Black Zero is a name shared by two

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

s, two terrorist organizations, one special forces group, and a computer virus that have all appeared in various

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

series published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

Fictional character biography

Original Black Zero

The original Black Zero solely appeared in ''

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

'' #205 (1968), and was created by writer

Otto Binder Otto Oscar Binder (; August 26, 1911 – October 13, 1974) was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books. He is best known as the co-creator of Supergirl and for his many scripts for '' Captain Ma ...

and artist

Al Plastino Alfred John Plastino (December 15, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American comics artist best known as one of the most prolific Superman artists of the 1950s, along with his DC Comics colleague Wayne Boring. Plastino also worked as a comics w ...

. He is a space saboteur who destroys planets and was hired to destroy

Krypton Krypton (from 'the hidden one') is a chemical element; it has symbol (chemistry), symbol Kr and atomic number 36. It is a colorless, odorless noble gas that occurs in trace element, trace amounts in the Earth's atmosphere, atmosphere and is of ...

by maintaining pressure in its core. In the present, Black Zero comes to Earth, threatening to destroy it as he did Krypton. In desperation, Superman releases

Jax-Ur Jax-Ur is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, usually as an adversary of Superman. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp, the character first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #289 (October 1961). He has ...

, a prisoner of the

Phantom Zone The Phantom Zone is a prison-like parallel dimension appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is mainly associated with stories featuring Superman. It first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #283 (April 1961), and was created b ...

, who wishes to avenge Krypton's destruction. After launching a missile toward Earth, Black Zero attacks Jax-Ur with red

kryptonite Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton (comics), Krypton that emits a u ...

, mutating him into a

Gorgon The Gorgons ( ; ), in Greek mythology, are three monstrous sisters, Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa, said to be the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. They lived near their sisters the Graeae, and were able to turn anyone who looked at them to sto ...

-like form. Jax-Ur then petrifies Black Zero with his gaze and shatters his body.

Black Zero organization

The first post-''Crisis'' version of Black Zero appeared in the 1988 ''

World of Krypton ''World of Krypton'' is an American three-issue comic book limited series written by Paul Kupperberg and penciled by Howard Chaykin. It was the comics industry's first limited series, which addressed DC's problem of newly launched ongoing series ...

'' miniseries written by John Byrne and illustrated by

Mike Mignola Michael Mignola (; born September 16, 1960) is an American comic book writer best known for creating ''Hellboy'' for Dark Horse Comics, part of a Hellboy Universe, shared universe of titles including ''B.P.R.D.'', ''Abe Sapien'', ''Lobster Johns ...

. It is a terrorist organization that contributed to the destruction of Krypton by firing nuclear energy into its core. The name "Black Zero" was also used by a Kryptonian military force commanded by Ursa whose members were killed by Brainiac.

Computer virus

The Black Zero virus appears in ''Superman Plus/Legion of Super-Heroes'' #1, a 1997

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'', a ...

teaming Superman with the

Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of t ...

. It is an intelligent

computer virus A computer virus is a type of malware that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and Code injection, inserting its own Computer language, code into those programs. If this replication succeeds, the affected areas ...

created by the Black Zero group who attempts to destroy Earth before being killed by

Brainiac 5 Brainiac 5 (Querl Dox) is a superhero appearing in comics published by DC Comics. He is from the planet Colu and is a long-standing member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. Brainiac 5 has been substantially adapted int ...

Black Zero (Superboy)

The second Black Zero is an alternate universe variant of

Superboy Superboy is an identity used by several fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series ...

from a universe where

was not resurrected after his battle with Doomsday. He battles Superboy and the

Challengers of the Unknown The Challengers of the Unknown is a fictional group of adventurers appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The quartet of adventurers explored paranormal occurrences while facing several fantastic menaces. The characters' provenance is ...

before being exposed to hyperstorm energy and disappearing. The character first appeared in ''

'' (vol. 4) #61, and was created by

Karl Kesel Karl Kesel (; born January 7, 1959) is an American comics writer and inker whose works have primarily been under contract for DC Comics. He is a member of Periscope Studio and is known for his collaborations with fellow artist Tom Grummett on ' ...

and

Tom Grummett Thomas Grummett (born 1959) is a Canadian comic book artist and penciller. He is best known for his work as penciller on titles such as '' The New Titans'', '' The Adventures of Superman'', ''Superboy'', '' Power Company'', '' Robin'', '' New Th ...

In other media

Television

* The Black Zero terrorist organization appears in the ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...

'' episode "Kandor". This version of the group is infamous for destroying the eponymous city. * The Black Zero terrorist organization appears in the first season of ''

'', led by

. They join forces with

General Zod General Zod is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an List of Superman enemies, adversary of the superhero Superman. The character, who first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #283 (April 1961), was ...

, among other Kryptonians, to foil Brainiac's plan to destroy Kandor until Zod betrays them, causing the group to disband.

Film

A Kryptonian prison frigate called the ''Black Zero'' appears in films set in the

DC Extended Universe The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that appear in American comic books published by DC Comic ...

(DCEU): * First appearing in '' Man of Steel'', the ''Black Zero'' was designed by

Jor-El Jor-El is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, Jor-El first appeared in the Superman (comic strip), ''Superman'' newspaper comic strip in 1939. Jor-El is Supe ...

to transport criminals to the

and was used to imprison

and his battalion, the Sword of Rao. Following Krypton's destruction, the Sword of Rao repurposed the ''Black Zero'' as their command ship. They travel to Earth to retrieve the Growth Codex, but are defeated by

and sent back to the Phantom Zone. * The ''Black Zero'' appears in a flashback in '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice''. * The ''Black Zero'' appears in ''

The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...

''.

References

External links

Supermanica entry on the Pre-Crisis Black Zero
{{Superman characters Characters created by John Byrne (comics) Characters created by Karl Kesel Characters created by Mike Mignola Characters created by Otto Binder Clone characters in comics Comic book terrorist organizations Comics characters introduced in 1968 Comics characters introduced in 1999 DC Comics characters with superhuman senses DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics male supervillains DC Comics metahumans DC Comics supervillains DC Comics telekinetics Fictional characters with nuclear or radiation abilities Genetically engineered characters in comics Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities Fictional characters with fire or heat abilities Fictional mass murderers Kryptonians Space pirates Superboy Superman characters de:Superboy#Black Zero