Episode Recap: The Phantom Zone

Brainiac has descended upon Krypton, and begun the process of encapsulating the
planet inside one of his spherical containers, and preserving all life inside in
suspended animation. Seg takes General Zod back to the Fortress of Solitude so that
he can use a device that enables one to enter and exit the Phantom Zone — a
dimension outside the conventional spacetime continuum, where Val jettisoned
himself after being thrust off the precipice, and where General Zod was sentenced to
for treason. He activates the device, opening a portal in the Phantom Zone, and
extracting the real (non-projected) Val therefrom. Val tells them all that the future is
bleak: there’s no alternative to Brainiac destroying Krypton and everyone on it. Seg
and Zod are unwilling to accept this, and go about looking for ways around this fate.

Meanwhile, Nyssa has returned to the Guild to pick up her foetal child, and while
there Jax-Ur tells her that she is actually a clone of the child Nyssa who died in a
skinner accident many years ago. Dev and Lyta have returned to Kandor to rally the
Sagittari against the invading force — though they inadvertently send most of them
to their death. But their sacrifice enables Zod and Seg to escort innocent civilians out
of Krypton before Brainiac can kill them. As a last ditch effort, General Zod goes to
Brainiac and offers him Val (and all his knowledge) in exchange for leaving Krypton
alone. Zod brings Brainiac back to the Fortress of Solitude to make good on the deal,
but it quickly goes awry: Seg threatens to kill Val so that Brainiac can’t access his
knowledge of the future. But it’s only the hologram of Val, and Brainiac takes the
bait leaving himself vulnerable: when he steps onto the platform, Seg activates the
portal to the Phantom Zone, which sucks both Brainiac and him up. Bye-bye, Seg.
Fast forward one month, and General Zod has become the commander-in-chief of
Kandor.