#phantom zone

[shiftythrifting]

The "Mad Face" of a child trapped in a crystal for all of eternity. I hope whoever purchases this doesn't accidentally drop it and release this angry spirit upon us all.

[tomcat-tapes]

Man. How would Connor react to finding out... About... Joker Junior...

Just- just imagine... The angst-

Hahahahaaaaa I talked about this with my boyfriend a few days ago😭

Nothing set in stone YET BUT When Joker Junior happens he’s so angry, I was thinking his teen years but it would also make sense if it was around their twenties.

Chat:

[Tim will end up traumatized but overall okay and recovering.

But with Kon added in I feel like he would absolutely lose his shit. Pummel joker til the brink of death with Clark having to pry him off which causes him to explode at Superman and Batman for not dealing with him especially after everything’s he done (to Jason and Tim alike but the countless innocent people he’s murdered and tortured)

Maybe he sneaks off to Lex Corp and offers himself up to Lex to experiment and study on in exchange he rebuilds the pocket dimension to keep Joker in

“We don’t-“

“Then who’s next!? Dick? You? What if he comes after me!? What then!?”

“I won’t let that-“

“Yeah cause you’ve done a great job so far, Bruce!”

Batman stunned that his son called him by his first name goes quiet, Kon is breathing heavily with anger and knuckles balled into a fist, shaking with rage. Superman at the point steps between the two trying his best alleviate the tension and puts a gentle hand on Connor’s shoulder, “hey that’s not fair, to either of you let’s just take a breather okay?”

“FUCK OFF CLARK!”

Connor shoves the hand away from him, “Language, Kon-“

Connor just bares his teeth and flips the two off and with a crack in the air is gone from the building

g o d hes so angsty

teens are hitting hard for him

But I think maybe he finds out that he was made to be a clone for bad so now he’s really overthinking things]

Throwing Joker in a pocket universe could very well work, or even more use of the Phantom Zone? Not fully sure if Connor should just automatically go to Lex or he could maybe even go to Kara for phantom zone knowledge. There’s so much that could happen!!

But him absolutely almost killing the joker fits, ofc he wouldn’t hold back. He’s already succeeded in murdering his brother once, and now Tim? HIS Tim??? He was asking for it.

[thecreaturecodex]

Fractine

Image © Wizards of the Coast, accessed at D&D Beyond here

[Last monster of 2025!

Sponsored by Soluman Blevins. The fractine first appeared in the D&D 2e Spelljammer Monstrous Compendium, and was updated for a free PDF of the same name WoTC released alongside the 5e Spelljammer boxed set. The appearance of the fractine is clearly a riff on the Phantom Zone as it appeared in the Superman movies, but by giving it its own motivations and abilities distinguishes itself nicely from its inspiration. As 5e monsters tend to be, the current fractine is much simpler than the 2e version, which has a d20 table of random effects its touch generates and splits based on a percentage roll. The sponsor wanted me to add some of that randomness back in.

Want to be like Soluman and sponsor your own monsters? Want to make a New Year's resolution to help out an unemployed writer? Come join the Creature Codex Patreon here!]

Fractine CR 9 N Aberration This shimmering ripple in space unfolds like a piece of paper, revealing itself to be a trapezoidal mirror larger than a man is tall. Although reflections are visible in it, something else is visible deep within, the distorted image of something trapped inside.

Fractines are living dimensional anomalies, a two dimensional creature living in three dimensional space. They are typically found wandering the Astral Plane or the depths of space, but can be found almost anywhere. Fractines feed on light and magic, and are attracted to sources of both. If they find a sufficiently strong source of magic, they may remain in place for weeks or months, sometimes causing them to be mistaken for mundane mirrors. Although they cannot speak, fractines understand Aklo, and if given the opportunity can communicate by reflecting light in signaling patterns or by scratching words in Aklo onto a surface. Fractines are happy to allow themselves to be used as a scrying mirror, which feeds them much faster than being exposed to ambient magical auras, but will fight if they are attacked or offended.

A fractine fights by passing its “edge” into a target, which not only disrupts their flesh but their dimensional stability as well. Creatures struck by a fractine may be teleported short distances, shunted into the Ethereal Plane, or have their proportions warped and distorted as if in a funhouse mirror. They can “reflect” damage back at its source at a distance, and some foes give up the attack when they find themselves taking more damage from a blow than the fractine does. The most feared ability of a fractine is its ability to imprison enemies—they can envelop a creature in order to shunt them into a small prison plane, something of an echo of the volume they are “supposed” to occupy. A fractine can only hold one prisoner at a time, and if they elect to absorb an enemy, it will simultaneously shunt its current occupant into the thick of combat, often with dire consequences.

Despite their reflective surfaces, fractines do not see as such. They sense the world through a combination of vibrations, chemical cues, and the ripples they leave in reality reflecting off of objects and bouncing back to them. Fractines reproduce through binary fission once they have absorbed enormous amounts of energy. This fission can also occur if a fractine takes a lucky blow, effectively breaking it in two—these two smaller fractines typically go their separate ways after resolving whatever problem caused them to split in the first place. A fractine kept in total darkness, without access to magical auras, slowly withers away, dying of “starvation” in about 10 days. When a fractine dies, its body crumples in on itself with a sound like breaking glass.

Fractine CR 9 XP 6,400 N Large aberration Init +3; Senses blindsight 360 ft., blind, detect magic, Perception +18 Defense AC 23, touch 13, flat-footed 17 (-1 size, +3 Dex, +1 dodge, +10 natural) hp 110 (13d8+52) Fort +7, Ref +9, Will +12 Immune disease, exhaustion, fatigue, freedom of movement, mind-influencing effects, non-magical weapons, poison, stunning, visual spells and effects; SR 20 Defensive Abilities critical split, spell healing, two dimensional; Weakness vulnerable to sonic Offense Speed fly 60 ft. (perfect) Melee anomalous touch +12 touch (8d6 force plus anomaly) Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft. Special Abilities imprison, mirror damage Statistics Str 1, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 18, Cha 18 Base Atk +9; CMB +5; CMD 19 Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Flyby Attack, Lightning Reflexes, Mobility, Toughness, Weapon Finesse Skills Fly +23, Knowledge (arcana) +15, Perception +18, Spellcraft +15, Stealth +13 Languages Aklo (cannot speak) SQ no breath, scrying focus Ecology Environment any (Astral Plane) Organization solitary Treasure incidental Special Abilities Anomalous Touch (Su) A creature struck by a fractine’s touch attack takes 8d6 points of force damage and must succeed a DC 20 Fortitude save or be affected in one of the following ways, determined randomly

blink—subject is under the effect of a blink spell for 1d4+1 rounds

dimension door—subject is teleported 1d4x10 feet in a random direction. Roll 1d10. On a roll of 9, they are teleported straight up. On a roll of 10, they are teleported straight down (and shunted back to the surface as per dimension door if that would place them inside a solid object)

distort—subject’s proportions are warped for 1d4+1 rounds; treat as if exhausted

ethereal jaunt—subject is shifted to the Ethereal Plane for 1d4+1 rounds, as per ethereal jaunt spell.

Creatures under the effects of a dimensional anchor spell, within the area of a dimension lock, or affected by a similar spell or effect, are immune to the secondary effect of anomalous touch but can still take damage. The save DC is Charisma based. Critical Split (Ex) When a fractine is struck by a critical hit, it splits, forming two Medium sized fractines that appear in the fractine’s previous space. Each fractine has ½ the hit points of the original fractine. If the fractine had a creature imprisoned inside of it, that creature is released into the Large fractine’s space if possible, and adjacent to it if not. A fractine that has split once cannot split again, and a fractine cannot split if it’s below 10 hp. Detect Magic (Su) A fractine can detect magic, as the spell, at will. Imprison (Su) As a standard action, a fractine can attempt to imprison a creature it shares a space with. A creature affected must succeed a DC 20 Will save or be trapped in a demiplane “inside” the fractine. This demiplane is a 30 foot cube with opaque walls, except for the fractine’s surface, which acts as a “window”. A creature imprisoned can see and be seen through the window, but not hear or be heard. The creature inside the fractine’s demiplane does not need to eat, drink or breathe while inside. A fractine can only have one creature imprisoned in its demiplane at a time; if it successfully imprisons a creature, the previous creature appears in a space adjacent to the fractine. A fractine can also release an imprisoned creature at will as a swift action. When a fractine dies, the creature it has imprisoned is automatically released. Creatures under the effects of a dimensional anchor spell, within the area of a dimension lock, or affected by a similar spell or effect, are immune to this ability. The save DC is Charisma based. Mirror Damage (Su) When a fractine takes damage from a creature within 120 feet, it can deal 8d6 points of force damage to that creature (Fortitude DC 20 halves) by expending an attack of opportunity. Scrying Focus (Ex) A fractine’s mirrored surface can be used as the spell focus for a scrying or greater scrying spell, as long as the caster remains adjacent to the fractine. When the fractine is used in such a way, it heals as per its spell healing ability. Spell Healing (Ex) Whenever a spell fails to overcome a fractine’s spell resistance, it heals damage equal to the spell’s caster level. Two Dimensional (Ex) A fractine is a two dimensional creature. It is immune to damage from mundane weapons, although it takes full damage from magical weapons. It is treated as being under a permanent, non-magical freedom of movement effect. A fractine can share a space with a creature without penalty, although moving into or out of another creature’s space provokes an attack of opportunity as normal. A fractine can move through solid objects, although it treats these as difficult terrain, and takes 1d10 damage whenever it ends its turn inside a solid object.

[ko-conner]

Inspired by a scene from Superstore

[kply-industries]

Race to the phantom zone

[movalise]

[evilhorse]

Adventure Comics #458 (Signed by Joe Staton at the 2025 Baltimore Comic Con)

[okoyestrainee]

I feel like the Phantom Zone (PZ) is underutilized for tragedy and grief. Let me explain.

We get a lot of Phantom Zone inmates who were there for crimes committed against pre-destruction Krypton. Depending on the timeline or universe within DC, post-Krypton folks get caught in there for crimes committed against Superman or by accident during time travel experiments gone wrong. What we haven’t gotten is a close examination of someone who got caught up pre-destruction of Krypton, gets out, doesn’t realize what’s happened to their home, and is utterly devastated. We jump straight to revenge for pre-destruction events.

Can you imagine being trapped for ages, hardly able to tell how much time has gone by but knowing intuitively you’ve been imprisoned far longer than you should’ve been, and being released to this unfamiliar new world? And now some guy who looks like a scientist on your world approaches you in a dope outfit, talking about “I’m Kal-El.” Oh word, are you related to Jor-El? I never knew he had other relatives, but you could be his twin!

Then the guy’s face falls and he explains that no, he’s actually Jor-El’s son. But how? Your sentence was only for two years and Jor-El wasn’t even married yet. So he explains that you’re thirty-plus years in the future—Earth years. Earth? Why are we on Earth? Please, have a seat. No, really, you should sit down for this. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but Krypton is…well, it’s gone. We and whoever else is trapped in the Phantom Zone are all that remain.

Krypton is gone. Your home, your family, your life, your lineage. Your future. Everything you were and everything you could’ve been after that one stupid mistake that landed you in the Phantom Zone are gone. Nobody you knew then is alive now—they’re all cosmic dust floating between the stars now. You have nothing.

The grief that must strike in that moment is too great for words, but I imagine it would be even worse in the universe(s) where Jor-El was the one who handled the criminal cases that got prisoners tossed into the Phantom Zone. Getting out and seeing Jor-El’s face, but finding out that he’s gone and this is his son. Jor-El and Krypton are long gone. You spent decades in the Phantom Zone plotting revenge, but the man you hated for years is dead and this Superman is just a victim of genetics. It’s almost like you have to hate him because allowing yourself to feel anything else would open the flood gates for everything else.

The memories of Krypton. The heaviness of loss and realizing you can never go home again. We get so much “I hate you because I hated your daddy,” but looking a little closer exposes the unbearable sadness behind that. They hate Kal-El because their real target isn’t there, and if they sit with that for too long they have to think of why he’s not there. You hate Superman because you can’t love Jor-El’s face, but this man is all that’s left of home. You hate Superman because every part of you is calling for Krypton, and this is as close as you’re ever going to get now.