DC movies have proven Superman and General Zod aren’t on the same page, but firsthand accounts of other Kryptonians reveal that Zod may be a hero.
He might be Superman’s most well-known enemy in the DCEU, but General Zod may not exactly be the bad guy Kal-El thinks he is. As the Man of Steel discovered, the reasons behind Zod’s imprisonment in the Phantom Zone could actually make him a hero.
While Superman is often referred to as the “Last Son of Krypton,” he was far from the only Kryptonian to survive the planet’s destruction. Aside from Supergirl and the millions of Kryptonians in the Bottle City of Kandor, a few of the Krypton’s worst criminals survive thanks to the mysterious prison, the Phantom Zone. The interdimensional void was used as a punishment for those the Kryptonian Council deemed as malcontents. The Phantom Zone’s most notable resident is Superman’s recurring enemy and ally of Jor-El, General Dru-Zod, who was sentenced to exile along with his co-conspirators, Non and Ursa.
While Superman has repeatedly come into conflict with Zod, Kal-El discovered that not every Kryptonian feels the same way about the general. After the Bottle City of Kandor was resurrected and established a new planet known as New Krypton, Superman’s aunt Alura Zor-El freed the Zod along with Non and Ursa. In Action Comics #874 by James Robinson and Pablo Raimondi, Superman discovers what his aunt has done and vehemently objects to the leniency Zod has been shown. Alura, on the other hand, makes the case that Zod’s initial banishment to the Phantom Zone was unearned. Alura, Zod, and his allies all tell Clark that the attack that got Zod cast out of Krypton was a result of their refusal to listen to the Jor El’s discoveries about Krypton’s impending destruction. Alura sums it up by saying that if things had gone down differently, Zod would be Krypton’s greatest hero.
The feud between Superman and General Zod may be rooted in his adversary’s attempts to conquer Earth, but when it came to Krypton, there’s little doubt that Zod wanted to save his world when there was still time. Unlike the Kryptonian Council, which discounted Jor-El’s findings, Zod took Jor-El’s discovery to heart and did everything in his power to keep the legacy of his home world alive. Zod may be a villain to Superman, but to the Kryptonian survivors he was their last line of defense.
The destruction of Krypton is often the result of Jor-El’s warnings going unheard and the planet exploding as a consequence. General Zod’s friendship with Superman’s father is a rarely-discussed part of that history, but it’s important nonetheless. Zod was a person of means on Krypton and he had the power to give Jor-El a greater voice. Unfortunately, the Kryptonian Council refused to acknowledge that the planet was in danger. Zod’s origin as a ‘villain’ proves that there is a noble spirit within him that was willing to do what it takes to save his people.
While Zod in the DCEU has caused tremendous pains for the Man of Steel, in another life Superman might have seen Zod as the hero that saved Krypton.
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