History Characters / SupermanGeneralZod

[[WMG:[[center:[-''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' '''[[Characters/{{Superman}} Main Character Index]]'''\\

* ''Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse'' -- Played by Creator/MichaelShannon

''General Dru-Zod II'' is a a supervillain appearing in titles and works by Creator/DCComics, primarily those featuring Franchise/{{Superman}}. The character was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp and made his first appearance in ''Adventure Comics #283'' in April 1961. Since his inception, Zod has been a persistent adversary to the Man of Steel, though his relevance and popularity have altered significantly over the years, including his own personal relationship and position as a notable enemy for Superman. The character has endured multiple changes and alterations, but his enmity towards Jor-El and Kal-El have remained a consistent and enduring character trait for him that has come to define Zod as one of Superman's greatest and most feared enemies.

The iron-fisted ruler of the Balkan republic of Pokolistan, Zed Avruiskin was the son of two Soviet astronauts. While on a mission in space, Zed's mother was exposed to Kryptonite radiation which ultimately killed her, but not before she gave birth to her son. Due to the radiation, Zed was born with a bizarre condition: yellow sunlight weakened him, but red sunlight gave him the same powers as a Kryptonian, which made him an ideal tool for the Soviet government. One day, while meditating, he made mental contact with the ghost of a Kryptonian criminal trapped in the PhantomZone--an alternate universe version of General Dru-Zod II (see below).

[[Characters/SupermanCentralRoguesGallery Central Rogues Gallery]] ([[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Alexander "Lex" Luthor]], [[Characters/SupermanBizarro Bizarro]], [[Characters/SupermanBrainiacCharacter Vril Dox/Brainiac]], [[Characters/SupermanCyborgSuperman Cyborg-Superman]], [[Characters/NewGodsDarkseid Darkseid]], [[Characters/SupermanDoomsdayCharacter Doomsday]], ComicBook/{{Lobo}}, [[Characters/SupermanMisterMxyzptlk Mister Mxyzptlk]], [[Characters/DCComicsMongul Mongul]], [[Characters/SupermanRoguesGalleryPhantomZone Phantom Zone Criminals]] ['''General Zod''']) | [[Characters/SupermanRoguesGalleryAToL A-L]] | [[Characters/SupermanRoguesGalleryMToZ M-Z]] ([[Characters/SupermanSuperboyPrime Superboy-Prime]])\\

'''The''' {{Human|Aliens}} {{Alien|sAreBastards}} {{Supervillain}}

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Surprisingly, Zod maintains a positive romantic contact with Faora and Ursa, depending on the continuity. In the Post-Flashpoint timeline, he even manages to get along with his son, Lor-Zod, and be commendable towards him as Lor-Zod proves himself to be a capable warrior for his father's ranks.

* OriginsEpisode: Zod is given two in Post-Crisis...

** A special feature was featured in the end of Issue #37 in ''ComicBook/{{Countdown}}'', titled ''The Origin of General Zod'' that tells of Zod's reputation back in Krypton and his coup against the Science Council upon hearing of the planet's imminent death.

* ClassicVillain: Zod embodies many traits that are the opposite of what was taught by Superman and serves to be his closest possible biological counter, has {{Pride}} and {{Wrath}} as very notable character traits that serve as a deeper means to his motivations and which also reflect on Zod's thoughts on Kal-El and his father, Jor-El. His contrasting characteristics and motivations compared to the Man of Steel are what make him one the latter's most fearsome and well-regarded enemies and their battles are always climactic and are set in dire circumstances.

* {{Wrath}}: Another defining trait for Zod; he bears a very relentless drive of hatred towards Jor-El and, by extension, the House of El and the former's son, Kal-El, over the fact that Jor-El captured Zod during the middle of the latter's attempt to stage a coup towards the Kryptonian government and then sentenced to the Phantom Zone. This is the reason for his enmity towards Superman as Zod wants to take out his frustration and rage towards Jor-El's son and one day, showcase how it feels to be worthless and begging on Zod's knees.

* AscendedExtra: He was never a particularly prominent character in his original appearances; only an unremarkable name among the many Phantom Zoners. After the popularity of ''Superman II'', he was upjumped to being the leader of the Phantom Zoners and one of Superman's primary enemies.

* StockShonenRival: An UrExample in fiction, before characters of this mold became more prevalent. He's the darker counterpart to Superman, hailing from the same race and is a PrivilegedRival, having studied advanced military arts as a Kryptonian elite whereas Clark led a more humble life in Kansas. Thematically, he's [[EvilWearsBlack decked out in darker, black colors]] and has a worldview of Kryptonian supremacy which is challenged by Superman's devotion towards helping those weaker than himself. However, as a very early blueprint of this kind of archetype, Zod has one quality that differentiates him from the likes of [[Anime/DragonBall Vegeta]], [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Sasuke]], [[Anime/MyHeroAcademia Bakugo]], and other more well-known rival-type characters. Despite occasionally having peaceful talks with Superman and sometimes even teaming up with him against a more powerful threat like Rogol Zaar, Zod most notably does not undergo any HeelFaceTurn to become an AntiHero protagonist who acts as TheLancer to Superman and ultimately remains to this day as a villain and a regular in Superman's RoguesGallery.

''General Dru-Zod II'' is a fictional character, a supervillain appearing in titles and works by Creator/DCComics, primarily those featuring Franchise/{{Superman}}. The character was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp and made his first appearance in ''Adventure Comics #283'' in April 1961. Since his inception, Zod has been a persistent adversary to the Man of Steel, though his relevance and popularity have altered significantly over the years, including his own personal relationship and position as a notable enemy for Superman. The character has endured multiple changes and alterations, but his enmity towards Jor-El and Kal-El have remained a consistent and enduring character trait for him that has come to define Zod as one of Superman's greatest and most feared enemies.

* CurbStompBattle: He delivers one towards Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner during their first encounter in Jekuul. Not only are Hal and Kyle's powers ineffective against Zod, who breaks their constructs with ease, but the fight becomes ''even more one-sided'' once Ursa, Lor-Zod, and the Eradicator show up for extra backup on Zod's side.

** He has one in ''Zod's Will'' after being defeat by Hal Jordan and the Guardians of the Universe show up. Upon being freed from his chains and allowing his aggressors to leave, Zod rants, [[RedEyesTakeWarning with red eyes]], at how [[KnightTemplar fighting for the just cause of rebuilding his race]] and Krypton's destruction being noted by the Guardians is an act of tyranny in his eyes. That said, he manages to retain his composure and muse about how the Green Lanterns and the Guardians' arrival in Jekuul has allowed Zod to acquire a wide assortment of information from them that he would use for his future goals.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: He trained from birth to be a warrior, and combining his military training with his solar power, is perfectly able to have Superman on the ropes.

[[caption-width-right:350:"I promise you this: I... will always... be your monster."]]

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: He gives Jor-El one by proxy, ranting at Superman about Jor-El's failings. "Jor-El didn't just fail Krypton, Kal-El. He failed you!"

* SealedEvilInACan: Zod is essentially this on a number of occasions, provided that he's a Kryptonia extremist who wound up being thrown into the Phantom Zone, an extradimensional realm that acts as a prison for Krypton's worst criminals. He has gotten out from the Phantom Zone on multiple occasions, though he's had the distinction of being among the few to be released from can just by himself. Even so, lots of storylines have Zod and his criminal cabal escaping either due to one's mishaps or through a series of manipulations, and he's usually defeated by being banished back there again.

* MightMakesRight: Due to his upbringing and seasoned occupation in Krypton's military services, Zod has convinced himself that power and strength are necessary in Krypton's success and fame as well as the reason as to why they are among the best races, if not ''the'' best, in the universe. His leadership also stems from the fact that not only is he a genius strategist and a charismatic man but [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority because Zod is among the best and most powerful soldiers Krypton has ever had]].

[[Characters/SupermanTheCharacter Clark Kent/Kal/El/Superman]]\\

* StockShonenRival: An UrExample in fiction, before characters of this mold became more prevalent. He's the darker counterpart to Superman, hailing from the same race and is a PrivilegedRival, having studied advanced military arts as a Kryptonian elite whereas Clark led a more humble life in Kansas. Thematically, he's [[EvilWearsBlack decked out in darker, black colors]] and has a worldview of Kryptonian supremacy which is challenged by Superman's devotion towards helping those weaker than himself. However, as a very early blueprint of this kind of archetype, Zod has one quality that differentiates him from the likes of [[Anime/DragonBall Vegeta]], [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Sasuke]], [[Anime/MyHeroAcademia Bakugo]], and other more well-known rival-type characters. Despite occasionally haing peaceful talks with Superman and sometimes even teaming up with him against a more powerful threat like Rogol Zaar, Zod most notably does not undergo any HeelFaceTurn to become an AntiHero protagonist who acts as TheLancer to Superman and ultimately remains to this day as a villain and a regular in Superman's RoguesGallery.

* HostileTerraforming: Tries to turn Earth into a new Krypton in ''Film/ManOfSteel'', and plans to do as much in both "Last Son" and "New Krypton".

** In ''Film/ManOfSteel'', after his own renegade soldiers are banished back into the Phantom Zone, Zod becomes one of only two known Kryptonians still active with Kal-El. And he becomes the penultimate member of his race to die.

* KillEmAll, His response to his dimension's Lex Luthor rallying up a resistance army is to get himself, Zaora, and Quex-Ul to decide to destroy Humanity, partly because they think they're inferior compared to himself and his allies and partly to spite Lex for daring to oppose them.

* BreakoutCharacter: Zod was a minor villain Pre-Crisis, and even among the Phantom Zone criminals, Faora and Jax-Ur were initially more prominent than him. After his movie appearances, he has become more popular and prominent, to the point of becoming one of Superman's main arch-enemies alongside Luthor and Brainiac.

* KnifeNut: Like Ursa, the Post-Crisis Zod carries a Green Kryptonite knife, though he doesn't use it as frequently as she does.
* KryptoniteFactor: Much like Superman and any other Kryptonian, Zod is very vulnerable to Kryptonite, an irradiated element that happens to be the remains of Krypton after its explosion. While its most common color, green, would kill him, other colors have varying effects. However, Zod has found ways to get around his vulnerability and weaponize Kryptonite for his own use in some shape or another, including the aforementioned [[KnifeNut Green Kryptonite Knife]].