Warning! Spoilers for Action Comics #1071!There are tons of different of Superman's Super-Family, but few people his oft-forgotten brother - who has just returned in a major way with a villainous new identity. While there's no doubt that Superman always hoped to see Mon-El again, it's unlikely he ever expected to see him as the new Phantom King.

The shocking return of Mon-El is revealed in Action Comics #1071 by Mark Waid and Clayton Henry. In this story, the Phantom Zone has begun to change, and Superman can't see what's going on inside it. Considering that the Phantom Zone holds some of the worst criminals in the universe, this naturally concerns Superman. With no other choice and wanting to get to the bottom of this, Superman enters the Phantom Zone, where he meets the Phantom King - otherwise known as Mon-El.

When he first enters the Zone, Superman has to fight for his life against both Phantom Zone criminals and new monsters that have appeared in the zone, such as giant spiders. While Superman manages to fight off some of these threats, he's eventually defeated and captured by the Phantom King. While this seems to be an awful thing to happen, it's revealed that this new Phantom King is none other than Mon-El, Superman's long-lost brother.

Mon-El Officially Returns to DC Lore as the New Phantom King, a Superman Villain

Action Comics #1071 by Mark Waid, Clayton Henry, Michael Shelfer, Matt Herms, and Dave Sharpe

Even the most fanatical of Superman fans often forget about Superman's "older brother" Mon-El, who first appeared in Superboy #89 by Robert Bernstein and George Papp. In this classic comic, a strange rocket crashes on Earth, and Superboy immediately investigates it. What he finds is a young boy, roughly his own age, who has a medallion given to him by Jor-El. Even more alarming, this boy quickly begins to develop Kryptonian powers, much like Superboy has, leading Clark to believe that Mon-El simply must be his own long-lost brother.

After a number of continuity reboots, Mon-El eventually also became a key member of DC's classic future team, the Legion of Super-Heroes!

Eventually, Superboy starts to notice that a few things simply aren't adding up. For example, Krypto doesn't recognize Mon-El, and Mon-El seems completely immune to Kryptonite. Both of these things point to Mon-El not being a Kryptonian and therefore not being Clark's brother. All of this is true, as once Mon-El regains his memories, he recalls that he is actually Lar Gand, a Daxamite. His Daxamite biology is what eventually forces him into the Phantom Zone, as while Mon-El is immune to Kryptonite, he's deathly allergic to lead. With no ability to cure him from his lead poisoning, Clark sends him into the Phantom Zone to preserve his life.

The Phantom King Was Once the Most Dangerous Resident of the Phantom Zone

Action Comics #5 by Grant Morrison, Andy Kubert, Jesse Delperdang, Brad Anderson and Pat Brosseau

The Phantom Zone holds a ton of dangerous villains, but one of the most dangerous is none other than Xa-Du, the very first Kryptonian banished to the Phantom Zone. Infuriated at being trapped in the Phantom Zone, Xa-Du plotted his revenge against Jor-El, the man who discovered the alien prison. This desire for vengeance led to several attacks on the El family, most notably shortly before the explosion of Krypton, where Xa-Du tried to kidnap a baby Kal-El, but he was thwarted by Krypto. Xa-Du was a persistent threat to Superman and the rest of the Super-Family over the years, but it seems that Mon-El has taken over the title of Phantom King.

It's not exactly clear how the original Phantom King was defeated and dethroned, especially since it's usually impossible to kill people in the Phantom Zone. Mon-El has also never been one for evil, as he's been depicted as a major hero and friend of Superman every time he's appeared. As stated before, Superman even considered Mon-El his brother at one point, and he spent years trying to discover a way to save Mon-El from his lead poisoning. It's extremely unlikely that Mon-El has turned into a true villain, but it's not impossible, especially after spending decades in the Phantom Zone, all while Superman lived out his life on Earth.

Superman's Long Lost Brother Mon-El Returns to DC Lore - But What Is He Up To?

Does the Crown Mean More Than His Brother?

There are a ton of mysteries awaiting Superman inside the Phantom Zone. Despite being a major part of his lore for the past several decades, it's the one place that hasn't been explored all that much. Now that the Phantom Zone seems to be changing, Superman has dived headfirst to truly explore it and discover exactly why this iconic location is becoming more dangerous than ever before. While Superman originally sent his brother Mon-El there to save his life, it seems that Mon-El hasn't just been waiting around, instead usurping the throne of the Phantom King and potentially becoming Superman's most dangerous enemy.

Action Comics #1071 is available now from DC Comics!