Last time we checked in on Ultraman Zero’s life story, we were right at the beginning of his triumphant tale, with Ultraman Belial and his designs on the Plasma Spark both taken out. However, we’re here today to unfortunately reveal that Belial’s ambitions would not die so easily — Don’t worry, though, because neither would Zero’s heroic exploits! Let’s continue with an upsettingly familiar face…
Shortly after his battle with Belial, Zero had found himself targeted by an evil plot by the Alien Salome, who trapped him in a space between universes, where they were creating an army of robotic duplicate Ultras! While Zero was strong enough to defeat fake after fake, the Salome had literally endless armies to throw at him, wearing him down. At the same time, Zero’s friends in ZAP SPACY, the crew of the Space Pendragon, were battling their own robot duplicate in the form of the sinister Mecha Gomora.
Things further turn for the worse when a mysterious new robot, armed with a Tector Gear similar to the kind Zero wore during his training appears, matching and even exceeding the exhausted Zero’s strength! Soon discarding its armor, the robot revealed its true identity — a monocular duplicate of Zero himself, known as Darklops Zero! Armed with an unstable, but undeniably powerful dimensional core as its power source, the robotic Zero defeated his original, sending him and a set of robotic Ultra Brothers into another universe!
Zero was saved from his plight by his teacher Ultraman Leo, who brought him back to battle alongside the Reionics Rei and his Gomora, of ZAP SPACY. The three were able to win against Darklops Zero, but its dimensional core ruptured, destroying the entire space and wiping out the Salome army. Zero and the others managed to escape, but learned before they did so that the Salome hadn’t created Darklops Zero, merely found it.
But then… Who did create it?
We’d find out the answer in Revenge of Belial, when the recovered “Kaiser Belial,” having regained his strength and built up an army of robots in another universe, attacked the Land of Light! Only a few mass-production Darklops made it through, but their power was far too much to ignore — and their trace led to a whole other universe!
The Land of Light pooled their resources together to give Zero the power to cross universes himself, and he found himself in a space that had already nearly been conquered by Belial’s forces, utilizing the energy-rich emeralds of the world of Esmeralda. Forced to take a host to save the life of a young alien, Run, Zero soon befriended the fugitive princess of Esmeralda, Emerana, and Run’s brother Nao, and on their sentient ship, Jean-Bird, they began to hunt for the artifact that would allow them to defeat Belial’s army — the legendary Shield of Baradhi.
Through their journey, Zero and his friends befriended other powerful aliens who had struggled against Belial, the space pirate Glenfire and noble warrior Mirror Knight. The quest was fraught with danger, with Belial’s minions around every corner, but Zero and his companions made it to the Shield… only to find a useless old relic. Attempting to activate it only causes it to crumble to dust. Their quest to find the one thing that could defeat Belial had ended in failure.
And yet, Zero did not give up, choosing to battle Belial’s army with the power he had and the friends he had made. Unfortunately, Belial’s power was seemingly too great… Until a miracle occurred. With Zero dying from his wounds incurred during the battle, the wishes of everyone he had met in this universe resonated with him, and connected him to the creator of the Shield of Baradhi… Ultraman Noa. The Shield had been a trial, to connect him to others and build hope in a hopeless place. He had succeeded, and found the power he sought in his friends.
The Shield returned and became the Ultimate Aegis, allowing Zero to return from the dead, wielding incredible power. Alongside Glenfire, Mirror Knight, and Jean-Bird’s battle robot form of Jean-Bot, Zero struck back against Belial, and with their hopes combined, defeated the despotic tyrant and his army. However, this time, Zero knew that Belial would eventually return, and rather than rest on his laurels, elected to form a team with his friends to protect this universe from threats like him — the Ultimate Force Zero.
This is just an abbreviated retelling of this period in Zero’s life, and is only a small fragment of a now-decade and a half of stories involving the hero. Come back next week when we cover the next part of Ultraman Zero’s Saga.
