Warning: contains spoilers for Action Comics #1075!

The opening scene of Christopher Reeve’s iconic first banishes General Zod to the Phantom Zone. Now, in Action Comics #1075, the film’s iconic, and powerful, opener gets a sinister inversion, as it becomes Jor-El’s turn to be the accused.

Action Comics #1075, part six of the “Phantoms” storyline, is written by Mark Waid and drawn by Clayton Henry and Michael Shelfer. Superman has traveled back in time to Krypton years before its destruction. He meets Jor-El, who has been put on trial by a corrupt Science Council official named Ro-Zan. Jealous of Jor-El’s discoveries, Ro-Zan puts him on trial before the Council.

Holographic projections of the Councilors probe Jor-El, and when he protests his treatment, they scold him, yelling: “silence!”

Despite the odds being against him, Jor-El manages to avoid being punished.

Superman's First Movie is Full of Unforgettable Scenes--Including Its Iconic Opening

Superman's Opening Scene Perfectly Establishes Krypton

If something seemed familiar about this particular scene, it is because it echoes the opening moments of 1978’s Superman film. Directed by Richard Donner, and starring Christopher Reeves as the titular hero, along with Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor and Margot Kidder as Lois Lane, the movie’s powerful opening scene sees Jor-El, played by Marlon Brando, put General Zod and his two associates on trial for crimes against Krypton. The Science Council pronounces judgment on the criminals, and banishes the trio to the Phantom Zone, but not before Zod swears revenge on Jor-El and his family.

Richard Donner directed a good chunk of Superman II, but was ultimately replaced by Richard Lester, who gave the movie a more comedic bent.

Various Superman comics and media have depicted Krypton as an arrogant, scientifically-driven planet that was ultimately consumed by its own hubris, and that is on display in Action Comics #1075, evidenced in Jor-El’s trial. Ro-Zan accuses Jor-El publicly of “hoarding” his inventions, which, under Kryptonian law, belong to the entire planet. This is only window dressing, as Ro-Zan also seeks to suppress what Jor-El knows about Krypton’s impending destruction. Furthermore, Lara, Superman’s mother, once dated Ro-Zan, giving the grudge a personal dimension. Jor-El almost became the victim of Kryptonian politics.

The Phantom Zone Factored Into Both Jor-El and Zod's Trials

Jor-El Was Set Free, But His Victory Was Ultimately Meaningless

Jor-El’s “trial” was conducted under the false belief that he was hoarding inventions, one of which was the Phantom Zone Projector. This further subverts Superman: The Movie’s opening scene, as in it, Zod’s trial ends with him being sent to the Phantom Zone. In most versions of Superman’s backstory, Jor-El was also the one who discovered the Phantom Zone. Jor-El believed the Zone could be a far more humane method of containing and rehabilitating prisoners, but was proven totally wrong. Instead, it became a living nightmare for those sent there, which in turn only caused their resentment to grow.

Whether this was due to his name being smeared in a trial remains to be seen, but if so, it echoes Superman’s opening scene even further, giving it a final, tragic subversion.

Fortunately, Jor-El’s trial ended far differently than Zod’s, thanks in large part to Lara’s timely intervention. Jor-El was set free, but it was a pyrrhic victory, as his pleas to the Science Council about Krypton’s destruction are doomed to go unheard by his peers. Whether this was due to his name being smeared in a trial remains to be seen, but if so, it echoes Superman’s opening scene even further, giving it a final, tragic subversion. Jor-El tried to warn Krypton, but was ignored thanks to internal politics and petty vendettas.

Action Comics #1075 is on sale now from DC Comics!