Warning: Spoilers for Action Comics #1081
Despite SupermanAfter Krypton's selfless heroism on Earth, his home planet Krypton is not known for being as merciful as him. Instead, Krypton is famous for subjecting its criminals to torment in the Phantom Zone dimension, which has long been considered the worst punishment in the DC Universe. However, a new form of Kryptonian torture has been revealed, as Superman is faced with the true darkest punishment in DC lore.
Action comics #1081 by Mark Waid, Clayton Henry, Matt Herms and Dave Sharpe opens with Xa-Du, the Ghost King, ambushing Superman and his allies. They become trapped in the Phantom Zone, and Xa-Du discusses how he spent millennia planning his revenge against the Man of Steel. Back then, he invented the perfect way to kill Superman via a deadly machine.
Fueled by the hatred of Phantom Zone prisoners the device that Xa-Du prepared to eliminate his enemies is the ultimate anti-Superman weapon and has the power to unleash the darkest fate imaginable for a Kryptonian.
Superman faces torment worse than Krypton's Phantom Zone
The Ghost King threatens to turn Superman into kryptonite
According to Xa-Du, the killing machine he set up in the Phantom Zone will do much more than kill Superman. With the prisoners' heat vision, it will first produce an explosion similar to the one that caused the destruction of Krypton. He notes that Superman and his family will survive the explosion, but their suffering will not end there. The Ghost King explains, “Your skin – your bones, your blood – will be elementally transformed into kryptonite.” Forcing Superman to experience firsthand the pain inflicted on his planet is bad enough, but this shocking detail proves just how harsh this punishment is.
As most know, Superman's greatest weakness in DC history is kryptonite, and the same can be said for any Kryptonian. Therefore, turning a Kryptonian into that which causes them such extreme damage is an unimaginably brutal outcome to endure. Superman has harnessed the dangerous element for himself before in horrific cases, such as when he uses kryptonite gauntlets. Superman #8 by Joshua Williamson and Gleb Melnikov. That said, using kryptonite as a last resort is different from taking it against one's will, which is exactly what the Ghost King intends with Superman.
Superman's Punishment Confirms Kryptonians Are DC's Toughest Race
From the Phantom Zone to the Mortal Engines, Kryptonian torture methods are terrifying
Kryptonians are no strangers to chilling types of torment, with the Phantom Zone serving as a prime example. Jor-El's invention of the Phantom Zone projector presents the most unethical prison in DC history, as the Science Council locks criminals they deem unworthy of redemption in a nightmarish dimension. Now, by plotting to turn Superman into kryptonite with his death machine, Xa-Du has further demonstrated how twisted Kryptonians can be. Although Superman managed to sidestep his dark fate for now, he won't soon forget that one of his enemies knows how to kill him in the most gruesome way possible.
Action comics #1081 is now available from DC Comics.