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Zenith
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Zenith on the cover of 2000 AD prog 792, by Steve Yeowell; Zenith copyright Rebellion A/S 2005. Steve Yeowell is a British Comics artist well-known for his work on the long-running Science fiction and Fantasy weekly comic
Publication information
Publisher Rebellion A/S
First appearance 2000 AD #535 (1987)
Created by Grant Morrison
Brendan McCarthy
Steve Yeowell
In story information
Alter ego Robert MacDowell
Abilities flight, strength, durability, (potentially) telepathy, pyrokinesis

Zenith (Robert MacDowell) is a British superhero, who appeared in the science fiction comic 2000 AD. In Comic books and other stories with a long history first appearance refers to the first occurrence to feature a Fictional character. Grant Morrison (born January 31 1960 is a Scottish Comic book writer and artist Brendan McCarthy is a British artist and designer best known for his work in Comic books, film and television Steve Yeowell is a British Comics artist well-known for his work on the long-running Science fiction and Fantasy weekly comic Telepathy ( Greek τηλε tele meaning "distant" and πάθεια patheia meaning "to be affected by" describes the purported transfer The term pyrokinesis is derived from the Greek words πυρ ( pûr, meaning "fire lightning" and κίνησις ( kínesis The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a Fictional character "of unprecedented physical prowess dedicated to acts of derring-do Comics (via Latin from the Greek "" kōmikos, of or pertaining to "comedy" from kōmos "revel" Created by writer Grant Morrison and artists Steve Yeowell and designed by Brendan McCarthy, he first appeared in 2000 AD #536 (22 August 1987). Grant Morrison (born January 31 1960 is a Scottish Comic book writer and artist Steve Yeowell is a British Comics artist well-known for his work on the long-running Science fiction and Fantasy weekly comic Brendan McCarthy is a British artist and designer best known for his work in Comic books, film and television Events 392 - Arbogast has Eugenius elected Western Roman Emperor. Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar)

Shallow and sarcastic, Zenith was a distinctly Generation X superhero. Generation X is a term used to describe generations in the United States and other countries born between the approximate years of 1965 to 1981 the late 1950s and 1960s or Morrison used the Zenith serial to explore cultural differences between generations and make jabs at the Conservative Party. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom.

Zenith was featured regularly in 2000 AD from 1987 until 1992, with occasional appearances since. Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) The series was an early success for Morrison, a future comics superstar.

Contents

Plot

Steve Yeowell's cover to Zenith Book one
Steve Yeowell's cover to Zenith Book one

Zenith, real name Robert MacDowell, was the son of two members of Cloud Nine, a super-team of the 1960s who had been created by the British military but rebelled and became hippies and psychedelic fashion icons. Steve Yeowell is a British Comics artist well-known for his work on the long-running Science fiction and Fantasy weekly comic Zenith ( Robert MacDowell) is a British Superhero, who appeared in the Science fiction Comic 2000 AD. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 The Hippie Subculture was originally a Youth movement that began in the United States during the early 1960s and spread around the world Modern psychedelia For "psychedelics" see Psychedelic drug. Zenith himself used his somewhat unreliable superhuman abilities not to fight evil but to promote his career as a pop singer. Shallow, spoilt, self-centred and cowardly, he was reluctantly dragged into the struggle against malevolent supernatural entities known as the Lloigor or "Many-Angled Ones". The many-angled ones are fictional other-dimensional beings linked to the Cthulhu Mythos.

The British superhuman project had been developed from technology stolen from the Nazis in World War II, and the Nazis had developed it from knowledge given by the Lloigor. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Nazis were advised to create "Ubermenschen", but in fact the real purpose of the project was to create host bodies strong enough to house the Lloigor's spirits. The Übermensch ( German; English: Overman, Superman) is a Concept in the Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. Presumably due to these circumstances, Berlin was the target of the first nuclear weapon, not Hiroshima or Nagasaki, within this alternate history. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from Nuclear reactions either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. The Japanese city of ( is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshū, the largest of Japan 's ( is the Capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. Alternate history or alternative history is a subgenre of Speculative fiction (or Science fiction) and Historical fiction

The British superheroes came of age during the tumultuous 1960's, and promptly rebelled, like many teens of that time. Most of the former members of Cloud Nine disappeared. Zenith's parents were killed, others disappeared, and the few remaining, having apparently lost their powers, retreated into civilian life. One, Peter St. John, aka Mandala, became a Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. (Mandala is the one responsible for essentially dragging Zenith kicking and screaming into the world-saving business. )

In the Phase I, Zenith reluctantly teams up with surviving members of Cloud Nine to defeat one of the Many-Angled Ones, although this proves fatal to a member of the team. Phase II details the efforts of a media tycoon modeled on Richard Branson to use Zenith as breeding stock for a new group of superpowered slaves that he will use for world domination. Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950 is an English Business magnate, best known for his Virgin brand of over 360 companies Phase III involves a multidimensional war utilizing comic-book characters from other British comics from the 50's, 60's and 70's (using either the actual characters or analogs, depending on their legal status). The final series, Phase IV, brought the story full circle as the Lovecraftian horrors from the first series were revealed as originating much closer to home than previously realized.

Zenith has since returned three times to the pages of 2000 AD. Once in zzzenith. com, a one-off which featured in Prog 2001 which took place years after the end of the previous series, and in 1 Night 2 Remember produced for the 25th anniversary issue. Recently he appeared on the cover to Prog 1500, although his image is small and hard to see.

Titan Books published five trade paperbacks of Zenith between 1988 and 1990 collecting Phase I through III. Titan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company established in 1981 Paperback, softback, or softcover describe and refer to a Book by the nature of its binding. Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) Recent attempts to republish the series (including the never collected Phase IV) have so far been prevented by a copyright dispute between the publisher and Morrison.

Bibliography

He has largely appeared in his own eponymous series which has been collected into a series of (out of print) trade paperbacks:

Zenith (written by Grant Morrison):

References

External links

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