Black Zero
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Black Zero is a name shared by three supervillains, and a terrorist organization published by DC Comics. The current Black Zero first appeared in Superboy #63 (May 1999), and was created by Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett.
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[edit] Fictional biography
[edit] Pre-Crisis Black Zero
Pre-Crisis, Black Zero appeared in Superman #205 (1968), in a story entitled "The Man Who Destroyed Krypton". He told Superman that he was a space saboteur who destroyed planets. He had been hired to destroy Krypton, and realised the internal stresses that would have destroyed it in any case were dying down, necessitating his involvement to ensure it exploded.
Since this story suggests that, were it not for something none of them knew, Jor-El would have been wrong and the Science Council right, it was not referred to again, although E. Nelson Bridwell suggested that what Black Zero had noticed was the Green Lantern Tomar Re's attempts to prevent the destruction (as seen in Superman #257 (1972)), meaning the two sets of interference cancelled each other out, and Jor-El was right.
[edit] Black Zero group
The post-Crisis version of Black Zero appeared in the World of Krypton miniseries. In the Third Age of Krypton, the Kryptonians extended their lives by maintaining clones in suspended animation (the Clone Banks), which they then harvested for body parts. The Black Zero organization acted against this "genetic slavery", prompting the War of Clone Rights, which lasted for ten centuries. In their final act, Black Zero detonated a nuclear bomb at Krypton's core. This devastated the planet, and contributed to its destruction many centuries later.
[edit] Black Zero virus
The second Black Zero appeared in Superman + the Legion of Super-Heroes. An intelligent computer virus created by the terrorist group, Black Zero II was dormant in the Kryptonian technology used to create the Fortress of Solitude. After being inadvertently activated by Apparition, Black Zero II ran Superman and the Legion through a warped version of Kryptonian history, intending to finish with the destruction of Earth. It was halted when Brainiac 5 inadvertently caused a power outage, and subsequently removed from the Fortress computers.
[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Black Zero
The third Black Zero was introduced in Superboy #62 as part of the Hypertension storyline. He was an alternate version of Superboy, from a Hypertime stream in which Superman had not returned to life and his clone had been left to mature fully, developing his full Kryptonian powers in addition to his tactile telekinesis. As a result, he had become Superman II. However, he believed he was resented for not being the original Superman. When his inexperience led to a battle in which many heroes and civilians were killed, a public backlash began against cloning. After Guardian was killed by a mob, Superman II decided the anti-clone lobby had to be stopped by any means necessary. Since he believed he was fighting for clone rights, he took the name Black Zero.
Turning Project Cadmus into a fortress, and leading an army of Guardian clones, Black Zero began a war in which most of Earth's heroes were destroyed, and then recreated by Cadmus' mad scientist Dabney Donovan as soldiers for the Project.
After conquering his Earth, he was contacted by Metron of the New Gods, who offered him the chance to enter Hypertime and "rescue" other worlds in which clones were being oppressed. To his bafflement, the Superboys of these worlds often stood against him, leading him to store them in stasis chambers similar to the Clone Banks of Krypton. He was eventually defeated by a combined effort from all his other selves, led by the Superboy of the main continuity.
[edit] Powers, abilities, and equipment
[edit] Tactile-telekinesis
Black zero's main unique power is "tactile telekinesis". He uses it as a telekinetic force field that surrounds his body as a protective shield and allows him to enhance his already Superman-level speed, strength, flight and invulnerability. Tactile telekinesis also allows him to disassemble machines and other complex constructions by pushing the field between the individual parts; alternately, he can, hold such constructs together if they are coming apart. He can also manipulate aggregate solid masses such as volumes of sand or dust in the same way, causing the individual particles to fly apart in an explosive manner to create particle clouds or a forceful attack; he can also perform the same stunt with solid masses that are splintered, such as a cracked slab of concrete or fractured pane of glass. The tactile TK field also lets him break free of an opponent's grip by pushing the field outward to force the opponent away. Other creative uses include rendering an opponent immobile by extending the TK field as long as they are both standing on the same ground.
Additionally he can use his telekinesis in blocking physical assaults although its ability to block energy, leaving him more susceptible to energy-based attacks.
[edit] Kryptonian powers
As his Kryptonian physiology comes from Superman he has all the superpowers that the man of steel does, including heat vision, x-ray vision, Telescopic vision, super-hearing, invulnerability, enhanced durability and superspeed.
Like Superman, he derives his Kryptonian powers from the absorption of solar energy from the Earth's yellow sun.
Like Superman, he is also highly vulnerable to Kryptonite and magic
[edit] Costumes and equipment
Black Zero wears a Black body suite off set by a red cape, gold markings and a pair of glasses. Additionally on his left arm he carries a hypertime gun, equipped with a one hypertime bullet which he can fire at his target and transport them directly to his holding cells.
[edit] Behind the scenes
Black zero spent years tracking his alternate verions throughout hypertime trying to validate his decision on his home world. He found no validation and grew to be angry and vengeful over his mishandling of his homeworld.
After his death h remained a reminder to superboy what could happen if he ever went out of control.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
Superboy vol3 #61 Superboy vol3 #62 Superboy vol3 #63 Superboy vol3 #64 Superboy vol3 #68
