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Zero Hour (comics)
Encyclopedia
Zero Hour: Crisis in Time is a five-issue comic book
limited series
and crossover
storyline published by DC Comics
in 1994
. In it, the former hero Hal Jordan
, who had until then been a member of the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps
, mad with grief after the destruction of his home town of Coast City
(during the "Reign of the Supermen" storyline) and having obtained immense power as Parallax
, attempted to destroy, and then remake, the DC Universe
. The crossover involved almost every DC Universe monthly series published at the time. The issues of the series itself were numbered in reverse order, beginning with issue #4 and ending with #0 (i.e., Counting Down To Zero). The series was written and penciled by Dan Jurgens
, with inks by Jerry Ordway
. This series is noted for its motif of the DC Universe gradually "fading out" as events reached their climax.
Crisis on Infinite Earths
, and was indeed subtitled "(A) Crisis in Time". It promised to do for the inconsistent future timelines of the DC Universe what Crisis had done for its parallel worlds: unify them into a new one.
This event served as an opportunity to reconcile some of the problems left unaddressed by Crisis and other problems that had been unintentionally caused by it. In particular, the revised characters of the post-Crisis universe had been rolled out gradually, with DC continuing to feature the old versions until the new versions were launched, some of them a year or several after the first wave of revised characters were published (i.e., The Man of Steel, Wonder Woman vol. 2
, Batman: Year One
). The character of Hawkman
was one of the most problematic, since the revised version did not first appear until 1989. This raised the question of what version of Hawkman had been seen since 1986 (he had been retcon
ned to be both the Golden Age
Hawkman and a Thanagar
ian spy). The Legion of Super-Heroes
faced similar problems with the eliminations of Superboy
and Supergirl
from DC continuity (Mon-El
, a character with similar powers, had been recast as Valor to take Superboy's place as the Legion's inspiration and most powerful member). These and other retcons were not always well received by readers and often introduced new problems.
The Sandman: Worlds' End
is loosely connected with Zero Hour, as can be seen from the Sandman annotations.
such as Alpha Centurion
, an alternate version of Batgirl
, and Triumph
suddenly started appearing in the main DC Universe, to everybody's confusion; this happens because time is being somehow "compressed." Then a wave of "nothingness" is seen moving from the end of time to its beginning, erasing entire historical ages in the process (an effect similar to the anti-matter wave that destroyed many universes in Crisis on Infinite Earths
).
The apparent villain of the story presented in the miniseries was a character named Extant
, formerly Hawk of the duo Hawk and Dove
(and a onetime Teen Titan). Extant had acquired temporal powers, using them to unravel the DC Universe's timeline. In a confrontation with members of the Justice Society of America
, Extant aged several of them (removing the effect that had kept these heroes of the 1940s vital into the 1990s), leaving them either feeble or dead. However, the true power behind the destruction of the universe — caused by temporal rifts of entropy — turned out to be Hal Jordan
, who had been widely regarded as the most distinguished Green Lantern
in history. Calling himself Parallax
, Jordan had gone insane, and was now trying to remake the universe, undoing the events which had caused his breakdown and his own murderous actions following it. The collective efforts of the other superheroes managed to stop Jordan/Parallax from imposing his vision of a new universe, and the timeline was recreated anew, albeit with subtle differences compared to the previous one, after the young hero Damage
, with help from the other heroes, triggered a new Big Bang
. Jordan survived Green Arrow
shooting an arrow into his heart though.
This "blanking out/recreation" of the DC Universe was reflected in many of the tie-in issues; near the end of several of the tie-ins, the world began to disappear, and the last page of the book (or in some cases, several pages) had been left blank.
, as a way to keep the characters at roughly their present ages.
The Legion of Super-Heroes continuity was completely rebooted
following Zero Hour, and the various Hawkman characters were merged into one (even though, contrary to the storyline's purpose, this created new sets of contradictions and confusions). Each ongoing series at the time was given an opportunity to retell (or clarify) the origin of its hero(es) to establish the official version in this revised continuity, in a "#0" issue published in the subsequent weeks after Zero Hour. They resumed their previous numbering or went on to #1, for new series, the following month. Several series took new directions following Zero Hour; for example, new teams were formed in the Justice League
books, Oliver Queen's son Connor Hawke
was introduced in Green Arrow
, and Guy "Warrior" Gardner
discovered an alien heritage which gave him different powers.
A major part of Batman
's origin was retconned after the events in Zero Hour. In this version, Batman never caught or confronted the killer of his parents (thus rendering Batman: Year Two
non-canonical), and more importantly, Batman was thought of as being an urban legend
. Also, Catwoman
was not a prostitute, but rather lived in the low rentals area of Gotham. Finally, contributing to a plot point not fully explored in Batman: Year Three
, Dick Grayson
was legally adopted by Wayne.
But this "warm reboot" did not solve all continuity matters and in fact actually created other continuity problems— the fold-out timeline included Armageddon a story that required the supposedly eliminated alternate timelines to even work, Matrix Supergirl who required an artificially created alternate timeline still existed, and "Who is Hawkman?" actually became less clear. Never mind that some fans and creators felt that multiple worlds and timelines were an asset (rather than a hindrance) to the DC Universe. For those and other reasons, DC later introduced a variation of the pre-Crisis concept of the Multiverse
, in the form of Hypertime
. In the end, this more ecumenical solution did not satisfy DC editors either, inevitably leading to the Infinite Crisis
event in 2005, which revived and brought back several pre-Crisis concepts.
Zero Hour also served to launch or end several ongoing series. A few of these were dictated by the changes in continuity that came out of the story, but most happened simply because it provided a convenient marketing opportunity to start new series. However, each of the new series (save for Starman
) were canceled after a couple of years, due to poor sales. The critical success of Starman was a turning point for DC's editors and how they viewed DC's Golden Age characters and their ongoing story potential, starting a trend reflected in a small family of books set in the present but reflective of the past, such as Starmans successor title, the current Justice Society of America
series.
by DC Comics. The issue used the same cover style as previous tie-ins to the event, referring to the "Crisis in Time" and using the semi-metallic "fifth color" ink used on the original Zero Hour issues. Like the other tie-in issues, Booster's origin was explained as part of the adventure in the issue. The cover was a homage to Zero Hour #4, with Ted Kord
's mask replacing Wally West
's, alternate Blue Beetle
s replacing the alternate Hawkmen, and the heroes around the edges replaced by Booster in the center.
titled Zero Hour: Crisis in Time (ISBN 1-56389-184-0).
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
and crossover
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
storyline published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
in 1994
1994 in comics
-Year overall:* Huge changes in the marketplace force many retailers and small publishers out of business...
. In it, the former hero Hal Jordan
Hal Jordan
Harold "Hal" Jordan is a DC Comics superhero known as Green Lantern, the first human shown to join the Green Lantern Corps and a founding member of the Justice League of America. Jordan is the second DC Comics character to adopt the Green Lantern moniker...
, who had until then been a member of the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps
Green Lantern Corps
The Green Lantern Corps is the name of a fictional intergalactic military/police force appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They patrol the farthest reaches of the DC Universe at the behest of the Guardians, a race of immortals residing on the planet Oa...
, mad with grief after the destruction of his home town of Coast City
Coast City
Coast City is a fictional city created by John Broome and Gil Kane that appears in stories published by DC Comics. It is depicted most often as the home of the Silver Age version of the superhero Green Lantern, Hal Jordan.-Fictional history:...
(during the "Reign of the Supermen" storyline) and having obtained immense power as Parallax
Parallax (comics)
Parallax is a fictional comic book supervillain in the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Ron Marz and artist Darryl Banks for Green Lantern vol...
, attempted to destroy, and then remake, the DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
. The crossover involved almost every DC Universe monthly series published at the time. The issues of the series itself were numbered in reverse order, beginning with issue #4 and ending with #0 (i.e., Counting Down To Zero). The series was written and penciled by Dan Jurgens
Dan Jurgens
Dan Jurgens is an American comic book writer and artist. He is best known for creating the superhero Booster Gold, and for his lengthy runs on the Superman titles Adventures of Superman and Superman , particularly during The Death of Superman storyline...
, with inks by Jerry Ordway
Jerry Ordway
Jeremiah "Jerry" Ordway is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books.He is known for his inking work on a wide variety of DC Comics titles, including the continuity-redefining classic Crisis on Infinite Earths , his long run working on the Superman titles from 1986–1993, and...
. This series is noted for its motif of the DC Universe gradually "fading out" as events reached their climax.
Background
Zero Hour: Crisis in Time was intended by DC as a belated follow-up to their landmark limited seriesLimited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
, and was indeed subtitled "(A) Crisis in Time". It promised to do for the inconsistent future timelines of the DC Universe what Crisis had done for its parallel worlds: unify them into a new one.
This event served as an opportunity to reconcile some of the problems left unaddressed by Crisis and other problems that had been unintentionally caused by it. In particular, the revised characters of the post-Crisis universe had been rolled out gradually, with DC continuing to feature the old versions until the new versions were launched, some of them a year or several after the first wave of revised characters were published (i.e., The Man of Steel, Wonder Woman vol. 2
Gods and Mortals
"Gods and Mortals" is a seven issue comic book story arc plotted and drawn by George Pérez, with scripting by Greg Potter and Len Wein.Released in 1987, this was the first arc of the relaunched Wonder Woman series.-The Princess and the Power:...
, Batman: Year One
Batman: Year One
"Year One", later referred to as "Batman: Year One", is an American comic book story arc written by Frank Miller, illustrated by David Mazzucchelli, colored by Richmond Lewis, and lettered by Todd Klein...
). The character of Hawkman
Hawkman
Hawkman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in Flash Comics #1, published by All-American Publications in 1940....
was one of the most problematic, since the revised version did not first appear until 1989. This raised the question of what version of Hawkman had been seen since 1986 (he had been retcon
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
ned to be both the Golden Age
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
Hawkman and a Thanagar
Thanagar
Thanagar is a fictional planet in the . Thanagar is the original home of the humanoid Thanagarian race, noted for the discovery of gravity-defying Nth metal...
ian spy). The Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
faced similar problems with the eliminations of Superboy
Superboy (Kal-El)
The original Superboy is a fictional superhero who appears in DC Comics. The name of Superman as a boy, Superboy has adventures that occur in the relative past to those of Superman and take place predominantly in his hometown of Smallville...
and Supergirl
Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)
Kara Zor-El is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and related media, created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino. As Supergirl, Kara Zor-El serves as the biological cousin and female counterpart to DC Comic's iconic superhero Superman, created...
from DC continuity (Mon-El
Lar Gand
Lar Gand, known primarily as Mon-El , is a fictional character in DC Comics' universe who is associated with the Legion of Super-Heroes, Superboy, and Superman...
, a character with similar powers, had been recast as Valor to take Superboy's place as the Legion's inspiration and most powerful member). These and other retcons were not always well received by readers and often introduced new problems.
The Sandman: Worlds' End
The Sandman: Worlds' End
Worlds' End is the eighth collection of issues in the DC Comics series The Sandman. It was written by Neil Gaiman; illustrated by Michael Allred, Gary Amaro, Mark Buckingham, Dick Giordano, Tony Harris, Steve Leialoha, Vince Locke, Shea Anton Pensa, Alec Stevens, Bryan Talbot, John Watkiss, and...
is loosely connected with Zero Hour, as can be seen from the Sandman annotations.
Story
The story begins when characters from alternate realitiesParallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
such as Alpha Centurion
Alpha Centurion
Alpha Centurion is the name of two fictional superheroes published by DC Comics. Created by Karl Kesel, the character first appeared in Zero Hour: Crisis in Time #3...
, an alternate version of Batgirl
Barbara Gordon
Barbara Gordon is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and in related media, created by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino...
, and Triumph
Triumph (comics)
Triumph is a fictional character, a former superhero in the DC Comics universe who first appeared in Justice League America #92 , and was created by Brian Augustyn, Mark Waid and Howard Porter, though the character is primarily associated with writer Christopher Priest...
suddenly started appearing in the main DC Universe, to everybody's confusion; this happens because time is being somehow "compressed." Then a wave of "nothingness" is seen moving from the end of time to its beginning, erasing entire historical ages in the process (an effect similar to the anti-matter wave that destroyed many universes in Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
).
The apparent villain of the story presented in the miniseries was a character named Extant
Hank Hall
Hank Hall is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe who first appeared in Showcase #75 as Hawk of Hawk and Dove. He later became the supervillain Monarch in the crossover event limited series Armageddon 2001...
, formerly Hawk of the duo Hawk and Dove
Hawk and Dove
Hawk and Dove is the moniker given to two superheroes when they team up to fight crime. Hawk and Dove describes each character's attitude or approach to fighting crime. The hawk represents aggression, and the dove representing pacifism.-Hank and Don Hall:...
(and a onetime Teen Titan). Extant had acquired temporal powers, using them to unravel the DC Universe's timeline. In a confrontation with members of the Justice Society of America
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
, Extant aged several of them (removing the effect that had kept these heroes of the 1940s vital into the 1990s), leaving them either feeble or dead. However, the true power behind the destruction of the universe — caused by temporal rifts of entropy — turned out to be Hal Jordan
Hal Jordan
Harold "Hal" Jordan is a DC Comics superhero known as Green Lantern, the first human shown to join the Green Lantern Corps and a founding member of the Justice League of America. Jordan is the second DC Comics character to adopt the Green Lantern moniker...
, who had been widely regarded as the most distinguished Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
in history. Calling himself Parallax
Parallax (comics)
Parallax is a fictional comic book supervillain in the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Ron Marz and artist Darryl Banks for Green Lantern vol...
, Jordan had gone insane, and was now trying to remake the universe, undoing the events which had caused his breakdown and his own murderous actions following it. The collective efforts of the other superheroes managed to stop Jordan/Parallax from imposing his vision of a new universe, and the timeline was recreated anew, albeit with subtle differences compared to the previous one, after the young hero Damage
Damage (comics)
Damage is a DC Comics superhero who first appeared in a comic book of the same name during the Zero Hour crisis. He is the son of the original Atom Al Pratt. He has been a member of the Titans, the Freedom Fighters, and Justice Society of America....
, with help from the other heroes, triggered a new Big Bang
Big Bang
The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model that explains the early development of the Universe. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state which expanded rapidly. This rapid expansion caused the young Universe to cool and resulted in...
. Jordan survived Green Arrow
Green Arrow
Green Arrow is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City...
shooting an arrow into his heart though.
This "blanking out/recreation" of the DC Universe was reflected in many of the tie-in issues; near the end of several of the tie-ins, the world began to disappear, and the last page of the book (or in some cases, several pages) had been left blank.
Aftermath
DC published a fold-out timeline inside the back cover of Zero Hour #0 which identified various events and key stories which were part of its newly singular timeline, and when they occurred. Although fixed dates were given for the debut of historical characters such as the JSA, the debut of the post-Crisis Superman was presented as "10 years ago" and subsequent dates were expressed the same way, suggesting that the calendar years of these events were fluid and relative to the present rather than fixedFloating timeline
A Floating timeline is a device used in fiction, particularly in comics and animation, to explain why characters age little or not at all over a period of time - despite real-world markers like notable events, people and technology appearing in the works and correlating with the real world.A...
, as a way to keep the characters at roughly their present ages.
The Legion of Super-Heroes continuity was completely rebooted
Reboot (continuity)
The verb reboot, in media dealing with serial fiction, means to discard much or even all previous continuity in the series and start anew with fresh ideas...
following Zero Hour, and the various Hawkman characters were merged into one (even though, contrary to the storyline's purpose, this created new sets of contradictions and confusions). Each ongoing series at the time was given an opportunity to retell (or clarify) the origin of its hero(es) to establish the official version in this revised continuity, in a "#0" issue published in the subsequent weeks after Zero Hour. They resumed their previous numbering or went on to #1, for new series, the following month. Several series took new directions following Zero Hour; for example, new teams were formed in the Justice League
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
books, Oliver Queen's son Connor Hawke
Connor Hawke
Connor Hawke is a DC Comics superhero who operated as the second Green Arrow, created by Kelley Puckett and Jim Aparo. Connor is the son of Oliver Queen, the original Green Arrow, and his former girlfriend Moonday "Sandra" Hawke...
was introduced in Green Arrow
Green Arrow
Green Arrow is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City...
, and Guy "Warrior" Gardner
Guy Gardner (comics)
Guy Gardner is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. He is a core member of the Green Lantern family of characters, and for a time was also a significant member of the Justice League family of characters.He was created by John Broome and Gil Kane in Green Lantern...
discovered an alien heritage which gave him different powers.
A major part of Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
's origin was retconned after the events in Zero Hour. In this version, Batman never caught or confronted the killer of his parents (thus rendering Batman: Year Two
Batman: Year Two
"Year Two" is the title of a four-part story arc featuring Batman, written by Mike W. Barr and illustrated by Alan Davis, Paul Neary, Alfredo Alcala, Mark Farmer and Todd McFarlane...
non-canonical), and more importantly, Batman was thought of as being an urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
. Also, Catwoman
Catwoman
Catwoman is a fictional character associated with DC Comics' Batman franchise. Historically a supervillain, the character was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, partially inspired by Kane's cousin, Ruth Steel...
was not a prostitute, but rather lived in the low rentals area of Gotham. Finally, contributing to a plot point not fully explored in Batman: Year Three
Batman: Year Three
"Year Three" is a comic book storyline published in the United States by DC Comics, which explores Batman's third year as a crimefighter. It was written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by Pat Broderick and originally appeared in Batman #436-439 , which were published semi-monthly and featured covers...
, Dick Grayson
Dick Grayson
Dick Grayson is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and illustrator Jerry Robinson, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940....
was legally adopted by Wayne.
But this "warm reboot" did not solve all continuity matters and in fact actually created other continuity problems— the fold-out timeline included Armageddon a story that required the supposedly eliminated alternate timelines to even work, Matrix Supergirl who required an artificially created alternate timeline still existed, and "Who is Hawkman?" actually became less clear. Never mind that some fans and creators felt that multiple worlds and timelines were an asset (rather than a hindrance) to the DC Universe. For those and other reasons, DC later introduced a variation of the pre-Crisis concept of the Multiverse
Multiverse (DC Comics)
The DC Multiverse is a fictional continuity construct that exists in stories published by comic book company DC Comics. The DC Multiverse consists of numerous worlds, most of them outside DC's main continuity, allowing writers the creative freedom to explore alternative versions of characters and...
, in the form of Hypertime
Hypertime
Hypertime is a fictional concept presented in the 1999 DC comic book series The Kingdom, both a catch-all explanation for any continuity discrepancies in DC Universe stories and a variation or superset of the Multiverse that existed before Crisis on Infinite Earths.- The Kingdom :The basic premise...
. In the end, this more ecumenical solution did not satisfy DC editors either, inevitably leading to the Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
event in 2005, which revived and brought back several pre-Crisis concepts.
Zero Hour also served to launch or end several ongoing series. A few of these were dictated by the changes in continuity that came out of the story, but most happened simply because it provided a convenient marketing opportunity to start new series. However, each of the new series (save for Starman
Starman (Jack Knight)
Starman is fictional character, a comic book superhero in the , and a member of the Justice Society of America. He is the son of the original Starman, Ted Knight...
) were canceled after a couple of years, due to poor sales. The critical success of Starman was a turning point for DC's editors and how they viewed DC's Golden Age characters and their ongoing story potential, starting a trend reflected in a small family of books set in the present but reflective of the past, such as Starmans successor title, the current Justice Society of America
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
series.
Tie-in issues
- Action ComicsAction ComicsAction Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
#703 - The Adventures of SupermanSuperman (comic book)Superman is an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics hero of the same name. The character Superman began as one of several anthology features in the National Periodical Publications comic book Action Comics #1 in June 1938...
#516 - AnimaAnima (comics)Anima is a fictional character from DC Comics, who starred in the comic book series of the same name. The character was created and written by science fiction and fantasy authors Elizabeth Hand and Paul Witcover....
#7 - BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
#511 - Batman: Shadow of the BatBatman: Shadow of the BatBatman: Shadow of the Bat was a comic book series featuring Batman, published by DC Comics. The series ran for 96 issues, from 1992 to 2000. The stories took place in Batman's then-current continuity along with Detective Comics and Batman, in contrast to Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, which...
#31 - CatwomanCatwomanCatwoman is a fictional character associated with DC Comics' Batman franchise. Historically a supervillain, the character was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, partially inspired by Kane's cousin, Ruth Steel...
vol. 2, #14 - DamageDamage (comics)Damage is a DC Comics superhero who first appeared in a comic book of the same name during the Zero Hour crisis. He is the son of the original Atom Al Pratt. He has been a member of the Titans, the Freedom Fighters, and Justice Society of America....
#6 - The DarkstarsDarkstarsThe first Darkstars were a group of fictional intergalactic policemen that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics. They were introduced in Darkstars #1 , and were created by Michael Jan Friedman and Mike Collins. The series lasted a total of 39 issues, ending with issue #38 , with an issue...
#24 - Detective ComicsDetective ComicsDetective Comics is an American comic book series published monthly by DC Comics since 1937, best known for introducing the iconic superhero Batman in Detective Comics #27 . It is, along with Action Comics, the book that launched with the debut of Superman, one of the medium's signature series, and...
#678 - Flash vol. 2, #94
- Green ArrowGreen ArrowGreen Arrow is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City...
vol. 2, #90 - Green LanternGreen LanternThe Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
vol. 3, #55 - Guy Gardner: WarriorGuy Gardner (comics)Guy Gardner is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. He is a core member of the Green Lantern family of characters, and for a time was also a significant member of the Justice League family of characters.He was created by John Broome and Gil Kane in Green Lantern...
#24 - HawkmanHawkmanHawkman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in Flash Comics #1, published by All-American Publications in 1940....
vol. 3, #13 - Justice League America #92
- Justice League InternationalJustice League InternationalJustice League International is a DC Comics superhero team written by Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis, with art by Kevin Maguire, created in 1987.-Publication history:...
vol. 2, #68 - Justice League Task ForceJustice League Task Force (comics)Justice League Task Force was an American monthly comic book series published by DC Comics from June 1993 to August 1996; it lasted 37 issues. At the time the Justice League was featured in three separate series: Justice League America, Justice League Europe and Justice League Quarterly...
#16 - L.E.G.I.O.N. '94L.E.G.I.O.N.L.E.G.I.O.N., is a team of fictional extraterrestrial superheroes, a science fiction comic book published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Invasion! #1, and were created by Keith Giffen, Bill Mantlo and Todd McFarlane...
#70 - The Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 4, #61
- Legionnaires #18
- The OutsidersOutsiders (comics)The Outsiders are a fictional DC Comics superhero team. As its name suggests, the team consists of superheroes who allegedly do not fit the norms of the mainstream superhero community, namely the Justice League....
vol. 2, #11 - RobinRobin (comics)Robin is the name of several fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson, as a junior counterpart to DC Comics superhero Batman...
vol. 2, #10 - The SandmanThe Sandman: Worlds' EndWorlds' End is the eighth collection of issues in the DC Comics series The Sandman. It was written by Neil Gaiman; illustrated by Michael Allred, Gary Amaro, Mark Buckingham, Dick Giordano, Tony Harris, Steve Leialoha, Vince Locke, Shea Anton Pensa, Alec Stevens, Bryan Talbot, John Watkiss, and...
vol. 2, #51-56 - Showcase '94Showcase (comics)Showcase has been the title of several comic anthology series published by DC Comics. The general theme of these series has been to feature new and minor characters as a way to gauge reader interest in them, without the difficulty and risk of featuring "untested" characters in their own ongoing...
#10 (Prelude) - SteelSteel (John Henry Irons)Steel , also known as the Man of Steel, is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Universe. First appearing in The Adventures of Superman #500 , he is the third character known as Steel and was created by Louise Simonson and artist Jon Bogdanove...
vol. 2, #8 - SuperboySuperboySuperboy is the name of several fictional characters that have been published by DC Comics, most of them youthful incarnations of Superman. These characters have also been the main characters of four ongoing Superboy comic book series published by DC....
vol. 3, #8 - Superman vol. 2, #93
- Superman: The Man of SteelSuperman: The Man of SteelSuperman: The Man of Steel is the title of a monthly American comic book series that ran 136 issues from 1991 to 2003. published by DC Comics, featuring Superman. As a consequence of introducing this series alongside its already existing titles, DC Comics was able to publish a new Superman comic...
#37 - Team TitansTeam TitansTeam Titans was a comic book published by DC Comics that spun out of DC's New Titans series. It began in September 1992 and ended in September 1994. The Team Titans were first introduced as a shadowy group stalking the Titans...
#24 - ValorLar GandLar Gand, known primarily as Mon-El , is a fictional character in DC Comics' universe who is associated with the Legion of Super-Heroes, Superboy, and Superman...
#23
Series ending with Zero Hour
- Team TitansTeam TitansTeam Titans was a comic book published by DC Comics that spun out of DC's New Titans series. It began in September 1992 and ended in September 1994. The Team Titans were first introduced as a shadowy group stalking the Titans...
(a spinoff of The New Titans) - L.E.G.I.O.N. '94L.E.G.I.O.N.L.E.G.I.O.N., is a team of fictional extraterrestrial superheroes, a science fiction comic book published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Invasion! #1, and were created by Keith Giffen, Bill Mantlo and Todd McFarlane...
- ValorLar GandLar Gand, known primarily as Mon-El , is a fictional character in DC Comics' universe who is associated with the Legion of Super-Heroes, Superboy, and Superman...
- Justice League InternationalJustice League InternationalJustice League International is a DC Comics superhero team written by Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis, with art by Kevin Maguire, created in 1987.-Publication history:...
Series rebooted during Zero Hour
- Legion of Super-HeroesLegion of Super-HeroesThe Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
and LegionnairesLegion of Super-HeroesThe Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
(post-Zero Hour, both titles were treated as one bi-weekly series, much like the Superman books at the time)
Series launched following Zero Hour
- Extreme JusticeExtreme JusticeExtreme Justice was a monthly Justice League spin off title in the DC Comics universe. It replaced the cancelled Justice League International and ran for nineteen issues from 1994 to 1996.-Overview:...
(debuted three months later, making it the last "0" issue after Zero Hour) - FateFate (comics)Fate is a fictional character that has appeared in various comic book series published by DC Comics. The character was closely connected to Doctor Fate and existed in the DC Universe...
- R.E.B.E.L.S. '94L.E.G.I.O.N.L.E.G.I.O.N., is a team of fictional extraterrestrial superheroes, a science fiction comic book published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Invasion! #1, and were created by Keith Giffen, Bill Mantlo and Todd McFarlane...
(replacement for L.E.G.I.O.N. '94) - Manhunter (Chase Lawler)
- Primal ForcePrimal ForcePrimal Force is a comic book series which was published by DC Comics from October 1994 to December 1995 and ran fifteen issues, including a zero numbered issue. The series starred The Leymen, a magic-themed superhero team in the fictional DC Universe...
- StarmanStarman (Jack Knight)Starman is fictional character, a comic book superhero in the , and a member of the Justice Society of America. He is the son of the original Starman, Ted Knight...
- XenobroodXenobroodXenobrood is a fictional comic book superhero team in the DC Comics universe. They first appeared in Xenobrood #0 . The series was created by Doug Moench and Tomm Coker.-Publication history:...
(limited series)
Zero Month
"Zero Month" immediately followed with every DC Universe title published being numbered issue "#0", and featuring the slogan, "The Beginning of Tomorrow!"Booster Gold #0 (2008)
In 2008, fourteen years later, an issue of Booster Gold vol. 2 was published as "Booster Gold #0", and was announced as an official Zero Hour tie-inTie-in
A tie-in is an authorized product based on a media property a company is releasing, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property...
by DC Comics. The issue used the same cover style as previous tie-ins to the event, referring to the "Crisis in Time" and using the semi-metallic "fifth color" ink used on the original Zero Hour issues. Like the other tie-in issues, Booster's origin was explained as part of the adventure in the issue. The cover was a homage to Zero Hour #4, with Ted Kord
Blue Beetle (Ted Kord)
Blue Beetle is the second Blue Beetle, a superhero who was originally published by Charlton Comics and later picked up by DC Comics...
's mask replacing Wally West
Wally West
The Flash is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first Kid Flash and the third Flash....
's, alternate Blue Beetle
Blue Beetle
Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes that appear in American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939.-Publication history:...
s replacing the alternate Hawkmen, and the heroes around the edges replaced by Booster in the center.
Collected editions
The series has been collected into a trade paperbackTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
titled Zero Hour: Crisis in Time (ISBN 1-56389-184-0).
External links
- The Annotated DC Project: Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!
- Superman Homepage: The Zero Hour FAQ (Version 3.11, February 2006)
- Alternity
- Zero Hour at the DC Database Project