There are minor spoilers ahead for Man of Steel.A while back, word leaked that General Zod and his crew of villains would hail from someplace called the “Black Zone.” While at the time most assumed that the Phantom Zone would be renamed–something that purists objected to, especially since “Black Zone” wasn’t an especially exciting alternative–it now appears that is not true.For the uninitiated: In Superman’s history, The Phantom Zone is an essentially a “prison dimension” used by Kryptonians. Time doesn’t move and there’s no escape, effectively trapping its inhabitants in what seems to outsiders to be susptended animation, even though inside the prisoners may not age, but they do perceive the passage of time. The potentially endless nature of the isolation is reserved generally for the worst of the worst criminals, especially because it’s known to drive people mad inside.That, of course, is where Zod, Faora and their crew are sent after…well, it depends on which version of the mythology you read, but the bottom line is, they stage a coup of some kind against Krypton’s ruling council. There are a number of variables, but that one tends mostly to stay true. Also, Jor-El (Superman’s biological father) is key in the capture of Zod.In any event, a new page from one of the Man of Steel tie-in books that’s already been officially released suggests that the Phantom Zone does still exist and that, as has always been the case, that’s where Zod is sent, only to escape and wreak havoc. That confirmation comes from the image above, which depicts Faora and describes her as “fiercely loyal to General Zod” and saying that “she is imprisoned with Zod in the phantom zone.”The confusion may have come from the fact that their craft is called the Black Zero. That, also a name with a good deal of history behind it in DC Comics, may be the thing that allowed them to escape the Phantom Zone.
