Thrown into the Phantom Zone, a Kryptonian jail created by Jor-El, Clark (Tom Welling) finds himself without powers and surrounded by revenge-seeking criminals sent away by his father.

Meanwhile, having taken over Lex's (Michael Rosenbaum) body, Zod keeps Lana (Kristin Kreuk) captive with a demand to sire him an heir and begins his plans to turn Earth into a Krypton-like planet using the alien ship's hard drive.

After Lois (Erica Durance) and Martha's (Annette O'Toole) plane crashes near the Fortress of Solitude, Jor-El tells Martha how to kill Zod. Back at the Daily Planet, Chloe (Allison Mack) reunites with an old flame, Jimmy Olsen (Aaron Ashmore).