Phantom Zone
The Phantom Zone
A weird "twilight dimension"—first discovered by Superman’s father, Jor-El—to which Kryptonian criminals were banished to serve out their sentences as disembodied wraiths (Adv No. 283, Apr 1961: "The Phantom Superboy"; and many others). Inside the Phantom Zone, its exiled inhabitants exist in a "phantom state" (S No. 157/1, Nov 1962: "The Super-Revenge of the Phantom Zone Prisoner!"), unaging, requiring no food, air, or water (Act No. 284, Jan 1962: "The Babe of Steel!"; and others), communicating with one another telepathically (S No. 164/2, Oct 1963: "The Fugitive from the Phantom Zone!"; and others), able to observe everything that takes place in the physical universe—either on Earth (Act No. 284, Jan 1962: "The Babe of Steel!"; and others), or in outer space (S No. 157/1, Nov 1962: "The Super-Revenge of the Phantom Zone Prisoner!"; and others)—even though they cannot be seen or heard themselves (Act No. 284, Jan 1962: "The Babe of Steel!"; and others). By observing Superman from inside the Phantom Zone, all its inhabitants have learned that he is secretly Clark Kent (S No. 157/1, Nov 1962: "The Super-Revenge of the Phantom Zone Prisoner!").
Before Jor-El’s discovery of the Phantom Zone, Kryptonians who perpetrated serious crimes were exiled into outer space in a state of suspended animation inside specially-constructed space capsules (S No. 65/3, Jul/Aug 1950: "Three Supermen from Krypton!"; and others). The criminals imprisoned inside these "prison satellites" were placed in suspended animation by means of a special sleep gas, and chunks of a glowing crystalline mineral—capable of cleansing their brains of criminal tendencies in a hundred years’ time—were placed on their foreheads so that ultimately, once their sentence was served, they might take up constructive roles in Kryptonian society (S No. 123, Aug 1958: chs. I-III—"The Girl of Steel": "The Lost Super-Powers"; "Superman’s Return to Krypton").
The practice of exiling criminals into outer space was terminated after Jor-El discovered the Phantom Zone, to which convicted felons could be banished by means of an ingenious "Phantom Zone Projector" (Act No. 284, Jan 1962: "The Babe of Steel!"; and many others), or "Phantom Zone Ray Projector" (Act No. 311, Apr 1964: "Superman, King of Earth!"), of Jor-El’s own invention. Exile into this twilight world proved to be a blessing in disguise for the Phantom Zone outlaws, however, for it enabled them to survive when the planet Krypton exploded. To this day, these villains hover invisibly in their twilight dimension, waiting their opportunity to escape from the Zone and "take over the Earth," which makes the Zone the only way Superman can practically contain them short of forcibly stripping them of their powers. (Act No. 310, Mar 1964: "Secret of Kryptonite Six!"; and others).
Once projected into the Phantom Zone, "all inhabitants gain the power to converse one another via telepathy" (S No. 158, Jan 1963: "Superman in Kandor" pts. I-III—"Invasion of the Mystery Super-Men!"; "The Dynamic Duo of Kandor!"; "The City of Super-People!"; and others). For a time, however, their only means of communicating with the physical world was by beaming telepathic messages to individuals outside the Zone who possessed telepathic powers, such as Saturn Girl, and Lori Lemaris (S No. 156, Oct 1962: "The Last Days of Superman!" pts. I-III—"Superman’s Death Sentence!"; "The Super-Comrades of All Time!"; "Superman’s Last Day of Life!"), although, on at least one occasion, they succeeded in communicating with Superman by concentrating, in unison, on a single telepathic message (S No. 157/1, Nov 1962: "The Super-Revenge of the Phantom Zone Prisoner!"). Similarly, Superman’s only means of contacting the Phantom Zone outlaws was through his telepathic friends (S No. 156, Oct 1962: "The Last Days of Superman!" pts. I-III—"Superman’s Death Sentence!"; "The Super-Comrades of All Time!"; "Superman’s Last Day of Life!").
By November 1962, however, Superman has invented the "zone-o-phone," a large television-type picture tube equipped with a microphone and speaker which enables him to peer into the Phantom Zone while communicating orally with the Phantom Zone prisoners. "Wonderful! My zone-o-phone works!" thinks Superman after his device has passed its maiden test. "I can communicate with Phantom Zone prisoners. The invention’s screen enables me to look into the Zone!" (S No. 157/1: "The Super-Revenge of the Phantom Zone Prisoner!"). By February 1964 this device, here referred to as "the Phantom Zone viewer and Zone-O-Phone," has come to consist of a television-like viewing screen equipped with a headset and microphone for verbal communication (S No. 167: "The Team of Luthor and Brainiac!" pts. I-III—"The Deadly Duo!"; "The Downfall of Superman!"; "The Hour of Kandor’s Vengeance!"; see also Act No. 310, Mar 1964: "Secret of Kryptonite Six!").
By August 1963, Superman has developed a raygun-like Phantom Zone "view-finder," with which he can peer into the Phantom Zone to assure himself that all the Zone’s inhabitants are present and accounted for (S No. 163/1: "Wonder-Man, the New Hero of Metropolis!").
Once each year, in Kandor’s majestic Hall of Justice, the Phantom Zone Parole Board meets to consider the pleas of Phantom Zone prisoners seeking parole. A giant "monitor screen equipped with a zone-o-phone" is used by the parole board members to communicate with the prisoners, and those inmates deemed worthy of parole are released from the Phantom Zone to begin new lives as Kandorian citizens (Act No. 310, Mar 1964: "Secret of Kryptonite Six!").
Superman is also able to release inmates from the Phantom Zone by means of the "Phantom Zone ray-gun" he keeps in his Fortress of Solitude. In November 1962, Superman uses the device to free Quex-Ul from the Phantom Zone after verifying—with the aid of a surviving cache of "radio-visual tapes" from the files of the Kryptonian police—that Quex-Ul has served out the full sentence meted out to him by Kryptonian authorities (S No. 157/1: "The Super-Revenge of the Phantom Zone Prisoner!").
The decision to release an inmate from the Phantom Zone is an extremely grave matter, however, for the inmates of the Zone, like all surviving Kryptonians, acquire super-powers identical to Superman’s in the environment of Earth and could easily turn these awesome powers toward the pursuit of villainous ambitions. When Superman releases Jax-Ur from the Phantom Zone for a twenty-four hour period in March 1964, he uses a special "release ray" to make the villain materialize in his Fortress of Solitude, and then clamps an ingenious metal bracelet—called a "zone-shackle"—on the convict's wrist. "Should you refuse to let me return you to the Phantom Zone after 24 hours," explains Superman, "it will dissolve your atomic structure and automatically return you there anyway!" In addition, if Jax-Ur attempts to tamper with or remove the zone-shackle, he will find himself automatically banished to "a fiery, barren planet under a red sun," where, like any Kryptonian, he would instantly be deprived of his super-powers (Act No. 310: "Secret of Kryptonite Six!").
The Phantom Zone outlaws have an abiding hatred of Superman and, almost to a man, they pray for the day when they can escape the Zone and "take over the Earth" (Act No. 310, Mar 1964: "Secret of Kryptonite Six!"). According to Superman No. 157/1, "These invisible villains hate Superman because he possesses mighty super-powers which they, too, would have if they weren’t prisoners in the twilight dimension!" (Nov 1962: "The Super-Revenge of the Phantom Zone Prisoner!"), but a more plausible explanation for the enmity they bear Superman lies in the fact that Superman is the most visible surviving representative of the society that exiled them; that, in large measure, he holds the key to keeping them prisoner or setting them free; and that it was the testimony of his father, Jor-El, that was instrumental in dooming many of their number to long terms in the Phantom Zone (S No. 153/3, May 1962: "The Town of Supermen!"; and others).
Over the years, a number of occurrences, both natural and man-made, have enabled Phantom Zone outlaws to escape the Zone. By May 1962, for example, a "50-megaton atomic test blast on Earth [has] ripped open a hole in the Phantom Zone," allowing eight criminals to escape before finally closing up again (S No. 153/3: "The Town of Supermen!"). In October 1963, the explosion in outer space of an atomic missile from a Polaris submarine causes a temporary gap in the Phantom Zone through which the villain Ras-Krom escapes to freedom (S No. 164/2: "The Fugitive from the Phantom Zone!") A hole in the Phantom Zone caused by "the electrical ions of the Aurora Borealis" in January 1962 is closed by Superman, Supergirl, and Krypto before it becomes large enough to allow any of the imprisoned "super-villains" to escape (Act No. 284: "The Babe of Steel!").
Over the years, the inhabitants of the Phantom Zone have included General Zod (Adv No. 283, Apr 1961: "The Phantom Superboy"; and others), Jax-Ur and Professor Vakox (Act No. 284, Jan 1962: "The Babe of Steel!"; and others); Dr. Xadu, a "villainous scientist" (SA No. 5, Sum 1962) sentenced to thirty years in the Phantom Zone for doing "a forbidden experiment in suspended animation" (S No. 150/1, Jan 1962: "The One Minute of Doom!"); Ral-En, the son of Mag-En (S No. 154/2, Jul 1962: "Krypton's First Superman!"); Quex-Ul (S No. 157/1, Nov 1962: "The Super-Revenge of the Phantom Zone Prisoner!"); Ras-Krom (S No. 164/2, Oct 1963: "The Fugitive from the Phantom Zone!"); Faora Hu-Ul (Act No. 471/1, May 1977: "One of Our Phantoms Is Missing"; and others), and the eight unidentified Phantom Zone escapees whom Superman encounters in the town of Drywood Gulch in May 1962 (S No. 153/3: "The Town of Supermen!"). Mon-El, a close friend of Superman, is the only inhabitant of the Phantom Zone who was not sent there for any crime (SB No. 89/1, Jun 1961: "Superboy's Big Brother"; and others). A complete "microfilm gallery of Phantom Zone criminals, a gift [to Superman] from law officials in the miniature city of Kandor," is kept for safekeeping in the Fortress of Solitude (S No. 164/2, Oct 1963: "The Fugitive from the Phantom Zone!").
In January 1962, the Phantom Zone prisoners seem on the verge of escaping from the Phantom Zone after "the electrical ions of the Aurora Borealis have opened a small hole in the Phantom Zone which is steadily widening," threatening to release the exiled "super-villains" into the earthly dimension as soon as it becomes "big enough for the Phantom Zone criminals to squeeze through!" Alerted to the threat, however, by their friend Mon-El, Superman, Supergirl, and Krypto the Superdog use the combined power of their X-ray vision to burn up the Aurora Borealis, thereby sealing up the opening through which the villains had hoped to make their escape (Act No. 284: "The Babe of Steel!"). During this same period, the Phantom Zone outlaws, like all other Kryptonian survivors, bow their heads in silence in solemn commemoration of "the anniversary of the destruction of Krypton..." (S No. 150/1, Jan 1962: "The One Minute of Doom!").
In October 1962, after exposure to Red Kryptonite has temporarily transformed Superman into two separate individuals, a mature, responsible Clark Kent and an unprincipled, irresponsible Superman, the arrogant Superman imprisons Krypto the Superdog, Supergirl, and the entire city of Kandor in the Phantom Zone in order to prevent them from interfering with his plan to keep the personalities of Clark Kent and Superman separate forever. Ultimately, however, Clark Kent frees his friends from the Phantom Zone, and soon afterward he succeeds in bringing about the reuniting of Clark Kent and Superman into a single individual (Act No. 293: "The Feud Between Superman and Clark Kent!"). During this same period, when Superman is believed to be dying of exposure to Virus X, an incurable Kryptonian malady, Mon-El beams a telepathic message to Saturn Girl from inside the Phantom Zone informing her that Superman is not suffering from exposure to Virus X at all, but merely from the effects of a kryptonite nugget that has become accidentally lodged in Jimmy Olsen’s camera (S No. 156, Oct 1962: "The Last Days of Superman!" pts. I-III—"Superman’s Death Sentence!"; "The Super-Comrades of All Time!"; "Superman’s Last Day of Life!").
In November 1962, Superman releases Quex-Ul from the Phantom Zone (S No. 157/1: "The Super-Revenge of the Phantom Zone Prisoner!").
In January 1963, in order to hide from the cohorts of the "fanatic scientist" Than-Ol, Superman and Jimmy Olsen project themselves into the Phantom Zone, then materialize in the Fortress of Solitude one hour later, when the coast is clear. "On the chance that some day I’d have to hide out in the Phantom Zone," explains Superman, "I recently equipped this [Phantom Zone] projector with a timing device that would automatically release anyone it had sent into the Zone after a period of one hour!" (S No. 158: "Superman in Kandor" pts. I-III—"Invasion of the Mystery Super-Men!"; "The Dynamic Duo of Kandor!"; "The City of Super-People!").
In October 1963, Superman battles the Phantom Zone escapee Ras-Krom (S No. 164/2: "The Fugitive from the Phantom Zone!").
In March 1964, Superman thwarts an elaborate scheme by the Phantom Zone outlaw Jax-Ur to blackmail him into setting free all the Phantom Zone convicts (Act No. 310: "Secret of Kryptonite Six!"). (TGSB)
While valuing the Zone as a method of practical containment for existing Kryptonian inmates as well as its utility in sheltering Mon-El while he was dying of lead poisoning, Superman may harbor some concerns about the justness of its use as punishment. For example, when the villain Mongul snares him in the grip of the Black Mercy plant he dreams of an ideal life on Krypton. As this fantasy decays into a nightmare, he imagines Kara Zor-El being severely wounded in an attack by a militant opposed to the Phantom Zone. With her is literature denouncing the penal use of the Zone saying, "Just because it doesn't hurt, doesn't mean it isn't torture. Release all Phantom Zone prisoners at once!" (SA No. 11, 1985: "For The Man Who Has Everything").
