Phantom Zone Projector

File:Phantom Zone projector.png
The **Phantom Zone projector** was a Kryptonian invention that sent the target into the Phantom Zone.

## History

The projector was used to send "the most dangerous criminals in the galaxy" into the Phantom Zone for a designated amount of time to serve their sentence. Sometimes the penalty would be for life and due to the nature of the Phantom Zone, the occupants would never age.

Perhaps the most significant example of the Phantom Zone's use is the case of Jax-Ur and Mala. Jax-Ur attempted to overrun Krypton's High Council and put himself in charge. His plans were foiled by Kryptonian Scientist Jor-El. He was sentenced to eternal imprisonment in the Phantom Zone. Mala, Jax-Ur's second in command, received a shorter sentence for her smaller role in the plan.

After failed attempts to convince the High Council of Krypton's impending doom, Jor-El suggested the Phantom Zone as a Safe House for all Kryptonians until they were released by one man (equipped with the projector) who had found a suitable home for them. In the end, it was too late for Jor-El's plan and he ended up sending his son, Kal-El in this ship to Earth with the Projector still in the ship. Whether or not he meant to leave the Projector with Kal-El is unknown.

Many Years Later, after Kal-El had become Superman, he heard Mala through the projector from the Phantom Zone. With her sentence up, Mala demanded to be released. Considering it the right thing to do, Superman released Mala and welcomed her to life on Earth. After teaching her to control her newfound abilities under the yellow sun, Superman realized that Mala would not see humans the way he did and considered them beneath Kryptonians. This led Superman to consider sending her back into the Phantom Zone and even discussed it with Dr. Emil Hamilton. Unfortunately, Mala overheard this and decided to steal the Projector and free Jax-Ur so they could take over the world together. After a short fight with Jax-Ur and Mala, Superman realized he could not take on the both of them even with his advantage in experience with their abilities so he decided to don his Anti-Kryptonite suit and go after them with a piece of Kryptonite. Superman found Mala and proceeded to weaken her with the Kryptonite until Jax-Ur appeared with the projector and sent both Superman and the Kryptonite to the Phantom Zone. He then destroyed the projector to prevent Superman from ever returning. Thankfully, Hamilton had studied the Phantom Zone projector in S.T.A.R. Labs and deduced that the Phantom Zone existed on a different vibrational frequency than Earth and built a new Projector to bring Superman back.

 File:Superman released from the Phantom Zone.png   Unfortunately, a specific crystal was needed to tune the projector to the right frequency to get people in and out of the zone. Having built it himself, Dr. Hamilton realized that Superman's Anti Kryptonite Suit had its own unique vibrational frequency and he could use that to locate Superman within the Zone. After returning Superman to Earth, they recovered the crystal from the destroyed Projector and proceeded to dispatch Jax-Ur and Mala back where they came from.
Hamilton would later conduct experiments with vibrational frequencies using what he'd learned from the projector. This resulted in the construction of a large portal device that inadvertently sent Lois Lane to another universe where she had died and Metropolis felt the effects of ***Superman***'s grief. Hamilton was eventually able to reopen the portal and send Superman through to retrieve Lois.

## Sightings and references

### *Superman: The Animated Series*

* "The Last Son of Krypton, Part I" **(Entirely Mentioned Only by Jor-El)**
* "Blasts From the Past"
* "Brave New Metropolis" **(Entirely Mentioned Only by Professor Emil Hamilton)**

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 ***Goodman, Robert*** (writer) & ***Riba, Dan*** (director) (September 8, 1997). "Blasts From the Past, Part I". *Superman: The Animated Series*. Season 2. Episode 1 (airdate). Episode 14 (production). ***Kids WB!***.
2. ↑ ***Burnett, Alan***, ***Dini, Paul*** (writers) & ***Riba, Dan*** (director) (September 6, 1996). "The Last Son of Krypton, Part I". *Superman: The Animated Series*. Season 1. Episode 1 (airdate). Episode 1 (production). ***Kids WB!***.
3. ↑ ***Goodman, Robert*** (writer) & ***Riba, Dan*** (director) (September 8, 1997). "Blasts From the Past, Part II". *Superman: The Animated Series*. Season 2. Episode 1 (airdate). Episode 14 (production). ***Kids WB!***.
4. ↑ ***Berkowitz, Stan*** (writer) & ***Geda, Curt*** (director) (September 27, 1997). "Brave New Metropolis". *Superman: The Animated Series*. Season 2. Episode 12 (airdate). Episode 25 (production). ***Kids WB!***.