1986 marked an important year for DC, one that nobody would ever forget. As Marv Wolfman and George Perez concluded their epic game-changing maxiseries, Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Multiverse… gone! No longer did the JSA live on a separate plane known as Earth-2, occasionally crossing the barriers of time and space to meet their counterparts on Earth-1, the JLA. As of now, they were together, all on a world named New Earth, home to nearly every DC character. However, while Crisis on Infinite Earths may have resolved many confusions with DC’s Multiverse, it didn’t take long for it to be missed. In fact, its very presence was hidden in plain sight. In 1989, Batman: Gotham By Gaslight hit the shelves, published under a brand-new imprint fittingly titled Elseworlds. In the months, and years, that followed, DC continued to publish Elseworlds stories, placing their most famous heroes into different times, settings and environment, creating whole new universes and the possibility of an infinite number of Supermans, Batmans and Wonder Womans. Plainly put, both DC and the fans were missing their Multiverse. But fear not! For the second coming of the multiverse and its rightful restoration came in the form of… Dan Jurgens (slightly underwhelming but hold on). Jurgens had made a name for himself in the 1980s, working on the Superman titles before making a huge leap to writing and pencilling Justice League America (61-77) in the early 1990s. It was his daunting task to pick up the pieces left behind in convoluted trail that was Marv Wolfman’s script and George Perez’s art for Crisis on Infinite Earths. Like that story, Zero Hour: Crisis in Time, was to be a titanic event, with every title and character being involved in the story, whether their contribution be ant-like or atomic bomb-like in size. In the years preceding Zero Hour, the main heroes had been through their most hellish hours. Superman had seemingly died at the hands of an evil beast named Doomsday, while Batman’s spine had been furiously broken by the brute strength of a venom-pumped Bane. But, the most important of all, Hal Jordan, the definitive Green Lantern of Sector 2814, had been driven mad by the destruction of Coast City and became possessed by a power-hungry and twisted menace named Parallax. He decimated the Green Lantern Corps and was ready to destroy the universe in its current state. However, he is seemingly not alone, for a second danger facing our heroes comes in the twisted form of Monarch, the combined product and result of the powers and personalities of… some random guy from the future and Hawk and Dove? What?
In this review, I will be covering the Zero Hour: Crisis in Time miniseries, along with its prelude, Sum: Zero, published in Showcase ’94 8-9 from July to August 1994 and written by Dan Jurgens, with art by Frank Fosco and Ken Branch. Zero Hour: Crisis in Time 4-0 was published weekly in September 1994, with it starting at issue 4 and counting down to issue 0. It was written and pencilled by Dan Jurgens with inks by
Jerry Ordway. Lastly, I have read this story in the Zero Hour: Crisis in Time trade paperback.
Sum: Zero --- Written by Dan Jurgens with art by Frank Fosco and Ken Branch
THE STORY
In the Vanishing Point, located outside of the space-time continuum, Rip Hunter and Waverider (a character from the near-future in which a menace named Monarch rules the planet, causing him to fight back and destroy that timeline) look back at their past memories, remembering that the two of them are Linear Men, with the role of studying and maintaining time. The two then discuss Hank Hall, who killed Monarch and ultimately became him, turning him into a murderous foe. However, despite Waverider’s efforts, Monarch is still alive, and Rip Hunter believes that he is watching them. Meanwhile, Monarch learns that Waverider is hunting him down and he prepares to fight him. At the same time, Rip Hunter and Waverider arrive in 1994, where Monarch appears and seemingly kills the two of them…
After waking up, Rip Hunter and Waverider find themselves in a stasis field and Monarch masters both of their powers, allowing him to travel through time. Then, Hunter manages to damage Monarch’s device which keeps them locked in the stasis field, setting them free. Although Waverider uses a massive burst of energy to overload Monarch’s circuits, it ultimately backfires as Monarch becomes Extant, destroying Hank Hall’s body and making him realise that he is both Hawk and Dove (two silver age Ditko characters), the offspring of the lords of chaos and order. Extant then takes Waverider’s armband from him, which allows the Linear Men to travel through time. In the end, Extant vanishes, leaving Hunter angry at Waverider for letting him escape with the armband, which can allow him to change all of time.
MY THOUGHTS
This rather short two-parter is rather like a prelude to the main story, since it sets up some of the background information on characters such as Waverider, Rip Hunter, Monarch (then later Extant) and how they will all be involved in the story. Essentially, looking past all of the confusing time-travelling background to do with Waverider, the tale itself is pretty simple. It establishes the villain of Extant very well and how he is Monarch, Hawk and Dove, but I think Jurgens does excellently is that he doesn’t reveal everything at once. You learn so much about Extant during the Zero Hour miniseries and learning it all in just over ten pages would make it incredibly cluttered, confusing and take away from the drama of the core story. Out of all the characters in the DC Universe, Rip Hunter is most likely the one I know the least about, which is strange since I know quite a bit about even more obscure characters like Captain Compass. His presence in the story makes a lot of sense and like I said, it builds up on how Extant becomes a threat. Nothing else really to say about the positives. It just works as a good prelude.
Using time travel as a plot device is incredibly tricky, particularly in a gigantic crossover such as this one. But for this story here, it just makes some of the background surrounding Waverider incredibly confusing. Jurgens only explains it in about one page, which just isn’t enough, making the story quite confusing at the start. In fact, the pacing is slightly strange here, since there will be scenes of tons of dialogue which is then followed by a huge fight. There isn’t any gradient in it, so the transitions from one scene to another is basically non-existent. I guess that isn’t helped by how short the story is.
Frank Fosco and Ken Branch are two artists that I had never heard of and to me, they just come across as two regular DC comic book artists from their time. Muscles aren’t a huge problem, but they can look strange. The finishes usually are very over-done, but it’s not bad, at least in a Rob Liefeld-sense. The story was told well enough and there is nothing else really to say. Pretty standard and forgetful to be honest.
Story: 7/10
Art: 5/10
Zero Hour: Crisis in Time --- Written and pencilled by Dan Jurgens with inks by Jerry Ordway
THE STORY
32 hours ago, at the End of Time, the Time Trapper is murdered by a mysterious villain, who then claims the countdown to Zero Hour has begun. 30 hours ago, on Apokolips, Darkseid is told by Metron that time itself is unravelling, but he does not believe him, causing Metron to leave and find some allies. In Gotham City, Batman and Robin find that the Joker has been captured by Batgirl, shocking them as they tell her that she was shot and paralysed by the Joker years ago (Batman: The Killing Joke).
Suddenly, the Joker throws a flash grenade and manages to escape, leaving Batman confused about Batgirl. 28 hours ago, in the Vanishing Point, Matthew Ryder alerts Rip Hunter and Waverider that future timelines are being erased. Rip Hunter and Waverider head to the 64th Century, where they find the Flash (Wally West) capturing Abra Kadabra. The Flash then learns that the time rift which has appeared is draining entropy and destroying reality. Although Waverider can glide through the winds of time, he needs the Flash’s help to create a whiplash effect to create his own vortex. Although the Flash agrees to help and he tries, using his powers to their maximum, he fails and suffers the same fate as his predecessor, Barry Allen (Crisis on Infinite Earths). Waverider pledges that they must try again to avenge Wally West’s death. In Metropolis, 24 hours ago, Superman meets with Batman and they discuss the strange events occurring. Suddenly, Metron appears and asks for their help. 23 hours ago, in Star City, 5700 AD, Waverider and Hunter find Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, fighting again the entropy. However, this Hal Jordan is less experienced and younger, since he is pure and before he experiences his dark fate as Parallax. That being said, Green Lantern also fails and dies. 21 hours ago, Vandal Savage is beaten by the JSA’s Hawkman, who then splits into multiple different versions of himself. Meanwhile, Superman enlists the help of Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), Darkstar (Donna Troy), Aquaman, the New Titans, Superboy, The Atom, Doctor Fate, the Outsiders, Green Arrow and many others. At the same time, Metron meets with the Spectre, who refuses to help and tells him to leave. In the Vanishing Point, Waverider learns of the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, terrifying him. 18 hours ago, the JSA meet with Hawkman and Vandal Savage, who suddenly vanishes and is absorbed by the entropy. Then, Waverider appears with the Flash’s costume and gives it to the JSA’s Flash, Jay Garrick, making him realise that the worst has happened. In the Vanishing Point, the Linear Men are knocked unconscious by Extant…
17 hours ago, Jay Garrick rages and questions why the young heroes keep on dying and the old refuse to. The JSA then tell the Flash that the best way to honour Wally is to finish off his work and Doctor Fate sends the whole group to the Vanishing Point, looking for answers. However, Hawkman, Hawkwoman and Waverider are somehow sent elsewhere. Meanwhile in Keystone City, Superman and Metron meet Bart Allen, also known as Impulse, who agrees to help the heroes. 16 hours later, outside the timestream, Rokk Krinn, learns that the Time Trapper is simply an older version of himself. 14 hours later, the Justice League International meet with a large group of heroes and elect Superman to be their leader, annoying Warrior (Guy Gardner, former Green Lantern). 17 hours ago, in the Vanishing Point, the JSA meet with Extant, who traps the team in a chronal energy blast. Meanwhile in the timestream, Waverider watches Hawkman, Hawkwoman and their other versions merge into one godly being. 14 hours ago, in L.E.G.I.O.N. HQ, Brainiac 2 also realises that time is dying. In Supertown, Highfather tells Orion and Lightray that the end is near. 13 hours ago, the large group of heroes discuss the different versions of each other they have seen, including those who shouldn’t exist, but feel real like Batgirl. Then, the new Hawkman arrives with Waverider, who confirms to the heroes that both the Flash and Green Lantern have died to the entropy. After the heroes give all their suitable reactions to the news, Waverider realises that somebody he has never considered could be behind the entropy. 12 hours ago, in the Vanishing Point, the JSA wake up to find Extant. The Atom (Al Pratt) charges towards Extant, but he is quickly killed. The very entity of Doctor Fate is also defeated, and the Sandman and Wildcat (continued)
are both aged significantly by Extant. Then, Waverider appears as Extant begins to age all the JSA heroes, excluding Alan Scott, or Sentinel, as he is called now instead of Green Lantern. In New York, the storms continue to get worse and alternate timelines begin to merge. In the Vanishing Point, Waverider puts the JSA members in stasis while he and Sentinel fight Extant. However, Waverider realises that he recognises Extant and when he takes his mask off, Waverider learns that Extant is himself from the future…
12 hours ago, in the Vanishing Point, Waverider learns that Extant is the combination of Hawk, Dove, Monarch and him. In anger, Waverider lunges at Extant, but he simply sends Waverider, Sentinel and the JSA back to where they came from. Extant then tells the heroes to prepare for his agents of destruction. In New York, a futuristic floating city appears. However, the heroes manage to send it away by using Metron’s Mobius Chair, Captain Atom’s unique quantum energy and the combined powers of Superman and the other superpowered heroes. Then, the heroes meet the JSA and learn that Hourman and the Atom have died. Also, Doctor Fate was destroyed, leaving Kent and Inza Nelson powerless and the rest of the JSA significantly aged. Martian Manhunter then takes the JSA members to the hospital, while Jay Garrick and Alan Scott both decide to retire. 10 hours ago, in the 30th Century, Superman, Metron and the rest of the heroes arrive and quickly notice the entropy. Suddenly, the heroes are attacked by the Team Titans, who Superman believes are possessed. 9 hours ago, while Doctor Mist erases himself from history, Alan Scott and Jay Garrick learn that while Wildcat and the Sandman should survive, Doctor Mid-Night has died. In anger, Jay decides to search the for one person that should have aided his former team, the Spectre. 8 hours ago, Supergirl helps Power Girl as she is pregnant, yet her child is already helping her since it has created a force field around her. In the Vanishing Point, Extant holds the Linear Men in stasis. 10 hours ago, a group of hero’s lead by Nightwing fight against the entropy when some other Team Titans members appear and attack them. A version of Extant from the past appears to fight against Waverider, which is watched by the Extant from the future. The Extant from the past then attacks Waverider, absorbing him and creating the Extant of the current timeline. 8 hours ago, in the 30th Century, Superman and the heroes capture the rest of the Team Titans. Superman then throws Metron’s chair into the entropy on his orders, which restores the fabric of reality. The heroes are then transported back in time by the still-living Time Trapper. In New York, as the heroes arrive home, the Team Titans vanish. In the Vanishing Point, Extant meets with his past self, who learns that the Team Titans have not only disappeared but have also been erased from time. 7 hours ago, in the 30th Century, a mysterious being opens the entropy rift again, drops a Green Lantern and crushes it with his foot…
2 hours ago, in Star City, Supergirl, Warrior, Steel and Batgirl try to escape from the entropy, but Steel is killed. Extant watches the entropy fissures in confusion, before he is attacked by a mysterious green being, who tells Extant that his way of doing things is wrong. 1 hour ago, the Legion of Super-Heroes stand together as they are eaten by the entropy, leaving Time Trapper left, who is then killed by the mysterious green being, again. 53 minutes ago, while Wonder Woman helps Power Girl in giving birth, both Impulse and Booster Gold disappear as their eras are being erased. 40 minutes ago, in Gotham City, Jay Garrick runs to the JSA headquarters, where he meets the
Spectre to try and get his help. Then, as Jay Garrick begins to disappear, the Spectre pledges to him that his death will be avenged. 29 minutes ago, Metron decides to take Superman, Darkstar, Green Lantern and the Atom to the Vanishing Point. They arrive there five minutes later and decide to convert Matthew Ryder into the next Waverider so the group can time travel. 14 minutes ago, in New York, Ted Knight’s children, David and Jack arrive. They learn that Ted is going to retire as Starman and he passes the cosmic rod down to David (who holds it for a record of 3 pages of Starman (vol 2) 0, before being killed). 7 minutes ago, in New York, Extant appears and kills Batman in front of Robin and Nightwing. All the heroes nearby such as Batgirl, Elongated Man and Green Arrow attack Extant. Suddenly, Waverider appears and the Atom shrinks into Extant’s head to attack him, but it fails as Extant is simply just chronal energy. Extant then attacks the Atom, but he is saved by Waverider, who tells the Atom that he has been turned into an 18-year-old. Then, as Superman arrives and charges towards Extant, he is punched and knocked out by the true villain, Hal Jordan, now calling himself Parallax, surprising his once-best friend Green Arrow, who tries to convince Parallax to remember that he was once a good man. However, Parallax ignores him, and he proclaims that Zero Hour has arrived. Everyone vanishes, leaving Parallax to wonder if only one universe is enough. Everything fades to white…
Keeping the remaining heroes alive, Parallax leaves Extant, Batgirl, Warrior, Alpha Centurion and Triumph to watch the creation of his new universe. Parallax explains
that as superheroes, they sometimes miss the bigger problems, such as the Crisis and the destruction of Coast City. He then tells heroes like Batgirl and Triumph that they can have their own worlds back too. As he claims to have the powers to create and re-create life through chronal energy, he explains that he managed to get into the timestream and discover energy anomalies and residue from the Crisis during their fight against the Anti-Monitor. Using that, he made his way to the End of Time, which is linked to the beginning through the destructive force known as entropy. Parallax tightened the loop between the start and the end of time, causing Zero Hour to begin. Warrior then mentions that they saw a younger version of Hal Jordan as Green Lantern die, but he explains that he was simply sent back to his time. In the Vanishing Point, Waverider managed to collect the heroes that would be needed to defeat Parallax, including Superman, Green Lantern, Captain Atom, Hawkman, The Ray, Linear Woman, Darkstar, The Atom, Damage and Green Arrow, who is confused by his own presence, but he is reminded about his friendship with Hal Jordan. Meanwhile, Parallax continues to rebuild the universe by resurrecting Coast City, the Green Lantern Corps, the JSA, while also promising Batgirl to return to her world and life. Suddenly, Waverider, Superman and the heroes arrive. While Superman fights Parallax, telling him that he has become a murderous god, other heroes decide to join Parallax, such as Extant, Triumph and, reluctantly, Batgirl. As the fight continues, the Spectre arrives and threatens to kill Parallax in the name of vengeance. While the two battle, Green Arrow tries to convince Batgirl that the fate of the universe cannot be placed in the hands of people like Parallax and Extant, who is only helping Parallax so he can have his own world. Green Arrow realises that it is true that absolute power corrupts absolutely and that it has even tainted Hal Jordan, once his best friend. While the Spectre is injured by Parallax, Green Lantern tries to fight him, but Waverider and Damage interfere, ready to defeat Parallax. However, as he prepares to kill Damage, he is stopped by Batgirl, who then sacrifices herself to save Damage. After Green Arrow briefly mourns her death, he fires an arrow at Parallax’s chest, which is full of power. Thanks to Green Lantern restraining him, Parallax is defeated by the two of them. The Spectre then pumps energy through Damage, who then explodes, causing another Big Bang. After the new Universe is created, all the heroes fighting against Parallax are saved by Waverider. As the anomalies disappear such as Batgirl, Green Arrow pledges that she will not be forgotten. As the history of the universe is reconstructed, Waverider attempts to save Hal Jordan’s spirit from inside Parallax, but he fails. In the end, Power Girl gives birth to her son, Damage joins the New Titans, led by Arsenal, Batman and many other return from the dead, but others who didn’t die in the entropy fissures such as the Flash remain dead. Green Arrow leaves the other heroes and shatters his bow before screaming, remembering his friendship with Hal Jordan. As the Linear Men are reinstated, the Time Trapper remains at the End of Time, forever waiting…
MY THOUGHTS
Before I go into my in-depth review of this confusing series from start to finish. I have to applaud Dan Jurgens for giving Zero Hour: Crisis in Time, its own identity. Crisis on Infinite Earths was a story that nobody was ever going to forget, mainly due to the events that occur in it and the deaths of many famous characters. It would have been so easy for Jurgens, or anybody, to write this story as a direct sequel to Crisis with the actual story being very similar and also identical. However, Jurgens does come up with a very different, yet similar idea to Crisis, which makes the story more intriguing to read. The real aspect of the story which makes it somewhat separate from Crisis is the use of time travel, something which hadn’t really been used or thought about in the larger DC crossovers. Actually, the closest previous story that incorporated both the whole DC Universe and time travel was Armageddon 2001, something which most DC fans would like to forget. However, it is actually important to this story as it introduces Waverider, but more on that later. Anyway, let’s get on with he plot and see if its any good. The reason I state that is because to some, Zero Hour is actually a pretty bad story. Do I agree? Do I disagree? Maybe you’ll find out if I stop waffling. Up until the ending of part four, or issue 1 since it counts down to 0, the structure of the story is incredibly time-based, and I actually really like that idea. Constantly, it feels as if the heroes are on a countdown to the end, creating a real sense of urgency and drama, which Wolfman and Perez managed to capture in Crisis. From the first part, we know something is very wrong with the world. Characters such as Batgirl suddenly return and heroes such as Hawkman split into numerous different versions of themselves. The universe is also ending too, but that is fairly standard for comics. While it does nicely set the scene for the overall story, with most scenes just there for fan-service so we can witness the reactions from all over the universe, there are some real major events that occur and it is surprising how early on that they can happen. Just in the first part, both the Flash and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan of the past) die. Since this happens so early on, it is a genuine shock, but I think Jurgens killed off the Flash mainly as a tribute to Crisis, since Barry Allen obviously died in that monolithic series. However, the death of a young Hal Jordan is certainly surprisingly, since he had obviously become one of the biggest foes in the DC Universe, but really, it doesn’t take you that long to realise that he is the real enemy of the story. In fact, I think it should have been revealed sooner, as when it was, it felt too expected. Anyhow, the death of the Flash is one of my favourite moments of the story, not just because of the event, but because of its aftermath. It pumps up Jay Garrick’s Flash and the JSA, who are determined to take out Extant and avenge Wally. Of course, it doesn’t happen like that, leading to what I think is the most important moment from the whole story. In part two, some of the JSA are significantly aged by Extant, who also manages to murder heroes like Hourman and the Atom. Downright, this moment is one of the most shocking in DC’s history and the reason for that is because these are the most prestigious and oldest group of heroes that they have. I mean, all of these characters had first appeared in the early 1940s and there is something sad and emotional about seeing them meet their fate in a cruel, yet appropriate way. With the exception of Sentinel, they all grow old and some die. I don’t pretend to know the exact reasons for why they were still young, but in many ways, this is how the characters should be. They are the oldest living group of heroes and its time to hand their identities down to the next generation, even if Extant’s use of power on them was cruel. Plus, it makes Extant into an even greater threat, since he has the power to destroy any hero, whether it be Superman or Stone Boy. The
ending of the second part also delivers another shock, one which I am kind of grateful for. That shock is that Extant is Waverider from the future. This was most welcome as honestly, I felt Waverider is a pretty generic character that felt incredibly unenthused and lacklustre. He is sort of like Pariah for Crisis, just going around being boring and shouting about how everybody is doomed. Its been done before and it wasn’t very good. However, with this one, it adds something very good to the story, even if Extant is a somewhat dull villain. Apart from closing the entropy rift, the third part of the story is pretty uneventful. In fact, that in itself is something that you know when reading the story, will only be temporary and it won’t be long before it is reopened. Although the third part is just a huge brawl, I do like it because it breaks up the pace and there are tons of characters which appear, something which attracts my attention. This includes characters such as the Outsiders (who I didn’t know were still going), the Legion of Super-Heroes and the Team Titans, an obscure group of heroes who only were in comics for about three years, before vanishing off the face of the Earth. Anyhow, this part also presents to us the moment where Extant’s transformation is complete, as he absorbs Waverider into him. A good moment of the story, but one that we all saw coming, especially after reading the ending to the previous part. The fourth part of the story is the end of the universe. As simple as that. The Legion die, Batman dies, Booster Gold dies, Impulse dies. They all die. Okay, we know that they will all come back, but still, it’s a great moment at the end of the story where everything fades to white, which was similarly done in Crisis. Actually, maybe this story does take more from Crisis than I first thought. This part features one of my favourite moments and one of my favourite characters ever, the Spectre, who swears to Jay Garrick that he will avenge his death. That is when you know sh*t is about to hit the fan. The real villain of the story is revealed and if you didn’t know that he was the villain, then you are just an idiot. By this point, it is so blindingly obvious that Extant might as well be holding a sign saying that he is Parallax’s puppet. Still, the revelation is an excellent moment and it leads to another of my favourite characters getting involved, Green Arrow. As you are probably aware, Green Lantern and Green Arrow became best friends during the Hard Travelling Heroes saga in the early 1970s by the creative awesomeness of Dennis O’Neil (Rest In Peace) and Neal Adams that addressed various social issues at the time and changed the two main characters. It is great to see that Green Arrow wants his best friend back and he is really the star of the show towards the end. The final part of the story really adds to that, as Green Arrow is the one who drains all of Parallax’s power. The ending of the story is also brilliant, with Green Arrow mourning the death of both Hal Jordan and Batgirl. Speaking of Batgirl, she is another excellent character in the story, as she is just a victim of the dead multiverse. To her, she is a real person with memories and feelings. All she wants is her life back, even though we know that they can never actually happen (there’s a great crossover featuring Batgirl for Zero Hour in Batman 511 by Doug Moench). She and Green Arrow are very similar, since they are the only characters at the eye of the crisis who don’t have any powers. However, this doesn’t make them inferior or irrelevant. In fact, far from it. Batgirl’s death is mourned by all and Green Arrow’s former friendship with Hal Jordan is greatly respected. It wasn’t long after this that Green Arrow died in Green Arrow 101. In the last part, Parallax works incredibly well as the main villain, not because he’s like the generic Extant in wanting to destroy the universe for the sake of it, but because he can make it better. Parallax wants everything he loved to come back, and he wants everybody else to be happy, but as (continued)
Superman and Green Arrow, Parallax has become corrupted from all the power and he acts like a god, making him dangerous. The fight at the end really sees the superheroes divided, with some wanting to fight against Parallax and others wanting to help him. It’s definitely where the story is at its best and the build up to it is great. Lastly, the resolution featuring the Spectre is an obvious masterpiece, since he doesn’t f*ck around and he isn’t afraid to almost murder Parallax. The story itself is tied up nicely at the very end, but it does leave many questions unanswered, like what happened to the Flash. I’m sure that was covered by Mark Waid’s extensive run on The Flash (vol 2). Anyway, that’s is for the positives of the miniseries and while there is more content in the tie-ins, only a select few of them are enjoyable, with most of the others I have read being confusing messes.
Like I mentioned in my review of the prelude to the miniseries, using time-travel as a plot device can be incredibly tricky and dangerous. Not only can you alienate many confused readers by using it in a complex way, but it can often feel unnecessary. This story can often be too confusing by the use of time travelling and the lack of clarity of some aspects of it which Jurgens fails to clear up. An example of that to me is the Vanishing Point. I mean, what is it? I’d never heard of it before reading this story and although its stated to be a place outside of time and space, that’s all we get and nothing else is really said about it. It also doesn’t help that many of the characters linked to it come across as pretty boring and dull. Rip Hunter’s presence in the story makes sense, but he lacks a proper identity. He just seems to get annoyed every so often when Waverider makes one of his usual f*ck ups related to the space-time continuum. As I said before, Waverider is nothing special and it is only when it is revealed that he is a part of Extant when he become slightly more intriguing. However, it isn’t long after that that he disappears and meets his fate, meaning that none of the heroes really understand how important Waverider was to the person they were fighting. That takes me to Extant, who while he is pretty dull, I’m more confused about why he had to be a combined version of Hawk and Dove. I get it that the two characters are the polar opposites and there is something in that, but to make them into gods just seems ridiculous, especially when you read the original Steve Ditko stories featuring the duo, when Hawk was protesting for war and violence and Dove against both of those things. To me, they are funny joke characters and there is nothing else you can do with them. That is why I’m so baffled about why they were chosen. Surely, there were better choices that could have been made. In terms of the other flaws, I actually can’t think of anything else. I don’t really understand why this story gets the hate that it sometimes gets. Is it the confusing time-travelling? Is it that the more I realise, this story is VERY similar to Crisis? Or is it just that the mid-1990s were a bad time for many comic book fans and that some of the newer characters just seemed half-assed? You tell me.
As a penciller, I would say that Jurgens was much more skilled at that than writing. Although his writing had certainly improved up until this point, I think his art is better as it reminds me of George Perez. Crowd scenes featuring an army of superheroes look incredible, the actual storytelling is dramatic and impactful and thanks to Jerry Ordway’s excellent inks, the overall finishing looks incredible. Its safe to say that Jurgens and Ordway are well suited to doing giant crossovers such as this. However, the criticism I have of the art is the same criticism I usually have of Perez, which is that I sometimes think it lacks style and Jurgens’s art isn’t exactly distinctive. I would agree that Perez’s page layouts are more inventive, but to me, they both lack a sense of identity. But, like I said, they are great artists to do crowds scenes, so they definitely have an advantage there. Lastly, as this is from 1994, the colouring by Gregory Wright (who usually works better on darker artists like Kelley Jones and Tim Sale) can look rather glossy, particularly in bright scenes. Although its not bad, you can certainly begin to see the change in comic book colouring.
Story: 8/10
Art: 9/10
VERDICT
Overall, Zero Hour: Crisis in Time is rather underrated. I think, despite its rather confusing storytelling thanks to Jurgens’s use of time travel, is a very enjoyable read full of action, great characters and many memorable moments that effected the DC Universe for the next decade until Infinite Crisis. Sure, Extant can be a pretty dull villain and other characters like Waverider also feel rather underdeveloped. I can see why people would dislike this story, but I just don’t. The story’s pacing is very fast because of the action and the many shocks which occur throughout. There is a wide array of interesting characters, some of whom are unfortunate victims of the 1990s, particularly in their designs. The art by Jurgens and Ordway looks great and fits perfectly with this type of story. Lastly, the short prelude adds some background to the story and while it may have a few problems, it still works well and is a good feature.
Well, that’s it for 75 posts and although I have no idea how many more there will be, I can tell that the 100th post will be the follow up to both this story and Crisis on Infinite Earths, that story being Infinite Crisis, by Geoff Johns, Phil Jimenez, George Perez and many more. Until then!
Stories: 7.5/10
Art: 8.5/10
Next Week: The Coming of The Supermen (The Coming of The Supermen 1-6). Written by Neal Adams and Tony Bedard with art by Neal Adams, Buzz and Josh Adams. Expected by 28/06/2020.
Comments