Ground Zero (comic story)

Ground Zero
Doctor:	[[doctor::Seventh Doctor]]
Companion(s):	Ace
Main enemy:	Threshold
Main setting:	Notting Hill, 2082
Key crew
Publisher:	[[publisher::Marvel Magazines]]
Editor:	Gary Gillatt
Writer:	Scott Gray
Artist:	Martin Geraghty, Bambos Georgiou
Colourist:	None - Black & White
Release details
Format:	Comic - 5 parts

Summary

The Threshold, a company of people 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?

Characters

• Seventh Doctor

• Faces the final Lobri at the end, buying time to land the TARDIS within it.

• Ace

• Attacks the Lobri single-handedly with the Doctor's umbrella and a can of Nitro-9.
• Is blown up and apparently killed destroying one of the Lobri.

• Susan Foreman

• Recognises the Doctor as her grandfather.
• Is unable to be sent to the Lobri's realm because she isn't human.

• Sarah Jane Smith

• Peri Brown

• Tortured to get the most fear out of her.

• Threshold

• Their motto is 'Just around the corner'.
• 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).

References

• Peri was taken from Hollywood, 14th May, 1938.
• Susan was taken from London, 22nd October, 1963.
• Sarah Jane Smith was taken from Tarkhail, Russia, 25th April, 2086.
• The Threshold neuro-lock Susan.
• Ace, Sarah, and Peri are sent to a 'collective unconsciousness'; a place of pure psionic energy, only humans can survive there.
• The Threshold's clients are called the Lobri, they feed off of primal emotions; fear and hatred..

• 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.
• Ace uses her Nitro-9 to dispatch several of the Lobri.
• Susan says (in a monologue) that her people can see beyond the 'facades' (various regenerations).
• 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.

• The Doctor places mental blocks on Peri and Sarah's minds of the events.

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 SJA: Death of the Doctor.

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

Continuity

• Sarah was taken by the Threshold in DWM: Black Destiny.
• Ace continued to live in NA: Set Piece.
• The Seventh Doctor is wearing the same outfit he is wearing in DW: 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.

Timeline

• This story takes place after WC: Death Comes to Time
• This story takes place before BFA: Excelis Decays

External links

to be added