Honorable Enemy Ace

A sub-trope of Worthy Opponent that pilots a vehicle (most commonly a mech or plane), in a war, against the protagonist. The Honorable Enemy Ace's vehicle tends to be a (mostly) stock vehicle of their faction with a distinctive paint job, even if his opponent pilots an Ace Custom. Due to the vehicular nature of combat, an Honorable Enemy Ace and the protagonist(s) never meet (at least, not knowingly) until after their relationship is established, and will only know their rival's name through military intelligence (if at all).

Sometimes overlaps with Char Clone.

Anime and Manga

 * Char in the original Mobile Suit Gundam is a Zeon mobile suit pilot that pilots that the audience (but not the protagonists) first sees by averting You Have Failed Me. He pilots Zaku II, which differs from the examples that serve as Cannon Fodder only by its enlarged antenna, red paint job and superior speed and despite Amuro being in what is unquestionably the most advanced mobile at the time, Char keeps up with him by being Weak But Skilled while Amuro has barely skimmed the manual on his mobile suit. For most of the series, Amuro and the rest of White Base only assume (correctly) they're fighting is the famed Red Comet due the red and speedy Zaku II they fight matching his description, while Char only knows Amuro as the pilot of the "white mobile suit".

Comic Books

 * Soontir Fel in the X-Wing Rogue Squadron comics defies the mold of Imperial officers by refusing to engage in the plunder, war crimes, and adultery of his superiors and is a skilled enough pilot to give Rogue Squadron trouble. While Rogue Squadron pilot advanced X-Wings, Fel uses a mere TIE Interceptor with stripes. While Fel knows a reasonable deal about Wedge, Wedge and the rest of Rogue Squadron only know him through reputation. . He even holds the title "Baron" to make his inspiration clear.

Real Life

 * The Red Baron Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen, who won the respect of the western allies in World War I with his colorful but otherwise stock plane (which he only adopted in the middle of his flying history and wasn't that unusual among his peers) and skilled flying, is the Trope Maker. After he was finally shot down, the opposition gave him a full funeral.