Notice! Spoilers ahead for Action Comics #1073!One of the most disturbing parts Superman the tradition just became even more disturbing. After sensing a powerful disturbance in the Phantom Zone, the Man of Steel ventured inside only to discover that the liminal prison had evolved thanks to a strange being known as Aethyr.
After discovering the Phantom Zone years ago and seeing how its prisoners were mistreated, Aethyr made changes to the realm to give its inhabitants some sense of comfort. But Aethyr’s perspective on the prisoners changed after discovering how violent they were, hardening Aethyr and causing him to turn the Phantom Zone into the most horrific torture in the DC Universe.
The Phantom Zone’s darkest traps trap prisoners across time and space
Aethyr’s Worst Torment is the ‘Eye of the Zone’
In Action Comics #1073 by Mark Waid, Clayton Henry, Michael Shelfer, Matt Herms and Dave Sharpe, Clark reflects on his father’s discovery of the Phantom Zone as he and his former ally Mon-El venture towards a rift in the Phantom Zone where Aethyr hides . Unfortunately, Xa-Du, the Ghost King and loyal servant of Aethyr, is waiting for them and emerges from the rift with a ship to attack his enemies. Even though your battery is low, Superman leads the attack to destroy Xa-Du’s ship.
Xa-Du briefly gains the upper hand and even destroys a device Superman brought to get him out of the Phantom Zone immediately. Fortunately, before the Ghost King can do anything, Mon-El enters, using Clark’s other power battery to deliver a solid punch to their mutual enemy. Aethyr emerges from the rift, furious because the Ghost King couldn’t deliver Superman as Xa-Du promised he would. The Ghost King begs for his life, but Aethyr no longer needs Xa-Du.
…bottomless pit of history where time and space intertwine in infinite madness...
Aethyr reveals that Xa-Du’s punishment for his failure is consignment to the Eye of the Zone, a “bottomless pit of history where time and space are intertwined in infinite madness”. Xa-Du is thrown in the eye and so is the nearly powerless Superman. Superman falls into an endless limbo, with only small pieces of land to hold on to. Superman sees the past while traveling back in time and uses the last of his powers to escape the endless hell that Aethyr has created.
Aethyr is making the hardest part of the Superman mythos even worse
Superman’s last resort turned into pure hell
This arc has been interesting as it delves into Superman’s personal feelings about something he even admits to having complicated feelings about. The Phantom Zone is a last resort and is usually only reserved for villains he has no other way to deal with (i.e. other Kryptonian threats). It’s not something he enjoys, but it’s one of the few prisons that can hold him. But Clark is having second thoughts about the Phantom Zone since Superman discovered what Aethyr was doing within the otherworldly void.
the Eye he constructed presents a fate worse than death for the prisoners inhabiting the Phantom Zone.
While the prospect of being trapped in a liminal space was frankly one of the most disturbing parts of the Man of Steel story, Aethyr did the impossible and made the Phantom Zone more terrifying than it already was. While the Phantom Zone wasn’t perfect, its inhabitants were at least protected from themselves and others no corporeal forms or solid mass. But with the eye, Aethyr made it possible for them to suffer more than they already did, sentencing them to total annihilation.
Superman is coming to terms with the idea that the Phantom Zone wasn’t a good idea. And with Aethyr at the helm of this realm, the Eye he built presents a fate worse than death for the prisoners who inhabit the Phantom Zone. Even worse, Aethyr is capable of transporting other living beings to the Zone, so he could easily find Superman’s allies and condemn them to the same suffering he took Xa-Du and an unknown number of Kryptonian prisoners through.
Can Superman right the Phantom Zone wrong?
Aethyr must be stopped at all costs
Fortunately, Superman made it out of the Eye alive, giving him the chance to stop Aethyr. But Clark is lost in time and Aethyr already has his eye on Earth. It is imperative that Superman finds a way back to the present before Aethyr puts any other soul, innocent or not, into the torment of the Eye of the Zone. Clark already had doubts about using the Phantom Zone, but with Aethyr’s ultimate punishment lurking, Superman You must do everything you can to put an end to this.
Action Comics #1073 is now available from DC Comics.