Warning: Spoilers for Titans United #5!
The new persona called Black Zero, and the reason behind the name is more tragic than fans could have ever suspected. Being influenced by the evil Blackfire is one thing, but the hate he perceives he’s getting from his teammates isn’t exactly helping either.
Revealed in Titans United #5, by Cavan Scott and Jose Luis, Superboy becoming the misguided and villainous Black Zero is something that his Titans teammates didn’t see coming. Tortured and manipulated by Starfire’s evil sister, Blackfire, in the previous issue, Superboy is at a low point in regards to his heroic tendencies and mental state and is subsequently sicced on his colleagues with prejudice.
Beating down Donna Troy with relative ease, Titans member, Raven, enters Superboy’s mind in an attempt to get to the bottom of his current outburst. And as she traverses deep into Superboy’s psyche, it’s here that the reason for his transition into Black Zero — and the reason for choosing the Black Zero name in the first place — is brought to light.
No doubt taking the “Black” portion of his name from Blackfire herself, the more interesting and tragic reason behind the “Zero” part comes down to what he believes his teammates’ perception of him is ever since his superpowers started fading. ing moments from issues past that are either misinterpreted half-truths or blatant, planted lies by Blackfire about his friends, Superboy tells Raven, “You never wanted me on your team. The clone. The freak,” succinctly telling fans how he’s feeling about his role on the Titans, going so far as to say that he’s just, “A big, fat zero.” Talk about having some low self-esteem.
By taking on the new name of Black Zero, Superboy has embraced a part of himself that has been bubbling underneath the surface ever since Titans United started. Full of rage, sadness, doubt, and more angst than you can shake a piece of kryptonite at, turning into this “evil” version of himself with a dark new name to boot only adds to the delusion that Superboy can't be fully accepted by the people who truly care about him, with Blackfire using this opportunity to bring him even further under her insidious influence in the process.
So although Superboy is already showing signs that his villainous heel-turn isn’t meant to last, his new Black Zero name is a perfectly tragic fit for this misunderstood and clearly hurting hero. Blackfire's evil plot against the Titans is now entering its final act with only two issues remaining in this seven-part limited series, so here’s hoping things start looking up for this DC superteam and that Superboy comes back to his senses real soon.
