Escape from the Phantom Zone is a Superman/Batman crossover published in 2017. It included Batgirl (Rebirth) first Annual (with story and art by Hope Larson and Iñaki Miranda) and Supergirl (Rebirth) issues #9-11 (written and illustrated by Steve Orlando and Brian Ching).
Supergirl asks Batgirl's help to sneak into a Project Cadmus' secret base and break out an alleged Kryptonian prisoner called Gayle Marsh who has been sending her psychic distress calls. As might be expected, though, it was a trap: Gayle was told she could get their mental issues fixed if she travelled to the Phantom Zone, using Supergirl's body as a beacon to pinpoint its dimensional location. Despite Supergirl's warnings, Gayle opens a portal and vanishes.
Sometime after, Supergirl is attending a press conference where Tychotech is introducing a new machine which is suspected to be stolen alien technology. Since the device is a machine which siphons off power from the Phantom Zone, Barbara Gordon is also attending on behalf of her clean energy company. Suddenly, a super-villain attacks the exhibition, and during the ensuing battle the Phantom Drive starts malfunctioning, opening a rift to the Zone. Benjamin Rubel, a mutual friend of both heroines, gets dragged into the twilight dimension, forcing both Supergirl and Batgirl to go through the portal to rescue him.
The trio are making their way through the nightmarish landscape, trying to come up with a way to escape, when they are captured by the minions of Xa-Du, one of the worst criminals of Krypton. Xa-Du was the one who tricked Gayle into going into the Zone to force her to use her dimensional-travel powers, but Gayle thwarted him by wrapping herself in an unbreakable energy bubble. So Xa-Du has been capturing and boiling other inmates alive to merge their sun-powered bodies into his powered armor, and so becoming powerful enough to break Gayle's psychic shield.
And now a fully powered Kryptonian has just fallen in his lap.
Tropes:
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: Magog boasts that "[his] lance cuts through all mortal matter."
- And I Must Scream: Xa-Du fuels his armor by boiling other Phantom Zone inmates' bodies and sticking his souls to his armor.
- Badass Boast: Magog delivers the next line before beginning his battle with Supergirl:Magog: "Supergirl. They cry for you. Your legend's already begun...and that's fine. I'll just have to kill it while it's young."
- Badass Fingersnap: Supergirl defeats Magog by causing a shockwave which knocks him down with a snap of her fingers.
- Bad Liar: While trying to convince Supergirl that she is Kryptonian, Psi reveals her real name Gayle Marsh. Batgirl quickly points out that is not a Kryptonian name when stating her story does not hold up.
- Bare-Handed Blade Block: Magog begins their battle by flinging his spear at Supergirl, who ducks and grabs the bladed projectile with both hands.
- Batman Gambit: Batgirl taunts and baits Xa-Du until he becomes so mad that he blurts out that he lied to his minions about getting them out of the Phantom Zone. His minions, who let Xa-Du slaughter plenty of them to fuel his power, believing he would set the survivors free, are not amused. Realizing that he has been baited and his minions have turned against him, Xa-Du gets angrier at Babs, who reminds him that she told she knew his kind.Xa-Du: YOU! Girl-thing! You did this!
Batgirl: Told you. I know your type. - Big Bad: Xa-Du is a Kryptonian mad scientist who was sent into the Phantom Zone due to his penchant for making experiments with people.
- Big "NO!": Benjamin Rubel screams a very loud "Supergirl, NO!" when Kara willingly dives into the jaws of a huge psychic dragon.
- Bit Part Bad Guys: At the very beginning, Red Spur is chased away by Batgirl and Supergirl before the beginning of the main plot.
- Bridal Carry: Supergirl collapses after getting hit with Psi's psychic attack, prompting Batgirl to carry her in her arms when they escape from Project Cadmus' black site.
- Calling Your Nausea: Supergirl falls on her knees and mutters she is going to throw up after being subjected to Psi's psychic attack.
- Canon Immigrant: Selena, the villain of the Supergirl (1984) movie is introduced as a sorceress.
- Clothes Make the Superman: Magog's lance can "cut through all mortal matter", and his god-forged golden helmet is nearly indestructible.
- Continuity Nod: Tychotech, Simon Tycho's company, makes a reappearance where Simon's mysterious disappearance is mentioned. Given the events of Supergirl (2011), his disappearance will be permanent and probably remain unexplained.
- Cool Airship: Xa-Du's flagship, the Phantom Cruiser Val-Kon, is a flying giant sailboat resembling a cross between an Asian Proa
and a Viking ship. Built from ghost carbon, it is the only ship which can sail through the Phantom Zone. - Cool Gate: The Tycho Eidolon machine generates a dimensional portal shaped like a glowing energy sphere which drags everything surrounding it into the Phantom Zone.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Katarina Bissell, CEO of Tychotech. Although it is unclear how deeply she was involved in her company's dirty dealings, Tychotech did take credit for creating stolen experimental technology. And she definitely does not like government agencies poking their noses into her company's inner workings.
- Crazy-Prepared: Invoked when Batgirl explains she needs to be ready to anything because she is not invulnerable, before revealing she hides lock picks in the lining of her cape.Batgirl: "The first thing is ditching this cell. And when you're not a Girl of Steel, you come prepared..."
- Crisis Catch And Carry: Kara and Babs must sneak out of Cadmus before being spotted by security. However, Kara is unable to stand upright after getting struck by Psi's psychic attack, so Barbara grabs her friend and takes her away to safety.
- Cue the Sun: In the aftermath of their joint adventure, Supergirl and Batgirl are sitting on a rooftop, watching the sun rising while arguing the latest developments and promising to help each other before parting ways.
- Dénouement: After getting out of the Zone, Supergirl and Batgirl talk over their adventure and the Tychotech device which started the whole mess being stolen technology. Batgirl promises to help Supergirl if she needs her again, and then both heroines fly/swing away.
- Destructive Saviour: As soon as he sees Supergirl arriving at a clean energy exposition, Ben Rubel's immediate assumption is that something is going to blow up. Supergirl is humorously ticked off by his words, but Ben is proved right when a super-villain attacks the ceremony, and their battle causes an engine overload and explode.Benjamin Rubel: Supergirl! You're here, too?! Wait, is something going to blow up?
Supergirl: I do not only show up for explosions. - Disaster Dominoes: Magog interrupts Tychotech's press conference by throwing his spear at Supergirl. Kara manages to grab the spear, but the bladed tip hits the Phantom Eidolon. The device is turned on, creating a dimensional vortex. Ben Rubel gets dragged into the dimensional portal, and Batgirl jumps into it to rescue Ben. Supergirl flies into the portal to rescue her, and the trio becomes trapped in the Zone.
- The Dog Bites Back: Xa-Du convinces other Phantom Zone inmates that he could get them out of the Zone if a sufficient number of them sacrifices their bodies to fuel his powered armor. However, Batgirl gets Xa-Du to slip he never intended release anybody other than himself, and he does not even regard his minions as anything other than raw materials. When his surviving minions express their outrage over their treatment, Xa-Du dismisses them contemptuously... until he realizes he has been surrounded by a crowd of mad criminals.First Mook: Lord Xadu. In your passion, you've returned to our native tongue. The crew finds your words...disturbing. There's much to answer for.
Xa-Du: What?! I answer for nothing! My escape is the only thing that could give your mundane flesh meaning!
Second Mook: We sacrificed our bodies in hopes of freedom. Your hope was a lie.
Third Mook: But we're all criminals here. We're taking our sacrifices back— piece by piece. - Evil Gloating: Batgirl goads Xa-Du into keeping rambling on about how he will wreck terrible vengeance upon her for ruining his plans until he spits out that he never intended to fulfill his promise of breaking his fellow inmates from the Phantom Zone. His minions immediately take exception to his lies and manipulations and turn against Xa-Du.Xa-Du: I know little of your language, picked up from my time in the Aethyr Switch's mind. But it should suffice to murder you in your own tongue.
Batgirl: Right. Keep talking. - Evil Plan: Xa-Du lures Psi into the Phantom Zone, hoping to force her to open an inter-dimensional rift which lets him escape from its prison. Though, Psi wraps herself in an energy cocoon to protect herself from Xa-Du. Undeterred, Xa-Du begins merging his fellow inmates' souls into his armor in order to become powerful enough to break Psi's shield.
- Fate Worse than Death: Xa-Du's minions openly think death is a kinder fate than becoming stuck to Xa-Du's armor.Mook: Thing is, ya can't die here. But ya can sure change shape. So when we boil ya down an' funnel ya inta Lord Xa-Du's ecto-armor, ya spend yer life as melted jelly. Imagine it. I'd go crazier.
- Friendship Moment: After their first team-up, Kara and Barbara are lying on their backs on the Mojave Desert and engaging in little talk while Supergirl recovers. When Kara asks if she can call Babs in case that she needs her again, the latter smiles and answers she already put her number in Supergirl's phone.
- An Ice Person: When sneaking into Project Cadmus, Kara and Barbara bump into a metahuman called Caleb who can summon blizzards and ice storms.
- If I Had a Nickel...: Barbara utters the line after Kara tells her about some telepathic messages she has been receiving:Supergirl: There is a girl there. A prisoner. Test subject. She needs our help.
Batgirl: And how'd you find out about her?
Supergirl: Long-distance telepathic transmission. Only I can hear her.
Batgirl: Ah, the old incarcerated psychic trick. If I had a nickel for every time— - Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: Xa-Du shoots one heat blast at Batgirl, who is just some few feet away, and he misses. Justified, as Xa-Du's original appearances state that while he may be a genius and a Kryptonian, he's not a trained fighter and has a poor record against people in his weight class.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: When Supergirl says she needs her help to break into a black site, Batgirl decides she needs coffee to get through that conversation.
- It Has Only Just Begun: After meeting Psi and sneak Supergirl out of Cadmus, Batgirl states she has the feeling that stealth mission has only been the beginning of their adventure, and they will soon meet Psi again.
- It's All My Fault: Supergirl apologizes to Batgirl and Ben for being unable to stop them from falling into the Zone. She is utterly blameless for that mess since villain Magog was the one who wrecked the generator which opened a dimensional vortex, Ben was dragged into the maelstrom, Babs jumped after him and Kara simply flew after her...but Kara blames herself anyway.
- Kirby Dots: Every time Magog swings his spear, the blade leaves a trail of glowing purple energy surrounded by crackling black dots.
- The Load: Benjamin Rubel slipping and falling into a dimensional vortex is the only reason that Supergirl and Batgirl become trapped into the Phantom Zone. During their adventure, Ben does nothing but tag along and react to things with shock while Supergirl and Batgirl use their powers, skills and brains to both survive in the Zone and prevent their friend from dying. Even though Ben insists that he does not want to be rescued, his actual attempt to help them out ends up with both Kara and Babs saving him from being pounded into paste by an enraged inmate.
- Lovely Angels: Kara and Barbara renew their friendship while battling a particularly sadistic Kryptonian Mad Scientist.
- Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Xadu, an amoral Kryptonian scientist who was thrown into the Phantom Zone after performing illegal suspended animation experiments, is killing other Phantom Zone inmates and using his bodies as fuel for his devices.
- Muscles Are Meaningless: One of the minions of the Big Bad Xa-Du is a muscle-bound giant who absolutely dwarfs Supergirl and Batgirl. They knock him out with two punches (keep in mind Supergirl was depowered at the time).
- Never My Fault: When Supergirl tries to reach Psi out, the young psychic remarks that Supergirl helped get her there from the Earth and accuses her from being working for Xa-Du... clearly forgetting that she was the one who tricked Kara into helping her find the Zone, and Kara warned her against going to the Zone repeatedly.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: One jailer gives the sorceress Selena one stale, moldy loaf in punishment for her latest offense. Though, the mold growing throughout the bread gives Selena a tool to bypass her cell's anti-magic protection, and she can cast a spell to get rid of her guards and blow her cell up.
- Non-Action Guy: Ben Rubel gets accidentally dragged into another dimension, forcing Kara and Babs to dive into a dimensional hole to save him. Ben, who is a teen journalist with absolutely no skills to speak of, contributes to their adventure by freaking out every time he sees something unusual and stepping back and aside while the girls do all the work (breaking out of a cell, fighting villains, finding a way back home...)
- Noodle Incident: When Ben Rubel expresses concern about Batgirl's escape plan, Babs replies she has been in worse spots than "trapped in a pocket dimension and captured by a mad scientist who plans to boil your flesh", and she has gotten herself out of them with less resources.Benjamin Rubel: That's the best plan we've got?
Batgirl: I've gotten out of worse spots with less.
Benjamin Rubel: Man... I haven't fought anyone since Middle School.
Batgirl: I waited until High School. - Oh, Crap!: Supergirl and Batgirl have sneaked into a Project Cadmus secret base when Kara suddenly hears D.E.O. director Cameron Chase walking down the hallways. Kara freaks out right away because Chase explicitly forbade her from breaking into the facility.
- "Open!" Says Me: Babs and Kara sneak in a clandestine black site to free a prisoner. They have to open a cell door, but they've not got the key, so Kara rips the door off its hinges.
- Our Dragons Are Different: When enraged, Psi transforms into a castle-sized purple psychic dragon with large batwings.
- Phantom Zone: Supergirl and Batgirl are thrown into the Zone while Xa-Du, one of most depraved Kryptonian criminals, is slaying other inmates as part of a scheme to set himself free.Ben Rubel: Supergirl? I can barely feel anything...What is this place?
Supergirl: A Kryptonian prison outside our universe, Ben. The Phantom Zone. Discovered by my family...
Batgirl: Feels like low gravity.
Supergirl: Not much is solid here, Batgirl. Inmates are meant to contemplate their crimes. Kryptonians have no strength here. - Power Glows: The dimensional rift opened by the Tycho Eidolon looks like an energy ball which gives off a blinding violet glow.
- Rage Breaking Point: After going into the Phantom Zone, Gayle finds out that the person who claimed to be able to fix her issues is Xa-Du, a Kryptonian amoral scientist who intends to use her power to get out of his prison. Frightened, Gayle protects herself by wrapping her body in an unbreakable psychic bubble and putting her mind in sleep mode. Nonetheless, she can still feel the Phantom Zoners' evil thoughts hammering into her head constantly while Xa-Du gloats about turning people into fuel for his armor until he becomes powerful enough to break her shell and forcing her into obedience...or killing her. Sometime later, Supergirl sneaks into Xa-Du's fortress to try to free her, but she is found and slashed with poisoned claws by Xa-Du. Then, Xa-Du taunts Psi by asking if she is angry. Psi replies by transforming into a massive roaring psychic dragon and turning his citadel into rubble.
- Recruitment by Rescue: Subverted. The new Fatal Five head towards Limbo Town to free and recruit a witch called Selena. Still, Selena breaks out of her imprisonment five minutes before their arrival. Yet still, she joins the super-villain team anyway.
- Redundant Rescue: Selena breaks out of her cell five minutes before the Fatal Five come along to release her.Selena: You're five minutes too late for a jailbreak, whoever you are.
- Reed Richards Is Useless: Played with. Supergirl joined the Department of Extranormal Operations with the understanding that she would help them develop her rocketship's "Phantom Drive" Kryptonian propulsion technology. However, Tychotech steal their experimental technology, and then they hold a press conference where they present a generator which draws power from the Phantom Zone... and almost sends all attendants into the Zone when it malfunctions.
- Revenge by Proxy: Once Psi has woken up, Xa-Du does not longer need to kill Supergirl to carry his goals out, but he intends to do it anyway to spite her dead uncle, the one who discovered the pocket dimension where Xa-Du was exiled to.Xa-Du: You woke the Aethyr Switch. And I didn't even need to boil you. Note I said "need." I'll still do it as a Thank-you to your dead uncle.
- Right in Front of Me: When he sees Supergirl arriving at an exposition that he was sent to cover, Ben Rubel tells her that he is glad that he was chosen to cover the ceremony instead of his rival Kara Danvers.Ben Rubel: Man, I'm glad I didn't miss this. Miss Grant only sent one of the young innovators. Good thing she took my pitch over Danvers'.
Supergirl: ...Right. Good thing. - Schmuck Bait: When Batgirl points out that "telepathic message from unfairly imprisoned psychic" has "trap" written all over it, Supergirl argues she cannot run the risk that this specific distress call is not legitimate. Unfortunately, Batgirl's suspicions are proved right, and they are attacked by the "imprisoned psychic" when they find her.
- Seen It All: Ben is understandably upset over being thrown into an other-dimensional Hell, being jailed by a mad scientist -who wants to boil his flesh and turn his soul into fuel for his armor- and watching a girl transforming into a giant psionic dragon. Supergirl and Batgirl are unfazed, though, stating that they know how to deal with such shenanigans because they're routine stuff to them.Benjamin: My God, she... She's a dragon! She split the whole city apart! This is too much, it's crazy...
Batgirl: We handle crazy every week, Ben. - Sensory Overload: When Ben is being cornered by Xa-Du's minions, Batgirl quickly tosses a stun beacon at him and tells him to cover his eyes. The ensuing, blinding flash is so overpowering that all mooks fall to their knees, rubbing their aching eyes and moaning in pain.
- Sitting on the Roof: After leaving the Zone, Kara and Babs are sitting on a rooftop, watching the sunrise and complimenting each other.
- Squee: Supergirl lets out a high-pitched, literal squee◊ when Barbara agrees to help her solve a case.
- Stunned Silence: Batgirl becomes speechless when she asks Supergirl if she wants to hang around, and Supergirl replies she would be grateful if Batgirl helped her break into a black ops government facility.
- Supervillain Lair: Xa-Du has a base in the Phantom Zone called Aethyropolis where he houses his troops, locks his prisoners away and performs horrible experiments. Built from ghost carbon, one of the few solid substances in the "twilight dimension", it looks like a pyramid-like bluish-grey castle surrounded by sharp spires.
- Talk to the Fist: When Xa-Du is threatening Batgirl, Babs cuts his rant off by kicking his mouth.Xa-Du: Batgirl! You stole Kara Zor-El's solar tallow. Because of you, my ecto-mail is no stronger than a sick Kryptonian child would be on your world. But even a weak Kryptonian flesh suit is strong enough to rip out your heart!
Batgirl kicks his mouth
Xa-Du: Heh. - This Is Gonna Suck: Supergirl whispers a soft, quiet "No" when she realizes that she and Batgirl have fallen into the clutches of Xa-Du, one of the most depraved and cruelest criminals from Krypton.Jiln-Ka: You need not explain that to me, Kara Zor-El.
Supergirl: ...How do you know my name, Captain Jiln-Ka?
Jiln-Ka: "Captain" was only a lure. It's "doctor".
Supergirl: ...No.
Xa-Du: Dr. Xa-Du. And I know the House of El. I said I'd take you to Aethyropolis. I will. I have use for your meats. - Thrown Down a Well: When Ben wonders why he cannot feel anything but cold, Supergirl explains that is part of the punishment. Criminals are not supposed to find their banishment pleasant.Ben Rubel: What is this place? I can't feel anything... I'm cold from the inside out.
Supergirl: That—That is normal, Ben. It is expected as part of the punishment for the worst Kryptonian criminals...sentenced to the Phantom Zone! - Took a Level in Cynic: Psi does not want to believe Supergirl's claims of wanting to help her because a lot of people have abused and manipulated her after claiming to be invested in her welfare.Psi: Cadmus said they'd help me— They lied. Xa-Du said he could help me— He lied. Now you're here to help me? Why the Hell should I trust you?
- Trap Is the Only Option:
- After Kara tells Babs about Gayle's psychic message, Batgirl reminds her that incarcerated psychic is an old trick and points out several holes in Gayle's story (such as her definitely non-Kryptonian name). Supergirl replies that she is aware that it sounds like a trap, but she must walk into it because she cannot risk leaving one of her people in danger.
- Right after falling into the Phantom Zone, Kara, Babs and Ben are found by Jilk-Ka Batgirl notes he sounds like a bad actor and Kara agrees, but she argues they need to find something to stand on.Jiln-Ka: That, my lost friends...is the sound of hope. My name is Captain Jiln-Ka. We spied you, my crew and I— adrift on the Phantom tide. Lost at sea. But no more. There is purchase in this place. The solid city of Aethyropolis. We can take you there.
Batgirl: Don't know what he's saying, but it sounds like he's rehearsed it. You buying this?
Supergirl: No. But we need to be on solid ground.
- Trapped in Another World: Kara, Babs and Ben are thrown into a parallel dimension, with no apparent way to return.
- Unknown Rival: Supergirl is attacked by the villain Magog, who claims she did -or, better said, will- destroy his family. Kara, who does not even know who Magog is -let alone his family-, but is used to strangers attacking her for things she has not done, tries to reason with him. When Magog refuses to elaborate, or calm down, she simply knocks him out.Supergirl: Who are you? We do not have to fight—
Magog: I know what you did— What you will do![...]
Supergirl: You are not the first to attack me for things I have not done— - Unwitting Pawn: Xa-Du convinces young psychic Gayle Marsh that he can fix her mental issues if she goes into the Phantom Zone. Gayle manipulates Supergirl into coming to her, uses her body as a beacon signal to find the Zone, and finds out that Xa-Du's real goal is to use her inborn power to break out of his dimensional prison and cause mayhem in the physical world.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Magog slips into a dimensional portal when his attempt to kill Supergirl fails, and he is surrounded by troops of the Department of Extra-Normal Operations.
- Villain Teleportation: Magog owns a device which allows him to teleport himself away when in danger.
- Wedgie: In the very first issue, Supergirl accidentally wedgied Batgirl by grabbing her by her pants when she's about to fall.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Supergirl and Batgirl break a cryokinetic guy called Caleb out of his cell and make off with him. When they meet again, neither of them mentions what happened to Caleb.
- Wolverine Claws: Xa-Du's gauntlets are armed with poisoned claws.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Psi sends a telepathic distress call to Supergirl, pretending to be an imprisoned Kryptonian to trick Kara into releasing the former.
- Wounded Hero, Weaker Helper: After being struck and brought to her knees by a powerful psychic attack, Supergirl needs Batgirl to carry her out of the prison complex where both heroines had broken into.
- You Can't Thwart Stage One: Despite Supergirl's efforts to prevent it, Gayle goes into the Zone and falls into Xa-Du's clutches.
