Third Angel

Third Angel' (第3使徒) is the 3rd Angel in the Rebuild of Evangelion. It appears in the movie Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.

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The Angel was excavated from permafrost (how it got there is not divulged) and captured by NERV. Subsequently, it was contained in deep freeze in Bethany Base's Cocytus facility, where it was subjected to thorough experimentation and analysis, eventually reduced to nothing more than "some bones", its core, and mechanical additions. Most curious among the latter is the "pseudo entry plug" dangling from the Angel's neck section.

The Third Angel's range of powers include eye-facilitated explosions and concentrated energy beams, levitation, and using its halo as a cutting device. Its original physical appearance is unknown, as the Angel was "analysed" after excavation, presumably a dissection of some sort. What remains of the skeleton are skull, spine, and insectoid limbs. The Angel has very long neck and tail sections, with a deeply curved, bulbous vertebral midsection, held in alignment by a gold-plated brace, to which the limbs (four arms and four legs) attach. The skull possesses three mandibles and houses the core.

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance
At the beginning of 2.0, the Angel escapes from Cocytus, an Angel containment facility in the Bethany Base, completely untouched by the lineup of tanks speeding beside it outside, it promptly enters the Styx Shaft and begins its ascent to the top of the base. The Provisional Unit-05, piloted by Mari Makinami Illustrious, is deployed and quickly intercepts the Angel. The Evangelion's initial lance strike is dodged by the Angel, and it proceeds to the Styx Shaft's outer perimeter unfettered while Mari struggles to maneuver inside the tight corridors while keeping connected with the pantograph-like wires suplying energy to the Evangelion.

Using its halo, the 3rd Angel slices through the Limbo Area's outer hull and levitates to Bethany Base's rooftop, Acheron. While the Angel is scaling an Angel-sealing hex pillar, Provisional Unit-05 catches up and impales it through the mock entry plug. This disables the Angel for only a moment, and it swiftly retaliates with an optical beam to one of the Eva's prosthesis, and soon follows up by excising the legs altogether. Mari, struggling against depleting battery power that makes her unable to synchronize with the Eva's prosthetic limbs properly, is forced to yield control of one arm to the Eva itself, and together they crush the core.

Evangelion Provisional Unit-05's self-destruct activates right as the 3rd Angel dies, and both they and the top of Bethany Base go up in two giant blazing crosses. Mari is ejected seconds prior to the explosion in a jet airplane, allowing her to bid farewell to her Evangelion.

Trivia

 * The original designer was the mangaka, creator of Narutaru, Bokurano and Wings of Vendemiaire.
 * The Third Angel's appearance has vague similarities to Gaghiel. Both are long, horizontally-built Angels with relatively small limbs, large jaws, and a Core in the back of their mouths.
 * Due to its large armored shell and serpentine tail. it also bears some resemblance to the non-canonical Angel Iblis from Neon Genesis Evangelion RPG: The NERV White Paper. Interestingly in the scenario it appears in Iblis is also first encountered after it annihilates Nerv Russia’s forces before tunneling it’s way to Tokyo 3. However in contrast to the third angel who has its core in its mouth Iblis has its core on the end of its tail and an eyeball attached to its tongue.
 * The song that plays during the fight between Unit-05 and the Third Angel is named "At The Very Beginning".