Phantom Zone

Phantom Zone
First appearance Adventure Comics #283
(April 1961)
Publisher DC Comics

The Phantom Zone is a prison dimension featured in the Superman comic books and related media published by DC Comics. It first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 (April 1961), and was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp.[1] It was frequently used in the Superman comics before the continuity was rebooted in the 1980s, after Crisis on Infinite Earths, and has appeared occasionally since.

Fictional history

Pre-Crisis

The Phantom Zone was discovered by Jor-El and used on the planet Krypton as a method of imprisoning criminals. Previously, criminals were punished by being sealed into capsules and rocketed into orbit in suspended animation with crystals attached to their foreheads to slowly erase their criminal tendencies; Klax-Ar was one criminal who received this punishment but escaped. Gra-Mo was the last to suffer the punishment, for it was then abolished in favor of the Zone.

The inmates of the Phantom Zone reside in a ghost-like state of existence from which they can observe, but cannot interact with, the regular universe. Inmates do not age or require sustenance in the Phantom Zone; furthermore, they are telepathic and mutually insubstantial. As such, they were able to survive the destruction of Krypton and focus their attention on Earth, as most of the surviving Kryptonians now reside there. Most have a particular grudge against Superman because his father created the method of their damnation. When they manage to escape, they usually engage in random destruction, particularly easy for them since, on Earth, each has the same powers of Superman. Nevertheless, Superman periodically released Phantom Zone prisoners whose original sentences had been completed, and most of these went to live in the bottle city of Kandor.

The sole inmate of the Phantom Zone who was not placed there as punishment for a crime is Mon-El, a Daxamite who fell victim to lead poisoning. Superboy was forced to cast him into the Phantom Zone to keep him alive, where he remained until the time of the Legion of Super-Heroes when Brainiac 5 created a medication that allowed him to leave safely.

Green Lantern Guy Gardner once experienced an extended and tortuous stay after an explosion of a Green Lantern Power Battery sent him there, until rescued by Superman and Green Lantern Hal Jordan, who had believed him to be dead all that time.

Phantom Girl can enter or leave the Phantom Zone as she pleases, and once did so to interrogate the prisoners about Jor-El.[2]

Superman develops communications equipment for the Phantom Zone, like the Zone-o-Phone, and refinements to the projector. In addition, the city of Kandor uses the Phantom Zone regularly, with parole hearings sometimes chaired by Superman. However, since the departure of Kandor, that is, outside of Mon-El, most of the inhabitants were confined to lifers and generally not inclined to making conversation with their jailer. As for Superman himself, as much as he appreciates how the Zone is necessary to contain its Kryptonian inmates and shelter Mon-El, he apparently privately harbors concerns about the justness of its penal use. This is illustrated in the acclaimed story, "For the Man Who Has Everything" by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, where Clark is ensnared in a fantasy illusion created by an alien parasitical plant called a Black Mercy. As his subconscious resists the illusion of a peaceful life on Krypton, among the first signs of its degeneration is the sight of his cousin, Kara Zor-El, hospitalized after being attacked by an anti-Phantom Zone militant who left literature protesting that the Phantom Zone is a method of torture.

In the Steve Gerber mini-series The Phantom Zone (January - April 1982), it is revealed that the Zone not only has a back exit through which villains can escape, but is also home to terrible beasts. Superman and Quex-Ul encountered a Kryptonian wizard named Thul-Kar who tells them he believed Jor-El's prophecy of Krypton's doom and entered the Phantom Zone by magic. While there, he discovered the truth about the Phantom Zone where it and all its levels are manifested as the interface between the Earth-One dimension and that of a sentient universe called Aethyr. Only by entering Aethyr's realm can they escape back to Earth, and that is dangerous indeed.[3] While Quex-Ul was killed by Aethyr, Superman managed to make his way out of the Phantom Zone.[4]

Mister Mxyzptlk is later possessed by Aethyr. During Superman's fight with the possessed Mr. Mxyzpltk-Aethyr empties the Phantom Zone of its inhabitants but is absorbed into Aethyr itself. As the Phantom Zone villains head to Earth to conquer it, Thul-Kar and Nam-Ek are also absorbed into Aethyr. Superman awakes and sees that the Phantom Zone villains are wreaking havoc on Earth, causing destruction to the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. and demanding Superman come out and fight them. Superman battles the Phantom Zone villains in Washington. While fighting Faora Hu-Ul, he witnesses her disappearing as she is absorbed into Aethyr. Mister Mxyzpltk reveals that his strong personality has taken over Aethyr and he absorbs all the rest of the Phantom Zone inhabitants into himself. Mxyzpltk-Aethyr leaves, intending to next take over the Fifth Dimension, and Superman is left to put out the fires in Washington and then rid Metropolis of Kryptonite.[5]

Post-Crisis

In the post-Crisis DC Universe, the Phantom Zone first appears after Superman returns from space with a Kryptonian artifact called the Eradicator. This device, created by his Kryptonian ancestor Kem-L, attempts to recreate Krypton on Earth, building the Fortress of Solitude; the extradimensional space in which the Eradicator finds the Kryptonian materials necessary is called the Phantom Zone.[6][7] A Phantom Zone Projector is part of Superman's current Fortress. It has been used to access the Bottle City of Kandor and to trap villains such as the White Martians.

The Phantom Zone has been independently discovered by various characters where it is called the "Buffer Zone" by the Bgztlians, the "Still Zone" by the White Martians, the "Stasis Zone" by Loophole, the "Ghost Zone" by Prometheus, and the "Honeycomb" by the first Queen Bee. In post-Crisis/post-Zero Hour continuity, it was Loophole's "Stasis Zone" technology that exiled Mon-El, known in the new continuity as Valor/M'Onel, into the Phantom Zone for a thousand years.

Superman fashions the Phantom Zone technology into an arrow projectile which upon striking a victim will project them into the Phantom Zone. Roy Harper, the original Speedy, steals this arrow from Superman when the original Teen Titans are invited for a visit many years ago. Roy, however, never uses the arrow and passes it on to his replacement, Mia Dearden, who uses the arrow during the events of Infinite Crisis on Superboy-Prime. Unfortunately, he is too strong for even the Phantom Zone arrow, and manages to break out.

At one point, the White Martians imprison Batman in the Phantom Zone and take his identity as Bruce Wayne.

Batman devises a measure made after Superman recovers from his first battle with Doomsday, that, when the Justice League or any other superhero groups encounter a Doomsday Level Threat, a group of heroes, authority, and military forces will contain it within a proximity after clearing all civilians within it. If Superman and the rest fall, the Doomsday Protocol will commence by sending it to the Phantom Zone.[8]

In Action Comics, General Zod, along with Ursa and Non, appear in search of the son of Zod and Ursa.[9]

Supergirl #16 shows a form of life native to the Phantom Zone. These Phantoms are enraged over the use of their universe to house criminals and seek revenge on the one responsible.

In the limited series 52 the Phantom Zone is ingested by Mr. Mind while he is mutating into a giant insect form. Once fully-grown, Mind regurgitates it in an attempt to destroy Booster Gold and Rip Hunter, but the attack is deflected by Supernova, who returns the Phantom Zone to its proper dimensional plane. Supernova is able to control the Zone as his supersuit's powers are based upon Phantom Zone projector technology stolen by Rip Hunter.

In Action Comics #874, the Phantom Zone vanished.[10] Action Comics #886 offers a possible explanation as to the Phantom Zone's disappearance. The theory being that the Phantom Zone was actually the mythical Nightwing, counterpart to the Flamebird, imprisoned in an altered state of being. Having chosen a new Avatar, Chris Kent who was freed from the Zone, he too would have been freed from his shackles thus causing the Phantom Zone to cease to exist.[11]

In Adventure Comics (vol. 2) #11, the Phantom Zone is recreated by Chameleon Boy and Superman.[12]

The New 52

In The New 52 (a reboot of the DC Comics universe), Jor-El suggests going into the Phantom Zone when Krypton was about to explode. Zod however appears with other Phantom Zone prisoners and attempts to escape the Phantom Zone. Krypto however sacrifices himself by attacking Xa-Du thus going into the Phantom Zone as well.[13]

It is revealed that the Doctor Xa-Du was the first Kryptonian prisoner to be sent to the Phantom Zone due to his forbidden experiments in suspended animation with Jor-El executing the sentence. The Phantom Zone is reverted to the Pre-Crisis version as the inmates can observe, but cannot interact with, the regular universe becoming literally "Phantoms".[14]

Known inmates

Inmates in Pre-Crisis

Throughout the Silver Age of Comics, Superman meets many residents of the Phantom Zone:

There were also some Kryptonians that were mentioned to have been imprisoned in The Phantom Zone as seen in the Phantom Zone mini-series:

Inmates in Post-Crisis

The following were imprisoned in the Phantom Zone:

Inmates in All-Star Superman

Inmates in The New 52

Other versions

Superman & Batman: Generations

In the Elseworlds tale Superman & Batman: Generations, Superman is sentenced to the Phantom Zone in 1989 when he is stripped of his powers in a confrontation with the Ultra-Humanite that ends with his foe's death. The judges reasoning that even if Superman feels he may have killed his foe deliberately after the deaths of his family and friends, putting him in a conventional prison without his powers would be dangerous and solitary confinement was too extreme given his past deeds. He is released in 1999 by the returned Batman- who notes that he is ending the sentence early but is certain that nobody would object to early release "for good behavior"- although Superman was briefly able to appear as a phantom in the real world in 1997 to distract a foe who was about to kill Knightwing (Superman's grandson, adopted by Batman's son after the deaths of Superman's children).

In other media

Television

Film

Video games

Novels

Parodies and homages

Relations to the Phantom Zone

There had been similar Zones that were in comparison to the Phantom Zone:

References

  1. "GCD :: Issue :: Adventure Comics #283". Comics.org. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
  2. Adventure Comics #323, August, 1964)
  3. Phantom Zone #3
  4. Phantom Zone #4
  5. DC Comics Presents #97
  6. Jurgens, Dan (w), Jurgens, Dan (p), Kubert, Andy (i). "Be It Ever So Deadly" Adventures of Superman 460 (November 1989), New York: DC Comics
  7. Jurgens, Dan (w), Jurgens, Dan (p), Perez, George (i). "Home" Adventures of Superman 461 (December 1989), New York: DC Comics
  8. Action Comics #825
  9. Action Comics #845
  10. Action Comics #874
  11. Action Comics #886
  12. Adventures Comics #11
  13. Action Comics Vol. 2 #5
  14. Action Comics Vol. 2 #13
  15. Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #93 (1969)
  16. Superboy #162 (1970)
  17. Action Comics #288
  18. World's Finest Comics #256, June/July 1979
  19. Lois Lane #59, August 1965
  20. Superman #164 (1963)
  21. Superman Family #188 (1978)
  22. Lois Lane #98, January 1970
  23. Superman #219 (1969)
  24. Action Comics #877
  25. 1 2 Adventure Comics Vol. 2 #8
  26. Action Comics #851
  27. Action Comics #875
  28. Supergirl trailer: Coming this fall to Global. 12 June 2015 via YouTube.
  29. DC Comics; HarperCollins and Harper, New York, New York, 2007. ISBN 978-0-06-134075-8

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, April 20, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.