Warning! Contains spoilers for Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #19!Things are about to get complicated for Superman over a blast from his past. The future looks grim for the Man of Steel as a new threat aims to make him pay for one iconic piece of Superman’s lore.
In Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #19 by Mark Waid and Travis Moore, Superman fights Jax-Ur, a Kryptonian criminal and former prisoner of the Phantom Zone. Jax-Ur reveals that portals to the Phantom Zone have been popping up and that he figured out the pattern behind the random occurrences to help him escape. While imprisoned in the Phantom Zone, Alfred finds a mysterious being he speculates may be behind the gateways between Earth and the ethereal prison.
Back on Earth, Superman and Batman fight against Jax-Ur in Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. The duo manages to return Jax-Ur to the Phantom Zone and discuss the case, with Clark wondering who the alien was that Alfred saw. In an epilogue to the story, the being returns and laments at the state of those imprisoned in the Phantom Zone. The entity speculates what kind of monster would allow such suffering and vows to release the Zone’s prisoners.
Superman’s New Villain is Going to Tear Down the Phantom Zone
Superman’s biggest fans are highly aware of the Phantom Zone, the liminal prison Clark’s home planet Krypton used to house the planet’s most ruthless criminals. As an adult, Clark became aware of the sinister foes within the extradimensional space such as Jax-Ur or General Zod. As Kryptonians, these villains had the same powers as Superman did, with none of his affinity for Earth. The only way Clark could contain them was by using his Phantom Zone projector to trap them in the prison whenever they managed to escape.
Interestingly enough, the being vowing to release the Phantom Zone’s prisoners brings up Aethyr, a godlike being native to the realm. Aethyr’s existence was first revealed in The Phantom Zone, a miniseries where Superman discovered that the domain was actually an extension of the powerful being and shaped by the near-deity’s thoughts and dreams. While Aethyr was erased in the Post-Crisis continuity, references to the being have popped up in recent Infinite Frontier and Future State books. While it remains to be seen if the figure here is Aethyr or just its emissary, Superman’s past is about to catch up to him.
An Extradimensional God Could Be Coming For Superman
Whether the hooded firgure here is the Phantom Zone’s god or simply its harbinger, the entity plans on releasing everyone contained within the Zone. Considering most people trapped in the Phantom Zone are Kryptonians (many of whom Clark placed in there), Clark could soon be dealing with potentially dozens of furious beings with powers similar to him, all seeking revenge for their imprisonment. Granted, Superman’s use of the Phantom Zone was the only way he could save Earth from hostile Kryptonians. But that decision may end up haunting the Man of Steel. Fans can see more of the hooded figure and his mysterious plans in Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #19, on sale now.
