General Zod

Zod is also a code name for release 6 of Fedora Core.

General Zod
File:Zod.jpg (c)2006 DC Comics. Appears in Action Comics #845. Published by DC Comics.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Adventure Comics #283 (April 1961)
In-story information
Full name	Dru-Zod
Species	Kryptonian
Abilities	Same powers as Superman Superhuman strength, speed, stamina and invulnerability, freezing breath, super hearing, multiple extrasensory and vision powers, longevity, flight, and regeneration

General Zod is a fictional character from the Superman comics published by DC Comics. He has also appeared in other Superman media spin-offs. Zod is one of Superman's more prominent archenemies.

Silver Age Zod

Dru-Zod, or simply Zod, was often portrayed as a megalomaniac. Zod was originally one of a number of Kryptonian villains trapped in the Phantom Zone. He first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 (April 1961).

Once Military Director of the Kryptonian Space Center, Zod had known Jor-El, Superman's father, when he was an aspiring scientist. When the space program was abolished after the destruction of the moon Wegthor (caused by renegade scientist Jax-Ur), he attempted to take over Krypton. Zod created an army of robotic duplicates of himself, all bearing a resemblance to Bizarro. He was sentenced to the Phantom Zone for his crimes.

Zod was first released by Kal-El (during his Superboy career) when his term of imprisonment was up. However, he attempted to conquer Earth with powers gained under the yellow sun. Zod was sent back into the Phantom Zone, occasionally escaping to target Superman.

Later versions of Zod

After the Crisis on Infinite Earths rewrote much of the history of the DC Universe and its characters, it was initially established that there were no Kryptonian survivors other than Superman. Consequently, the four different incarnations of General Zod that have since appeared have had different origins from the original.

Pocket Universe Zod

This Zod came from a Krypton in a pocket universe created by the Time Trapper. He, along with companions Quex-Ul and Faora, devastated the Earth of that universe following the death of its Superboy, eventually forcing the Superman of the main universe to execute them with Kryptonite. This version of Zod is based closely on the Pre-Crisis version.

Return to Krypton Zod

This incarnation of General Zod was introduced in the 2001 storyline "Return to Krypton." He was the head of the Kryptonian military in an artificial reality created by Brainiac 13.

Like the Pre-Crisis version, Zod held the Kryptonian equivalent of fascist beliefs. He sent aliens to the Bottle city of Kandor and planned a military coup. Zod was defeated by Superman and the Jor-El of that Krypton.

Russian Zod

This General Zod is a Russian who was affected prior to his birth by Kryptonite radiation because he was the son of two cosmonauts whose ship was too close to Kal-El's rocketship. This Zod is unnaturally weak under a yellow sun, but superpowered under a red sun (the opposite of Superman). He grew up in a KGB laboratory under the name "Zed."

Apparently spoken to by the spirit of the Pocket Universe Zod, Zod created a suit of red armor that filtered the sunlight and declared himself ruler of the former Soviet state of Pokolistan. After several inconclusive encounters with Superman, he revealed his long-range plan to turn the sun red and take Superman's place. This was temporarily successful until Lex Luthor rescued Superman, gave him a blast of yellow solar radiation to regain his powers, and worked to restore the sun. Superman returned to battle Zod, but refused to kill him. When the sun turned yellow again, the now vulnerable Zod still struck Superman with all his power, and was killed.

Phantom Zod

Introduced in the twelve-issue For Tomorrow (Superman #204-#215) storyline, written by Brian Azzarello and penciled by Jim Lee, this Zod resides in the Phantom Zone alone and resents Superman for tampering with it. Supposedly, he comes from the same Krypton as Superman, and was exiled to the Phantom Zone by Superman's father Jor-El.

It is possible that this Zod is not a real Kryptonian, however. He appeared in Metropia, a version of the Phantom Zone created by Superman to resemble a living world, including the seemingly living beings.

One Year Later

Template:Spoilers One year after the events of Infinite Crisis, Lex Luthor used a shard of sunstone, which had the word "doomsday" engraved upon it in the Kryptonian language, along with a stockpile of Kryptonite to reactivate the Kryptonian battle cruiser, Doomsday, which had been dormant within the earth for an unknown period of time. Luthor revealed that the vessel was in fact the flagship of the Kryptonian fleet, had belonged to an Admiral Dru-Zod and scoured entire planets clean of life.

In October 2006, film director Richard Donner, noted for his work on the first two Superman movies, began to write Action Comics in collaboration with Geoff Johns. At the end of Action Comics #845, Zod, Ursa, and Non have apparently been freed from the Phantom Zone by someone he refers as his and Ursa's son, possibly implying that the Kryptonian boy that landed on Earth in the story is his son.

According to Action Comics Annual #10, this version of Zod and Ursa were members of the Kryptonian Defense, and were assigned to silence the "heretical" and "treasonous" forthcoming reports of Solar studies by leading scientists Non and Jor-El (studies which suggested the inevitable doom of Krypton under a dying sun). After being terrorized by the Kryptonian council, Jor-El set out to further strengthen his evidence, and Non preached to the people the message of impeding doom.

Non's message swayed both Zod and Ursa that Krypton was soon to be destroyed. Then Non dissappeared from the public only to return with a mutilated brain. The council transformed him into a mindless brute and this act inspired Zod and Ursa to rebel against the Kryptonian government. Non now fought along side Zod and Ursa. Zod attempted to recruit Jor-El to their cause, however Jor saw the plans were fueled by greed, a lust for power and violence.

This rebellion was short-lived and the rebels were set to be executed. Jor-El appealed on their behalf, to exile them instead. The council accepted this on the condition that Jor-El be the jailer. And so Zod, Ursa, and Non were imprisoned, and embittered against Jor-El.

The origins of Zod, Ursa, and Non seem to be a fleshed out version of the story found in the film Superman II.

This story is currently ongoing. Template:Endspoiler

Zod in other media

Movies

File:S036.jpg

Terence Stamp as Zod.

At the beginning of Superman: The Movie, Zod (who is played by actor Terence Stamp) is introduced as one of three Kryptonian criminals on trial. Zod was originally a member of the Kryptonian military, who was entrusted with the defense of Krypton by the governing council. Conspiring with Non and Ursa, Zod was planning to overthrow the Kryptonian government and replace it with his own. The three were captured, and the council unanimously agreed to cast Zod, Ursa, and Non into the Phantom Zone. Their Phantom Zone portal is launched into space shortly before Krypton's destruction. This serves only to set up the premise of the sequel, as nothing further of the three is seen in the film.

Before they are imprisoned, Zod tries to persuade Jor-El to join him or suffer his wrath. As Jor-El silently refuses him, Zod shouts, "You will bow down before me, Jor-El, I swear it! No matter that it takes an eternity, you will bow down before me!! Both you, and then one day, your heirs!!"

Superman II opens with a brief recap of Zod's imprisonment in the Phantom Zone along with Ursa and Non, with Zod bellowing a variation on his line from the first film: "You will bow down before me, Jor-El! Both you, and then one day, your heirs!" as he is taken away into the Phantom Zone itself. In Superman II, the detonation of a hydrogen bomb that Superman throws into space destroys the Phantom Zone portal that trapped Zod and his cohorts. For the 2006 "Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut", their escape is altered by having one of the nuclear weapons launched by Lex Luthor to aid in separating California from the rest of the United States detonate in space near the Phantom Zone portal.

They arrive on Earth and, after discovering that their Kryptonian physiology gives them each the same powers as Superman under Earth's yellow sun, subdue the U.S. Army and the President of the United States. This occurs shortly after Superman, unaware of these events, has stripped himself of his powers to be with Lois Lane as an ordinary human. Only after Clark is beaten up by a trucker in a greasy-spoon diner does he watch with horror a televised announcement by the President surrendering all global authority to Zod. When the President suddenly tries to call for Superman's help, Zod takes the camera to issue a challenge to this mysterious enemy to face him. Realizing the terrible mistake his inattentiveness has caused, Clark must regain his powers to fight Zod and his minions.

While Clark treks back to the Fortress of Solitude in a desperate attempt to regain his powers, Lex Luthor approaches the Kryptonian villains at the White House and, in exchange for Zod's promise to give him Australia ("I have a thing for beach front property," Luthor explains), offers them a way to draw Superman out: Lois Lane. The villains invade the Daily Planet, but just as they capture Lois (and Zod betrays Luthor, commanding Ursa and Non to kill him along with everyone else), Superman, his powers restored, arrives and accepts Zod's challenge. This leads to a devastating, comic-book-style battle throughout downtown Metropolis. It quickly becomes clear that the villains have the upper hand: though individually equal in power, they outnumber Superman, and while they care nothing for the lives of the city's inhabitants, Superman is continually distracted trying to save people endangered by the battle (Zod: "He cares for these earth people." Ursa: "Like pets?" Zod: "I suppose so.") Finally, Superman realizes he needs to rethink his strategy and move the battle away from a populated area, and he withdraws to the Fortress.

Luthor offers to tell Zod about the Fortress of Solitude if Zod spares his life, and the three villains pursue Superman north, bringing along Luthor to guide them and Lois Lane as a hostage. In the climactic battle at the Fortress, Superman outwits the villains and gains the advantage, almost defeating Zod. But Non and Ursa grab Lois and threaten to tear her apart, forcing Superman to surrender. In a whispered aside, Superman tells Luthor about the molecule chamber which earlier stripped away his own powers and proposes tricking the villains into it. Predictably, Luthor betrays Superman and tells Zod about the chamber. Zod forces Superman inside and has Luthor activate the chamber.

When Superman steps out, apparently meek and defeated, Zod commands him to kneel, then take his hand and swear eternal loyalty to him. Superman kneels and takes Zod's hand, but instead of swearing his loyalty, he squeezes, easily crushing Zod's hand. Luthor realizes that Superman used him to trick the Kryptonian villains: knowing that Luthor would betray him, Superman reconfigured the molecule chamber so that its red sun radiation would be projected throughout the Fortress, robbing Zod, Non, and Ursa of their powers while Superman was protected inside the chamber. Superman picks Zod up with one hand and throws him into an icy crevasse, where Zod disappears into the mist below (an apparent contradiction of Superman's long-canonical code against killing). Non and Ursa are similarly dispatched. A scene deleted from the movie (but shown in some TV versions) shows the trio alive and in custody, implying that they lost their powers permanently and were captured. The 2006 reedited version Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut retains the original theatrical film's implication that Zod and his colleagues are dead.

Terence Stamp portrayed Zod as a pathologically arrogant and pompous aristocrat. When Zod is told that "the whole planet" is watching the broadcast, his head motions suggest narcissism. At times, he seemed almost bored with his incredible power, as new as they may be: "I win! I always win. Is there no one on this planet to even challenge me?!" When a bored Ursa flatly observed that, "You are master of all you survey," Zod replied, "And so I was yesterday, and the day before."

It is almost certainly Stamp's portrayal that has led to Zod becoming one of Superman's best known villains. Zod's line "Come to me, son of Jor-El! Kneel before Zod!" has become part of pop culture.

In the scene in which the President of the United States surrenders to the three Kryptonian criminals, he utters, "Oh, God." He is quickly corrected by the general with a withering rejoinder: "Zod."

General Zod was to appear in the 2006 film Superman Returns. Director Bryan Singer had Jude Law in mind for the role of Zod, but after Law declined the role on three occasions, Singer eventually dropped the character from the script. Bryan Singer has said that the sequel to Superman Returns will include an alien villain, sparking speculation of Zod returning to the franchise. However, any of Superman's alien foes could be used.

Animation

A Phantom Zone villain named Zy-Kree, who resembled the movie-version of Zod, appeared in the Super Friends animated series.

Zod was featured in the Ruby-Spears animated Superman series in an episode titled "The Hunter".He appears very briefly near the end of the episode. His appearance in the episode differs from that of Superman 2.He is seen in a brown millitary uniform with a general's hat without any beard as oppossed to Superman 2 where he is seen with a beard and a plain black outfit.

Zod was not featured in Superman: The Animated Series, although a similar villain named Jax-Ur did. Jax-Ur had been featured previously in some Silver Age stories of Phantom Zone criminals. In the animated series, he appeared along with a new character called Mala, who was seemingly based on Faora/Ursa. However, in the accompanying Superman Adventures comic book series (#21, which was also titled Supergirl Adventures), Zod was portrayed as an Argosian (like the animated Supergirl) who co-opted Jax-Ur and Mala as his lieutenants (essentially giving Jax-Ur the Non/Quex-Ul role). This character looks physically like the Terence Stamp version from Superman: The Movie and Superman II.

In the Justice League Unlimited episode "For the Man Who Has Everything", while under the influence of an alien plant, Superman has a dream in which he has a wife and son on Krypton. His wife briefly mentions her son will be attending a birthday party for "little Zod."

Legion of Superheroes

File:Draxlosh.jpg

Drax, from the Legion of Superheroes animated series.

Though Zod himself does not appear in the show, a very similar character named Drax appears in the Legion of Superheroes animated series. A young man who Clark accidentally frees from the Phantom Zone, Drax has the typical array of Kryptonian powers, in addition to an immunity to Kryptonite. His origins are unclear, but the Phantom Zone criminals are capable of contacting him, prompting him to attempt to free them from the Phantom Zone. The Z-emblem on his chest, and the fact that Drax refers to these individuals as his "parents" alludes to the fact that Zod himself may have created him. Drax has a hatred of Superman, as well an aire of superiority about him, and taunts the young Clark with the fact that he has no idea of his future or what he will become. He was born in the phantom zone and claims that's where he gets his powers from.

The Pre-Crisis version of Zod can be seen as a cameo as one of the many Phantom Zone villains attacking the Legion members when they were temporarily trapped there, but it doubtful that this is actually Zod, and rather, a visual throwback paying homage to him.

It is important to note that Drax is the name of Darkseid's brother, who lost to him in competition for the Omega Force. So its possible that this Drax could be the same person as him.

There is also a Marvel Comics character named Drax the Destroyer, who was created to battle Thanos, the Mad Titan, but it is doubtful that this character's name is derived from the former, as Drax is a name that has been used in various media, though not with any particular regularity.

Television

Lois and Clark

While Zod does not make an appearance in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, there is a character named Lord Nor, who has much in common with Zod. He is a ruthless figure who seeks to rule New Krypton, a Kryptonian colony, by killing Kal-El.

Smallville

File:Zod symbol.jpg

Zod's symbol

In Smallville, the voice of Jor-El is provided by Terence Stamp. This, combined with the apparent difference in character from other versions of Jor-El, led to some fan speculation that Jor-El was really Zod. Series creators Miles Millar and Alfred Gough denied this rumor, and it is later revealed that Jor-El's characterization was misinterpreted. Recent portrayals of the character are somewhat closer to his normal characterization.

In the series' fifth season, General Zod has been featured as an off-screen presence. The episode "Arrival" featured two Kryptonian disciples of Zod searching for Clark shortly after their arrival on Earth following the recent meteor shower that bombarded Smallville in the previous episode, "Commencement."

In the episode "Solitude", Milton Fine, the human identity of the Kryptonian artificial intelligence known as Brainiac, persuades Clark to take him to the Fortress of Solitude. After arriving at the Fortress, Fine tricks Clark into freeing Zod from the Phantom Zone, temporarily opening a vortex in which the image of a figure similar to Terence Stamp's Zod can be glimpsed. It is also insinuated that Zod was a fascist leader on Krypton and ruled with an iron fist, and apparently considered Jor-El as his primary nemesis.

At the end of the episode "Oracle", Chloe deciphers a Kryptonian message which Clark reads as, "Zod is coming." In the following episode, "Vessel", Jor-El reveals that Zod was imprisoned in the Phantom Zone for crimes that resulted in Krypton's destruction. Zod's physical body was destroyed to prevent him from escaping from captivity, and therefore, he now required a vessel to inhabit on Earth. Brainiac had earlier injected Lex Luthor with a vaccine that granted him Kryptonian superpowers, and therefore, Lex was to be the vessel for Zod's consciousness. Through the actions of Clark and Brainiac, Zod is freed. After inhabiting Lex's body, Zod imprisons Clark inside the Phantom Zone, leaving no one to stop him, and begins his plans to conquer Earth as the trapped Clark is sent flying into space.

File:Spiritofzod.jpg

The Spirit of Zod as it's removed from Lex's body

In the sixth season premiere, "Zod", after a brief sojourn in the Phantom Zone, Clark escapes with the help of a Kryptonian woman who claims to have been Jor-El's aide. She gives Clark a crystal bearing the sign of the House of El (Superman's characteristic stylized "S"). Back on Earth, Clark confronts Zod/Lex, but Zod, a trained soldier, easily pummels Clark into submission. In an homage to the climactic scene in Superman II, Zod issues his infamous command, "kneel before Zod" although in a much more serious and darker tone, and then commands Clark to take his hand. But instead of crushing Zod's hand as in the movie, Clark takes the opportunity to press the crystal into it, evicting Zod from Lex's body and sending him back into the Phantom Zone (in another allusion to the movie, the face of Zod's spirit as it is forced out of Lex strongly resembles Terence Stamp as Zod). Lex returns to normal with no memory of the incident. But later, Lex discovers a shard of a Kryptonian device that Zod left on his laptop.

In popular culture

• Zod is perhaps most popularly quoted as a Superman villain with the phrase, "Come to me, son of Jor-El! Kneel before Zod!" For example, Jay does so in the Kevin Smith film Mallrats after knocking out the head of mall security.
• Zod's peculiar mannerisms and catchphrases from Superman II, especially his penchant for demanding that people "kneel", has led to the creation of a number of websites dedicated to the General, such as GeneralZod.net, and General Zod for President in 2008.
• Various Zod scenes from Superman II were sampled and used in TeknoZod, a techno dance record by Samplesonic released in 1996 in the UK on Samplesonic Records.
• Popular Mid-West Rapper Tech N9ne says "I will make you kneel before Zod" in the song "Sinister Tech" from his album Anghellic
• A running joke on many comic book websites is when a picture of artist Neal Adams is featured, it is always placed next to a picture of Terence Stamp as Zod. When looked at literally, it is "Neal before Zod."
• Neal Bailey, resident reviewer for the Superman Homepage, once joked that he was considering changing his last name to "Beforezod".
• Zod, as well as his two henchmen, have appeared in the Family Guy episode "Lethal Weapons". When Peter finds that Lois can fight extremely well, he walks into a local bar to start fights by saying insulting things, including "Krypton sucks." Zod and his minions are then thrown into the Phantom Zone mirror and sent into space.
• Zod appeared in the Robot Chicken episode "The Munnery" as the host of "Bod by Zod," in which he commands all to "kneel before Zod." After the camera zooms out to reveal he is in fact doing a workout video, he begins to command the viewer to do various aerobic exercises "before Zod."
• Both Superman: The Movie and General Zod are mentioned on an episode of the ESPN show Cheap Seats. Both the Sklar Brothers poke fun at a man who resembles both Zod and Non, and quote the famous "kneel before Zod" line.
• In an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Dr. Forrester practices his "world takeover speech", which includes the line "You will bow down before me, son of Jor-El, bow down!"
• Russell Brand's Got Issues, a UK comedy discussion show on Channel 4, included a sidekick named Andrew Zod, who was supposedly Zod's nephew in its first few episodes.
• The video game review show X-Play, the disembodied head once said "They kneel only before Zod".
• The sixth Fedora Core distribution is called Zod. [1]
• In one of Stephen Colbert's Formidable Opponent sketches, President Bush is described in terms of Superman and now he must act as Zod has been released from the Phantom Zone, the losing Stephen is then shot with heat ray vision as the winning Stephen says the line "Kneel before Zod".
• An episode of the sci-fi comedy show Galacticast named Superman I.V was a parody of what happened to General Zod and his cohorts during their time in the Phantom Zone.
• Zod is the highest Rune in the computer game Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. It makes armor and weapons indestructible. The lowest rune is called El, and grants the player a slightly better attack and increased Light radius.
• In the Sally Forth comic of 1/16/07, the family is playing monopoly on a snowy day. Ted, the father, gains control of half of the monopoly board and says "KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!"
• In the Smallville episode where Lex Luthor is inhabited by Zod he tells Kal-El to kneel before Zod but in a much more serious tone.

External links

• Alan Kistler's Profile On: ZOD! - Comic book historian Alan Kistler of www.MonitorDuty.com does an in-depth article reviewing the long history of Zod from 1961 all the way to 2005, going into detail on the various incarnations and changes in the character. Includes several artwork scans of the different versions of Zod and a discussion of the show Smallville.
• Supermanica: General Zod Supermanica entry on the Pre-Crisis General Zod

See Also

• Non (DC comics)
• Ursa (comics)
• Kryptonians