Throughout the long near century of his existence, the Man of Steel has seen his fair share of revamps and reboots. However, there are always constants. Lois Lane. Jimmy Olsen. Perry White. Supergirl. One of those aspects of the mythos that has managed to stick around is...the Phantom Zone.
First appearing in Adventure Comics #283 (April 1961) and created by writer Robert Bernstine and artist George Papp, the Phantom Zone was an extradimensional prison, meant to be a humane way to imprison Kryptonian criminals. Prisoners within the Zone can observe, but not interact with the physical world. They also do not age, and do not require sustenance in the Zone.
Throughout the Silver and Bronze Ages, quite a few Superman stories focused on the Zone and its inhabitants, as thanks to the Zone's properties, any Kryptonian criminal that was imprisoned in it was able to survive the destruction of Krypton. The Phantom Zone also indirectly has been involved in stories starring Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes as well. Supergirl because, well...duh. And the Legion because of one of their members, Mon-El, was imprisoned in the Zone as well. Not because of a crime, but because it would stave off lethal lead poisoning (Mon-El is a Daxamite, and lead is like Kryptonite to them).
In the early 1980s, Steve Gerber and Gene Colan would help produce the first miniseries that focused on this little extradimensional prison. The miniseries was meant to further explore the origins of the Zone. It also was a tale of one of the potentially scariest scenarios in the DC Universe. Imagine a group of ruthless prisoners with the potential power levels of the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths-era Superman himself finding a way out of the Phantom Zone. After all, no prison is unescapable. This is...The Phantom Zone #1!
The cover is a Gene Colan, Dick Giordano, and Gaspar Saladino piece. It's really neat. This has the feel of a Silver Age-era Superman cover, which stands out since by this point, we were firmly in the Bronze Age of Comics. The cover hints at a great distress haunting a character in the story. You'll see what I mean later on.
"The Haunting of Charlie Kweskill"
Writer: Steve Gerber
Penciler: Gene Colan
Inker: Tony DeZuniga
Colorist: Carl Gafford
Letterer: Milt Snapinn
Editor: Dick Giordano
Executive Editor: Joe Orlando
The story begins in the Daily Planet in Metropolis. Editor-in-Chief Perry White has caught an employee named Charlie Kweskill snoozing on the job.
(Panel 9, Panel 1)
Kweskill hasn't been sleeping well lately, his nights haunted by dark nightmares. Nightmares of a world lit by red sunlight, of red jungles and volcanoes that spewed gold. A world that seems...familiar to the man, but he doesn't seem to know why. One dream takes him back...back to the long-destroyed planet of Krypton.
Jor-El, the father of Superman, has a proposal for the ruling Science Council.
Krypton dealt with criminals by putting them in suspended animation and exiling them into space, their containers orbiting the planet. He has what he considers a more...humane way to handle the problem. He's invented a very special device, which he demonstrates on his beloved wife Lara.
Page 13, Panels 1 and 2.
Yup, this is the birth of the famous Phantom Zone projector. Jor-El believes that here in the Zone, criminals can think about the folly of their actions. And when they're rehabilitated, they can be released from the Zone. The Science Council tells Jor-El that they'll consider his device, and another Kryptonian scientist named Gra-Mo makes his presentation. He wants to present a new kind of artificial worker to replace Krypton's robotic labor force, controlled by a thought-projecting helmet. An assistant points out to Gra-Mo that the worker is melting. Gra-Mo is infuriated. He blames Jor-El's Phantom Zone projector for it...for some reason.
Gra-Mo heads back to his lab and uses his thought-control helmet to take control of Krypton's robotic police, and causes a lot of destruction and death. He is the last Kryptonian criminal to be exiled into space. Kweskill's dream continues, telling the tale of scientist Jax-Ur. Jax-Ur launched a missile into space, intended to hit a meteor. It was a test of his missile's new guidance system. The system fails and ends up hitting Krypton's moon Wegthor. The missile destroys Wegthor and kills all 500 of its inhabitants. To the Phantom Zone he goes.
Kweskill sees the tale of Professor Va-Kox. His experiments on marine species of Krypton damages the waters of the planet. To the Phantom Zone with him. Next, Dr. Xadu of the Antarctic City is shown experimenting with suspended animation, which is illegal. Next, the tale of Faora Hu-Ul, who killed 23 men in a concentration camp simply because they were men. Basically, she's what the Internet thinks a feminist is.
And then there was General Zod.
Yeah, that guy. He led an armed insurrection, believing his military mind made him the best to rule Krypton by right. To the Zone he went as well. Next was Az-Rel and Nadira. Born on Bokos, aka the Island of Thieves, the two were exiled when it was discovered they were essentially mutants, for lack of a better term. Nadira is a psychokinetic, and Az-Rel is a pyrokinetic. They used their power to terrorize the city of Erkol, Krypton's oldest city. And for that, they became Zoners, too.
Kweskill sees more Kryptonian criminals. Kru-El, the uncle of Superman himself. Used forbidden weaponry to attack Krypton. Taken down and put in the Zone by Jor-El himself. The final Zoner is a man who became arguably one of the most hated men on the planet. A man who killed protected creatures known as the Rondors. Rondors' horns could heal any injury, cure any illness. This Zoner profited off that by slaughtering them and using their horns in "cellular regenerators". Kweskill sees the face of the man who perpetrated this crime: Quex-Ul. And they have the same face.
More on that later. We then go back in time. Back to nine days before the destruction of Krypton. Jor-El likes sick with fever. The Zoners try to telepathically compel him to release them from the Zone. You see, the Zoners can telepathically communicate with each other. Presumably, they discovered they can communicate with other people by combining their wills. Lara is able to stop Jor-El, and he reports this to the Science Council. The Phantom Zone projector is rocketed into space. The destruction of Krypton makes the Zoners cheer. They survived their world's death. They survived the man who helped put them there, not knowing that years later, his son would be their bane.
Kweskill wakes up, finding himself in S.T.A.R Labs.
Page 26, Panel 1
He discovers he somehow was able to sneak in, fight through the guards, and make off with some electronic devices. He leaves in utter confusion. It's revealed that his dreams were thanks to telepathic manipulation from the Zoners. You see, Kweskill was Quex-Ul. In Superman #157 (November 1962), Quex-Ul was exposed to Gold Kryptonite, causing him to lose his powers and his memory of who he was. Superman than game him a job at the Daily Planet and a new identity as Charlie Kweskill.
Another Zoner, Mon-El, tries to ask what's going on. However, the two Kryptonians he asks are Nadira and Az-Rel. They don't like him, and in fact, they find him disgusting. He tries to ask the mad prophet Jer-Em, but he doesn't care as he believes whatever is coming is supposed to happen.
Several nights pass. Perry White is yelling at Jimmy Olsen to get to the bottom of the mysterious electronic thefts. Olsen has no leads. Not to mention that Kweskill has vanished. Clark Kent goes to check on him...as Superman, of course. The Man of Steel peeks in Charlie's apartment and doesn't see him. He flies off, feeling he's missing something...like the lead-lined closet.
This is why Batman thinks you are an idiot, Clark! The next night, Clark Kent finishes up a transmission as a newscaster. Yeah, in the early 80s, Clark Kent ended up becoming a newscaster thanks to the Daily Planet being bought out by Galaxy Communications. As Superman, he decides to check up on Charlie one last time before he calls it a night. He sees Charlie with the stolen electronics, building a Phantom Zone projector. Superman tries to stop it, but Charlie activates the crude device. And the story ends with the Phantom Zone criminals freed...and Superman and Charlie Kweskill/Quex-Ul trapped in the Phantom Zone.
In the words of a certain drunkard robot, "Well, we're boned!"
I personally enjoyed this comic. The idea of a breakout of the Phantom Zone is actually a frightening one. Keep in mind, the Zone contains criminals that, because they share Superman's Kryptonian physiology, can have his powers under the yellow sun of Earth. And unlike the Man of Steel, they lack his kindness, compassion, and empathic nature. Beware the Superman indeed.
I did wish that Gerber explored more of the Zone's effects on its inhabitants. After, Superman stories in the past have questioned whether the Zone was actually humane or not. I think that'd be something he'd explore more. But the idea of exploring the origins of the Zone is a cool one, and the cliffhanger is terrifying.
Gene Colan's art brings a moody vibe to the story. My favorite panels are the ones in which Kweskill/Quex-Ul sees the history of the Phantom Zone being used as a prison. The black and the eyes he draws help show the idea that the Phantom Zone is a horrorshow.
The Phantom Zone, in my opinion, is a hidden gem of DC Comics's 1980s output. If you want to read this for yourself, I suggest you track down the 2013 trade paperback Superman: Phantom Zone. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!
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