| “ | A benevolent creature, 0² rarely presents any trouble in the cloud levels of Shiver Star. | „ |
| ~ The quote from the Kirby 64 strategy guide about 0². |
Zero, alternatively spelled as 0, is the main antagonist of the Kirby franchise.
It is a mysterious being who resides within the Hyper Zone and is the leader and progenitor of all Dark Matter. Zero's exact motives are unknown, but it is stated that it desires to spread Dark Matter across the universe in order to turn it into a "Dark World".
Though its original incarnation was defeated in Kirby's Dream Land 3, its overall legacy on the series is quite significant. It, along with its own kind, would also make many cameos throughout the series.
Appearance
Zero as it appears in Kirby's Dream Land 3
The original Zero, much like all other Dark Matter, is a giant sphere with a single eye in the center of it. However, unlike all other Dark Matter, it's much larger in size, has a white appearance, and its eye is red instead of white. It also has six deep slits around its eye which allows it to spurt blood at its adversaries. When it's dealt with enough damage, the core of Zero, its red eye, tears itself from the rest of its body.
Before the battle with 0² begins, its appearance is somewhat different, in that it appears to have a more friendly appearance; two black dots that resemble beady eyes above a barely open mouth. The red feathers of its wings are also invisible. Only when Kirby and Ribbon obtain the Crystal Shard gun in the beginning of the fight does it assume its actual appearance.
0², implied to be a reincarnation of Zero, looks roughly the same as its previous incarnation, except it has a tail-like appendage on the bottom of its body, and a bandage on the top. It also sports large white-and-red wings, and has a yellow halo. When dealt with enough damage, its appendage transforms into a thorny plant that emits toxic gas.
Biography
Kirby's Dreamland 3
After the defeat of Dark Matter Blade, 0 launched an invasion of Pop Star and possessed multiple regions. Kirby liberated these lands one by one, then encountered the Dark Matter possessed King Dedede. Kirby drove it out of him and back to the Hyper Zone where 0 resided.
After Kirby and Gooey defeated the Dark Matter using the Love-Love Stick, 0 revealed itself and attacked Kirby. In a desperate attempt to kill Kirby, 0's eye detached from its body, becoming a small bloody eyeball. Kirby defeated this, thus destroying 0 and the Hyper Zone.
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
Kirby and Ribbon battling against 0².
Although the original Zero does not appear in this game, it appears to have been succeeded by 0², implied, but not fully confirmed, to be a new form of Zero. It serves as the main antagonist and the true final boss in Kirby 64. Like its predecessor, it remains hidden throughout the majority of the game, until the end when the player has managed to collect all of the crystal shards.
0² is responsible for the invasion of Ripple Star in an attempt to steal the Crystal Shard, created for the purpose of purging Dark Matter itself, from it and get rid of it. 0² had sent a large Dark Matter cloud, which would soon become Dark Matters Rimuri, Rimura, and Rimuro, to invade the planet, which caused one of its civilians Ribbon to evacuate the planet with the crystal.
In this game, 0² has an angelic appearance and a bandage on its head (which is likely a reference to it removing its eye at the end of Kirby's Dreamland 3). In order to face the creature, Kirby must collect all 74 crystal shards, otherwise Miracle Matter serves as the final boss. Once Kirby defeats the villain, 0² and the Dark Star explode.
Other Media
Super Smash Bros.
A remix of 0²'s theme is an unlockable song in Super Smash Bros. Brawl by collecting at least 5,000 coins in coin matches. The remix also appears in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as default songs.
Gallery
Images
Videos
Trivia
- Outside of the Dark Matter arc, Zero and 0² cameoed in Planet Robobot, Star Allies, Dream Buffet, and Return to Dreamland Deluxe.
- Concept art had shown that Zero was also initially going to make a cameo appearance in Canvas Curse as one of the playable characters, but was seemingly scrapped early in production.
- Additionally in Dream Buffet, one of the randomly selected names for a CPU Kirby may be "Zero2sOwie", referencing the bandage on top of its body.
- Many later villains in the Kirby series also bear some resemblance to Zero or 0²:
- Dark Mind appears as a giant ball with an eye. Due to the way his sprite looks, it's also speculated that he may be Zero's counterpart inside the mirror.
- Drawcia Soul appears as a giant ball with a mouth that strangely resembles an eye.
- Dark Nebula appears as an entity that has a single eye in the center of it. Along with that, it is a source of darkness, with the power of possessing others.
- Magolor, when defeated, is completely overtaken by the Master Crown and has a giant eye with a red pupil in his mouth, which almost completely resembles 0, which has lead to some fans theorizing that the Master Crown maybe connected to Dark Matter. Some fans have also theorized the Master Crown in Return to Dreamland had a portion of 0's soul within it.
- Star Dream bares some resemblance to 0², mostly in how its white body consists of a single eye, and how it sports wing-like appendages. It even creates a clone of Dark Matter Blade in Meta Knight Returns.
- Concept art had also shown that Star Dream was initially going to appear more spherical in shape, have a large eye in the center, and fan-like wings.
- Void Termina's Core, Soul, and Void all appear as giant balls. His face can arrange itself to appear as the smile 0² makes. In the Soul Melter EX difficulty of The Ultimate Choice from Kirby Star Allies, when fighting Void, his color scheme is similar to 0. Also, his splash screen resembles the Hyper Zone where 0 was fought. Astral Birth Void in particular appears as a giant white ball with a mouth that can change itself to appear as a giant red eye. Some fans have even theorized Astral Birth Void be Zero's third incarnation as a result of this.
- Despite it being an error, some fans have interpreted the description of Zero in the Kirby 64 strategy guide to actually represent how Zero sees itself, as a benevolent force that is saving others of their own free will.
- If one were to look closely at the background during 0²'s fight, specifically seeing what looks like bar codes rotating in the background, they would notice that those aren't bar codes at all, but wheels, specifically the wheels of Ophanim, a high-ranking angel in Christianity, stated to be the thrones of God.
- During the fight with 0², the "Try Again" option is replaced with "Tough It Out!". This option has the same effect as "Continue".
- The bandage on 0²'s head is theorized to be a reference to when its eye separated from the rest of its body in Kirby's Dream Land 3. This would mean that there is a gaping hole beneath the bandage left from when the eye broke away.
- Zero and 0² are the only Kirby bosses to actually hemorrhage when hit; Zero used its blood as a weapon, while 0² bleeds from its eye when attacked.
External Links
- Zero/0² on the Kirby Wiki
- Zero/0² on the Nintendo Wiki
