Phanzig

Phanzig was a convicted criminal serving his sentence in the Verah Castle space prison when the crew of the Jupiter 2 docked there. They discover that the mechanism which automatically released the prisoners (kept frozen on pedestals) had malfunctioned. Before they could repair it, Dr. Smith freed Phanzig, who then released the rest of the prisoners. Only John Robinson's promise to repair the mechanism prevented their destruction of the prison's control room. As a parting gift, Phanzig gave Will his cat's cradle, apparently the weapon with which he committed the crimes for which he was imprisoned