Nobody knows whether or not he had a name prior to the one he gave himself. When he was young and living in the L2 colony as one of the street kids, a terrible plauge hit the colony. Duo's friend, Solo, and many of the other children had contracted this plauge and the Faderation developed a cure for those who could afford it. The street children could of course not afford it, but Duo managed to steal enough for every one but himself. He was too late to save Solo, though. From then on, he called himself Duo.
One day while causing mischief, Duo ran into the priest from the Maxwell Church. The priest took him in and cared for him with the help of the nuns. This is where Duo came to be Duo Maxwell. The priest sent him to school where he was always causing trouble. He came to be a Gundam pilot when he tried to stow away on Dr. G.'s ship that was leaving from the colony, and was discovered.
Within Duo's customary black attire, you find the priest's collar, a symbol from the past. Duo also wears a silver cross around his neck as a present from the church. His happy-go-lucky attitude towards things is almost enough to make Heero sick. Duo befriends Heero early in the series by saving his life. From then on, the two are somewhat like partners.
He refuses to cut his hair, so instead it ended up in a long braid. Duo's attitude towards death may surprise some, but he has said himself,"I don't fear death at all! It is dying that I am really afraid of." His mission is partly to destroy OZ and partly to get Heero to lighten up a little.
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