merging with C.C... it's rather complicated). He shows off said ability quite well during his combat debut in Saitama, but it really gets good during the Battle of Narita, in which he utterly owns Cornelia with his powers (at one point stopping a hail of shrapnel in midair, seemingly just by posing at it)◊.
• Lelouch taking out an entire FLEET of Britannian ships by shooting a tank full of methane hydrate.
• Lelouch's actions in R2 can be summed up as thus: he conquered one half of the world, and then when he was betrayed by the very people he had been helping, he saved everyone in the whole world from being MindRaped into losing their humanity, and then he took over the other half of the world by clawing his way out of Hell in less than a month. And then he went for broke and re-conquered the half of the world he'd taken over before.
• While Lulu's Thanatos Gambit was a Moment of Awesome all by itself, it's worth noting the symbolism involved here. When Lelouch becomes Emperor, he switches up his usual black attire for one that is primarily white. In the Grand Finale Zero, a.k.a. Suzaku, is wearing black. Given the heavy use of Chess Motifs in the series, and the fact that Lelouch always plays black in actual chess, this combined with Fridge Brilliance means that he 'played white, but still bet black' for the final checkmate - in essence, he lost, and the whole frickin' world thinks he's lost, but ultimately, he won. Magnificent Bastard, thy name is Lelouch.
  • The announcement that Lelouch will be returning as the protagonist of Re;surrection, with full health and cunningness. Read it again, even death didn't stop Lelouch from actively making an impact on the now peaceful world.
• His plots in the Re;surrection movie do not disappoint in the least:
  • His triumphant return? He tricks the arrogant enemy commander and his forces into chasing decoys within the prison before detonating the entire thing with them inside it, but not before exploiting his hubris to predict his actions down to the letter, thoroughly humiliating the man's tactics in the process.
  • Lelouch and his group gear up to destabilize Zikistan in one assault, and it works flawlessly, with the national army being caught completely flatfooted and outmaneuvered at every turn. Think a successful Black Rebellion, except this time Lelouch has a veritable army composed of nothing but Mauve Shirts and important named characters helping him out, including Suzaku, Kallen AND Cornelia all fighting on the same side. It would have been checkmate too, if Shamna's Geass didn't undo the entire thing.
  • Speaking of: Shamna's Geass lets her carry back knowledge of everything Lelouch and co. try to do several hours before they try it, allowing her and her army to device counters and traps. With his plans foiled, his allies separated, isolated and cornered, and most forms of communications down, how does Lelouch get out if it? Very simple: He writes down a list with a bunch of possible movements and stratagems his units can use, hands them over to C.C. and then cuts himself off from command, allowing C.C. to direct the battle while he sits down to brainstorm about the unknown Geass user he's dealing with and how to counter it. Not knowing what his own army is doing and with C.C. immune to direct Geass effects, Lelouch uses the enemy's reactions to deduce the identity of the user (Shamna) and the power they have. Yes, he freaking deduced that his enemy had the power to mentally send themselves back in time upon death!
  • Finally, how he manages to outplay someone with a cheat-like power like that: Using Shamna's own advance preparations, he deduces a rough timeframe for her Geass power to work, infiltrates the palace offscreen to make sleeper agents out of her own royal guard so that they hold her up when he assaults the place ahead of time, and then puts Shamna under a Big Sleep order so she can't manually trigger her Geass anymore. To top it off, he orders the guards to detonate a bomb only after enough time has passed to overcome the time of the assault covered by her Geass, just in case her Geass still triggers in that condition. Either it doesn't work and she dies, or it would simply send her back to a point after she had already been put to sleep, effectively trapping her in true eternal sleep.

Kallen

• Kallen Kozuki's first major crowning moment of awesome came when she first deployed the Guren Mk-II at the Battle of Narita. After outmaneuvering an elite (if recently demoted for political reasons) enemy pilot, she proceeds to grab his Knightmare Frame by the face and blast it with high energy radiation, causing it to bubble up and explode. The act itself is repeatedly frequently, but always overshadowed by the sheer arrogance in Karen's attitude.
  • Followed closely by Kallen fighting Suzaku, and proving that where he wins by Plot Armor, she's still better than he is on even ground.
• Kallen Pawnch! That is all.
• Kallen's actions in her fight with Suzaku at the end of season 1 to be amazing. She and Suzaku clash in mid-air repeatedly, despite the fact that the Lancelot can fly while the Guren can't and she can only attack at close range. She still takes one of its arms off.
  • Kallen uses the blast from the Radiant Wave in order to get at the airborne Lancelot: "Don't get cocky just because you can fly!"
• When Kallen's Guren Mk-II is upgraded to the Guren Flight-Enabled Type. Awesomeness ensues.
  • Before the upgrade Kallen skates her Guren on a wire to nail a flying enemy unit in mid-air
• The premiere of the Guren SEITEN. At 60% power.
  "Hey Kamina, look at what my Guren can do!"
  • It was particularly badass how Kallen used it to whittle down Luciano's Knightmare, weapon by weapon, then grab him with the radiant wave arm and turn his whole "What's most important to you?" shtick right back around on him just before blasting him dead. The dub adds a pretty nice Bond One-Liner in for her right before she ends him:
    "Send a postcard."
    • Not to mention taking out all four members of his Amazon Brigade in the time it took the first of them to notice that she'd been hit.
  • Then Suzaku came in, and gives Kallen several more moments. First he apparently tries to force a Taking the Bullet scenario; she not only survives unscathed, but defeats his best weapon while doing so. Then she toys with him for nearly two minutes while he pointlessly tries Beam Spam. Finally, when ordered to finish the job, she absolutely tears him apart. The best part is when she breaks his Spinzaku kick, and Suzaku immediately realizes how screwed he is.
  • This entire scene is really a testament to Kallen's awesomeness as a whole. Here we have the Guren SEITEN, a machine that is so high-spec that Cecile and Lloyd figured no living human — not even Suzaku — would ever actually be able to use it. Then Kallen comes in and goes ahead and does it anyway.
• Kallen confronts Emperor Lelouch and kisses him on the lips before taking off. Considering that Kallen was now Lelouch's enemy since she chose her beliefs over her love, that he could've perfectly sent an assassin to stop her and that Kallen knew she was risking her life... going towards Emperor Lelouch and delivering her true feelings for him definitely required lots of courage and HUGE balls, erm, boobs. You've always been one really badass mother, Kallen, and this action from you definitely and boldly confirms it.
• Kallen redefined the idea of Foe-Tossing Charge by taking out 24 of the latest model enemy units (C.C + 23 Mecha-Mooks) in exactly 36 seconds (and most in hand to hand combat), all the while criticizing C.C about her lack of motivation.
• While the final battle between Suzaku and Kallen in episode 25 was a display of pure awesomeness by both fighters, Kallen gets a special awesomeness bonus for nailing Suzaku with his own patented Spinzaku kick.
  • Kallen, with the Guren SEITEN, has rendered the dreaded Spinzaku kick useless on two occasions.
  1. During the Second Battle of Tokyo: Suzaku attempts one, but fails, only to have the Lancelot's leg ripped off. He pretty much lost all hope after that.
  2. During the Grand Finale: Kallen not only uses a Spinzaku kick on him successfully, but foils Suzaku's own kick in the same battle by jamming the Guren SEITEN's Radiant Wave arm into the Lancelot Albion's leg, breaking it off while her arm remains intact.
• It's subtle but as the final act of the Zero Requiem kicks in, Kallen is the first one to realize what Lelouch was doing. Before then he was playing Demon Emperor to the hilt and she believed it to the point she actively tried to kill him. But as soon as it starts, Kallen reminds us that she also is a smart girl and instantly figures it out.

Suzaku

• Any of Suzaku's Big Damn Heroes moment can qualify for this. Starting with him blasting in on the Lancelot in Shinjuku.
• Shinjuku shows the first showing of the Lancelot. In a matter of minutes, Suzaku turns the entire battle around. What was going to be an unquestionable victory from Lelouch turns into him having to scramble to escape from the powerful Lancelot and he only does so because a woman falls and Suzaku turns to rescue her.
• The entire linear cannon take down in Stage 8. It must be seen to get the full impact but to sum up; the JLF have set up a Raikou in the one weak spot remaining. It unleashes a spray of shrapnel that any other Knightmare would have been chewed up by. Through a combination of insane dodging (which he barely could do as the evasion rate had dropped to around 47% due to the tight quarters of the tunnel), the blaze luminous, and the debut of the freaking VARIS, Suzaku got right past them and completed his mission. Bonus? He wasn't supposed to. Suzaku was meant as a glorified distraction that would let Cornelia's forces through to the Hotel and he did the damn impossible by completing his mission as an actual mission!
• In the battle of Mt. Narita, Lancelot used the VARIS to blast a path through a mountain to save Cornelia.
• His actions in the episode "Nunnally Held Hostage," when he and Lelouch sneak down into the school's sewer system. He analyzes the range and reaction time of a gun turret attached to a camera in the sewers, and instead of finding a way around it like Lelouch suggests, he does a zig-zag run to get close to the gun, then does a badass wall-run before taking it out with a spin kick.
• Though he just got revealed to the world - and more importantly to Lelouch - as the Lancelot's pilot, Suzaku still gets down to business. Outnumbered and up against the tight team that is Tohdoh and his Four Holy Swords...well, a little help from Lloyd to set off the Harken Boosters to clear the area and Suzaku resumes kicking ass until Zero calls a retreat. And all this is in a busted open cockpit, meaning he's very vulnerable. Did we mention he doesn't have a cockpit ejection system? Cause he doesn't have one throughout the entirety of season 1!
• Suzaku wiping out the majority of the Knights of the Round (including their leader, Bismarck Waldstein, supposedly the greatest warrior in the empire) AND their escorts within thirty seconds. Nuff said.
  "My title is the Knight of Zero, and that trumps you, Bismarck!"
  • Slicing someone in half with an attack so fast there's a delay before they fall apart? Old. All that and slicing their sword in half... from point to hilt? Edgewise?! AWESOME.
    • The best part was definitely how he didn't trick or deceive Bismarck's Geass, he just straight-up beat it in an out-and-out battle. Am I the only one who was hearing Rock Lee when the Lancelot Albion was totally kicking the shit out of that Knightmare? "It does not matter if your eyes can copy me, if your body cannot keep up!"
• In Nightmare of Nunnally, when he duels Darlton, he manages to evade all his attacks without even counterattacking and tells him that he isn't worth fighting for seeing him as beneath him.
• Even though it happens during one of the most heartbreaking and horrifying moments of the series, during the Euphinator incident. After Suzaku sees Zero shoot Euphie, he dives down in the Lancelot, screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" at the top of his lungs (in the dub, anyway, in the Japanese he just screams). After making it through a barrage of Hadron blasts fired by C.C. in the Gawain, he Spinzakus it hard enough to knock it over. Then, after he picks up Euphie and starts to fly back to the Avalon, Kallen tries to stop him. Suzaku doesn't stop, just punching the Guren hard enough to knock it over and shatter the Lancelot's fist in the process.
  • Lloyd gets punched right in the face without a second's hesitation by eternally-polite-and-subservient Suzaku for withholding the key to the Lancelot; that moment summarizes and exemplifies his entire Roaring Rampage.
• In Turn 21 when after Lelouch declares himself Emperor, his siblings call the guards to arrest/kill him, only for Suzaku to drop out of the fucking ceiling, do his Spinzaku kick to destroy their weapons and knock them out, and then land on his feet, gracefully and cat-like, to stand at Lelouch's side. And there is no Knightmare Frame, this is all Suzaku - and the fact that he does it after he and Lelouch finally see eye-to-eye again and are in on the same plan makes it taste like all the sweeter.
• In Turn 24, Lelouch has Nina construct a F.L.E.I.J.A. Eliminator that can prevent an activated F.L.E.I.J.A. from reaching criticality if it collides with an appropriate counter-reaction in the time it takes to detonate. Lelouch's genius allows him to enter the necessary atmospheric data within the allotted 19 seconds, but what earns Suzaku this bullet is that he only has 0.04 seconds to collide the Eliminator with the F.L.E.I.J.A. and succeeds by taking advantage of his "Live" command to force him throw the Eliminator at the exact right time to neutralize the blast.
• His first deed as Zero, executing the Emperor and his best friend Lelouch because even though it was all arranged, you can NOT deny how wicked cool it is seeing him dodge all those initial Knightmares Frames and all by himself. It's not just because it was so well-planned that Zero became a legend and hero, but also because at the end of the day, he was - he's an omnipotent entity beyond human capabilities and understanding. Now that is pretty damn awesome.

Jeremiah

• In the first season finale, the Chew Toy Jeremiah Gottwald shows up as a cyborg piloting the most powerful mecha seen in the Geass universe to date, crashing up through the roof of a building screaming "ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!" at the top of his lungs. He proceeds to kick a lot of ass, and the fight ends with him getting dragged underwater to crushing depths, which he somehow survives and comes back for the second season.
  • When Lelouch tells the Black Knights to fire on the Siegfried, Jeremiah pulls off an insane High-Speed Missile Dodge, before crashing straight through them.
  • Though it's off-screen, he gets another one by taking down all the scientists trying to get him under control, and stealing the Siegfried, which he apparently crashes straight up through the ceiling and up onto the roof.
• He also got one back in Episode 5 when he holds on in a four-on-one battle with Kewell and the other pure-bloods.
• Then there's R2 when he comes back as an even more advanced cyborg, nigh-invulnerable with a new immunity to Geass, and kicks the asses of Sayoko and Rolo single-handedly. When Lelouch uses his Magnificent Bastardry to turn off his cyborg parts, he just keeps moving out of sheer willpower loyalty. Then he tops it all off by revealing he went to all this trouble just to confirm Lelouch was Zero. But then he learns that Lelouch was really the son of Marianne, the woman he had sworn to serve, and just like that, he switches sides! A Heel–Face Turn for the ages, that.
• His performance in the Second Battle of Tokyo, where he manages to hold back and even damage Suzaku's Lancelot slightly, without taking any damage himself.
  • "TAKE THIS! THE STORM OF MY LOYALTY!!!"
• His fight with Anya in the final episode; his orange-shaped mecha explodes around him, only for his own personal mecha to leap out of it and land on Anya's mech. Jeremiah then self destructs his machine to blow open Anya's cockpit, SPINS out of that explosion and lands on Anya's Knightmare just so she can see who beat her...and chooses to not only let her live but restore her memory.
  • Takes on additional significance if you remember that Anya’s memory gaps are the result of Lady Marianne transferring her consciousness into Anya, and Jeremiah’s whole reason for switching to Lelouch’s side is out of loyalty to Marianne.
  • Let's not forget that this happened in the middle of a battle THOUSANDS OF FEET IN THE AIR. This followed by unbelievably badass line (below) exceeds this trope beyond all limits.
    Memorize this! Memorize Jeremiah Gottwald!! Commit it to memory, because it is the memorable name of the man who has defeated you.
    • Becomes a Heartwarming Moment as well, when he hears Anya's reply and her inability to remember. This was the cue that made Jeremiah realize she was under the influence of Geass and prompted him to use his Canceler to break it. Also sets the stage for part of the heartwarming (and nickname-affirming) montage in the finale.
  • The Sutherland Sieg itself gets one by being the only Knightmare on screen able to damage the Mordred in any way (aside from damaging it's Float Unit, which just grounds it.), by having it self-destruct to break through the Mordred. But don't forget that Jeremiah IS the pilot.
• After Lelouch's epic "Obey me world!" speech, we cut to Jeremiah in an utterly badass pose on top of the Mordred (with a stormy sky around him) as he pumps his fist in the air triumphantly, screaming "ALL HAIL LELOUCH!" If you got any more awesome, you'd explode.
• In Turn 25, he purposely let Zero pass him then prevented the guards from attacking. This means that he was in on the Zero Requiem. Even if his Majesty, Emperor Lelouch, wishes to die, Jeremiah will remain loyal to the very end and carry through with such a plan. Such steadfast loyalty is just amazing.
• The epilogue. ORANGES. Enough said. Seriously, him and Anya retiring on an orange farm together made his awesomeness come full circle, and his crowning in the truest sense of the word.
• In the second Compilation Movie, after originally causing Shirley to regain her memories while testing his Geass canceller, he now does what he could have done back then by simply warning her not to get herself in any more trouble, and it results in her surviving this version of the series. Another victory for Sir Orange.

Cornelia

• When Cornelia first encounters V.V., she throws a dagger into his forehead from about fifty feet away. Yes, that was the right response. Shame he didn't stay down.
• Not to mention salvaging a damaged Knightmare Frame, literally bolting on dozens of cannons onto it, and using it to take down one of the most powerful mechs in the Geass universe in the space of a single battle. What pushes her awesome into overdrive is the fact that she did all of this all in a cave... WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS! Oh, and an arm in a sling. Apparently, the guns jumped on because they were THAT scared of her badass.
  • Which also implies that after getting the unholy hell beaten out of her during said season 1 finale, her disappearance meant she tracked down the Geass cult's headquarters, on foot, with no backup or first aid beyond her own skills over the course of year, by sheer willpower.
• Not to mention she got shot multiple times at point blank after calling her older brother out as a shameless, shameless bastard...and lived to come back in the season finale. You know what? Cornelia is what badass smokes.
• The Battle of Narita is mostly remembered as a Moment of Awesome for Lelouch and the Black Knights, but Cornelia gets one in there too. Kallen takes one arm off Cornelia's Gloucester and Lelouch shoots the other one off. Just in time, Suzaku shows up and distracts Kallen, at which point Cornelia attacks Lelouch and two other Knightmares, taking out the two escorts and removing one of Lelouch's Knightmare's arms using only her slash harkens. I repeat, she was outnumbered three to one, with both hands tied behind her back, and she still won. Her badass kicks into overdrive when she chases Lelouch, only stopping when her Knightmare's battery runs out.
• She had her fight with Zero during the Black Rebellion won until the Geassed Darlton stabbed her in the back, literally.
• She was able to easily beat chessmaster Lelouch in a battle that was identical to the Shinjuku attack in the second episode, using nothing but her guards after realizing what was happening. The only reason that Lelouch himself lived was because C.C. distracted the Britannians, allowing him to escape. Lelouch should've known that just because it worked on his idiot brother Clovis doesn't mean his genius sister would fall for it too.
  • Of course, it helped that the first time around the troops under his command actually obeyed his orders. Lelouch never would have fallen into that situation if not for their inability to trust his advice.
• She also holds the honor of single-handedly wiping out all of Japan's resistance factions, save of course the Black Knights. As well as subduing other resistance factions in other Areas prior to coming to Japan. Yes, that's right, she (along with her personal Knightmare unit) managed to stop various rebellions by themselves. Being Viceroy of Area 11 certainly is fitting.

Nunnally

• In R2 episode 15, when her assistant, Alicia Lohmeyer tries to run things her way, Nunnally puts her in her place by reminding her who's the viceroy. Later that episode, she then puts Suzaku on the spot for lying to her about Lelouch. Just goes to show you that even a blind, crippled 15-year old girl can pwn someone's ass.
• In R2 episode 24, while desperately searching for the F.L.E.I.J.A. launch key, little Nunnally manages to overcome the psychosomatic blindness her father supernaturally and deliberately inflicted upon her... through sheer willpower. When she finally opens her eyes to greet Lelouch, her older brother is obviously shocked.
  • She gets another, somewhat more subtle one shortly later when she almost manages to throw off Lelouch's geass on her, also through sheer willpower. The only character to have done something similar to that was Euphie, just before she died.
• And as Suzaku and Kallen fight, Nunnally finally gets a chance to tell Lelouch what she thinks of his Well-Intentioned Extremist ways.
• Most of Code Geass: Nightmare of Nunnally, really.
  • "Six murderous fools poisoned by bloody pride. I'll smash that pride of theirs to tiny bits!" Clearly Lelouch's love of the dramatic and awesome runs in the family.
  • There's also the part near the end where she replicates Lelouch's feat of stopping the Assimilation Plot simply by coming to terms with herself, and calling out both her parents in the process.

Euphemia

• Euphemia devised a plan that rendered Zero and the Black Knights obsolete, making them monsters if they didn't accept it. Outmaneuvers Zero in political warfare, giving him a pseudo-Villainous Breakdown in the process. He is defeated and forced to submit. That is until his Geass goes out of control and he uses the situation to his advantage.
  • This summary doesn't even do justice to the depth of her achievement there. Unlike everyone else with a political motive in the series, Euphie's actions weren't in any way calculated, or cynical, or self-centered. She simply chose what she thought was the best and most just course of action, and went with it. When Lelouch confronts her, she politely and matter-of-factly rebuts his arguments and successfully convinces him that her way was best. I'll just repeat that; she convinced Lelouch that her way was best. Nobody else in the series ever managed to convince Lelouch to do things their way, and Euphie managed to do it politely and sincerely.
    • It was only after Euphie said she was willing to abandon her royal lineage for the plan. Without it, the plan at its core would be too easy to manipulate, which is why Schneizel himself went with it as well, even as her blood sister Cornelia did not for the reason that she did not believe the Elevens deserved rights.
• Euphy again: The only character to figure out Zero's identity (without seeing him unmasked) and tell him to his face! Even though he was fairly careless about it around her, it's still a notable achievement.
• Euphy again, this time for her Big Damn Heroes moment in Nightmare of Nunnally: Stopping Nunnally's death sentence.
• In the same manga series as above, Euphemia, who some thought got Stuffed into the Fridge in the anime series, gets a Moment of Awesome of her own. How? The 99th Emperor of the Holy Empire of Britannia, Her Majesty Euphemia li Britannia!
  • This almost happened in the anime, when she told Cornelia that she will change the Britannian Policy of discrimination against the Numbers after knighting Suzaku, which the only possible way was to become the Empress. She gets two points of badassery here; she tells her badass sister that she plans to change THE EMPIRE ITSELF by taking over, meaning she'll have to go against both her and Schneizel, possibly two of the top contenders for the Throne.
• In her introductory episode, she was willing to run out into a group of fighting Knightmare Frames in order to command a stop to the battle (which was in particular contrast to her seemingly ditzy introduction).
• Euphemia (while incognito) is being held hostage at a conference that has just been taken control of by an extreme group of Japanese terrorists and is well aware of what they would do if they knew they had a member of the Britannian Royal Family (not to mention sub-viceroy of Japan). Then the terrorists start threatening a young student, and Euphie doesn't hesitate for a second to distract them by revealing her identity.
• When Suzaku is ordered to hold Zero (who she's probably figured out is Lelouch) in place so that Schneizel's ship can fire on him (sacrificing his own life in the process), Euphie hijacks a Knightmare and tries to drive it to Suzaku's location in order to get the order withdrawn. You're probably noticing a pattern here...
• Euphie when she smacked a guy who was heckling Suzaku in an early episode, without so much as blinking. Seeing Euphie, who was formerly sweet and demure, so calmly and ferociously defend Suzaku instantly made my regard for her skyrocket.
• "Kururugi Suzaku, I order you to love me!"
• She eventually defeats her Geass. True, it's too little, too late, but still... Her love for Suzaku managed to override her command to kill the Japanese. Which is as completely impossible as it is amazing.
  • And even before that, when she receives the command, she already tries to resist it. True, she doesn't succeed, but it's still amazing.

Xingke

• Xingke is a pretty awesome character in general, but his crowning moment is probably when he released a nearby reservoir knowing it would hit Lelouch's side. Lelouch had drained the aqueduct so his forces wouldn't get hit with a wall of water. What he didn't realize is how crappy the farmland was, so even with knee-deep water the whole area turned to muck.
  • This forced Zero to scream Xingke's name.
• Xingke crashing the wedding was more awesome.
  "We ask this question by the voice of Heaven, the roar of the land, and the hearts of the people! How does this marriage represent the will of the Chinese Federation?!"
• Xingke and his Shen Hu prove themselves able to hold off even Kallen and the Guren Flight-Enabled Type. The Black Knights were surprised as hell when the Shen Hu's Baryon Cannon was able to block the Radiant Wave Surger.
• Xingke holding off Gino, one of the Knights of the Round, despite being distracted by rescuing Tianzi. After that battle, he also breaks onto the bridge of the Longdan that the High Eunuchs are inside, and kills them.
• Xingke vs. Bismarck. Even if he couldn't actually do any damage, you have to give Xingke credit for being able to hold his own.
• By series' end, the Shen Hu is the only surviving knightmare owned by a major character. It's a shame that they leave the fate of its pilot a question mark.
  • It was noted soon after his entrance that he didn't have long to live due to chronic illness. Give him props for being able to fight not just his enemies but also his own body at the same time.

Alice

• For the manga-only character Alice, she gets her own, and the one that stands out the most is a recent one: Rolo and Anya are completely wrecking Zero and Suzaku, until Alice shows up with a new Knightmare (Well, technically it's Nunnally's, just a bit different) : "I AM THE 'NIGHTMARE OF NUNNALLY'! ALICE THE CODE GEASS!" where she proceeds to nuke the entire place the fight was in. Sure, the Title Drop sounds a little Narm-y, but it was still freaking awesome.
  • As an Action Girl, Alice actually had one quite earlier which doubles with Establishing Character Moment. What's the best way to punish the Alpha Bitch of your school and her Girl Posse for bullying the crippled and blind Nunnally and throwing her off her wheelchair? Easy: call them out on their bullshit, then use your Super-Speed and deal them a Humiliation Conga by stealing their school skirts out in the open, revealing their panties.
  • I was fond of her one on one battle with Rolo. He stops time, what does she do? Goes to infinite speed.
  • The way in which she defeats Mao by stealing and shooting her supply of neutralizer with The Speed, and her Shut Up, Hannibal! response, stating that while she claims to save people in despair, she is nothing more than a murderer who tried to kill Nunnally.

Others

• With one well timed video broadcast in Episode 6, Emperor Charles rallies flagging Britannian morale in the face of a Black Knight invasion, and more importantly, sends Lelouch into a Heroic BSoD, all while dismissing the Black Knights as a match for his own armies.
  ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!
  • Tohdoh gets an understated moment right after. When he sees Zero backing away from the Emperor's broadcast, and knowing that the Emperor's declarations need an answer if the black knights' morale is to be salvaged, he rallies them with just three words.
    LONG LIVE JAPAN!
• The scene where Tohdoh's skill at warfare stopped being an Informed Ability. Mecha with Chainsaw Katanas.
• Where do we begin with C.C.? There's her successfully posing as Zero for a year, fighting Jeremiah in a pitched amphibious battle that leads to both getting crushed under thousands of tons of water and COMING BACK FOR MORE, her actions in the raid on the Geass Cult...
  • How about when she rescues Lelouch from Cornelia? Cornelia has just trounced Lelouch's forces, and is having all her Knightmare pilots come out and show their faces, meaning Lelouch is pretty much screwed...until C.C. appears, dressed as Zero, in full view of all the armed soldiers. Then the Britannians open fire, and she evades by falling backwards off a building. One heck of a distraction.
  • She does another one later at Narita, walking up to the Lancelot and - though not certain it will work - unleashing a Mind Rape on the pilot of the Lancelot (aka Suzaku) so that Lelouch can get away. And when things get out of hand, she still managed to save Lelouch. Her calm entrance into the battlefield is what sells it; neither Lelouch or Suzaku can believe it and C.C. is able to waltz up and open up a path for Lelouch's escape.
  • Her Mercy Kill of Mao qualifies as one for inner strength; she did care about Mao, which must've made this hard for her to do, but at that point she knew that she had to take responsiblity to undo a trouble that her amoral actions in the past had caused.
  • Though more attention is drawn above to how Kallen fights her and chews her out for her lack of ambition, C.C. has a quiet moment of awesome; acknowledging she's lost her Death Seeker nature and wants to live now and that's why she's fighting. Though it also is a Heartwarming Moment, as it shows how much of an effect Lelouch has had on her, the fact C.C. is able to do so now is nothing short of amazing.
• Absolutely any time Lelouch and Suzaku team up is made of awesome, beginning to end. That line about how when they're together they can do anything is entirely validated.
  • Stage 20 of season 1. Suzaku and Euphemia have just confessed their love for each in other in one of the biggest Crowning Moments of Heartwarming in the show, but it still looks like he's going to die. He's resigned to it, Euphy's terrified...and then Lelouch and C.C. drop in with a Big Damn Antiheroes moment, and melt all the Chinese Knightmares with the Gawain's hadron cannons. Then Lelouch hands an energy filler over to the Lancelot, and the Chinese forces proceed to be utterly pwned by the Lancelot and Gawain's combined assault.
  • And then in the penultimate episode, Lelouch and Suzaku. The FLEIJA Eliminator device requires key data to be input 19 seconds before detonation, and even then, the window for execution is 0.04 seconds. As the warhead come ever closer, we see Lelouch's fingers flying across the Shinkirou's keyboard, inputting the data. The FLEIJA starts to detonate as Suzaku comes in, takes the activated Eliminator and, using his "Live!" Geass, hits that four-hundredths-of-a-second window perfectly. Han Solo would be proud.
• Blood Knight Luciano Bradley attacking a Black Knights battleship...by throwing another ship at it.
• Schneizel, in Nightmare of Nunnally, when he arranges for Euphemia to become Empress as a back-up plan.
• When Rolo saves Lelouch from the combined forces of the Black Knights and Britannia.
  • Agreed. Especially when Rolo uses his Geass over and over again, rendering everything that the Black Knights and Britannia could toss at them useless, even though he knew his heart would not survive it all, and doing basically everything else in his power to get his beloved brother to safety. That display of awesomeness should easily redeem him some to many fans. It sure as heck did for Lelouch and me.
    Rolo: I'm...not...a tool! I do this...of my own...free will...as a human being!
  • His fight with V.V. in Turn 14 also qualifies. The fact that he lasts as long as he does and actually manages to damage the Siegfried is truly impressive.
  • Before that, there's the bit where the Vincent shows up; even before we know it's Rolo, he manages to nearly screw up Lelouch's plans as well as Suzaku does through his piloting ability and Geass power that no one could see coming. It takes the Heroic Sacrifice of Urabe for them to have the time to get out of there before he creams them all.
  • Though it's also Nightmare Fuel, the sheer amount of assassinations this kid has pulled off. There's a reason why he was assigned to watch over Lelouch.
  • It's downplayed, but Rolo can be quite manipulative himself, as shown in Turn 7 where, with just a little pushing to show Lelouch the video of Nunnally's announcement of being Viceroy and one little conversation with Lelouch, he nearly gets Lelouch to quit being Zero. It's only due to the Student Council tossing a Spanner in the Works via an understated moment of The Power of Friendship that Lelouch manages to get back on his feet.
• Gino Weinberg gets his own in episode 24 by destroying the Shinkirō (the most powerful defensive KMF ever built, with forcefields that can stand up to mass bombardment) by almost casually throwing his sword at it. To be fair, however, Lelouch wasn't expecting the first attack, which claimed an arm, and Gino won by stabbing the mech in the back while it was retreating, instead of beating it in a fair fight.
  • Not to mention that said sword was made from the remains of the friggin' Excalibur, only the most powerful blade weapon in existence.
  • He then goes on to have a fight with Suzaku in the Lancelot Albion. It's easy to forget, but it's likely thanks to Gino fighting Suzaku and then opening the path for the Guren SEITEN that Kallen was able to beat him!
• To prove that even the "Queen of Scrappies" can have at least one moment of Awesome, Nina Einstein gets one of her own when she creates the countermeasure for her infamous Sphere of Destruction. Keep in mind that said Sphere of Destruction took more than a year to develop, that Nina has only a month to develop said countermeasure and that there's Million to One Chance for it to be effective... and it works.
  • Actually, unless she had been working on it the entire time since the destruction of Tokyo, then she managed to develop and build it in no more than 12 hours. And even if she had been working on it, that she produced a working version with no prior testing is still pretty damn awesome.
  • Also, her Heel–Face Turn. Her conversation with Lelouch shows just how much character development she went through, that Lelouch himself tells her she's a good person.
• Even though it was primarily Suzaku's moment, Knight of One Bismarck Waldstein probably deserves a Moment of Awesome of his own for being able to last more than 3 seconds against the Lancelot Albion, let alone score as many hits as he did. Hell, for a short while, he actually fought on even terms with Suzaku, despite his Knightmare being a generation behind. It was really only after ol' Spinzaku pulled out his "Live" thingy that Bismarck was doomed.
  • Bismarck's first Sword Fight with Suzaku (on foot) was definitely a Moment of Awesome for him. Here we have Suzaku, the champion of Charles Atlas Superpower, against a man with a BFS. Bismarck curb-stomps Suzaku so hard that his Geass is actually telling him to run before he's even lost. And all the while Bismarck deconstructs Suzaku's motives while telling him he was that much better when he actually had compassion.
  • Bismarck is honestly quite likely to have truely been more powerful than Suzaku and possibly THE strongest and most skilled knight and pilot in the entire show. Suzaku beat him, but he had a massive tech advantage with the Lancelot Albion and in the Conquista almost certainly would not have won. As a comparison, Suzaku and Kallen are normally on par with each other, but when Kallen had a 9th Gen frame and Suzaku didn't he was helpless against her only to be back to on par when they both had a 9th gen frame. So the tech advantage does make all the difference.
• Anya. She's flying towards the final battle, all set to kick ass and take names. Her words? "I don't like... the new Lelouch."
  • Anya during the school event when everyone was chasing Lelouch at Milly's request, when she joined in...using the Mordred.
  • When the Black Knights tried to kidnap Nunnally on her way to Japan, the Mordred beats Chiba by crushing her nightmare's head with one hand. It also took a slash from Chiba's chainsaw sword like it was being hit by a wet noodle.
    Anya: "Tag. You're dead."
• Japanese end of Clovis la Britannia's state funeral as one of this. The funeral itself is taking place in a huge room with millions of Britannians, and after Emperor Charles gives his speech, he ends it with a narmtastic "ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!" The crowd's response is chanting "ALL HAIL BRITANNIA! ALL HAIL BRITANNIA! ALL HAIL BRITANNIA! ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!"
  • And then the Emperor's VA one-ups this by dubbing a comic changing the speech from something about equality to about breasts. ALL HAIL OPPAI!
• Tamaki goes into battle in an Akatsuki loaded to bear with every weapon it can hold...and loses his legs to Suzaku in the blink of an eye. After a shocked second, Tamaki turns around and keeps firing, shouting to Suzaku that "Even I have my pride, dammit!" Sadly, he gets taken out seconds later, but coming from the show's Foolish Plucky Comic Relief, you have to recognize his guts.
  • He's also the one who resists the Black Knights' betrayal the most. He's against trusting Schneizel, repeatedly challenges his claims, and he's even smart enough to point out that anyone could have faked the recording he gives them. Even though he gets overruled, he certainly showed his loyalty there.
• Cecile piloting a quasi Sutherland/Lancelot mix during the Battle of Tokyo in a Big Damn Heroes moment.
• Galahad using Excalibur to counter Shen Hu's particle cannon, and destroy the aircraft surrounding him with the deflected blast.
• Lloyd get's a pretty interesting one. In the first season finale, when The Black Knights are planning to kill off Suzaku, Shirley, Rivalz, and Milly with the Lancelot out of commission Lloyd flies in with the Avalon and proceeds to destroy every Gefjun Disturber surrounding the Lancelot. And in the most nonchalant way possible. Considering before this moment, we never see Lloyd do anything hands on, or even try to be physical, the way he just rushes in there is absolutely awesome in my opinion. And he does it with a snappy one liner.
  Lloyd: Good Evening!!!
• Tohdoh got one during the initial Britannian invasion of Japan: Defeating Britannian Knightmare Frames (which were the entire reason that Japan was conquered so quickly by Britannia) with none of his own.
• It's very minor but let's put this in perspective; Shirley is an Ordinary High-School Student Naive Every Girl. She just found out that the boy she likes is also the one responsible for her father's death. What does she do? Shoot a fucking Britannian soldier (aka Viletta) to protect Lelouch. Sure it did a lot of damage to her, but that is not just something anyone can do and yet Shirley did it. She has a point about The Power of Love
  • Related to that, once she gets her memories back in R2 her thoughts and observations prove Shirley is actually smart as she correctly realizes that Suzaku isn't working with Lelouch. She then picks up that Lelouch's phone call likely has to do with him being Zero and without hesitation goes and drags off Suzaku to cover for Lelouch so he can do what he needs to do without Suzaku getting in the way. She follows it up with a minor but effective "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Suzaku, calling him out on his jerkass actions. And her words worked, likely would have worked better if she lived, as it was her pointing out that nothing is unforgivable, it's just that Suzaku doesn't want to forgive Lelouch, that leads ultimately to their team up in the end.
  • Though it does not end well, Shirley's willingness to pick up a gun and be there for Lelouch as Zero takes a lot of guts.
  • She doesn't know it, but Shirley's speech about The Power of Love saved the Empress of China and also solved a major problem for Lelouch.
  • Everyone - and that is entirely true - tends to separate Lelouch and Zero as identities; Euphie, Kallen, Suzaku...the list goes on. Except Shirley. She's the only one to acknowledge that her Lulu and Zero are in truth the same person, that Lelouch can be both the kind hearted boy she knows and the ruthless rebellion leader. That shows an amazing amount of insight and even maturity to acknowledge that someone can be both "good" and "evil" at once...and Shirley loves Lelouch even so.
  • In the movie trilogy, Shirley found out that Lelouch and Zero are the same person, all by herself!
    • In the same trilogy, Shirley proves instrumental in helping C.C. retrieve Lelouch's corpse, paving the way for his resurrection. Not bad for a normal schoolgirl that's in love with the guy.
• After Lelouch Geasses Schneizel into serving him, Diethard desperately manages to fight off his captor and is on the verge of killing Lelouch. Schneizel calmly shoots Diethard without saying a word, ironically saving the very person he'd spent so long trying to defeat.

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