Zod (DC Extended Universe)
Zod | |
---|---|
DC Extended Universe character | |
First appearance | Man of Steel (2013) |
Last appearance | The Flash (2023) |
Based on | |
Adapted by | Christopher Nolan David S. Goyer Zack Snyder |
Portrayed by | Michael Shannon |
In-universe information | |
Full name | Dru-Zod |
Species | Kryptonian |
Title | General |
Occupation | Military commander |
Affiliation | Sword of Rao |
Nationality | Kandoran |
Abilities | Genius intellect, skilled martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant, invulnerability, superhuman strength, speed, sight, and hearing, frost breath, heat vision, X-ray vision, and flight |
Dru-Zod is a fictional character in the
Character creation and execution
First appearance and previous portrayal
General Zod appeared for the first time in Adventure Comics #263. Since then, Zod has been considered as one of Superman's greatest archenemies. Like Superman, he has the ability to fly, possesses superhuman strength, heat vision, frost breath and other powers. Zod made his live-action debut in the 1978 film adaptation, with Terence Stamp taking on the role of Zod and reprising it in the 1980 sequel with a more prominent arc.[3]
Casting and behind the scenes
American actor Michael Shannon was cast as Zod for Man of Steel (2013), a reboot of the Superman film franchise that would eventually become the first entry into the DC Extended Universe.[4] Viggo Mortensen and Daniel Day-Lewis were also considered for the role.[5][6] Director Zack Snyder stated, "Zod is not only one of Superman's most formidable enemies, but one of the most significant because he has insights into Superman that others don't. Michael is a powerful actor who can project both the intelligence and the malice of the character, making him perfect for the role".[7] When screenwriter David S. Goyer was asked about why Zod was chosen as the villain, he stated, "The way [Christopher] Nolan and I have always approached movies as well is you never say, 'Hey, which villain would be cool for this movie?' You start with the story first. What kind of story? What kind of theme do you want to tell? So we worked that out. Then, usually the villain becomes obvious in terms of who's going to be the appropriate antagonist for that. When you guys see the movie, the only villain we could've used was Zod and the Kryptonians. I mean, when you see what the whole story is, nothing else would have even made sense".[8]
Much like
The death of Zod at the end of Man of Steel proved to be heavily-debated during the film's production. Originally, much like with Faora and his other henchmen in the finished film, Zod was going to be sucked into the Phantom Zone. As that ending for Zod dissatisfied the filmmakers, Goyer suggested to some DC Comics employees to have Superman kill Zod, even though Nolan had shown aversion at the idea and dissuaded Goyer from even trying to write such a scenario. Much of DC's staff, like Nolan, were opposed to the idea, but Goyer and Snyder ultimately convinced everyone involved by pointing out that Superman would only dispose of Zod because the former would give him no other options, forcing Superman to kill him quickly to save a cornered family from Zod's heat vision.[12]
For Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), the corpse of Zod appears in the film in a crucial role, being used by Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor to create Doomsday; however, Michael Shannon did not film any scenes for the film and the corpse was created using the physique of fitness model Greg Plitt and a head-shot of Shannon.[13]
Shannon was later approached by Andy Muschietti to reprise his role as Zod in The Flash (2023), the last installment in the DCEU before its soft-reboot in anticipation of the DC Universe managed by James Gunn and Peter Safran. Initially surprised at the offer for his character's death in his first appearance, Shannon was informed about how the concept of the DC continuity's Multiverse would enable him to return, a phenomenon Shannon wasn't aware of due to not particularly being a "superhero genre consumer". Shannon felt that revising Zod was enjoyable and that the few weeks of shooting at England he had were a "nice way" to spend some of his summer.[14] Working with Muschietti was something Shannon had been interested in doing due to how recommended Muschietti had been by some of Shannon's friends who had worked with him, praising Muschietti for being as creative as Snyder and a brilliant, visual artist who would often draw while Shannon and his co-stars rehearsed. Having so much fun filming The Flash, Shannon kept one of Muschietti's drawings at home with his permission and has expressed interest in working with him again if the opportunity arises.[15] Before accepting to return, however, Shannon requested to first be given the blessing of Snyder, with whom Shannon had sided with over his tumultuous exit from Warner Bros., as Warner's mistreatment of Snyder was a factor for which Shannon was hesitant to reprise his role, and Snyder gave it.[16]
Themes and characterization
Zod is portrayed in Man of Steel as a highly skilled, determined, and charismatic warrior, fiercely loyal to his race and its ideals and unafraid to act on instinct. Despite caring for other Kryptonians at times, he views those of other races, such as
For his return in The Flash, Shannon stated prior to the film's release that his reprisal in the film was a "little different" than his Man of Steel one by virtue of Zod not counting with a long screentime than in his first appearance in order to not veer the attention away from Ezra Miller's Barry Allen / The Flash. Because of this, Zod's characterization isn't depicted as "deeper" like in his debut and the audience doesn't get to know what he's thinking.[14] As he later elaborated, Zod's appearance in the film serves more like a plot device, or an obstacle like Shannon referred to, than a pivotal in-depth role.[16]
Appearances
Man of Steel (2013)
General Zod is introduced as a warrior loyal to
After Krypton inevitably explodes, the Phantom Zone portal opens, freeing Zod and his followers, who mourn the destruction of their home world. With the portal's Phantom Drive, they repurpose their prison ship, the Black Zero, and travel across the galaxy to planets colonized by the Kryptonians. Despite failing to find survivors, they retrieve Kryptonian technology including a World Engine used to terraform planets to the needs of Kryptonians. Around 2013, Zod's forces intercept a signal from Earth after an adult Kal-El, now known as Clark Kent, activates a Kryptonian scout ship found in the
Back on the ship, Jax-Ur tells Zod that Jor-El infused the genetic codex to Clark's DNA after examining his blood, and also tells him that with the genetic information, Clark is not needed alive to create new Kryptonians. Zod deploys the World Engine from the ship and it lands in the
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Eighteen months later, Metropolis has rebuilt itself after suffering catastrophic damage from the battle, with a park and monument built at the spot where the Black Zero landed. Zod's corpse is now in the hands of
The Flash (2023)
An alternate timeline version of General Zod appears in the 2023 film The Flash, with Michael Shannon reprising his role.[18] Zod travels with his crew to Earth, which they were never locked in the Phantom Zone. Arriving on the planet, they begin the attack and in an encounter with Kara Zor-El, who learns that Zod killed Kal-El when his pod strayed as a baby, and that the Growth Codex needed to convert the Earth on Krypton is inside her, after a confrontation, he kills her by taking her blood sample, before this timeline was restored erasing him from existence by The Flash.
Reception
Despite the polarized reception to Man of Steel overall, Michael Shannon's interpretation of General Zod in the film received critical acclaim.
Superman's decision to kill Zod at the end of Man of Steel was met with a divided response. While comics artists such as Grant Morrison and Neal Adams criticized the killing as unnecessary and out of character for Superman,[22][23] Trey Soto of Geeks Under Grace argues that Zod forced Superman's hand, leaving him no other choice, and notes the latter's anguish in doing so. He also comments that Christopher Reeve's Superman nonchalantly kills Stamp's Zod in Superman II after stripping him of his powers.[24] DC editor Joey Esposito opined that Superman killing Zod was the most selfless decision he could ever make. Among their reasons for the scene, Snyder and David S. Goyer cited the intention to modernize Superman for a new generation and the idea of Superman being forced to kill in his origin story making him think twice about doing it again as part of a character arc that could have been spawned in further films until he became the non-lethal hero he is in the source material.[12] Looking back at Man of Steel in 2023, Shannon reflected that he never understood why people argued that Superman shouldn't have killed Zod because he isn't supposed to do that, which gave him some concerns over reprising his role for The Flash at first.[15]
See also
References
The plot description and characterization were adapted from Dru-Zod and Man of Steel at the DC Extended Universe Wiki, which are available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA 3.0) license.
- ^ "Every DCEU Villain, Ranked". ScreenRant. 2020-06-16. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
- ^ Romanchick, Shane (2023-02-13). "'The Flash' Synopsis Teases Michael Shannon's Return as General Zod". Collider. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
- ^ Brew, Simon (December 12, 2012). "Terence Stamp looks back at playing General Zod". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
- ^ Kilday, Gregg (April 10, 2011). "Michael Shannon Set to Play Villain General Zod in 'Man of Steel'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 12, 2011. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
- ^ Kit, Borys (February 25, 2011). "Viggo Mortensen on Warners' Radar for 'Superman' Villain (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 26, 2011. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ Lovett, Jamie (March 22, 2021). "Justice League Director Zack Snyder Wanted Daniel Day-Lewis to Play Zod in Man of Steel". Comicbook.com. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
- ^ Hyde, David (April 10, 2011). "Michael Shannon To Star As General Zod in "Man Of Steel" from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures". DC Comics. Archived from the original on May 28, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
- Superhero Hype. Archivedfrom the original on January 29, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
- ^ "The Michael Shannon Zod workout". Postema Performance. 2015-04-29. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
- ^ Zemler, Emily (March 12, 2014). "Inside the Evolution of Superman's Look". Esquire. Archived from the original on March 13, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
- ^ Wales, George (April 23, 2013). "Michael Shannon talks Man Of Steel: the CGI suit and Goyer's script". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
- ^ a b Yehl, Joshua (June 19, 2013). "Christopher Nolan Disapproved of Man of Steel's Controversial Ending". IGN. Archived from the original on May 26, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
- ^ Wood, Matt (April 2, 2016). "Batman V Superman Video Shows How General Zod's Body Was Made". Cinema Blend. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
- ^ a b Lammers, Tim (March 8, 2023). "Michael Shannon Discusses A Little White Lie And Bringing Back Zod For The Flash - Exclusive Interview". Looper. Archived from the original on March 9, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
- ^ a b Jones, Tamera (March 9, 2023). "Michael Shannon Talks 'A Little White Lie,' Working With M. Emmet Walsh, and Reprising General Zod for 'The Flash' Movie". Collider. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
- ^ a b Barfield, Charles (April 25, 2023). "'The Flash': Michael Shannon Says He Was Hesitant To Play Zod Again & Got Zack Snyder's Blessing First". The Playlist. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
- The Huffington Post. Archived from the originalon June 18, 2013. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
- ^ Owens, Kelvin (December 22, 2021). "Michael Shannon Appears on 'The Flash' Movie Cast List". Collider. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
- ^ Vejvoda, Jim Fashion (11 June 2013). "Superman's Reborn in Grand". IGN. Archived from the original on June 11, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
- ^ Birrell, Mark (2019-07-26). "The 10 Best Villains From The DCEU, Ranked". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
- ^ "15 Things Man Of Steel Did Better Than Superman: The Movie". ScreenRant. 2016-10-17. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
- ^ Truitt, Brian (July 28, 2013). "Sunday Geekersation: Grant Morrison switches superheroes". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 4, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- ^ "Neal Adams Slams Man of Steel & Superman Returns". Cosmic Book News. January 7, 2014. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- ^ Soto, Trey (2018-06-06). "In Defense of Man of Steel - An Analysis on the DCEU Origin". Geeks Under Grace. Retrieved 2021-10-23.