The Marvel Universe doesn’t lack realities, dimensions, and other parallel Earths. But one is particularly famous as it has been firmly tied to the Fantastic Four for decades now: The Negative Zone.
First introduced in Fantastic Four #51 (published in 1966) by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the Negative Zone is an antimatter universe–a universe parallel to Earth’s in which all matter is negatively charged. As such, it is a dangerous place for those who come from the regular Marvel Universe, those who are positive matter beings. It’s not immediately dealy for them, but being there for a prolonged period of time is quite dangerous.
The Discovery of the Negative Zone
The Negative Zone is a very Jack Kirby concept–and it was during his “collage” phase. Mr. Fantastic, the famous Reed Richards, was doing research, experimenting to expand his scientific knowledge, trying to find a way to fight Galactus and other potential menace. This led him to build a portal and, without knowing what to expect, he plunged through the void he created, a space-time dimensional barrier! He traversed the sub-space and found more than he bargained for, almost dying in the process.
This was a short first encounter, but not the last. Ten issues later, Reed opened once more the portal, but he got stuck there for a time, only to be rescued by the Inhumans. As their adventures continued, the Fantastic Four became more and more familiar with the Negative Zone and its dangers. One was Annihilus, the one who possessed the Cosmic Control Rod.
An insectoid creature from the planet Arthros, Annihilus came from a spore but grew to become a powerful being. He found a crashed starship on his planet and used its advanced technology and the Rod to develop his intelligence and powers. He became a conqueror and his most ambitious plan was a massive invasion into the positive matter universe–See the Annihilation event.
The Negative Zone, It’s Full of Stars!
Largely uninhabited and rightfully described as a harsher place to live than the Fantastic Four’s regular universe, the Negative Zone may be largely uninhabited but it is not an empty space. It contains numerous creatures, some more intelligent and/or deadly than others, and they survive on different planets like Argor, Arthros, Baluur, Kestor, Krysok, Mantracora, the Ma’Os Spires, Neffig, Ootah, and Tarsuu, Tyanna, Tysillekt…
One thing though, is that Time passes at a different rate relative to most other universes. The laws of physics are not the same there. Don’t forget that when visiting those planets! Every minute on Earth is a little over five and a half hours in the Negative Zone!
Reed Richards is not the only one to explore the Negative Zone. In fact, The Eternals temporarily set up their base camp there and the Norse realm of Asgard was lost there too. Also, for a number of years, when Captain Mar-Vell and Rick Jones were bonded to each other and couldn’t exist in the regular universe at the same time, one of them had to stay in the Negative Zone while the other lived his regular life until they switched place by clasping their Nega-Bands together.
Being a sinister place, The Negative Zone was chosen by Mister Fantastic, Hank Pym, and Iron Man during the Civil War to build a prison–called Prison 42–for the Superheroes who rebelled against governmental regulation and control. Later, Blastaar, another of the Fantastic Four’s enemies living in the zone, took over the prison in order to use it to conquer Earth, without success, obviously. Other dangerous figures from the Negative Zone are the cosmic-powered Syphonn, and Catastrophus.
Reading Comics in The Negative Zone
Since its introduction in 1966, the Negative Zone appeared in hundreds of Marvel comics. If you want to start exploring it through some stories, here is a list of recommended notable Fantastic Four issues to begin with.
- Fantastic Four #51 (1966)
- Fantastic Four #62-63 (1967)
- Fantastic Four Annual #6 (1968)
- Fantastic Four #108 (1971)
- Fantastic Four #251-257 (1983)
For something more modern, check out the Annihilation Event, the war between the hordes from the Negative Zones and the Cosmic Heroes of the Positive Matter Universe.