The Phantom Zone is a prison-like parallel dimension appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by the Kryptonians, it was designed as a place of exile for dangerous criminals; where time dilation behaves differently and the laws of physics don't apply. When someone is transported there, they do not age nor die, but they're trapped in a state of suspension. It is mainly associated with stories featuring Superman. It first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 (April 1961), and was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp. 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 a "pocket universe" discovered by Jor-El that existed outside the space-time continuum; it was used on the planet Krypton as a humane method of imprisoning criminals. Kryptonians had abolished the death penalty in the distant past. In more recent history, 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, and was often the prosecutor at their trials. When they manage to escape, they usually engage in random destruction, particularly easy for them since, on Earth, each acquires the same powers as Superman. Nevertheless, Superman periodically released Phantom Zone prisoners whose original sentences had been completed, and most of these went to live in the bottled city of Kandor.
In the Steve Gerber miniseries The Phantom Zone #1-4 (1982), it is revealed that the Zone has a breach through which other inmates had escaped, but they were never heard from again. The imprisoned Superman and Quex-Ul use this method and travel through several dimensional "layers" seeking the exit into the physical universe. They finally encounter a Kryptonian wizard named Thul-Kar, who tells them that he believed Jor-El's prophecy of Krypton's doom and entered the Phantom Zone through magic. Using the same breach, he discovered that the Phantom Zone was born from an entity called Aethyr.Phantom Zone #3 (March 1982)
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.The Adventures of Superman #460 (November 1989)The Adventures of Superman #461 (December 1989) A Phantom Zone Projector is part of Superman's current Fortress. It has been used to access the bottled city of Kandor and to trap villains such as the White Martians.
The Phantom Zone has been independently discovered by various characters. 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 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 1,000 years.
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.Supergirl (vol. 5) #16 (June 2007)
The New 52 In The New 52, Jor-El suggested 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 sacrifices himself by attacking Xa-Du, thus going into the Phantom Zone as well.Action Comics (vol. 2) #5 (March 2012)
It is revealed that 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 iteration.Action Comics (vol. 2) #13 (December 2012)
Known inmates Inmates in Pre-Crisis Throughout the Silver Age of Comic Books, the following inhabitants of the Phantom Zone have been depicted. Based on this list, at least 34 Kryptonians were projected into the Phantom Zone on Krypton over a period of less than 256 Kryptonian days.World Of Krypton #2 (August 1979) and #3 (September 1979) The entry on the Kryptonian calendar shows the details on the relationship between Kryptonian sun-cycles and Earth years.
Ak-Var – Ak-Var was sentenced to 30 Earth years (22 Kryptonian sun-cycles) in the Phantom Zone for plotting to steal a revered relic called a Sun-Stone. After he serves his sentence, Ak-Var is released, moves to Kandor, and becomes the superhero Flamebird.Action Comics #336 (April 1966)Superman Family #183 (June 1977) Ar-Ual – Ar-Ual was sentenced to 50 Kryptonian sun-cycles (68.5 Earth years) in the Phantom Zone for destroying priceless knowledge and depriving Krypton of a millennium of scientific progress.Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #93 (July 1969) Az-Rel – Az-Rel is a petty criminal from the island of Bokos who possesses pyrokinetic abilities. He and his partner Nadira work together to terrorize the Kryptonian city of Erkol before being captured and sentenced to 15 Kryptonian sun-cycles (20.55 Earth years) in the Phantom Zone. The two are among those freed from the Zone when Quex-Ul is manipulated into building a crude Phantom Zone Projector.Phantom Zone #1 (January 1982) Later, Nadira is killed when Jer-Em exposes her to green Kryptonite. She telekinetically inflicts pain on Az-Rel, which triggers his pyrokinesis, immolating him.Phantom Zone #4 (April 1982) Bal-Gra – The history and sentencing of this prisoner was not revealed. Bal-Gra once escaped from the Phantom Zone through a temporary space-warp. He battles Superman until he is depowered by gold Kryptonite and returned to the Phantom Zone.Superman #204 (February 1968) Blak-Du – The history and sentencing of this prisoner was not revealed. Blak-Du was Jor-El's roommate at Krypton College, and was rated as scientifically brilliant.Superboy #121 (June 1965) Cha-Mel – A Kryptonian boy who was imprisoned in the Phantom Zone after impersonating Jor-El and attempting to rob his house.Superboy #162 (January 1970) General Zod – He was sentenced to 40 Kryptonian sun-cycles (54.8 Earth years) for using a duplicator ray to create a private army of imperfect clones to overthrow the government.Adventure Comics #283 (April 1961) Erndine Ze-Da (Zeda) - The history and sentencing of this prisoner was not revealed. One day, a South Seas volcano exploded and the concussion opened a temporary gap in the Phantom Zone, enabling both Erndine Ze-Da and Dr. Xadu to escape. They concocted a plan to trap Superboy in the Zone, but he became aware of their scheme and stranded them on the planet Exon.Superboy #100 (October 1962) Years later, Erndine and Xadu, who had since married and acquired the secret of the cosmic power-grip, escaped from Exon and returned to Earth. Superman defeated them again, and placed them in separate cells on two different worlds.Action Comics #434 (April 1974) and #435 (May 1974) Faora – A martial arts expert and hater of males, who was sentenced to 300 Kryptonian sun-cycles (411 Earth years) in the Phantom Zone for killing 23 men in a concentration camp. She once escaped captivity by using telepathy to manipulate an Earthman named Jackson Porter into freeing her from the Zone.Action Comics #471-473 (May–July 1977) Gann Artar – In one imaginary story, a criminal named Gann Artar was sentenced to 50 Kryptonian sun-cycles (68.5 Earth years) for using his de-evolutionary ray to create large, dangerous monsters.Superman #166 (January 1964) Gaz-Or – After a lifetime of scientific villainy and because he was dying of old age, the Mighty Gazor attempted to use his earthquake machine to destroy Krypton. He was stopped by Jor-El, who had arrived just in time and was sentenced to the Phantom Zone for his crime. Gaz-Or claimed that he had received the longest sentence ever given to anyone condemned to the Phantom Zone. This contradicts the fact that Jax-Ur and Orn-Zu both received life sentences, but after Mon-El was released from the Zone in the 30th Century, Gaz-Or was indeed the only prisoner remaining in that ghostly dimension.Adventure Comics #323 (August 1964) Gor-Nu – Once the greatest biochemist on Krypton, Gor-Nu's reckless experiments caused several deaths. He was sentenced to 50 Kryptonian sun-cycles (68.5 Earth years) in the Phantom Zone. When a lethal crystal-menace threatened to destroy the bottle-city of Kandor, Superman released Gor-Nu in the hope that he could figure out a way to stop it. Gor-Nu was successful, but he then tried to betray Superman. Gor-Nu's plans were foiled and he was returned to the Phantom Zone.Superman #223 (January 1970) Gra-Mo and two assistants – The criminal Gra-Mo and his two assistants (one possibly named Ni-Van) were captured, sentenced to life for attempting to take over Krypton with Gra-Mo's robot hordes, placed in suspended animation, and imprisoned in a space capsule which was placed into orbit around Krypton. They were the last criminals to receive this type of punishment. After Krypton's destruction, the capsule drifted through space, and they eventually awakened and traveled to Earth. When Superboy learned of their criminal nature, he figured out a way to defeat them and projected them into the Phantom Zone.Superboy #104 (April 1963) The Inventor – The history and sentencing of this human prisoner was not revealed.Adventure Comics #400 (December 1970) Jackson Porter – Phantom Zone prisoner Faora used telepathy to delude Jackson Porter into believing she was the ghost of his dead wife Katie. Faora soon manipulated him into freeing her from the Phantom Zone. After she is returned to the Phantom Zone, Porter follows her there. Jax-Ur – A rogue Kryptonian scientist who was sentenced to an eternity in the Phantom Zone for breaking the law forbidding anyone to experiment with an untested explosive. His rocket missed its target and destroyed Wegthor, an inhabited moon of Krypton, killing 500 colonists. He was the first prisoner projected into the Phantom Zone on Krypton. Jax-Ur also became the first prisoner to escape the Phantom Zone when a passing comet created a momentary warp through which he slipped.Adventure Comics #289 (October 1961) Jer-Em – A religious fanatic who was sentenced to 30 Kryptonian sun-cycles (41.1 Earth years) in the Phantom Zone for wiping out the superpowers of the people of Argo City (the birthplace of the future Supergirl) by guiding it back toward a red sun, leaving the residents stranded in their city in space.Action Comics #309 (February 1964) Jer-Em was among those freed from the Phantom Zone when Quex-Ul was manipulated into building and activating a crude Phantom Zone Projector. Later, Jer-Em purposely exposes himself to green Kryptonite to enter the Kryptonian afterlife.