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| Negative Zone | |
|---|---|
 The first appearance of the Negative Zone fromFantastic Four #51. Art byJack Kirby, words byStan Lee. | |
| First appearance | Fantastic Four #51 (June 1966) |
| Characters | Annihilus Blastaar Stygorr |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Creators | Stan Lee (writer) Jack Kirby (artist) |
TheNegative Zone is afictional setting, anantimatter universe appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The location is depicted in various publications from Marvel, most frequently inFantastic Four andCaptain Marvel. Created byStan Lee andJack Kirby, it first appeared inFantastic Four #51 (June 1966).
The Negative Zone in theMarvel Universe is a universe parallel to Earth's. While the universes are similar in many respects they are different in that: all matter in the Negative Zone is negatively charged; the Negative Zone is entirely filled with a pressurized, breathable atmosphere; and near the center of the Negative Zone is a deadly vortex of unspeakable power. Since the Negative Zone is largely uninhabited, several would-be conquerors have attempted to bridge the gap to Earth and take over its population. Notable residents of the Negative Zone includeBlastaar andAnnihilus.
The Negative Zone is often visited by theFantastic Four asMister Fantastic discovered it, and has mapped portions of it extensively. TheAge of Apocalypse version ofBlink also visited it once, proving that there is only one Negative Zone that does not change with the multiverse.[1]
For a number of years,Mar-Vell andRick Jones were bonded to each other, causing one of them to exist in the Negative Zone while the other would exist in the regular universe. They exchanged places by clasping the special bracelets each wore or automatically after a few hours.
Spider-Man has also visited the Negative Zone, and acquired a costume that allowed him to merge with shadows and become practically invisible.[volume & issue needed] When he was framed byNorman Osborn a few weeks later, he used the costume to become the dark, mysteriousDusk (one of his four new superhero identities during theIdentity Crisis story arc).[volume & issue needed] A few months later after Spider-Man's name was cleared, Cassie St. Commons was given the guise of Dusk and joined theSlingers.[volume & issue needed]Cletus Kasady also visited the Negative Zone, finding and bonding with a symbiote there, as he had lost the originalCarnage symbiote whenVenom absorbed it into his own symbiote.[volume & issue needed]
The Negative Zone 1.5 million years ago, nearly coinciding with the rise of theSkrull andKree races. It is believed that around that time the Negative Zone ceased expanding and began its "Big Crunch", contracting toward a central nexus. Some of the most powerful and influential races thereby faced destruction and sought to preserve their lives, including the Tyannans. During this time, Blastaar and Annihilus rise to power.
While searching for a way to travel through sub-space,Reed Richards discovers a gateway to the Negative Zone.[2] After studying the Negative Zone using drones, Reed concludes that it is largely unpopulated. He—and others—use the Negative Zone on several occasions to get rid of difficult enemies, such as theSuper-Adaptoid andGalactus.[3][4] InCivil War,Iron Man,Mister Fantastic andYellowjacket create a massive prison in the Negative Zone to house captured non-registered heroes as they await trial. It is designatedNegative Zone Prison Alpha and also known as "Project 42", as it had been the 42nd idea out of a hundred that the three created.
InSecret Invasion: Fantastic Four, the Skrull warriorLyja (posing asSusan Richards) sends theBaxter Building into the Negative Zone. She reveals herself toJohnny Storm (her former spouse) and attacks him, feeling angry that he had forgotten her. Johnny saves Lyja from being hit by a police car, but they are both pulled in through a portal. The two reconcile and fend off a Negative Zone creature that attacks them. Lyja refuses to leave the Negative Zone, intending to find out who she is.[5]
The Negative Zone is used to dispose of Earth-616'sGalactus when he is accidentally transferred to theUltimate Marvel universe due to the temporal distortions caused by the events ofAge of Ultron. The heroes of the Ultimate Marvel universe reason that Galactus will starve to death in the Negative Zone without sustenance, as the Zone is composed of inedible antimatter.[3]
InAnnihilation: Scourge, theSentry visits the Negative Zone, struggling to understand his new state of self and attempting to separate himself from the Void, his malevolent alternate personality.[6] After absorbing negative cosmic rays, the Sentry separates himself from the Void, but is left powerless.[7] The Void invades the Negative Zone, but is defeated byBeta Ray Bill andLockjaw.[8]
Squirrel Girl later banishes her clone Allene and her squirrels to the Negative Zone. They settle on one of the planets, which they establish as Squirreltopia 5000.[9]
Silk visited the Negative Zone with Fact Channel News members Lola and Rafferty to find her parentsAlbert Moon Sr. andNari Moon. They befriend a dragon named David and learn that Nari has been operating as the Red King, who leads the Knights Gheva, and that Albert is a prisoner of Ash King. Silk rescues her parents and returns with them to Earth.[10]
TheCrossroads of Infinity is a vortex at the center of the Negative Zone that serves as a nexus to other universes. However, travel through it is dangerous and runs the risk of the traveler imploding.[volume & issue needed]
TheDistortion Area is an invisible sphere of energy that links other dimensions.
The Negative Zone is capable of supporting life, but is largely uninhabited. Most of the encounters heroes have had with the Negative Zone involveAnnihilus orBlastaar.
Being a different dimension with different laws of physics, time flows slower in the Negative Zone than it does on Earth. This ratio decreases the closer one is to the Negative Zone's center and eventually becomes a 1:1 ratio.
The Negative Zone includes the following planets:
In theBlink miniseries, it is established that there is only one Negative Zone in the multiverse, with exit points to different realities and timelines, as the Blink from theAge of Apocalypse found herself in a Negative Zone that still remembered the Fantastic Four's role in defeating Annihilus despite the fact that the team never existed in her world.[1] During theCataclysm event, it is established that there is only one Negative Zone in the multiverse, with the Zone containing exit points to different realities and timelines.[11]
TheUltimate Marvel equivalent of the Negative Zone is theN-Zone, a zone that exists directly below the Ultimate Marvel universe. It is a universe in the later stages of entropicheat death, which will destroy it in less than a million years. The N-Zone has an atmosphere that is lethally acidic to humans.[12]
In an alternate reality depicted in the 2021 "Heroes Reborn" miniseries, theSquadron Supreme of America utilizes the Negative Zone to imprison Earth's most dangerous villains.[13][full citation needed]
The Negative Zone appears in the original script forFantastic Four (2015) before it was reworked intoPlanet Zero, a planet with unstable energy that causes the titular characters andVictor von Doom's mutations.[14][15]
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