Superman's Most Twisted Villain Just Stole Games of Thrones' Most Horrifying Taunt

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Action Comics #1036, available now from DC Comics.

After reassembling the Authority, Superman has made the move to Warworld, facing off with Mongul's rule over the destructive planet in hopes of freeing the various races trapped there. But as he arrives, he's greeted with a terrifying message of brutality that goes a long way to remind the heroes just how fearsome he is.

When Superman reaches Warworld in Action Comics #1036 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Daniel Sampere, Adriano Lucas, and Dave Sharpe, he discovers that the modern version of Mongul has used a terrifying technique also used by some of the villains in the HBO adaptation of Game of Thrones.

The discovery of surviving Phaelosians -- an off-shoot of the Kryptonians who escaped the destruction of Krypton due to their exile -- has radically altered Superman's place in the DC Universe. While Jon Kent takes up the mantle of the Man of Steel to protect Earth, Superman and his new allies in the Authority make their way to Mongul's Warworld. Their mission is to liberate the rest of their people, and ultimately free Warworld and the countless beings who are trapped within it -- from Mongul's control). Arriving on the planet, the group is confronted by a projection of a hooded figure.

The figure reveals that Superman is far too late: aware of Superman's plans, Mongul rounded up most of the Phaelosians and executed them. He even propped up their bodies and tied them to stakes, creating a monstrous path for Superman to follow straight to Mongul's castle. Carved into each body is the language of Mongul, saying "so say the dead" as one final taunt to the heroes' inability to save the lives of many that he came to rescue. It's a horrifying move from the villain that recalls a similarly ruthless technique that was utilized among the crueler slave-owners in Game of Thrones.

In the fourth season premiere of Game of Thrones, "Two Swords," Daenerys and her forces march towards the slave city of Meereen. Expecting heavy resistance from the forces there, Daenerys is unprepared for their brutal welcome to her. Already famous as a "breaker of chains" for her acts of freeing other enslaved communities, the Meereen rulers have crucified hundreds of children, each one serving as a mile marker for Daenerys and her army to cross as they approach the city. Daenerys -- like Superman -- is horrified by this show of brutality and commits herself even further to bring down the slave-owners in that city. It's a crucial setup for how villainous her enemies during this arc particularly were and helped excuse the brutal tactics she'd eventually need to take to contend with the leaders of Meereen.

Both acts were committed by monstrous forces and incurred the wrath of the heroes of their respective tales. Neither of them received as good of a welcome as they could have hoped for, either. For Daenerys, her arrival at the city of Meereen resulted in a long-running conflict to control the city and defeat the slave-masters, eventually resulting in her near-death and the demise of some of her allies.

With Superman, Mongul is able to goad the Man of Steel into confronting him, which results in the public exposure that Superman's powers have waned and possibly tarnishes the energy Superman might have been able to bring to the public in his attempts to convince them to rise up alongside him and the Authority. It's a perfectly horrifying moment from both stories, and good proof of how horrible these villains are.

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