Villain Profile: General Zod

So I finally decided which character to do next. It took some thinking, but I finally decided on the second most well-known Kryptonian, General Zod. Zod is another of those DC characters whose origin has been rewritten several times since his initial introduction. This had something to do with DC wanting to push the “Last Son of Krypton” angle for Superman after the company wide event “Infinite Crisis.” Basically, every other Kryptonian previously established was either written out of continuity, or re-written to have non-Kryptonian origins. I don’t know why they did this, as once you write out all the other Kryptonians, there are significantly fewer characters to fight Superman. For a long time, Zod did occasionally reappear, but these were always from parallel universes. Superman didn’t get his old Zod back until 2006. But enough history… er, publication history. Let’s get to it.

You shall Kneel before Zod.

Back on Krypton, General Dur-Zod was one of its most well respected military leaders. He was also friends with one of Krypton’s top scientists, Jor-El. Zod, his wife Ursa, and several of his lieutenants grew dissatisfied with Krypton’s oppressive government. They rebelled, planning to replace the corrupt government with a new, improved version. While they started with noble intentions, Zod and co eventually became petty tyrants that were obsessed with expanding their own power. After several years of this, the group is captured and put on trial. Zod and his followers were to be executed, but Jor-El pleaded on their behalf. Jor-El was able to beat the sentence down from execution, to life imprisoned in the Phantom Zone. There was a provision that Jor-El was to be their jailer, and if they ever escaped it’d be on his head, but thankfully the destruction of Krypton got him off the hook. There’s a silver lining to ever tragedy. If you look really, really, really hard.

While trapped in the Phantom Zone, Zod and Ursa had a son they named Lor-Zod. When Krypton was destroyed, they escaped the Phantom Zone and made their way to Earth. Zod lead as small army of Kryptonian soldiers, about twenty-five or so. Anyone who knows how much damage one Kryptonian can do, knows that against twenty-five, mankind is pretty boned. While prepping for the invasion, Zod and Ursa misplace their young son, whom is discovered by Superman and adopted by the Man of Steel and his then wife, Lois Lane. Worst parent’s ever. Zod and Ursa, not Lois and Clark. Anyway, Zod leads this invading army, and even temporarily traps Superman in the Phantom Zone to keep him out of the way. It was also payback for Jor-El’s hand in Zod’s imprisonment. He seems to have forgotten that Jor-El got his sentence down from, you know, a death sentence. Ungrateful jerk.

While trapped in the Phantom Zone, powerless I might add, Superman was aided by a fellow prisoner, Mon-El and escaped. Back on Earth, Superman recruited the help of some of his Kryptonian hating enemies, Lex Luthor, Metallo, Parasite and Bizarro Superman. The five heroes…er one hero, three villains and one morally ambiguous clone are able to beat back the Kryptonians and force them into the Phantom Zone.

Major Zod, before a lot of bad decisions made
him the monstrous General we know. 

He’s later freed from the Phantom Zone by Supergirl’s mother, and Superman’s aunt, Alura. Alura was one of several hundred Kryptonians freed from ‘the bottled city of Kandor.’ Kandor was Krypton’s scientific hub city. It had been shrunken down, people and all, and turned into a display by the evil Brainiac. Once freed, the scientists and philosophers of Krypton needed a military leader, and since Zod was pretty much the only candidate, their hands were tied. A short time later, Superman visited his people, and was drafted into New Krypton’s army, under Zod. The two had a tense, but functional work relationship. Heck, after Zod survives an assassination attempt, he names Superman his temporary successor. After uncovering the traitor that engineered the plot, Superman and Zod part with a mutual respect for one another. Peace on New Krypton is short lived, however, when Brainiac returned to reclaim his lost prize. Zod is driven by a mad vengeance, as he feels defeating the latest Brainiac would make up for the original loss of Kandor to the original Brainiac. Despite Zod’s best attempts, New Krypton is destroyed in the conflict. Driven mad with grief, Zod declares war on Earth, and attempts to turn it into New New Krypton. Superman and Zod partake in a fierce battle, but Zod is ultimately defeated by his own son. Lor-Zod, going by his Earth name Chris Kent, pushed his dear old Dad back into the Phantom Zone. While trapped again, for now, Zod will not rest until all kneel before him.

General Zod has the same abilities as all Kryptonians under a yellow sun. He’s incredibly strong, nearly invulnerable, able to fly, shoot beams of heat from his eyes, see into the infrared spectrum, has freezing breath, and can survive only on sunlight. And, like most Kryptonians, his main weakness is Kryptonite, irradiated pieces of his destroyed homeworld. He’s also a skilled military leader, and a fierce fighter/soldier. His immense skill is really only overshadowed by his immense arrogance, which is usually the cause of his defeats.

Zod’s appearances in DC Media has been rather sporadic. Superman related stories usually include at least one amoral, power hungry military leader that wants to conquer Earth. But for some reason, they aren’t always named Zod. Not sure why.

 In Superman: The Animated Series, aspects of Zod were mixed into another Superman villain, Jax-Ur. Jax-Ur’s origin was identical to Zod’s in the comics, former military leader that was later imprisoned the in the Phantom Zone after he staged a rebellion. He was freed by his lover, Mala. Mala was also a mix of two characters, Zod’s wife Ursa and a Kryptonian warrior named Mala. They captured Superman in the Phantom Zone and attempted to take over Earth. They are defeated once Superman escapes.

Wasn't mentioned here, but can't forget the original Zod
portrayed by Terrance Stamp.

Two versions of Zod appeared in the CW’s Smallville. The first was the classic Zod, a military genius turned insane dictator. When he and his followers were imprisoned, Jor-El destroyed their physical forms, turning them into formless wraiths. The fifth season is centered on building Zod up, as his minion Brainiac does everything in his power to free his master. Ultimately, Brainiac is able to transform Lex Luthor into a sort of Kryptonian/Human hybrid, which makes him the perfect vessel for Zod’s wraith. Lex-Zod is able to temporarily trap Clark Kent in the Phantom Zone, and goes about conquering Earth. Clark is able to escape the Phantom Zone, thanks to a backdoor exit Jor-El designed for imprisoned El’s, and takes a special Crystal with him. The Crystal is able to excise Zod’s Phantom from Luthor.

A new Zod appears in Season Nine. This Zod is a younger clone of Zod, back when he was a Major. Major Zod and a small army of Kryptonians escape from a special Kryptonian Artifact. He’s portrayed by Callum Blue. These Kryptonians are powerless on Earth, and spend the season trying to reclaim their powers. They form an uneasy alliance with Clark, hoping that he’d get them their powers back. Zod starts off as a good man, forced to make impossible choices to ensure his Kryptonian’s survive on a possibly hostile world. He, unfortunately, makes several bad choices, and suffers a few betrayals, that lead him to become the villainous Zod of the future. One of the biggest betrayals is learning that Jor-El intentionally treated the Kandorians DNA with Blue Kryptonite, ensuring that the Clones would be powerless on Earth. Blue Kryptonite strips a Kryptonian of their powers and makes them more or less human. This was, from Jor-El's point of view, necessary to protect the native human population from Kryptonian overlords. Zod just saw it as another knife in the back. He’s able to get his powers from mixing his blood with Clarks, and “shares” this gift with his fellow refugees. He loses control of the situation, however in the season nine finale. It’s discovered that in anger he killed Faora, his second-in-command and lover. At the time, the Kryptonians were preparing to leave Earth using “The Book of Rao.” The device would transport any Kryptonian DNA off of Earth to a new world. Zod attempted to escape punishment with a Blue Kryptonite Dagger. This plan is stopped by Clark, who takes the dagger to his stomach and jumps off the roof of the building they’d gathered atop. Without the Blue Kryptonite radiation, Zod is forced to ascend to New Krypton. Once there, he’s tried and imprisoned in the Phantom Zone. 

In Season Ten, Clark is tricked into traveling to the Phantom Zone. There, he discovers Major Zod waiting. It’s then revealed that Major Zod united with the Phantom of General Zod, becoming a Major-General Zod. He planned on trapping Clark forever in the Phantom Zone and attacking Earth. Clark and his friend/ally Oliver Queen escape and destroy the exit. Really hope no other El's are ever accidentally imprisoned in the Phantom Zone.

There will be blood. And broken necks.

We see Zod again in Man of Steel. This Zod is portrayed by Michael Shannon. This version is like most Zods, military leader turned revolutionary turned dictator, but with an added twist. In this universe’s version of Krypton, all Kryptonian’s are genetically engineered. Zod was designed to protect Krypton and its people, by whatever means necessary. He’s trapped in the Phantom Zone with his followers, but escape after Krypton’s destruction. They come to Earth with a “World Engine,” a ship designed to terraform planets into “Krypton-like worlds.” They were drawn to Earth when Clark Kent accidentally activated a distress signal on an old Kryptonian scout ship. This was doubly fortunate for Zod, since he needed Clark Kent for his plan. Prior to his death, Jor-El had stolen the Codex. The Codex is a record of all Kryptonian families, and is the key to recreating the genetically engineered Kryptonians. And said Codex is infused into Clark's DNA. Which is why Zod hunts him relentlessly throughout the film Clark, as Superman, is able to stop the invasion, and is forced into an all-out brawl with Zod across Metropolis.  Superman is “forced” to snap Zod’s neck to save a family. I say “forced” with quotes, because I still say that Clark had a dozen other options. But’s I’ve been over that before in my Man of Steel review and Doing it Better. It’s an okay movie.

Zod’s corpse will appear in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Trailers seem to imply that Zod’s body is somehow tied to the creation of the monster Doomsday. It’ll be interesting to see where this goes.

General Zod is one of Superman’s most well-known and dangerous foes. Charismatic, driven, and psychotic, he will do anything and everything for Krypton. Like the tragic figures of Greek legend, his hubris is his ultimate Achilles heel. I’m always glad to see him appear and cause trouble for Superman. I’m curious to see how his character will play into Batman v. Superman, you know, since he’s dead. And, I mean, his chant is just so catchy. “Kneel before Zod, Kneel before Zod, Kneel before Zod.” He’s the xenophobic, zealous, sadistic solider, the might Zod. Next time, I’ll do a Viewer Log of the first episode of Arrow. 

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