WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the Season 1 finale of Krypton, “The Phantom Zone,” which aired Wednesday on Syfy.
Despite horribly bungling his mission, the lovable time-traveling fraud Adam Strange at least saved Seg-El from a tragic human bomb in the penultimate episode of Krypton's first season, before being whisked away to what we theorized could be a darker version of the planet Rann, altered by the fallout from the fight against Brainiac's sentry. But the Season 1 finale reveals his location is actually far more grim.
As Seg-El's grandfather Val-El (Ian McElhinney), newly rescued from the Phantom Zone, explains the fate that awaits those unfortunate souls trapped within the cities that become part of Brainiac's collection, we're taken within his hulking skull ship, and into one of his snow globe-like souvenirs.
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"The Collector of Worlds offers eternal life," Val says. "He claims magnanimity, seeing himself as a conservationist of sorts. What that really means is that, in order to perfectly preserve the cities, those inside remain rooted to the spot, immobilized, brains functioning, fully cognizant." As his chilling monologue unfolds, we realize this is a city from modern-day Earth, and the only person moving among among the paralyzed populace is Adam Strange (Shaun Sipos).
That at least somewhat explains where he was teleported to by Zeta-Beam in the closing moments of "Savage Night," while raising questions too numerous to count. Adam is from 200 years in Krypton's future, where he's a contemporary of Superman; that's seemingly confirmed by his reappearance in an Earth city with electricity, taxi cabs, cell phones and a baseball stadium. So, far that all makes sense. But how, then, is that city part of Brainiac's hoard when it was established earlier this season that the Collector of Worlds isn't a threat from the future, as Adam believed, but part of Krypton's history? “Brainiac didn’t travel through time to launch this attack,” General Zod (Colin Salmon), himself a time traveler, revealed in "Civil Wars." “This is what he’s always done.”
As detailed by Zod, and confirmed by Val-El, it's the theft of Kandor by Brainiac that destabilizes the planet's core, and leads to the destruction of Krypton two generations later. So, shouldn't any Earth city is his collection be from the 19th century or earlier? It's certainly possible that Brainiac, in addition to being extremely long-lived, somehow exists in many timelines at once. However, if that were the case, why would he be interested in whatever knowledge of the future Val-El might possess from his years in the Phantom Zone? Time is tricky.
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When Krypton returns to Adam's location at the end of the episode, we see the wide-ranging effects of Seg-El's imprisonment in the Phantom Zone, and the rapid rise of General Zod, who lays out his vision for an intergalactic empire, ruled by him, of course. As Adam makes his way through the city, he spies an enormous statue erected in honor of Zod.
That would, again, imply a significant discrepancy in time between the events taking place on Krypton proper and the Earth city effectively encased in amber aboard Brainiac's ship. While we can't yet explain, or even grasp, how a 21st-century city can somehow exist 200 years in the past, can we figure out which city it is (or at least supposed to be)?
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There aren't any obvious indicators in the scenes, no "Welcome to ..." signs or "Such-and-Such Taxi." But the statue of Zod may provide a clue. As Brainiac is drawn into the Phantom Zone, Superman's slowly disintegrating cape is made whole, signifying that the timeline has been restored, and the Man of Steel's future ensured. But when Seg-El, Superman's grandfather, is dragged in behind Brainiac, the hero's iconic emblem is replaced by the sigil of the House of Zod. Between the cape and the statue, we can conclude that instead of Superman becoming the protector of Earth, Zod becomes its conqueror.
Across comic books, animation and live-action, statues to Superman are depicted in Metropolis, the fictional city he calls home in his adulthood. It might logically follow, then, that in a world, and a city, without a Superman, a tribute would be erected to the super-powered being who arrives in his place. It wouldn't be a leap to theorize that this bottled city is indeed Metropolis.
How it ended up in Brainiac's ship 200 years in the past, and what happens to it now that the vessel is seemingly dead on the surface of Krypton, are questions left for another season, unfortunately.
Airing Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Syfy, Krypton stars Cameron Cuffe as Seg-El, Shaun Sipos as Adam Strange, Georgina Campbell as Lyta-Zod, Elliot Cowan as Daron-Vex, Ann Ogbomo as Jayna-Zod, Rasmus Hardiker as Kem, Wallis Day as Nyssa-Vex, Aaron Pierre as Dev-Em, Ian McElhinney as Val-El and Blake Ritson as Brainiac.