| For the Flashpoint Timeline version of this event, see Black Zero Event. |
- "That awful day Metropolis—and the entire world—came under attack by an armada of alien Kryptonians. Beings of incredible power that no normal human could hope to match. It might have been the end of us all if not for Superman."
- ―Reporter[src]
The Black Zero Event, also known as the Battle of Metropolis, was a conflict that took place between the Sword of Rao, led by General Dru-Zod, and the United States Air Force, who were backed by Superman. The battle resulted in an innumerable amount of destruction throughout the city of Metropolis. All members of the Sword of Rao were sent back to the Phantom Zone, along with a small number of humans; however, their leader, Zod, survived and was eventually killed by Superman.
Background[]
- "Does Kal-El need to be alive for us to extract the codex from his cells?"
"No."
"Release the World Engine." - ―Dru-Zod and Jax-Ur[src]
While searching for his origins, Kal-El found an ancient Scout Ship on Earth that had been frozen for centuries. Upon entering it, Kal-El accidentally activated a distress beacon, which was detected by General Dru-Zod and the Sword of Rao aboard the Black Zero. Zod and his allies quickly set course for Earth, in order to ask Kal-El to join them in delivering the Growth Codex so that they could turn the planet into a new Krypton.
Zod orders to release the World Engine.
However, after learning of Zod's evil plans, Kal-El refused to be a part of his plan, opposing the idea of wiping out humanity even if it meant reviving his own people. Because of this, Kal-El and Zod engaged in a battle from the Black Zero in space to Smallville, where the United States Air Force helped Superman drive them away. Defeated, Zod, after learning that the Codex was encoded in Kal-El's cells, decided to begin the process of terraforming, sending the Black Zero to Metropolis and a World Engine to the Indian Ocean.[1]
Battle[]
Black Zero Event[]
- "Looks like some kind of gravity weapon. It works in tandem with their ship. Somehow, they're increasing the Earth's mass and clouding the atmosphere with particles... Oh my God... they're terraforming."
- ―Emil Hamilton[src]
The Black Zero appears over Metropolis.
The Black Zero appeared over Metropolis as the World Engine was sent into the Indian Ocean, parallel to it on the other side of planet Earth. Both were activated, sending gravity pulses across the planet, causing immense destruction to the surrounding area, while increasing the mass and density of the planet. The first pulse was powerful enough to shatter windows, lift cars, and destroy air vehicles. The following pulses did the most damage, lifting objects and people into the air before slamming them into the ground with incredible force.
However, Emil Hamilton quickly discovered that it was a terraformation technique that would turn Earth into Krypton. Fortunately, Kal-El arrived at the military base with the Kryptonian ship that had brought him to Earth, telling them that they could create a singularity to absorb the Black Zero if they had their Phantom Drive collide with the one aboard the Black Zero. Nathan Hardy proposed that they take the ship from a C-17, with Kal-El informing them that he would leave everything in their hands, as he was going to try to destroy the indian ocean's world engine.[1]
Meanwhile, Barry Allen, who had recently gained superhuman speed after an accident at Central City Research Center, was present during the disaster in a homemade suit. He tried to use his speed to save a boy named Danny and his father Tony from one of the gravity pulses, but he was unable to reach Tony and was only able to save Danny, fleeing the disaster with the boy.[2]
Zod's Retaliation[]
- "I will harvest the codex from your son's corpse, and I will rebuild Krypton atop his bones."
- ―Dru-Zod to Jor-El[src]
After leaving Faora-Ul in charge, Dru-Zod traveled to the Scout Ship in the Arctic, where he finally managed to channel his new super-enhanced senses, before entering the ship. There, Zod was about to insert a new Command Key when the artificial consciousness of Jor-El pleaded with him to stop, convincing him to achieve coexistence with humanity. Zod refused, vowing to rebuild Krypton over his son's corpse, before erasing his old friend's consciousness. Zod subsequently took command of the ship and flew to Metropolis.[1]
Wayne observes the Black Zero's attack.
At the same time, Bruce Wayne arrived in Metropolis from a Wayne Enterprises helicopter, watching the Black Zero destroy the city. Quickly, Wayne contacted his worker Jack O'Dwyer, ordering him to evacuate all personnel out of the Wayne Tower.[3] Meanwhile, the United States Air Force's attack on the Black Zero was proved ineffective due to the impenetrable gravitational field surrounding the ship, sending its missiles off course into the city, causing even more destruction, such as a building collapsing.
Superman destroys the World Engine.
Eventually, Superman arrived to the World Engine in the Indian Ocean, and immediately began to feel the effects of the engine's process. Upon his arrival, the world engine activated its defense mechanism, materializing Liquid Geo into massive tentacles that attacked Superman. Despite his efforts to destroy it, Superman was eventually overwhelmed by the engine and thrown into its gravity beam. Wounded, Superman managed to get up, and flew through the engine, breaking it and causing the beam shared between the world engine and the Black Zero to disappear, and he now decided to return to Metropolis to help.[1]
Destruction of the Black Zero[]
- "A good death is its own reward."
- ―Nathan Hardy to Faora-Ul[src]
Superman takes down the Scout Ship.
The United States Air Force continued their attack on the Black Zero, however, they hit a setback when Lois Lane was unable to activate the Phantom Drive, as the House of El Command Key would not fit into the craft's console slot. Suddenly, they were then attacked by the Scout Ship piloted by Dru-Zod. Before Zod could shoot down the C-17, however, Superman intervened, entering and damaging the ship. Before using his heat vision, Zod pleaded with Kal-El not to do it, claiming that it would destroy Krypton. Kal-El, however, claimed that Krypton had already had its chance, before firing its heat vision, causing the ship to crash down and fall on the city.
The Black Zero is sucked into the Phantom Zone.
Seeing the C-17 approaching, Faora-Ul abandoned the Black Zero and boarded the C-17, beginning to quickly and cruelly murder everyone on board. Nathan Hardy flew her away, while Emil Hamilton managed to fix the problem with the command key, finally activating the Phantom Drive. Faora then prepared to kill Hardy, before he steered the plane straight towards the Black Zero, but not before repeating her words "a good death is its own reward". When the plane collided with the Black Zero, a singularity was created, and sucked both ships into the Phantom Zone, including the entire Sword of Rao.
After emerging from the wreckage, Kal-El saw Lane fall from the plane and rushed to her rescue, all the while trying to get away from the singularity to avoid being sucked in. Back on the ground, Kal-El brought Lane to safety along with Perry White, Steve Lombard, and Jenny Jurwich. Unexpectedly, Lane began kissing him, claiming that "everything goes downfall after the first kiss," but Kal-El claimed that this expression only applied to kissing a human. Suddenly, Zod emerged from the rubble still alive.[1]
Final Duel against Zod[]
- "Look at this. We could have built a new Krypton in this squalor, but you chose the humans over us. I exist only to protect Krypton. That is the sole purpose for which I was born. And every action I take, no matter how violent or how cruel, is for the greater good of my people. And now, I have no people! My soul... that is what you have taken FROM ME!"
- ―Dru-Zod to Kal-El[src]
_Zod_using_eye_vision.gif){kind=link}
Zod destroys the Wayne Tower.
Enraged, Dru-Zod expressed his hatred towards Kal-El for preventing him from fulfilling his mission, and attacked him, vowing to wipe out all of humanity. With that, the two opponents engaged in a fight, with Zod throwing Kal-El into the Wayne Tower.[1] As Zod arrived at the same location as well, he used his heat vision to tear the building apart until it finally collapsed, killing Jack O'Dwyer and a few others still in the building. As Zod fled, Superman quickly flew out of the collapsing building to pursue him. As he watched this, a horrified Bruce Wayne witnessed the scene on a nearby street, and as his tower crumbled, he fearlessly ran into the ruins, desperate to try and save as many as he could.[3]
Continuing the fight, Zod told Superman that their fight would only end when one of them died. Eventually, Zod scrapped and teared off his armor and displayed his newfound ability to fly. The brutal fight continued to take place in the skies above the city, eventually reaching into space.[1] Meanwhile, Wayne found Wallace Keefe trapped under some rubble. Despite pulling him out, he eventually lost his legs, before Wayne saved a little girl before a wall collapsed on top of her. After questioning her mother's whereabouts, Wayne hugged the little girl as he bitterly watched the fight between the two Kryptonians.[3]
_Superman_kills_Zod.gif){kind=link}
In space, Zod destroyed a Wayne Enterprises satellite to push it towards Superman, before immediately returning to Metropolis. The two landed in Metropolis Central Station, where Superman managed to catch Zod, hanging him by the neck. Refusing to accept defeat, Zod attempted to incinerate a nearby family with his heat vision, despite Superman's pleadings to stop. After realizing that Zod would never stop, Superman, left with no other options, was forced to make the difficult decision to snap Zod's neck, killing him instantly. Immediately afterward, Superman, grieving that he had become a killer, let out a cry of anguish and embraced Lois Lane who came to comfort him.[1]
Aftermath[]
Consequences on Metropolis[]
During the devastating confrontation between Superman and Dru-Zod, many people were buried under collapsed buildings. Trains stopped running and cell towers were destroyed. As a result, one survivor, a woman named Amelia Greeley, was forced to walk home.[4]
Escape of Babrius Aesop[]
At Arkham Asylum, the battle somehow caused a blackout that engulfed the entire facility. As a result, patient Babrius Aesop managed to break out of his cell and free another patient that called himself Jackalope, who was recaptured soon after, which Aesop took advantage of to escape the facility. While on the run, Aesop encountered Amelia Greeley, who turned out to be his sister and the one who got him locked up in the asylum. Pretending to forgive his sister, Aesop soon took her hostage and forced her to create an army of drones to aid his goals of world domination.[4]
Creation of the Heroes Park[]
The Superman statue in Heroes Park.
To commemorate all those fallen in the tragic event, the Heroes Park was established at the epicenter of what was left after Dru-Zod's terraforming attack, with a massive silver statue of Kal-El, now referred to as the alien hero "Superman", built as well, in honor of his extraordinary heroic deeds he displayed while helping save Earth from the evil invaders.[3]
Reactions to the Event[]
In reaction to the incident, a significant number of survivalist militias were formed, fearing that Superman was the scout for a larger, future invasion force.[5] TIME magazine published an article about the Metropolis disaster, a copy of which was acquired years later by Freddy Freeman.[6]
Superman Committee[]
- "I'm grateful for what Superman's done. The many lives he's saved. Including those of some of our constituents. That said, the world, or rather, our understanding of it has changed radically since before we knew of Superman's existence. We need to be prepared for another alien attack. That's a no-brainer. Our best people are already working on that."
- ―June Finch[src]
Shortly after the Battle of Metropolis, Senator June Finch set up a meeting with her fellow senators and General Elkins at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Using data from the battle, Elkins presented the attendees with a CGI simulation of a male Kryptonian attacking the city of Metropolis, fighting an F-35 fighter jet. Senator Stearns defended Superman’s intentions on Earth, citing the humanitarian actions he had been taking.
After the group got into an intense debate, Finch quickly calmed things down, stating that before a final decision could be made regarding Superman, the question of his existence needed to be addressed objectively, and thus advocated the creation of a committee to study and learn more about Superman, to which the majority of those present agreed. As everyone filed away, Finch asked Elkins for everything he currently had on Superman.[5]
Known Casualties[]
|
|
Behind the scenes[]
- During his final battle with General Dru-Zod, the novel describes a sequence absent from the film, in-between Superman being hurled through numerous buildings and both of them flying into outer space - a recovered Superman flies back at his opponent, and sends Zod flying towards the river, where the Weisinger Bridge connected Metropolis to the mainland. Zod crashes beneath it, splashing into the river. The enraged former general emerges shortly thereafter, however, quickly blasting through the bridge and tackling Superman into outer space.[7]
- Various sources have provided different dates for the exact date of the event. According to some props manufactured for the film Suicide Squad, the Battle happened on May 28th, 2013.[8] The Flash instead, suggests that the Battle happened a short time after September 29, 2013.[2]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Man of Steel
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Flash
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Cross Fire
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Senator Finch
- ↑ Shazam!
- ↑ Man of Steel: The Official Movie Novelization
- ↑ Argus Files