Ground Zero (comic story)

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Ground Zero
Doctor:	Seventh Doctor
Companion(s):	Ace
Featuring:	Susan, Sarah, Peri
Main enemy:	Threshold
Main setting:	Notting Hill, London, 2082
Key crew
Publisher:	[[publisher::Marvel Magazines]]
Editor:	Gary Gillatt
Writer:	Scott Gray
Artist:	Martin Geraghty, Bambos Georgiou
Colourist:	None - Black & White
Letterer:	Elitta Fell
Release details
Printed in:	Doctor Who Magazine 238-242
Release date:	8 May - 28 August 1996
Format:	Comic - 5 parts
DWM comic stories
← Previous	Black Destiny
Next →	Doctor Who and the Fangs of Time

Summary

The Threshold have kidnapped four of the Doctor's former (and one current) companions, using them for their employer's benefit; the Lobri - a creation of the human unconsciousness, feeding on fear. They intend to destroy the unconscious link between humans. They are stopped, but at what cost?

Plot

to be added

Characters

• Seventh Doctor
• Ace
• Susan Foreman
• Sarah Jane Smith
• Peri Brown
• Threshold

References

Energy and radiation

• Ace, Sarah, and Peri are sent to a 'collective unconsciousness'; a place of pure psionic energy, only humans can survive there.

Individuals

• The Threshold neuro-lock Susan.
• Peri is tortured to get the most fear out of her.
• Susan Foreman recognises the Doctor as her grandfather.
• Susan can't be sent to the Lobri's realm because she isn't human.
• Ace attacks the Lobri single-handedly with the Doctor's umbrella and a can of Nitro-9. She is blown up and apparently killed, destroying one of the Lobri.
• The Doctor places mental blocks on Peri and Sarah's minds of the events.

Timeline

• Peri was taken from Hollywood, 14 May 1938.
• Susan was taken from London, 22 October 1963.
• Sarah Jane Smith was taken from Takhail, Russia, 25 April 2086.

Organisations

• The Threshold's motto is 'Just around the corner'.
• The Threshold are surprised initially that the Doctor isn't human (they kidnapped Susan in 1963, knowing she was connected to the Doctor, but not that she was an alien).

Species

• The Threshold's clients are called the Lobri, they feed off of primal emotions; fear and hatred.

TARDIS

• The Doctor links the Threshold's ring to the TARDIS's trans-reality navi-systems.
• As the TARDIS breaks through the collective unconsciousness, it starts to break apart, the cloister bell begins to ring, the Doctor tells Susan to refocus the force-field prisms.
• After the TARDIS's journey into the collective unconsciousness, the Doctor tells Susan to re-establish the tertiary navi-links.
• The Doctor lands the TARDIS inside the Lobri, the safety interlocks would have prevented this, had they been functioning.

Time Lords

• Susan says (in a monologue) that her people can see beyond the 'facades' (various regenerations).

Weapons

• Ace uses her Nitro-9 to dispatch several of the Lobri.

Notes

• The first part of this comic starts with three inset panel from the last part of this comic.
• It seems that Ace dies in this comic.

• Which makes the DWM partially contradictory as they integrated elements of the Virgin New Adventures at various points, but ignored it on others.
• The death of Ace also causes continuity issues with regards to WC: Death Comes to Time, as well as the reference to her (aka Dorothy) in TV: Death of the Doctor.

• This comic can be viewed as the first alteration to the timeline which is resolved in COMIC: The Glorious Dead.

Continuity

• Sarah was taken by the Threshold in COMIC: Black Destiny.
• Peri was taken by the Threshold in COMIC: The Curse of the Scarab.
• Susan was taken by the Threshold in COMIC: Operation Proteus.
• Ace continued to live in PROSE: Set Piece.
• The Seventh Doctor is wearing the same outfit he is wearing in TV: Doctor Who (1996), the console room and the rest of the TARDIS is heavily damaged during this story, seemingly setting up for the changes seen in the TV movie.

External links

• Ground Zero at the Doctor Who Reference Guide