Zod (Earth-38)

Zod
Biological Information
Species	Kryptonian
Status	Alive (resurrected; as of the 31st century)
Universe Information
Home universe	Earth-38
General Information
Occupation	Warlord Criminal Military general (formerly)
Actor	Mark Gibbon (hallucination)

"The people of this planet will kneel before me!"

—General Zod^[src]

General Zod (died 2018; resurrected 31st century) is a notorious megalomaniacal Kryptonian criminal, warlord and former military general, as well as one of the few survivors from the destruction of the planet Krypton. He is considered Clark Kent/Superman's greatest and most feared enemy.

Biography

Early life

Zod was born on the planet Krypton several decades before its destruction; there he become a military general known for his extreme ruthlessness. It's likely at some point Zod was imprisoned for his crimes and sentenced to Fort Rozz, Krypton's maximum-security prison located within the Phantom Zone, managing to be released when it crashed in a field on Earth, thus explaining how he survived Krypton's destruction and was subsequently able to land on the third planet orbiting the Solar System's yellow sun.

The general repeatedly tried to take over the planet launching massive attacks against its people and being hindered by Clark Kent/Superman who, at some point had a brutal fight with the Kryptonian criminal that deeply affected him. The "Man of Steel" ultimately won but chose to spare Zod's life.

Hallucination

Superman hallucinates Zod before him.

When Superman had been poisoned by Silver Kryptonite by Rhea, he began to hallucinate his cousin Supergirl as Zod, hearing his threats against him and the people of Earth.

Death

At some point in 2018, Zod had encountered Superman again. However, this time, the Man of Steel didn't spare the rogue Kryptonian's life, likely finding himself in the position of being forced to kill his enemy.

Battling the Legion

In the 31st century, a somehow resurrected Zod battled against the Legion, who managed to find Kryptonite to use against him.

Powers and abilities

Powers

• Kryptonian physiology: Normally, like all Kryptonians, Zod's capabilities are no greater than a normal human of his physical conditioning. However, once charged by the energy of a blue or yellow sun and metabolized into his body, he becomes able to perform various inhuman feats. While generic for his race, being a highly trained military have allowed him to use these abilities with far greater control and an equally greater levels of raw power compared to other Kryptonians. Zod's power has been shown to be a challenge to Clark, as he almost killed the Man of Steel before being ultimately defeated by him.
  • Solar energy absorption: While Zod's powers are dependent on the energy spectrum from a blue or yellow sun, his body is able to constantly and passively absorb such energy while exposed to it, essentially keeping his reserves fully charged near-constantly. Direct exposure to sunlight will also accelerate his recovery from any injuries he does manage to sustain.
    • Accelerated healing factor: Zod's solar charged metabolism accelerates his healing and allows him to burn calories at a fast rate, making him resilient to weight gain.
      • Contaminant immunity: Zod has an immunity to all forms of disease and contaminants on Earth.
    • Flight: Zod is able to manipulate his own gravitational field to generate thrust and propel himself through the air, often at supersonic speeds, much faster than he can travel by foot. As such, he is able to levitate and fly past Earth's atmosphere and near the planet's orbit.
    • Heat vision: By concentrating every solar energy reserve he has in his body, Zod can emit blue energy beams of variable intensity and temperature from his eyes. Due to his control over the beams, he is capable of burning though stone and welding metal, causing small explosions and fires, and physically repelling enemies with similar durability, making it useful in combat.
    • Invulnerability: Zod has nearly impenetrable flesh and bones, making him essentially immune to all Earthly weapons, with bullets simply ricocheting whenever they come in to contact with his skin. This allows him to take far more damage than a normal human and have a higher resistance to pain. However, it is possible for him to be harmed and killed killed by beings of sufficient power, as Superman was able to defeat Zod in their first encounter and even was later proven capable of killing him.
    • Longevity: As a Kryptonian, Zod's life span is considerably longer than a normal human and likewise ages much slower.
    • Super breath: Zod is able to exhale powerful gusts of air from his mouth which are similar to force winds. He can also cause the temperature of his breath to drop, therefore able to freeze nearly anything.
    • Super hearing: Zod has super-sensitive ears that can perfectly pick up sounds from miles away and even through structures.
    • Super speed: Zod possesses the ability to move at super-sonic speeds, both through flight and on foot.
    • Super strength: Zod's strength is enhanced under a yellow sun, enough to easily kill a normal human if he were to attack them directly. He is strong enough to match, almost defeat and kill Superman in their past fight.
      • Super leaping: Zod is able to jump several stories in a single bound without having to fly.
    • Telepathy immunity: Zod is immune to most forms of telepathic powers, even from someone as powerful as J'onn J'onzz.
    • X-ray vision: Zod is able to see through all solid objects; except for lead.

Abilities

• Expert hand-to-hand combatant: As a former Kryptonian general, Zod is a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant, able to go toe-to-toe with Superman, an expert hand-to-hand combatant in his own right, and almost defeated him before ultimately being bested.
• Expert tactician: As a former Kryptonian general, Zod is a highly skilled tactician.
• Multilingual: Zod is capable of fluently speaking English and Kryptonese.

Weaknesses

• Kryptonite: Like all Kryptonians, even while empowered, Zod is vulnerable to the exposure of Kryptonite, a radioactive mineral from his home planet Krypton. Depending on the nature of the said Kryptonite, it will cause a different adverse affect on him;
  • Green Kryptonite: Green Kryptonite not only physically hurts Zod, but also it weakens his physical attributes; making him equivalent to that of a normal human. If he is exposed to enough green kryptonite for too long, it will eventually kill him.
  • Red Kryptonite: If exposed to Red Kryptonite, it gradually destroys Zod's inhibitions and turns him into a corrupt version of himself. Left without morality, compassion, rationality or any cares whatsoever, Zod will become malevolent, and prone to hostility and aggression, making him a danger to everyone around him.
  • Silver Kryptonite: If exposed to Silver Kryptonite, it will cause Zod to go in a deep and frightful hallucination where nothing from the outside world can stir him out of it until it leaves his system.
• Extreme energy: Extreme amounts of energy can be enough to damage or kill Zod.
• Red sun energy: Zod is powerless when exposed to the energy of a red sun.
• Blue sun energy: Zod is powerless when exposed to the energy of a blue sun, it's radiation is also fatal to him and anyone else with a Y chromosome.
• Solar energy depletion: Using his powers to its maximum for an extended period can significantly drain his solar energy to the point where Zod loses all of his powers and is rendered more human-like for at least a day or more. This renders him as weak as a human, allowing Non to get injured and killed as easily as normal humans.
• Solar energy overload: If Zod absorbs too much solar energy, it will act as a poison and kill him.
• Lead: Even with X-ray vision; Zod cannot see through lead.
• High-frequencies: Though considered a strength, Zod's hearing does have its disadvantages. Since his hearing is more sensitive than a normal human's, higher pitch noises (sonic screams, etc.) can disorient him and cause pain in his ears, leaving him vulnerable in a fight.
• Sound-dampening technology: The D.E.O. designed frequencies to block super-hearing and cause Zod slight pain when trying to use it in areas protected by the technology.

Appearances

Supergirl

Season 2

• "Nevertheless, She Persisted" (hallucination)

Season 3

• "For Good" (mentioned)

Season 5

• "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One" (mentioned)

Trivia

• While Zod holds the same rank as Astra in the Kryptonian Military Guild, their uniforms are completely different; Astra's suit is similar to a black tactical suit, while Zod's has a Nazi-esque attire.

Behind the scenes

• In the DC comics, General Zod is a warlord from Superman's home planet of Krypton that also survived its destruction and came to Earth, only to become one of Superman's greatest enemies. His first appearance in the comics was Adventure Comics #283 (April, 1961).
• Interestingly enough, this is the first live action adaptation of General Zod without any kind of facial hair, aside from Smallville's version who sports facial hair only in his last appearance.
• Colin Salmon, who portrayed Walter Steele in Arrow, also portrayed a time-traveling General Zod in the SyFy series Krypton.