Warworld

The cover of DC Comics Presents #28, featuring Mongul, Superman, Supergirl and the original Warworld (behind Mongul.) Art by Jim Starlin.
Race(s)	Warzoons
First appearance	DC Comics Presents #27 (November 1980)
Publisher	DC Comics

Warworld is a fictional artificial planet published in several stories by DC Comics, most of which feature Superman. It first appeared in DC Comics Presents #27 (November 1980), and was created by Len Wein and Jim Starlin.

Warworld was created by a very warlike alien race called the Warzoons, as their ultimate weapon. However, all the Warzoons died off mysteriously, and the last one was found dead at the planet's control chair by the Largas, an extremely peaceful alien race. The Largas buried him, then kept the key-like device that could activate Warworld hidden. But the Largas also died out over time, and the last one gave the key to the Martian race, who had once been devastated by a war, for safekeeping before dying.

The space villain Mongul (introduced in this story) kidnaps three of Superman's friends in order to force him to retrieve the key for him. Despite help from the Martian Manhunter, Mongul escaped with the key. He activated Warworld and sat at the control chair, which through a direct interface allowed the operator to mentally control the vast array of weapons. Superman recruited Supergirl to help attack Warworld, but its arsenal (including skyscraper-sized nuclear missiles) proved too powerful. The duo realized that it was the control chair itself that caused the extinction of the Warzoons, since the neurological stress eventually killed the operator. They deliberately taxed the system until Mongul fell unconscious.

Warworld's remaining automated systems still represented a threat, however, so Supergirl breached the defenses by flying through Warworld at supralight speed. Superman followed and set Warworld to self-destruct. He attempted to retrieve Mongul but the would-be conqueror had already escaped by unknown means.

After the DC Universe's history was changed during Crisis on Infinite Earths, Warworld was reintroduced in a multipart storyline in the Superman comics. In this version, Mongul had obtained Warworld from a trio of aliens called the Council of Overseers who allowed him to use it to form his own space empire (by threatening other races into submission with it.) Superman, who had exiled himself from Earth at the time (as a result of mental problems caused by his execution of three Phantom Zone criminals) stumbled onto Mongul's empire, and ended up being forced to fight in Mongul's gladiatorial games. Superman defeated the ruling champion, Draaga, but refused to kill him. Eventually, Superman defeated Mongul. He also found the Eradicator during these events. Draaga ended up as the new figurehead ruler of the empire, but he soon abandoned his position to look for a rematch against Superman.