ZERO HOUR FAQ Frequently-Asked Questions about Zero Hour: Crisis in Time Version 2.40 15 August 1994 INTRODUCTION: This FAQ gives comic-book readers an introduction to the events surrounding Zero Hour: Crisis in Time. This FAQ tries to keep new readers from wondering about the background information. Many of the time- manipulations involved with Zero Hour are quite complex, and this FAQ only serves to provide an introduction and enough information for readers to better understand the stories. In contrast to the bedlam leading up to this Crisis in Time, DC is trying to make the Zero Hour story itself easily understood by all readers. This FAQ, however, should help readers gain further appreciation for the many story elements brought together for this momentous occasion. Much of the time-travel and alternate realities leading up to Zero Hour can be quite confusing. New and casual comics readers may be baffled rather than enlightened by reading this entire FAQ. Thus, I suggest that newcomers to the DC Universe read the following questions first: Q1, Q19, Q26, Q27, and Q28. Skim the other questions and read them as the appropriate events and characters are mentioned in Zero Hour and related comics. Questions relevant to the first week of Zero Hour include Q3, Q6, Q13, Q15, Q21, and Q25. Additional questions relevant to week two include Q4, Q11 and Q12. Week three questions include Q17. Additional questions for week four include Q5, Q7, Q9, Q14, and Q16. Long-time DC readers are less likely to be confused by reading the entire FAQ. DATE: All information is accurate as of 15 August 1994. Some details may change as more aftereffects are revealed during Zero Month. Postings will be monthly through the end of Zero Month. TERMINOLOGY: "Comic" means comic book. ALL CAPS are used in lieu of italics to indicate a title; a "title" is a series of comics under the same published title (e.g., ACTION COMICS). LEGAL DISCLAIMER: Most characters mentioned herein are trademarks of DC Comics. Mention of these characters in this document is without permission of DC Comics, but said use is not intended to challenge DC's trademark rights or copyrights. Readers who want to learn more about the characters and events described herein are encouraged to purchase the comic books. The author strongly suggests that this document be distributed free of charge. AUTHORSHIP: This FAQ was compiled and maintained by David T. Chappell. It is based primarily on his memory of DC stories with the assistance of various comics and books that he possesses. This FAQ also incorporates suggestions and passages by various readers. Comments, suggestions, and corrections may be sent via Internet e-mail to davidc@leland.stanford.edu. In addition, special thanks go to the following contributors: Ken Arromdee (arromdee@blaze.cs.jhu.edu) Doug Atkinson Mark Billian (billian@leland.stanford.edu) Andy Crispino (fromme@leland.stanford.edu) Daniel Cruz Ramirez (danielc@rmece47.upr.clu.edu) Richard F. Dutt (rdutt@mksol.dseg.ti.com) Thomas Y. Galloway (tyg@valhalla.hq.ileaf.com) Chris M. Gumprich (umgumpri@cc.UManitoba.ca) Karsten A. Loepelmann (kloepel@psych.ualberta.ca) David Markowitz (dmarkowi@sas.upenn.edu) Dave Schaumann (dave@cs.arizona.edu) Aaron Michael Severson (severson@chaph.usc.edu) Rik Spruitenburg (smb147@psuvm.psu.edu) Peter John Williams (u9166157@uow.edu.au) Jason (J628471W@vax.edinboro.edu) Other readers are encouraged to help fill in the missing details and flush out several questions. Portions of this FAQ are taken (with permission) from the Legion of Super-Heroes FAQ (by Doug Atkinson) and the rec.arts.comics FAQ (by Thomas Galloway). The r.a.c. FAQ is posted each month to rec.arts.comics.info as well as a weekly post to all r.a.c. newsgroups as to how to obtain it by FTP and e-mail. In addition to Zero Hour, it has much more information about other commonly asked questions, r.a.c. customs, and general nettiquette and comics net.resources. AVAILABILITY: This FAQ is posted regularly to Internet newsgroups (e.g., rec.arts.comics.info) and ftp sites (e.g., ftp.dhhalden.no). Permission is granted to distribute the FAQ in its entirety and without modification as long as such is done without charge. For other use beyond that appropriate for using other resource material, please contact the author for prior permission. David requests that anyone posting the FAQ to another major computer network contact him. Although this FAQ is available for free, readers who wish to encourage David to continue his comic-book contributions to Internet may donate a dollar to P. O. Box 8285, Stanford, CA 94309-8285. ************* * CONTENTS: * ************* I. QUESTIONS (+ revised question, * new question since last version) Q1: What was the Crisis (Crisis on Infinite Earths) ? Q2: What continuity problems were introduced by the Crisis? Q3: Who is Vandal Savage? Q4: Who are the JSA (Justice Society of America) ? Q5: Who is Hal Jordan (Parallax) ? Q6: Who are the New Gods? Q7: Who are the Time Foes? Q8: Who is Rip Hunter? Q9: Who is Booster Gold? Q10: What was the Armageddon (Armageddon 2001) ? Q11: Who is Monarch? Q12: Is Monarch still alive? Q13: Who is Waverider? Q14: Who is Matthew Ryder? Q15: Who are the Linear Men? Q16: Who are the members of the Linear Men? Q17: Who are the Team Titans? Q18: Who is Valor? Q19: Who are the Legion of Super-Heroes (LSH) ? Q20: What are the various alternate realities according to the LSH? Q21: Who is the Time Trapper? Q22: Who is Glorith? Q23: Who is Mordru? Q24: Who is the Infinite Man? Q25: Who is Abra Kadabra? Q26: Who is Extant? Q27: What is Zero Hour (Crisis in Time) ? Q28: What is Zero Month? II. LIST OF MAJOR CHARACTER COMIC APPEARANCES + LINEAR MEN MONARCH III. OFFICIAL ZERO HOUR COMIC LIST + LEAD-IN STORIES + MINI-SERIES and TIE-IN ISSUES ZERO MONTH ************************** *** PART I: QUESTIONS *** ************************** The questions below are presented in rough "chronological" order. Q1: What was the Crisis? A1: The Crisis on Infinite Earths was a major event in DC stories. In 1985, the 50th anniversary of DC Comics was highlighted by a comic-book maxi-series, CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, which included all of DC's heroes and also had crossovers in most DC titles. Prior to the Crisis, DC explained the existence of many heroes in different times by having multiple universes. On Earth-1, for example, all the major heroes were in their prime in modern times, whereas the Earth-2 heroes were in their prime during the 1940s. This explained how Superman stories from both WWII and today show him at roughly the same age. In the Crisis on Infinite Earths, an evil force (the Anti-Monitor) tried to destroy the multiverse, but a good force (the Monitor) saved five universes while the major heroes battled the Anti-Monitor. During the Crisis, the skies turned red, and the Anti-Monitor's shadow demons followed his evil will. The Earths were in temporal flux as pockets of the past, present, and future crossed together. Dinosaurs roamed the 20th century, and humans from various eras found themselves transported through time. Finally, the Monitor combined the few surviving universes into one while the heroes defeated the Anti-Monitor. Several heroes, including the second Flash (Barry Allen), lost their lives to save the universe. Afterwards, everyone in the universe forgot about the events of the Crisis and everything proceeded as though there had only ever been one Earth. In the modern story, the one and only Superman arrived on Earth a few decades ago, and other heroes (mystery men) existed during WWII. The entire Crisis story is much more detailed than presented here, and interested readers are encouraged to read other Internet Crisis discussions or read the comic books. The Crisis affected some characters (e.g., Superman, Wonder Woman) strongly, while others (e.g., Batman) remained mostly the same. Q2: What continuity problems were introduced by the Crisis? A2: One major question is who remembers the Crisis. Immediately afterwards, all heroes from the battle at the Dawn of Time recalled the pre-Crisis universe, but they eventually forgot everything. In the end, the few characters who remember everything are the Psycho-Pirate, Pariah, and the Linear Men (see Q15). [From the rec.arts.comics FAQ by Thomas Galloway:] The "Crisis" effectively revamped the entire DC Universe by merging several universes (containing the various DC characters) into a single universe (whose history is still somewhat unclear in parts). The Crisis was used as an opportunity to change DC history retroactively, including the remaking of several main DC characters. Thus people refer to the "post- Crisis" Superman, Wonder Woman, etc., as distinct from the "pre-Crisis" versions who existed on "Earth-1" or "Earth-2." The confusion *really* begins because the revamping and "retconning" didn't all take place in the Crisis limited series itself, nor in the comics immediately after then. If DC had simply started all their series over from scratch, thing would have been pretty straightforward. Instead, they declared the Pre-Crisis history to be implicitly intact, until and unless they could explicitly create the new, post-Crisis versions of characters and histories. Thus, new changes are still being made in titles today, more than half a decade later. So, for example, the "old" Hawkman appeared in the "new" Justice League. Then Timothy Truman began writing HAWKWORLD, which retconned Hawkman's character; among other changes, Hawkman "now" arrived on Earth much later. *So*, the Hawkman who appeared in the new Justice League comic (call him the Silver Age Hawkman, or the pre-Crisis Hawkman) "now" (in real world time) "no longer exists, and never has" (within current DC continuity). But then the creators realized the problem, so they said that most of the Silver Age Hawkman appearances in JLA were actually by the Golden Age Hawkman, and a new Hawkman was created whose purpose was to satisfy those few JLA appearances made after the GA Hawkman was known to have been MIA. Confused yet? Suffice it to say, the way DC handled the Crisis and its aftermath confuses *lots* of readers and provides a perennial topic of discussion on r.a.c.misc. Zero Hour (see Q27) is said to be an attempt to "fix" problems caused by Crisis, but we'll see. Zero Hour is supposed to "fix" Crisis continuity problems, and writer Dan Jurgens has announced that part of the McGuffin for Zero Hour is that Crisis actually didn't end, and all continuity problems since have been symptoms of this. It's a retcon, but it could work. Q3: Who is Vandal Savage? A3: Vandal Savage, the Immortal, is a recurrent villain with selfish, world- conquering motives. He was a barbarian born in prehistoric days. Exposure to a strange meteor granted him immortality. Over the thousands of years of his life, Vandal has often subtly influenced the history of mankind. The TIME MASTERS series explained that Vandal formed a vast international conspiracy called the Illuminati. Rip Hunter (see Q8) became convinced that the Illuminati was responsible for a nuclear war in the mid- 21st century. Hunter set out to thwart the Illuminati's plans and assembled a team of volunteers to use his time travel methods, but they failed to stop Vandal and the Illuminati. Vandal Savage has appeared in multiple Zero Hour lead-in stories, and he plays a minor role in Zero Hour itself. While not directly involved in the space-time continuum, Vandal's immortality makes him a different sort of time traveler. Q4: Who are the JSA? A4: The Justice Society of America is the first superhero team. They appeared in ALL-STAR COMICS in the Golden Age of comics and returned in the Silver Age as Earth-2 characters often appearing in Justice League crossovers. After the Crisis (see Q1), they were sent into limbo in the LAST DAYS OF THE JUSTICE SOCIETY Special; they came back in ARMAGEDDON: INFERNO #3 (see Q10). The Justice Society's history and continuity are intimately tied to the World War II era. Because comic book time passes slowly compared to real time, the start of the history of Silver Age and modern characters keeps getting pushed forward, while the JSA remains tied to the 1940s. By now, the JSA members, compared to newer characters, are so old that the age difference has become a continuity problem. (A partial attempt to solve this problem was made in ALL-STAR SQUADRON Annual #3 in the 1980s, which had the JSA "absorb time" from a villain in order to give them a slower aging rate.) Members of the JSA include the Flash (Jay Garrick), Green Lantern (Alan Scott), Dr. Fate (Kent Nelson), Hawkman and Hawkgirl (Carter & Shiera Hall), Wildcat (Ted Grant), Hourman (Rex Tyler), Johnny Thunder, Starman (Ted Knight), the Sandman (Wesley Dodds), Dr. Mid-Nite (Charles McNider), Atom (Al Pratt), and the Spectre (Jim Corrigan). In several cases, later Silver Age heroes took the names of the original JSA heroes Zero Hour dealt with the JSA "with some degree of finality." Several heroes died battling Extant, and the rest retired. Q5: Who is Hal Jordan? A5: A former Green Lantern (GL) of Earth, Hal Jordan was one of the founding members of the Justice League of America. A dying alien named Abin Sur passed on his GL ring to test pilot Hal Jordan. After using the ring's powers to fight crime on Earth--especially in his hometown of Coast City, California--he learned of the Guardians of the Universe who had created the Green Lanterns to be intergalactic peace officers. For years, Hal served as the Green Lantern of sector 2814 and was eventually recognized as the greatest of the Green Lanterns. After the destruction of Coast City (in the "Reign of the Supermen" story line), things began to drastically change for Hal. He tried to use his GL ring to bring back the dead, but when the Guardians objected, Hal raced to their home planet of Oa to confront them. As revealed in the "Emerald Twilight" and "Emerald Fallout" stories (from GREEN LANTERN and GUY GARDNER: WARRIOR, respectively), the crazed Hal Jordan killed many Green Lanterns and the Guardians as well. Hal now possesses all the energy of the Guardians and the main power battery, and he has taken the name Parallax. His ultimate plan is to bring back Coast City. Q6: Who are the New Gods? A6: The New Gods are a race of super-human beings that are the virtual descendants of the Olympian ("old") gods. Highfather leads the "good" New Gods from the paradise planet New Genesis, and Darkseid rules the "evil" New Gods on the hellish world of Apokolips. Both worlds are in an alternate dimension accessible only via Boom Tubes and similar methods. Darkseid is thoroughly evil and seeks conquest and the Anti-Life Equation. Metron of the New Gods observes events and studies time, but he occasionally intervenes on the cause of good. His chair can teleport him through time and space. Other good New Gods include Lightray and Orion, who is Highfather's adoptive son. While Metron plays an important role in Zero Hour, the other New Gods play only cameo roles. Q7: Who are the Time Foes? A7: The Time Foes are four super-villains from the late 20th century: Clock King (William Tockman), Time Commander (John Starr), Calendar Man (Julian Day), and Chronos (David Clinton). While the other three villains simply had a time motif for their crimes, the Time Commander could actually control the flow of time. Chronos has also experienced time travel. The criminals' main enemies are: Clock King--Green Arrow; Time Commander--JLA; Calendar Man-- Batman; and Chronos--the Atom. The four villains operated independently until a recent story in TEAM TITANS (#13-14). Under the auspices of mysterious employers referred to as "the committee," the Calendar Man broke the other three criminals out of prison. The group attempted to retrieve the Time Commander's hourglass and magic sand. They planned to use it to travel through time with the apparent goal of world domination. The Team Titans (see Q17) stopped them, however, and the group was arrested. During the battle, there was apparently some form of time distortion involving Chronos (#14, p.17). A later issue (TEAM TITANS #19) revealed that Lazarium, a villain from the future, had hired the "2000 Committee," a group dedicated to ruling the world by the year 2000, to form the Time Foes. Lazarium had hoped to gain the Time Commander's hourglass so that he could use its time manipulating abilities, but the Team Titans defeated him. The Time Foes play a role in a Zero Hour tie-in (SHOWCASE '94 #10). Q8: Who is Rip Hunter? A8: Rip Hunter, Time Master, is a 20th century scientist who is an expert in time travel. Dr. Ripley "Rip" Hunter has long been fascinated with time travel. After receiving his Ph.D. in engineering from MIT, he took a job at the now-defunct Booster Gold Institute (BGI). There, he developed his first time machine. Rip Hunter created the time bubble as well as a backpack which can transport people though time. While working for BGI, Dr. Hunter helped Booster Gold briefly return to the 25th Century. He has most recently been seen in TIME MASTERS. In these stories, it was established that any method of time travel could only be used once by each person. This stress on the body was just too much to handle for normal folks. This is why the Linear Men have artificial parts. At the end of the TIME MASTERS mini-series, Rip was stranded in the days of prehistoric man. Since he is one of the Linear Men (see Q15, Q16), Hunter plays a role in Zero Hour. Even before he joined the Linear Men, Rip Hunter was a major time-related character in the DC Universe. Q9: Who is Booster Gold? A9: Booster Gold is a self-made super-hero from Earth's 25th century (circa 2462 A.D.). He worked as a guard at a museum that held several items from the future, and he stole Rip Hunter's time bubble to travel back in time to the 20th century and make himself into a hero. For a while, Booster had his own comic series, and he is now a member of the Justice League. The robot he brought along (Skeets) has acknowledged that history recorded a Booster Gold in the 20th century. The Linear Men have said Booster Gold is "actually essential to the evolution of man." A footnote implies that this is in reference to the Millennium (which IMHO is not "essential"). In the recent "Judgment Day" story line (see Part III), Booster recalls a major event in which he helped the Justice League save the Earth. Q10: What was the Armageddon? A10: Armageddon 2001 was a story set in 1991 wherein a hero from 40 years in the future tried to change the time-stream. In an alternate future, a super- hero turned evil and became the tyrannical conqueror of Earth. Monarch (see Q11) conquered the world in 2001 by killing all other super-heroes. In the year 2030, scientists learned how to travel back in time. Matthew Ryder hoped to change history, and when he volunteered to be a time-travel subject, he turned into Waverider (see Q13), As Waverider, he returned to 1991 and scanned each hero's possible futures to find out which hero would eventually become Monarch. After the scientists in 2030 determined that Ryder survived the time travel, Monarch followed him into the time stream. At the end of the story, Hawk killed the future Monarch and was revealed to later become Monarch. Waverider apparently succeeded in his mission, and his future time- line apparently ceased to exist. A stand-alone comic, ARMAGEDDON 2001 #1, set the stage for the main story. The DC annuals from 1991 all contain Waverider's encounters with each hero. ARMAGEDDON 2001 #2 then had the showdown with Monarch. The story continued in the mini-series ARMAGEDDON: THE ALIEN AGENDA, wherein Monarch and Captain Atom hopped through time trying to stop an alien invasion and each other. The last issue (#4) of THE ALIEN AGENDA promised a new Captain Atom series that would continue the story with Monarch and the alien invaders, but the series never materialized. Capt. Atom rejoined the JLA and acted as if nothing had ever happened. We have not seen how the present-day Hawk/Monarch survived the nuclear blast. A third Armageddon mini-series followed, but ARMAGEDDON: INFERNO included only Waverider and not Monarch. The story centered on an evil demon's attempt to conquer all of time and space after Waverider's initial time travel weakened the time stream. The only important result is that the Justice Society of America (JSA) returned to Earth afterwards (see Q4). Q11: Who is Monarch? A11: Monarch is the conqueror of Earth in an alternate future. He was one of the world's greatest super-heroes in 1991, but by 2001 he had become evil and conquered Earth. In that future, Monarch was absolute ruler of the world and ushered in a dark time of imposed order. ARMAGEDDON 2001 #2 revealed Monarch to be Hawk (Hank Hall). The story unveils a time loop wherein Hawk became Monarch only because of the actions of the future Monarch. After witnessing the murder of his partner Dove, Hawk grew angry, killed his future self, took the costume, and became Monarch himself. Incidentally, DC originally intended that Captain Atom be Monarch, but they made a last-minute change when someone leaked the story. Monarch wears a set of black, gray, and yellow armor that covers his entire body so that only his eyes show through. His suit of armor can teleport him. Q12: Is Monarch still alive? A12: Though Hawk killed Monarch (his future self) in ARMAGEDDON 2001 #2, Monarch is still alive. In SUPERMAN #61, Hunter admits that "Monarch is still ali--." Though the Linear Men exist outside of time, he is clearly meaning that Monarch exists even after the Armageddon events. In TEAM TITANS #20, it was revealed that Monarch does still exist and has been manipulating other time-streams to ensure that his potential enemies never come to power. Meanwhile, the more "recent" Monarch (Hank from after the ARMAGEDDON: THE ALIEN AGENDA series) certainly still lives. The "Sum: Zero" story in SHOWCASE '94 #8-9 shows that he had been gaining knowledge of chronal technology and planning to recreate his future. When he realized the true extent of his powers, Monarch became Extant (see Q26). Q13: Who is Waverider? A13: Waverider is the Matthew Ryder of a future that no longer exists. Once a brilliant human scientist, he is now a being of pure energy who can travel the time-stream at will. He sacrificed his humanity to an experiment and allowed his body to be transformed into sentient energy. Ryder became Waverider in an attempt to stop Monarch (see Q10, Q11) so that the future world would be free of his despotism. Waverider has the ability to ride the currents of time and read the time stream. With a device he got from the Linear Men, he can now go to any point in time and freeze time completely. Waverider manifests himself as a man clothed in yellow and black with flaming hair. Q14: Who is Matthew Ryder? A14: There are two versions of Matthew Ryder from different time streams. Both Ryders earned doctorate degrees in quantum physics at Metropolis University. While Waverider worked for Monarch, the "other" Ryder did time- travel experiments for LexCorp. While Ryder was working with Dr. Hunter (see Q8), an experiment blew them out of the time stream, and they founded the Linear Men. That Ryder "is more important to time than" Waverider is. In an attempt to avoid confusion, this document refers to the Matthew Ryder who became Waverider as "Waverider" and the Ryder who leads the Linear Men as "Ryder." Interestingly enough, recent events in Superman comics show that the history of Matthew Ryder is unlikely to occur as reported in SUPERMAN #73. That story shows him working for Lex Luthor, Jr., but the downfall of Luthor seems to have changed that history. Thus, both Ryders come from futures that no longer exist. The Linear Man Ryder usually wears purple robes that almost resemble those of the Time Trapper. Q15: Who are the Linear Men? A15: The Linear Men are a group of time-travelers who first appeared in Superman comics. All Linear Men have sworn a "linear oath" that includes vows of noninterference. The Linear Men must sacrifice parts of their bodies to travel through time, and cybernetic implants replace lost organic parts. The Linear Men originally meant to keep their existence secret, but now Waverider, Superman, and Valor know about them. As explained by Matthew Ryder, the Linear Men are "dedicated to guarding the linear sanctity of the time stream. History is a sequential series of events that must fall perfectly in place...leading to 'the end.' To disturb that order is to invite the unimaginable. Above all else, achieving 'the end' is our concern" Later, he again states that "'the end' always justifies the means!" (SUPERMAN #61, Nov.91) Waverider later explains that "the Linear Men seek only to protect the time-stream" He and the other Linear Men "exist outside the time-stream-- able to look into any moment through windows that access the ages. Time is our subject of study, its orderly flow our mandate. We are guardians of sorts, ensuring that time's passage shall never be disrupted." (DOOMSDAY #2) Vanishing Point, the headquarters of the Linear Men, exists outside the time-stream. From there, the Linear Men can observe all points in time. Q16: Who are the members of the Linear Men? A16: The original Linear Men include Dr. Matthew Ryder, Liri Lee, Dr. Hunter, and an unnamed "rogue member." Dr. Ryder and Dr. Hunter performed time experiments that led to the group's formation, and Liri is Dr. Ryder's wife. The "rogue member" died while ensuring that the Earth's moon would explode as recorded by history. Waverider later became a member. According to the WHO'S WHO Vol.2, '93 Update #2 entry for the Linear Men, one former member was adventurer Travis O'Connell; he is apparently the "rogue member." The same Who's Who entry also confirms that "Ryder's former mentor Rip Hunter" (see Q8) is indeed a Linear Man. Q17: Who are the Team Titans? A17: The Team Titans are a group of heroes from an alternate future. They first appeared in the NEW TITANS Annual #7 (1991). In that issue, Waverider looked into the future of the New Titans and found that only Nightwing was still alive, and he was part of a number of Titans teams. Unlike the other Armageddon stories, the events therein seemed to spawn an alternate future that had repercussions in the modern day. In that future, Donna Troy's child had godlike powers, and he became the evil Lord Chaos who conquered the Earth. Lord Chaos practically enslaved the populace of the Earth, but a few brave heroes fought him. A mysterious figure known as "the leader" organized many independent groups of heroes under the name "Titans." The leader eventually discovered a method to travel through time, and in 2001 he sent many Titans teams into the past to try to kill Donna Troy before she gave birth to Lord Chaos. When the Team Titans finally reached their goal, Lord Chaos followed them into the past. In this reality, however, Donna Troy's child did not have the powers of the Greek gods, and Lord Chaos was defeated. As the Team Titans continued to live in the 20th century, they slowly learned that other events differed between their history and the current time line. Acknowledging that they were misplaced in time, the Team Titans eventually tried to return to their future, but they could not since it no longer exists (TEAM TITANS #20, May 94). The same issue reveals the true identity of the Team Titans' Leader on pages 24-25: "'600 young men and women [...] knew me simply as ... the Leader. [...] I sent the [...] Titans back into time, charged with disrupting the course of events that would lead to the birth of my great enemy, Lord Chaos. [...] I wait patiently, watching the waves erase an unmeasurable [sic] number of lifeforms, cultures, and events replacing them with an equal number of alternatives. The ripples of time crash down on me [...] But I will not be moved.' "With a thought, he is gone, transcending the reality he has newly created, [...] he is pleased. The mission has been accomplished. The countdown to Zero Hour has begun." The entity is none other than Monarch--last seen in the Armageddon stories (see Q8, Q11). This leads to the following conclusion: in the uncorrupted timestream, Lord Chaos comes to power, as evidenced in the futures of the Team Titans. Monarch, however, sends them back to prevent the birth of Lord Chaos. They succeed, and now it is Monarch who rises to power as shown in ARMAGEDDON 2001. Since it had been previously stated that the leader was one of the original Titans, the revelation fits the idea that Hawk was Monarch. Because Monarch did not directly appear in the NEW TITANS Armageddon 2001 Annual, it is possible that the leader's identity had been planned all along. At face value, however, DC seems to have changed the leader's identity behind the scenes to fit the Zero Hour story. Though their originally stated purpose was to fight Lord Chaos, Monarch clearly had other uses for his Titans. In ZERO HOUR #3, Extant (formerly Monarch, see Q26) summoned the Team Titans and controlled them to fight the good heroes. When one group of heroes succeeded in saving their future and destroying the Team Titans' future, the Titans faded since their past no longer existed. Q18: Who is Valor? A18: Valor (real name Lar Gand) is a Daxamite hero who adopted Earth as his home. The natives of the planet Daxam gain super powers in a yellow-star system (similar to Superman) but suffer from a fatal allergy to lead. His father died in an effort to save Earth in the Invasion, and Valor decided to see what his father had sacrificed himself for. Lar Gand was an adventurer, and he decided to use his powers for good. After obtaining an antidote to his allergy to lead from L.E.G.I.O.N. leader Vril Dox II, Valor worked as a hero on Earth and elsewhere in the galaxy. He eventually freed many enslaved peoples from the Dominators (an alien race); they populated many worlds around Earth that later (30th century) formed the United Planets (LEGION OF SUPER- HEROES Vol.4 Annual #2--1991). Later, Valor's lead-poisoning antidote wore off, and he had to spend one thousand years in the Twilight Dimension before a permanent antidote was developed. Brainiac 5 of the Legion of Super-Heroes (see Q19) then cured Valor, and he joined the Legion. Since VALOR #13, the series has been tied into the Zero Hour story. Young Valor's lead-poisoning serum wore off, and he died before fulfilling his destiny and entering the Twilight Dimension. Luckily, the Legionnaire Valor >from the 30th century (see Q19) was present, and he is attempting to replace his younger self. The continuity problems caused by Valor's death seem to be leading directly into Zero Hour. Historical Note: The character Valor is the modern incarnation of the pre-Crisis Mon-El, and the current Twilight Dimension corresponds to the pre- Crisis Phantom Zone. The Twilight Dimension has also been known as