From: [c--ve--n] at [cae.wisc.edu] (Michael Blakeman Cleveland)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: ZERO HOUR SUMMARIES: 2/2: ZERO HOUR #0
Date: 14 Aug 1994 17:42:57 GMT


Zero Hour #0

Summary w/ spoilers:




























Scene 1.  Nowhere.
Hal Jordan, Parallax, is trying to recreate the universe in order to make
everything right. Hal has a blank palette of whiteness to work with, and
adds some little splotches of green as he talks to the heroes (and villain)
left with him:  Triumph, Warrior, Batgirl, Alpha Centurion, and Extant.  Hal
discusses the need for the universe to be _right_.  Guy doesn't want to let
him "get away with this", but Triumph points out that they need Hal if they
want to get the univers back. (Picky, picky.) Batgirl asks whose world Hal
intends to bring back: hers, Triumph's?  Hal answers, "All of them," with
all friends and lives included back in the bargain.  Extant insists on 
receiving his world too.  (Another fact which irks Guy.)  Hal says he can 
create new worlds and galaxies (a claim which _does_ impress Guy) using
energy and entorpy left over from Crisis on Infinite Earths.  Guy points out
that Hal died in Zero Hour 4, but Hal reveals that he saved his younger self.

Scene 2.  Vanishing Point.
The only other surviving heroes have gathered at Vanishing Point:  Waverider,
Captain Atom, Hawkman, Superman, Liri Lee, Atom (now 18 in body and intellect),
GL Kyle Rayner, Ray, Donna Troy, Green Arrow, and Damage (plucked from the
world before the big wipe-out).  Damage and Green Arrow debate their ability
to help.  Green Arrow is apparently there to reason with Hal, the two of them
having been friends for so many years (including 47 issues of sharing a book).
Captian Atom and Green Arrow despair, but Waverider declares that there is
still hope.

Scene 3.  Nowhere.
Hal, while recreating the universe, tries to convince the only skeptic present
(Guy) that he's doing the right thing.  He offers to return the GL Corps
including Kilowog (whom Hal killed), an Earth where the JSA can stay eternally
young, Alpha Centurion's Metropolis, Batgirl's Gotham City.  Then Waverider
and the others show up to to attack.  Extant, Alpha Centurion, and Batgirl
side with Hal.  Guy and Triumph debate which side to take.  Guy refuses to 
allow Extant to have a victory and attacks him.  Hal tries to tempt Superman
and Captain Atom, then resolves to destroy them.  He is interrupted when
the Spectre shows up and attacks (although Green Arrow pleads on behalf of 
Hal's life.  While Spectre and Hal fight, Waverider organizes his heroes.
He has Captain Atom, GL, Darkstar, and Ray absorb the energy that Parallax
is channelling.   Batgirl fights Green Arrow (who realizes that absolute
power has corrupted Hal abosultely).  Superman fight Alpha Centurion.  
Parallax defeats the Spectre, but the Spectre's sacrifice has given the other
heroes time to carry out their plan.  Donna, Captain Atom, Ray, Waverider, and 
Superman start channelling their energy into Damage.  Parallax plans to 
attack, but Kyle, Green Arrow, and Batgirl (who can't allow a murder to occur)
try to stop him.  Batgirl realizes that Hal's way is wrong and sacrifices
herself by jumping infront of the beam Hal uses to try to destroy Damage.
The battles with Spectre and Green Lantern and Hal's attempt to kill Damage
have almost drained his power (as Kyle realizes).  Green Arrow nocks an arrow;
his eye meets Hal's; and he shoots Hal in the chest even as Kyle grabs Hal to
overpower him.  Parallax's power is gone, and Hal dies.  The Spectre reappears
declaring justice satisfies, and he pumps even more power into Damage, who 
explodes.  (Damage _is_ the Big Bang.)  The univers begins to expand, although
entropy has robbed the universe of billions of years of potential life.

Scene 4.  Vanishing Point.
Liri wonders how the others can have survived.

Scene 5.  A bubble of nowhere in the midst of somewhere.
Waverider has saved everyone in a time anomaly (except Hal and Kyle because
they were flung too far away).  We get a brief history lesson interspersed
with the next few panels:  The Earth cools, dinosaurs emerge, Atlantis and
Tritonis establish themselves, Shazam's temple is built, a primal huntsman
stalks mankind (Manhunter plug?), Jonah Hex appears.  Meanwhile, Batgirl and
Alpha Centurion disappear.  Waverider says that they have to reneter time
at the correct point or be doomed to repeat Parallax's tragedy over and over.
(Green Arrow finds that concept horrible.)  Extant abandons them, but 
Waverider refuses to let anyone give chase, saying that Extant will destroy
himself anyway.  Waverider plucks Hal and Kyle from an instant after the 
arrow struck and plans to merge them back into time along with everyone
else (as a precaution so that Parallax can't recover and start his plan again.
Waverider loses control and cannot successfully return Hal and Kyle to the
correct time.

Scene 6.  New York.
All the gathered heoes are present again, although Guy has lost his armor, and
is now wearing body paint. Waverider offers an explanation to all the heroes
who weren't there for the climax.  The universe has been restored, _not_
under Parallax's control.  The people who died in time fissures (Batman, Steel)
are still alive, but those who died outside of time are still dead. (like
Kyle, although GL #0 is probably going to prove this statement wrong).  Jay
Garrick asks if Wally and Hourman are still dead, (Although Wally shouldn't
be:  he died in a time fissure and asks if the whole event was about death.
Wonder Woman and Power Girl think otherwise because Power Girl has given birth
to a son. "We should feel great."  A depressed Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) 
stalks away and breaks his bow.

Scene 7.  Vanishing Point.
Liri and Waverider are back cataloging the space/time continuum.

Scene 8.  The end of time.
Someone at the end of time is a Time Trapper-esque cloak is also debating
time.  The wisp of hair coming out from the hood suggests that it may be
Glorith.

Other people have discussed the fold-out timeline, so I'm not going to.  Hope
you enjoyed the series.

Michael