Zero Hour

Lore & Background

The story begins when characters from alternate realities, such as Alpha Centurion and Triumph, suddenly appear in the main DC Universe. A wave of entropy then sweeps from the end of time toward the beginning, erasing entire historical ages. The initial villain is Extant, formerly Hawk of the duo Hawk and Dove, who uses acquired temporal powers to unravel the timeline. In a brutal confrontation with the Justice Society of America, Extant ages several members, stripping away the effects that kept them young since the 1940s, leaving them feeble or dead. However, the true architect of this destruction is revealed to be Hal Jordan. Once a member of the Green Lantern Corps, Jordan went mad with grief after the destruction of his home town, Coast City, during the 'Reign of the Supermen!' storyline. Adopting the name Parallax, he obtained immense power and sought to destroy and remake the DC Universe to undo the events that caused his breakdown.

In Their Own Story

The collective efforts of superheroes manage to stop Parallax from creating his vision of a new universe. The timeline is recreated anew, albeit with subtle differences compared to the previous one. This reset is triggered when the young hero Damage, with help from other heroes, initiates a new Big Bang. In the aftermath, Hal Jordan survives despite being severely weakened from using so much energy; he endures even after Green Arrow shoots an arrow directly into his heart. Following the event, DC published a fold-out timeline inside the back cover of Zero Hour #0 to identify key events and their placement. While fixed dates were given for groups like the JSA, the debut of Superman was presented as '10 years ago,' keeping calendar years fluid to maintain character ages.

Reader's Guide

Following Zero Hour, the Legion of Super-Heroes was completely rebooted, and various Hawkman characters were merged into one. Most ongoing series retold their origins in a #0 issue published after the event, resuming previous numbering the following month or moving to #1. This period was dubbed 'Zero Month' and featured the slogan 'The Beginning of Tomorrow!' Titles like Team Titans, L.E.G.I.O.N. '94, Valor, and Justice League International (vol. 2) ended with Zero Hour, while new series such as Extreme Justice, Fate, R.E.B.E.L.S. '94, Manhunter, Primal Force, and Starman (vol. 2) launched in its wake. In 2008, a Booster Gold #0 issue was released as an official tie-in, using the same cover style and 'fifth color' ink as the originals to explain Booster's origin within the event's framework.

Did You Know?

• The five-issue limited series was numbered in reverse order, starting with issue #4 and ending with issue #0.
• Hal Jordan survived being shot through the heart by Green Arrow after the timeline reset.
• Extant aged members of the Justice Society of America, removing the effects that had kept them young since the 1940s.
• In 2008, a Booster Gold #0 issue was published as an official Zero Hour tie-in, featuring alternate versions of Blue Beetles and Hawkmen on the cover.
• The Legion of Super-Heroes was completely rebooted following the event, while various Hawkman characters were merged into one.