Mon-El Phantom Zone Theory

[JulianPerez]

Imagine this, if you will:

You're a ruthless domanatrix who has murdered twelve men. For your unspeakable crimes, you were cast into a prison dimension where the most eligible batchelors are a white gorilla with a horn on his forehead, and a chubby bald army guy. You lack the ability to slake the lust for power that feeds your inhuman black heart.

Then, after an eternity, a new man arrives. He's young, handsome, and best of all, inexperienced, naive and trusting. He's also from another planet, so he doesn't know who you are or the things you've done. In the Phantom Zone, where one can only see, speak to, and interact with other inmates, it wouldn't be hard to foster an artificial intimacy where real feelings are not shared.

Because of the predatory nature of such a relationship, I doubt it would last long - at least until the next big Phantom Zone break.

But is it possible that Faora earned Mon-El's trust when he was first cast into the Zone, and perhaps was tricked for a moment into doing her bidding? This might be an interesting dynamic to ever explore in a future story. Obviously once Mon-El sees Faora perform some hideous act or she shows her killer instinct, this trust is lost forever; Faora is a truly vicious, perverted sort, and if given the opportunity would demonstrate this - she's probably not capable of real feelings.

Inhabitants of the Phantom Zone can communicate via telepathy, however such contact is not perpetual, it can be "tuned out," otherwise the Phantom Zone criminals would be driven insane by the perpetual chatter inside their minds.It has been shown on a number of occasions that it is possible to lie via telepathy, such as with the discovery and implementation of Jewel Kryptonite.

[Super Monkey]

You should seriously write an entry for Faora Hu-Ul in the Supermanica!

https://www.supermanthroughtheages.com/wiki/index.php/Phantom_Zone

[Klar Ken T5477]

pHEW - i THOT jULIAN WAS HEADING INTO SOME SLASH FANFIC :shock:

[TELLE]

pHEW - i THOT jULIAN WAS HEADING INTO SOME SLASH FANFIC :shock:

Thanks --now I've written it in my head!

On a related note, isn't Mon-El the saddest Legionaire --sort of like an immortal bubble boy.  What horrible secrets he must have witnessed....

[MatterEaterLad]

LOL!  An interesting premise, if a tad "adult" for the prime of the Silver Age...

Wouldn't the evil and untrustworthy nature of those who were already banished to the Phantom Zone be told to Mon before he was transported there?  The Zone rehabilitation program always seemed kind of weak to me, though it was assumed possible...

[JulianPerez]

The fact that Mon-El was in the Phantom Zone for a very long time is an aspect of the Super-Mythos that was just never utilized, and ought to have been. The only instance of this that I can recall is during one occasion in the Weisenger Years, there was an attempted escape from the Zone via a pinhole crack that Jimmy Olsen created from his last trip. Just before the door closed, Mon-El, the only non-sociopath confined to the Zone, chased immediately after the escaping prisoners, only to have the door seal in poor Mon's face just before he could exit to warn Superman. Many writers forgot that poor Mon-El was IN there, and had been ever since Superman was sixteen.

Paul Levitz told a story where Mon-El's anti-lead serum was winding down, threatening Mon-El with a return to the Zone.

[Permanus]

I was always rather intrigued by the fact that Mon-El hadn't gone completely bananas after spending all those years in the Zone. I mean, being a disembodied wraith is bound to have some adverse effect on your psyche, especially if the only company you have is a bunch of Kryptonian psychopaths. Maybe Daxamites have some sort of meditation techniques to cope with situations like this, and Mon-El is a sort of Zen master!

[TELLE]

Did the Legion writers ever deal with other Zone prisoners?  What if Mon-El was the last one in there by the time Dreamgirl released him that first time?  All the villains having been paroled or opting for some other punishment in a more progressive time-period between the disapearance of Superman and Superboy's first Legion visit.

A very sad character.