Batman: Zero Hour

Batman Post-Crisis #74

by Doug Moench

The Batman tales that tie into the epic "Zero Hour" storyline are now finally collected into one graphic novel in BATMAN: ZERO HOUR!

Time is collapsing in on itself. The villainous Extant has ushered in a series of black holes that are swallowing the universe--past, present and future! The Bat-family, like everyone else in the DC Universe, has seen time loops affect their lives. The result? The return of Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, teenage Dick Grayson as Robin, and Bruce Wayne's parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne. Then, after the crisis in time as been averted, new details about the origins of Batman, Robin and Catwoman are revealed.

Legendary comics writers Chuck Dixon, Archie Goodwin, Alan Grant and Doug Moench team up with veteran Batman artists Graham Nolan, Jim Balent, Bret Blevins and more to present the Dark Knight stories tying into the classic ZERO HOUR event, now collected here for the first time! Collects BATMAN #0, #511; BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #0, #31; DETECTIVE COMICS #0, #678; CATWOMAN #0, #14; BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #0; and ROBIN #0, #10.

Genres: Comics, Batman, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Comic Book, Adventure

296 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1994

About the author

Doug Moench, is an American comic book writer notable for his Batman work and as the creator of Black Mask, Moon Knight and Deathlok. Moench has worked for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics and many other smaller companies; he has written hundreds of issues of many different comics, and created dozens of characters, such as Moon Knight. In 1973, Moench became the de facto lead writer for the Marvel black-and-white magazine imprint Curtis Magazines. He contributed to the entire runs of Planet of the Apes, Rampaging Hulk (continuing on the title when it changed its name to The Hulk!) and Doc Savage, while also serving as a regular scribe for virtually every other Curtis title during the course of the imprint's existence. Moench is perhaps best known for his work on Batman, whose title he wrote from 1983–1986 and then again from 1992–1998. (He also wrote the companion title Detective Comics from 1983–1986.)

Moench is a frequent and longtime collaborator with comics artist Paul Gulacy. The pair are probably best known for their work on Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu, which they worked on together from 1974–1977. They also co-created Six from Sirius, Slash Maraud, and S.C.I. Spy, and have worked together on comics projects featuring Batman, Conan the Barbarian and James Bond.

Moench has frequently been paired with the artist and inker team of Kelley Jones and John Beatty on several Elseworlds Graphic Novels and a long run of the monthly Batman comic.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the book is great. A bunch of temporal anomalies are occurring which leads to a lot of fun stories. We meet a Batgirl who was never paralyzed, a timeline where Bruce was shot instead of his parents, The portly 40's version of Alfred pops up, Dick Grayson Robin teams up with Tim Drake, and then some random nonsense with Catwoman fighting dinosaurs and Victorian era characters.

Then we get to the second half of the book. It's the original zero issues which in the case of Catwoman gives her a new boring origin story. Batman gets 3 crappy retellings of his origin up to now. That's way too much info for a single issue and then to tell it 3 times, Ugh! It would have been better to just give us three stories from before Bruce Wayne became Batman. They do the same thing with Robin, devoting a few pages to each of the Robins.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many stories within but some are disjointed. A few are good with interesting crossover ideas.

MY GRADE: B minus.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept of this one was pretty good, but a couple of these issues really seemed redundant and unnecessary. Other, like the Catwoman origin story, made up for what was lacking. Just a good, but not great read.

[cauldronofevil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve heard of Zero Hour but never read anything about it.

But Chuck Dixon shares writing with Doug Moench who I think is a Swamp Thing writer?

The cover of the first issue shows young Batgirl appearing before Barbara Gordon (in wheel chair) so we know there’s going to be some weirdness.

The Night Before Zero. Batgirl shows up while Batman and Robin 3 (Drake) are chasing Joker. They are weirded out by her. She’s too young and not crippled.

But she implies that there was something romantic between her and Batman which in ANY universe is creepy as hell.

Batman and Robin 3 are actually able to call Oracle.

So the multiverse is clashing together. I hate to sound bored, but while this was probably new for DC when it occurred, it’s definitely old hat now. But still it’s fun to read.

Yesterday’s Gone is a pretty wonderful Chuck Dixon story.

The cover kind of cheats because it shows Martha, Thomas and young Bruce. But young Bruce is never in the story.

Batman comes back to Wayne Manor to find his parents alive there, having just been escorted by police. Martha Wayne talks to Alfred.

Please fix Dr. Wayne a drink. And bring it into the parlor. There’s been… an incident.

Batman figures he must be in an alternate universe. He goes to Crime Alley but there is only a small chalk outline, so apparently only one person was killed. But Batman knows who the killer is.

The rest of the story is him chasing down Joe Chill. Great stuff! Art is Ok. Adequate but it deserves better.

The Battling Butler! tells the story of when Alfred leaves and… the original Alfred shows up. He is very disturbed that Dick Grayson is not Robin, but Tim Drake is! The original Alfred was a portly buffon who fancied himself a detective that could become good enough to help Batman & Robin in his cases. He was a contemporary of Aunt Harriet who also disappeared later in Batman’s legend.

I’m not fond of the art but it does a good job of simulating the type of art that Batman used to have, but with a more modern clarity. It’s hard to explain but you get ‘Dick Tracy’ like (or old Batman style) thugs in modern layouts. It’s kind of cool.

I kinda thought that’d be yer attitude. ‘S why me an’ Doc thought it’d be a good idea to put da hypo-drug in yer coffee—!

Actually this was a pretty cute story. As usual in the old days the clumsy Alfred saves the Dynamic Duo due to accidental clumsiness but realizes that his best destiny is in butlering.

Two Birds, One Stone has Robin 2 (Tim) meet Robin 1 (Dick) while trying to hunt down a jewel thief.

”You did a pretty fair job of copying my costume. Have to say, I like the long pants.”

It plays out as expected — Robin 1 plays to his strengths and Robin 2 plays to his and they make a great team.

It’s well written and the art’s exceptionally good as well (Tom Grummet & Ray Kryssing). Robin I fades out of existence at the end.

Broken Mirrors is a Catwoman story (Catwoman #14). After several successful robberies an insurance company has hired someone to catch her.

And outside of the insurance companies office. A pterodactyl goes flying by!

Catwoman wakes up in bed next to a Sabertooth Tiger. She makes friends but finds in the living room A very handsome savage.

Creature of the Night is a real interesting and well written story. Not much more than a ‘recap’ it tells Batman’s origin story and his new dedication after coming back from Bane breaking his back. Nicely done.

Shadow of the Bat #0 has yet another retelling of the Batman origin but it fills in some neat details. At age 14 he went abroad to learn to be the bat.

Before he could learn the ways of the bat — before he even knew they existed — he had to learn the ways of the world.

At age 20 he spent six weeks in the FBI shuffling paper in a windowless office before he realized this was no way to fight crime…

Definitely one of the better stories in this bunch.

The next story, Batman #0 is fun story going back and forth between Batman fighting crime today and remembering how he and Alfred discovered the Batcave and re-routed Military projects at Wayne Enterprises to his own private collection.

”Bulletproof fabric is a bother to sew.

A utility belt. I can carry things I might need. A forensics kit. Radio transmitter. Rebreather.
A note from your analyst.

Another awesome (Dixon) story!

Batman Legends of the Dark Knight #0 starts off with a fantastic cover.

The art in the story, while a little more ‘Jim Lee’ than I like is uniformly good.

The story is a great setup. A news magazine publisher hires a bunch of fiction writers to write about the Batman because reporters can’t capture the essence of what the Batman is about. Only imaginative fiction writers can.

The story doesn’t quite live up to the setup, but it’s still one of the good ones.

Catwoman #0 (great cover) is an interesting story about Catwoman’s past. I don’t know why it comes after Catwoman #14 but comic companies are always trying to confuse their readers into giving up comic book reading.

I actually like this origin alot better than the street-whore version they tried to change Catwoman into later on….

Certainly a cheesy fantasy, but if that’s not what you read comic books for, then I have no idea why you read comic books.

Brothers in Arms is a story by Chuck Dixon with some terrific artwork by Tom Grummett and Ray Kryssing. I’m sorry I didn’t get to see more of those artists. I blame myself.

It starts with Two-Face in the booby-hatch and goes on to Nightwing and Robin 2 (Tim Drake). Nightwing is in his original Disco outfit. Complete with pony-tail. Though these artists are among the few who can made it look good.

Robin 2 is asking Nightwing some difficult questions about where the ‘Robin’ concept came from.

How about Jason Todd?
You don’t throw softballs, do you?

A fun story that tells when both Robin’s met and were almost beat by Two Face.

At the end of the book is a Batman Timeline, which is of course a retcon of Batman’s history. Of course, even trying to be as vague as possible there are some obvious errors.

“Year 3” of Batman being Batman, Robin I becomes Robin. Fair enough. But then in Year 6 Robin becomes Nightwing? If Robin became Robin at age 8, 10 or even 12, then that means he became Nightwing at 11, 13 or 15 years old!?! Even if we consider that Nightwing was 18 years old when he began, that means that he became Robin at 15 years old? Holy Algebra Batman!

Something I’ve never seen before is a Villains Timeline.

Well, Batman Zero Hour was an unusual hodge-podge of reinventions. Some good, most bad.

But all told, the good did outweigh the bad, in quality though not in volume.

I’m giving this 4 stars and keeping it for its iconic moments.

[Harper Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Catwoman and Robin's respective anthologies are somewhat interesting to read. The other stanalone stories...not so much.

[Jason Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of my Batman comic book reread project. Continued from Knightsend.

3.5 rounded up to four stars. (The first four issues are five stars, but a couple of issues in the second half are merely meh).

We interrupt the "Knightfall" saga to bring you this DCverse crossover tie-in story. Time has gone wonky, and parallel dimensions are bleeding into each other. Suddenly Batgirl shows up, unparalyzed to help everyone out...



...Alfred Beagle, an inept and bumbling butler from the golden age of comics, is taking care of things at Wayne manner much to the amusement and annoyance of Bruce and Tim. (Alfred Pennyworth resigned in Knightfall and still hasn't come back)...



...Batman is transported to the night of his parents' murder, but Bruce winds up killed instead of his parents, and Batman is given the chance to chase down the murderer only to discover it might not be whom he thought it was before he's shunted back into his own where and when. And Dick Grayson Robin joins Tim Drake Robin on a case...



Then time resets itself from the Zero Hour: Crisis in Time events, and we get the #0 issues which were mostly Batman's origin story. Robin #0 gives us Dick Grayson as Nightwing and Tim Drake Robin working together, and Dick telling the story of his disastrous first run-in with Two-Face. The end of this shows Batman passing the mantle of the bat over to Dick for a while. This leads right into the "Prodigal" story which resumes the "Knightfall" saga.

I also have Legends of the Dark Knight #0 which was just... weird. Course, LOTDK is often bizarre. But what was cool about it was that they had artists and writers from 13 other Batman stories do a page each. It made for a really shitty story, but it was still neat to bring so many different styles together in one issue. 30+ people collaborated on this thing.

The first half with alternate realities was really cool. The second half was mostly "whatever," and frankly, I'm glad to be getting back to the regular story.

Next checkpoint: Prodigal

[Chris Browning · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this year’s Christmas 2000AD, Judge Dredd “teams up” with his two cinematic portrayals. It’s a nice idea that acts as a criticism of how the films frequently misunderstood the nature of how Dredd works, but basically reminds us that the real Dredd - the one who has grown, soured, aged and doubted - is the one we have followed for nearly fifty years of comics. A man in his seventies who knows the end is closer to the beginning

I thought of that because of how weirdly this Batman book tries to deal with time: it’s there for some lighthearted fun as grim dark Batman and Robin meet the original, bumbling Alfred; it’s there for a bit of baffling Batgirl action (amounting to “there’s something different about THIS Batgirl, because she has functional legs” and that alone); it’s there for a frankly terrible Catwoman and prehistoric animals nonsense; and it’s there for a fine team up of Robins. It’s a nice idea and at its best deals with the complex agony of a character who has to age in some way (because the plot is so often driven by how Bruce engages with his past) but not enough to make any bloody difference to the status quo. There’s no sense of how brutal all this could be, save for the issue where Batman turns up in a world where his parents are fine but he was the victim of the shooting

It’s the issue zeroes that effectively round off the book that are the problems. I suspect the idea was that the Zero Hour comics look at the past in an interesting way, and the Beginning of Tomorrow ones kick start a new era. Except that never really happens except for the Viewpoint issue of Legends of the Dark Knight, which is visually arresting (if schizophrenic as all comics with dozens of artists usually are) and interesting in terms of plot. Otherwise we almost literally get the same story told from different creators again and again - and nothing dulls an impact like reading the fourth (or is it fifth?) variation of the Wayne’s getting shot in the same book. Some of this feels enormously phoned in both in terms of art and writing

But it’s also kind of interesting as an example of a big tentpole character on the cusp of a wildly different way of storytelling and art. It’s a transition piece, although I don’t think it fully knows this. It feels almost like a final fanfare of an industry knowing what it does is basically the same as it did twenty years previously. Things get interesting - for good and bad - for both big publishers in comics in the 21st century and these stories would be written and drawn in a wildly different way. So it’s an interesting time capsule if nothing else

[Zachary King · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories collected in this book are fun slices of mid-90s Bat-history. I think the collection would have benefited from a text page explaining the "Zero Hour" event and what readers can expect - namely, Batman and his associates encountering pockets of renegade timelines slipping in and out of Gotham. These stories give a neat peek at divergences from the status quo, and the creators on Bat-comics at the time were at the top of their game.

The second half of the book is dedicated to "Zero Issues," which explain the continuity changes wrought by the Zero Hour. These origin stories are smooth and fascinating looks at Bat-history, both for how they add to the continuity (Batman never caught Joe Chill) and what they take away (Catwoman was no longer a former prostitute).

In addition to the text page, I wish the book had collected Man of Steel #37, in which Superman meets a whole host of Batmen; it follows up on a cliffhanger from an issue in this book, and it showcases a bunch of different art styles colliding. Perhaps this is being saved for a "Superman: Zero Hour" trade, but it would have fit in just as well here.

At the end of the day, it's a string of strong Batman comics, which will always net a five-star review from me.

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, that was far less engaging than I would have liked, but I suppose I should not be surprised to realize that Zero Hour would be a net negative here as well as in the main miniseries.

In short, as Hal Jordan makes an effort to restart the multiverse, and to have time reset so that Coast City isn't destroyed, all kinds of temporal and dimensional anomalies start to appear. In Gotham City and environs, this means such things as versions of Batgirl and Robin that shouldn't exist, the portly predecessor to Alfred Pennyworth shows up, and various oddities plague Batman, Robin, and Catwoman.

That's just the first few issues in the book, however -- the remainder of the book is made up of the #0 issues that followed the event, all of which are intended to set up the new continuity. In the case of the Bat-family, that simply means reconciling Catwoman's origins (which gets worse and worse with each iteration) and giving us a post-Knightfall readout of Bruce Wayne's state of mind...over and over again. Also, we get the Batman origin over and over and over....

I recalled the tie-ins to Zero Hour as being rather better than they are. The delusions of memory, eh?

[Zaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The volume was peculiar as the two half aimed at very different goals, with one link: time.
The first half was dedicated to some merging inside the multiverse. It was a fun way to follow stories involving two young Robins (Dick and Tim), Batgirl and Oracle, or a different Alfred. I found this half fun and enjoyed the work of the various writers. I like the art style of this area, so no problem there.
The second half felt a little like the "year zero" stories, presenting how Bruce became Batman, how Selina became Catwoman and some interactions between Nightwing and Tim-Robin. For me, it was a nice way to catch up on some events I never met during my wandering in the Bat-universe (it's not easy to keep track of everything that happened in the distant past). I suppose it won't be really interesting for those who already know the stuff, but otherwise I thought it was a pleasant and short summary. It ended with 2 written timelines, involving the heroes and the villains, which were also nice for a wider catching-up of what happened before the New 52 and Rebirth relaunches.

[Victor Orozco · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up in my library wondering what is was about and then I recalled the Zero Hour plotline as some major shakeup in retconning some of the DC Universe. The Post-Crisis had gone on for almost ten years now and the stories have done justice. But some stories have not changed or merged to become something different.

I have been unable to find the Zero Hour story but have heard that it was only partially successful in its goal to clean up the DC Universe.

This collection is supposed to show the goings on of deleted timelines and alternate world interaction with the Prime Earth and a sort of retrospective on over 55 years of Batman.

The various versions of Batman, Batgirl, Robin, Alfred and the Waynes is either dry, silly or boring. Its only when you read the end where you get a very interesting set of origin stories concerning the Batman family.

For me the best story was concerning Catwoman in the Post-Crisis, without a doubt a truly great story and I am truly happy to have read this collection just for that. As well as a retrospective on the origins of Batman and all the Robins.

Not bad. C

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love these old school collections. They remind me of when I first started reading Batman comics. A time where continuity made sense, where events were fixed points in time, you could feel the history of the world. You felt a part of it.

This is a collection of stories set just after Knightfall if I'm not mistaken. Focuing on Batman, Catwoman and Robin for the most part.

The highlight for me was seeing Tim Drake fight alongside a temporally displaced Dick Grayson as Robin. It shows just how far both characters have evolved in their time as masked vigilantes.

I wouldn't say this is an essential book to read, but it fills in some gaps and gives you a glimpse of how things used to be in the DCU.

[JD Comics · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book collects stories of the Bat-Family and how they were affected by the Zero Hour event. It's a mixed bag but the stories were entertaining for the most part, especially the Batman stories. This book had a lot of flashbacks, which I guess is a tool that DC used to establish what is canon and what is no longer canon. The thing that I liked the most about the collected edition is that it has a Batman and Batman villains timeline at the end of the book. This is really helpful because I arrange my Batman books in chronological order. This book is definitely a better read than the DC Zero Hour event.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Batman: Zero Hour

Time is folding in on itself, reuniting an active Batgirl with the Dynamic Duo after the death of her father at the hands of the Joker before Robin finds himself face to face with another Robin and Batman finds his parents are alive, but grieving the murder of their son.

An interesting concept, which holds together outside the "Zero Hour" narrative, since readers can look on these as Elseworld stories. The artwork is studied, well inked and coloured and the plots are well written and hang together quite well.

[Maurício Dantas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esse volume tem as edições do Batman, Lendas do Cavaleiro das Trevas, Mulher Gato e Robin de durante a crise no tempo e as do mês seguinte ao seu fim, o "mês zero" - que aqui foi a desculpa da Abril pra renumerar seus títulos começando por uma #0.

Pra minha surpresa, todas essas histórias foram publicadas pela Abril na época, e eu pensando que teria umas novidades no bolo...

[Nick Stallaerts · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed the first part more than the second one. I loved that they mixed it up with different versions of themselves and included other characters of another time. It's like a small multiverse story.

The second half is more about origin stories but still with some fresh content.

[Hank Hutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.9/5

The beginning is really fun a solid. It’s gets a little weird and confusing. But the story overall is pretty cool and it’s nice to have everything put together in one volume. Good info on some characters origin stories too.

[George · Rating 2 out of 5]

First couple were ok but the editor of this collection should be shot. How many times do we need to see the origin of Batman, the Wayne’s dying, the kid crying, the bat through the window. Please once in the collection would be enough

[Kenneth Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

This does not provide a great deal of insight into the events of Zero Hour so much as it serves as an epilogue to Knightfall.

[Sheldon Wiebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Multiverses seem to bleeding in and out of Batman's life - and time's gone wibbly wobbley, too.

Smart, weird and very entertaining.

[ISMOTU · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time bending anomalies plague Gotham as Batman and his allies explore their pasts. Pretty decent for crossover issues.

[Trevor Dailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someone once said that an alternative timeline or universe shows a character's true essence and I think at least with the Batman issues, this is true. I didn't read every #0.

[Max Z · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's an okay anthology of Batman and co. reminiscing about the past, don't expect anything more.

I liked all of the short individual stories, they all have that nostalgic "back in the old days" tone. They also are marketed as tie-ins into the Zero Hour event but they don't add anything to it and can be safely ignored. A couple have characters from alternate timelines appear and disappear, but nothing permanent.