So... who of Superman's villains, really DO belong in the Phantom Zone?

[L.R Johansson]

I think the Zone, since it is the ultimate non-capital punishment, should be reserved for the worst of the worst... the kind of people that you would have an immensely hard time rehabilitating.

As such, I just got the idea... what if there was a story where Superman decided it was time he started using the Zone more actively? He does really have some villains that are unbelievably heinous, and really do belong there.

So, what would the list be like? What villains can't you really put in regular prisons, and may take centuries to even figure out a way to even remotely rehabilitate them? Who are DANGEROUS and immoral enough, to end up there?

I'll start with the obvious ones, since then it will get interesting.


1 Doomsday ( no sh*t! This guy lives only to destroy - it's implied in his first appearances that he isn't actually mindless... he just enjoys killing and hurting people so much, that he sees no need to speak.)
2 Cyborg Superman ( suicidal mass-murderer)
3 DARKSEID (! He's the embodiment of evil... literally. )
4 Desaad ( god of torture, and all)
5 Massacre ( mass-murdering maniac, wanted throughout the whole galaxy)
6 Lobo ( killed his entire race through a parasitic plague )
7 Brainiac ( the more modern versions are mass-murderers, before they shrink cities. And he's obviously far too powerful to be held by any human prison.)
8 Mongul ( had to think about this one for a while, but yeah, he's bad enough)


Didn't include Satanus, since, well, he's in H*ll. Supposedly, that's where he belongs. Probably a better idea to have him chained there, so he can't come to Earth and make trouble.

So... who else, deserves to end up in the Phantom Zone? And do you agree that the enemies I picked out, are heinous and dangerous enough, to warrant a de-materialization?

[dupersuper]

The ones - like those you list - too powerful to just arrest normally (even with comic book high tech prisons for super villains).

[The Conductor]

I think Cyborg Superman can be detained without the Phantom Zone. Just pull his head off and drop his body in the ocean while his still conscience head and can spend time at S.T.E.E.L.

[Qwathings]

I don't think trapping a New God in another dimension would hold them for very long. They tend to have a greater understanding of the cosmology and nature of the universe, plus they have technology and allies that can cross into other universes.

And couldn't Cyborg Superman use his own technology to create a device to escape from the Zone with?

Or at least this is my pre-new52 understanding of these characters, the newer versions might be more limited and easier to contain.

[Flash Gordon]

Good luck keeping Darkseid in the room long enough to even put him in the Zone.

[Robotman]

Darkseid's Omega Effect has been shown to have the power to send people through time and space. So he may be able to free himself from a dimensional prison.

[Ascended]

Good luck confining Darkseid. Aside from sticking him in the Source Wall, I dont think there is a prison in the multiverse he couldn't escape. And you'd have to confine all of his minions and worshipers too. He's the very *idea* of evil.

I dont read Supergirl and am thus in the dark about the new Cyborg Superman's abilities, but I think the Zone would be a good prison for him. At least pre-52 I dont think he could travel between dimensions. Assuming he still cant, the Zone works as well as anything else.

Vyndx would certainly quality as "bad enough" for the Zone, but he's a fifth dimensional imp so that's not gonna work. I think H'el deserves the Zone, but Im not sure if he even exists anymore or if he wrote himself out of history. Imperiex....you know, I gotta say Imperiex doesnt deserve the Zone. It was just doing what it was meant to do. Much in the same way that Galactus isnt properly evil, Imperiex is a victim of design. And regardless, Im not sure if the Zone would hold it.

What about villains from other franchises? Seems to me the Joker is long overdue for a tenure in the Zone, as is Black Hand and Trigon.

[Robotman]

Basically anyone Superman has problems physically defeating. If they're stronger than Supes there's probably no man made prison that can hold them. Gods and fifth dimensional imps are a whole other problem. I don't think the Phantom Zone could hold Darkseid or Vyndktvx.
Turning the prisoners into phantoms stops them from physically breaking their bonds since they're now etherial. But beings who can rearrange reality would jump bail pretty fast.

[The Frozen Reptile]

Mongul's already in the zone. Doomsday has escaped it. Lobo could be contained here, but the rest; I think technology is such that they can't be put there in the first place.

[dupersuper]

I think Cyborg Superman can be detained without the Phantom Zone. Just pull his head off and drop his body in the ocean while his still conscience head and can spend time at S.T.E.E.L.

You'd need to isolate said head from tech, at least pre-Flashpoint.

And couldn't Cyborg Superman use his own technology to create a device to escape from the Zone with?

Maybe if he and his tech were tangible...

Mongul's already in the zone. Doomsday has escaped it. Lobo could be contained here, but the rest; I think technology is such that they can't be put there in the first place.

You mean now that the Zone is broken?

[The Frozen Reptile]

You mean now that the Zone is broken?

Didn't Batman, Wonder Woman and Steel just fix it?

[Superlad93]

Didn't Batman, Wonder Woman and Steel just fix it?

Nope, not at all. They just got Xa-Du out of it.

[DochaDocha]

I'd say pretty much his A-list villains all belong in the PZ.

That's actually one reason I don't like the idea of having a PZ projector in the Fortress. Some of these guys are really awful that they belong there, but then the writers have to find a way to get them out, and if it's possible to get in and out of the PZ then I feel like it's kind of defeating the purpose of the PZ. It would be like if during the relevant time period, Batman kept sending guys to Alcatraz, but then villains kept escaping.

[Flash Gordon]

Well Superman needs a real good reason to sentence someone to eternal damn nation. Like Mongul was a horrible being who enslaved thousands on WARWORLD, and used the Black Mercy to hurt Superman like never before.

He can't just toss Captain Cold in there for robbing a bank.

[Auguste Dupin]

Nope, not at all. They just got Xa-Du out of it.

Well, I haven't reread the issue yet, but didn't Diana ended up closing the breach pretty much when she arrived? Of course, wether or not it was permanent is anyone's guess.