General Zod Makes His Way to ‘Superman & Lois’
Tal-Rho isn’t the only villain we’re getting on this season of Superman & Lois. In its latest episode, the CW series reintroduced General Zod to the Arrowverse.
General Zod is one of Superman’s most formidable enemies in the comic books and the DCEU
General Zod is a DC supervillain who, like Superman, hails from Krypton. Zod went against Kal-El’s parents on the now decimated planet, tried to take over Krypton, and was eventually sentenced and banished to the Phantom Zone.
When Zod makes it out of the Phantom Zone, he plans to conquer Earth. But he is thwarted by Superman.
Over the years, Zod has been featured in several Superman comics, movies, and TV series. He appears in Smallville, using Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) as a vessel for his consciousness.
And in Zack Snyder’s 2013 film, Man of Steel, Zod (Michael Shannon) and his crew of Krypotinians threaten Earth, only to be defeated by Superman (Henry Cavill).
General Zod finally shows up in Superman & Lois
For weeks, Superman & Lois fans have been speculating on the arrival of General Zod. Initially, some thought Morgan Edge (Adam Rayner) was the Kryptonian villain. But those theories were disproved when Edge turned out to be Kal-El’s brother, Tal-Rho. However, in the July 13 episode, “Through the Valley of Death,” fans finally got their first mention of Zod.
In his desert fortress, Edge implants a sentient Kryptonian in Clark’s (Tyler Hoechlin) mind. The superhero tries his best to resist the consciousness from taking over. But when it does, it reveals itself to be General Zod.
Luckily, with Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch) and John Henry Irons’ (Wole Parks) help, Clark manages to fight off Zod’s consciousness.
Will General Zod return to ‘Superman & Lois’?
Clark did manage to push Zod out of his head. And knowing how important the character is in Superman’s overall story, some might be wondering if he’ll return in future episodes.
But in the Superman & Lois episode, there was a clue hinting Zod may be gone for good. When Zeta Rho asks his son what happened, Edge suggests they’ve lost Zod.
“He’s gone for good,” Edge tells his father.
“Kal-El?” the old Kryptonian asks.
“Zod,” Edge responds.
So, according to Edge himself, Zod is gone for good. And some fans think that might be a good thing.
“I really don’t want to see him as a full season villain tbh, especially since Edge is so similar in terms of aesthetics (as if Zod wasn’t overused enough already),” a Reddit user wrote. “I would like to see something new.”
“I’m kind of Tired of Zod being the de facto Superman villain,” another Redditor added. “Time to move on to someone else in Superman rogue’s gallery. It’s not as deep as Batman’s, but he definitely has some compelling villains.”
Hopefully, as the season continues, Superman & Lois will continue to focus on Edge and his biological relationship with Kal-El. He’s a compelling new villain in the superhero’s saga, and it would be fascinating to see where his story goes.
New episodes of Superman & Lois air Tuesdays on The CW.
