Phantom Zone: Difference between revisions

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The laws of physics may not apply in this space, and characters might have powers they wouldn't normally possess.

Hurling a bad guy into an alternate dimension is a great way to provide a bloodless "death" for a [[Big Bad]], or just set up his return because you never know when he might pop back out of that alternate dimension to ruin your day. If animated shows for young kids ever require a villain to be [[Killed Off for Real]], they'll usually throw him in a [[Phantom Zone]] and then lock the door behind him; he's not really dead, but he's also never coming back. Of course, this can also be the setup for [[Sealed Evil in A Can]] via a [[Tailor Made Prison]].

Hurling a bad guy into an alternate dimension is a great way to provide a bloodless "death" for a [[Big Bad]], or just set up his return because you never know when he might pop back out of that alternate dimension to ruin your day. If animated shows for young kids ever require a villain to be [[Killed Off for Real]], they'll usually throw him in a [[Phantom Zone]] and then lock the door behind him; he's not really dead, but he's also never coming back. Of course, this can also be the setup for [[Sealed Evil in A Can]] via a [[Tailor-Made Prison]].

The name comes from an alternate dimension in [[The DCU]], where Krypton sent its condemned criminals; they didn't die, but they were almost completely unable to influence the world outside.

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May be related to the [[Void Between the Worlds]].

== Anime and Manga ==

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* In one episode of the OVER arc in ''[[Bobobo Bobobobo]]'', Bo-bobo, Don Patchi, and Tokoro Tennosuke [[Biological Mashup|combine]] into "Bobopatchnosuke" to defeat a trio of oddball ninjas. He does so by pulling them into an alternate dimension called "Majide Time" ("Maji de?" roughly translates as "seriously?" in Japanese), where he performs attacks that are even more bizarre than normal, growing more powerful as his thoroughly confused opponents repeatedly shout "Maji de?!"

* In ''[[Prétear]]'', Shin, who is too young to fight anyway, has the job of setting up the zone and then watching as the grown-ups take care of business.

* The Room of Spirit and Time (aka Hyperbolic Time Chamber in the [[~~FU Nimation~~]] dub) from ''[[Dragonball Z]]'' fits the trope.

* The Room of Spirit and Time (aka Hyperbolic Time Chamber in the [[FUNimation]] dub) from ''[[Dragonball Z]]'' fits the trope.

** More applicable version would be the Dead Zone.

* An interesting version occurs in [[Bleach]]. The local [[Mad Scientist]] rigged up an entire town, sent it to the afterlife, and created an exact copy of the town, and set it up where the original was, in order to attempt to fool the [[Big Bad]], and also to prevent people from dying while the Shinigami and Hollows are fighting each other. How the scientist prepared for people trying to enter/leave the town while this switch is in place is never explained.

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* ''[[To Aru Majutsu no Index]]'' - One technique simply creates an area where people are somehow absent; another employs a "sides of a coin" metaphor that prevents people on one side (like magicians) from interfering with those on another (those who aren't involved).

* The Red Night in ''~11eyes~''. While the space of the battles is confined to inside the city, the place gets severely wrecked up and, thankfully, none of the property damage that occurs within transfers back to the real world.

* In ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', Evangeline is able to create one of these with her magic, transporting herself and the victim to her special resort. Naturally, [[Year Inside Hour Outside|only seconds actually pass while this is happening]].

* In ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', Evangeline is able to create one of these with her magic, transporting herself and the victim to her special resort. Naturally, [[Year Inside, Hour Outside|only seconds actually pass while this is happening]].

** Later, {{spoiler|we meet two of [[The Psycho Rangers|Fate's minions]], Koyomi, who has some power over time and Tamaki, who has some power over space, by combining their abilities can create one of these which they can trap enemies in. Its' [[Achilles Heel]] was physical contact with the user, so it didn't last ([[Defeat By Modesty|one can't become distracted when using magic]])}}.

** There's also one contained in Eva's [[Black Magic]] scroll.

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* The entire plot of ''[[Super Smash Bros|Subspace Emissary]]'' revolves around the titular subspace.

* Your final battle against Lavos in [[Chrono Trigger (Video Game)|Chrono Trigger]] happens in one of these, with backgrounds from various eras overlayed with a lightshow.

* The ''Distortion World'' in ''[[Pokémon]]''. You can ''[[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu|fight]]'' a giant, ultra powerful, legendary Pokemon, [[Olympus Mons|capture]] it, and make it [[Kid With the Remote Control|fight]]. Nothing else really, except run around.

* The ''Distortion World'' in ''[[Pokémon]]''. You can ''[[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|fight]]'' a giant, ultra powerful, legendary Pokemon, [[Olympus Mons|capture]] it, and make it [[Kid With the Remote Control|fight]]. Nothing else really, except run around.

** Subverted in the anime equivalent,the ''Reverse World''. Whatever you destroy in this world, affects the "real world" [[Endofthe World As We Know It|greatly]].

* The Bydo home dimension in [[R Type|R-Type]] is a [[Phantom Zone]] of sorts, and, what with being inhabited by the Embodiment of Evil (the Bydo), is a very scary place. Often, the final levels of the games would take place in that dimension, which could get downright ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QYdOZ-b0Zw disturbing]''.

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* The Ghost Zone of ''[[Danny Phantom (Animation)|Danny Phantom]]''.

* A slightly ironic use in ''[[Justice League (Animation)|Justice League]]'', where [[Batman]] becomes disgruntled with [[Superman]] after he sends Doomsday into the literal Phantom Zone. The plot really isn't trying to cover up the fact Batman's anger is treating it as giving someone an actual death sentence.

** Before that it was shown in ''[[Superman ~~the~~ Animated Series (Animation)|Superman the Animated Series]]'' as an prison for criminals too dangerous to be kept on Krypton... and after Krypton was gone, their sentences all became permanent. Superman lets one Kryptonian out because she's (supposedly) served her sentence and when he refuses her advances she lets her old boss out so they can conquer Earth.

** Before that it was shown in ''[[Superman: The Animated Series (Animation)|Superman the Animated Series]]'' as an prison for criminals too dangerous to be kept on Krypton... and after Krypton was gone, their sentences all became permanent. Superman lets one Kryptonian out because she's (supposedly) served her sentence and when he refuses her advances she lets her old boss out so they can conquer Earth.

* The Phantom Zone makes an appearance in an episode of the ''[[Legion of Super Heroes (Animation)|Legion of Super Heroes]]'' where a much younger Superman releases a Kryptonian boy born/created by some of his old enemies to, naturally, kill Superman. He should really stop messing with the Phantom Zone projector.

* ''[[Home Movies (Animation)|Home Movies]]'' - in Brendon's sci-fi epic "Starboy and the Captain of Outer Space'', the Triumvirate of Evil are hurled into space in a Phantom Zone parallelogram (owing to a low-budget, actually a Polaroid picture)