Villains Month continues in Action Comics with a look at General Zod, following the second most famous Kryptonian from the jungles of Krypton to the Phantom Zone.
Written by Greg Pak
Illustrated by Ken LashleyGeneral Zod storms into The New 52! Witness the origin of this genocidal maniac, and learn how far he will go to destroy those who oppose him!
It’s strange to think, but General Zod is a relatively new addition to the DC Comics universe. The character made a single appearance in 1961 during the Silver Age as a Kryptonian mad scientist, a fairly typical adversary for the time, whom Superboy defeated and sent to the Phantom Zone. Zod became iconic when the character was plucked from obscurity and reimagined as the egomaniacal conquering villain of Superman II. This was not the real-estate obsessed Lex Luthor, but an enemy that was evenly matched with the powerful Superman.
Despite the film’s popularity, Zod’s appearances in the comics were limited for the next two decades. A pocket universe here, and an alternate timeline there, never venturing into mainstream continuity until Geoff Johns and Superman director Richard Donner brought the character to Earth during the ‘Superman: Last Son’ arc in 2006. With the New 52, Zod has made a few shadowy appearances, cementing his place in the history of the El family and the last days of Krypton, before finally entering the spotlight in “Action Comics 23.2 – Zod” by Greg Pak and Ken Lashley.
Another Villians Month book, another origin story, this time focusing on Dru-Zod and the years before his ascension to General. Zod is the young son of scientists, who have taken him away to a far off planet to study the flora and fauna. Everything on this planet seems designed as a horrifying killing machine, but Zod is fascinated with these “monsters” and finds them to be beautiful. In a familiar series of events, a tragic accident leads to the death of his parents, but events are later shown to be not quite that simple. The issue jumps forward in time, and finds Zod rising through the ranks of the Kryptonian military, where he stages an invasion of an enemy planet and meets a famed scientist with whom his destiny is entwined.
Greg Pak just might be the saviour of Villains Month. In four weeks filled with clichéd origin stories and filler early adventures, Pak’s work has already stood apart from the rest. As with last week “Darkseid” issue, Pak tackles the origin of a familiar adversary, and manages to avoid falling into the stereotypical tricks and tropes. In fact, Pak uses these tropes to lull the reader into a false sense of security, before turning the table in a truly surprising way. Zod’s story seems to be a typical dead parents + forced to fight for survival = sociopath, but a flashback near the end of the issue flips the formula on its head, and raises all sorts of questions about nature vs nurture.
Much like “Darkseid”, Pak makes a villain into someone that the reader can understand. Zod is not a raving lunatic or some deranged madman. He is a person that was shaped by his circumstances to see the world in a very particular way, and acts in a manner that aligns with this view. Zod is a realist, for whom the ends justify the means and in Pak’s hands, Zod is intelligent and articulate. He is aware of how society will view his actions if the truth comes to light, but he believes in his own convictions so thoroughly that he is still willing to do what he thinks is right. Pak understands that a good villain is one that readers can understand, but don’t necessarily have to sympathise with.
This issue begins in the deep jungles of Krypton, a savage place filled with terrifying monsters which gives artist Ken Lashley a great opportunity to show off his creature design skills. These animals are twisted and scary, even in their infant form. It has been mentioned in other stories that the history of Krypton was violent, but by exploring this little seen area of the planet, Lashley gets to demonstrate just how visceral and dangerous Superman’s home world truly was. Lashley has a great eye for detail; a splash page of the science lab reveals a wide range of hideous creatures caged for study, filling every corner of the bash. When the action ventures outside, the jungle is lush and full, and the art creates a great sense of atmosphere.
Continued belowAfter time jumps forward and Zod returns to the Kryptonian capital, Lashley has the unique opportunity to visually explore this dead planet. For many years, the rendering of Krypton was based on the cold, icy world found in Richard Dinner’s Superman film, but with the New 52, Krypton’s look has been altered. Lashley creates a planet that actually veers a little closer to the recent Man Of Steel depiction of an advanced yet sterile world. He manages to retain the feeling of bleakness and emotionlessness while creating a modern and visually interesting look for Krypton. Also of note is that Zod appears as three different ages within the story, and Lashley maintains the visual consistency and look of the character as he grows older; Zod’s icy blue eyes remain just as piercing and calculating throughout the issue. The only shortcoming in Lashley art concerns a couple pages of Kryptonian warfare, where the panels become small and layered on top of each other. This is used to create the feeling of action and kinetic energy on the page, but here become slightly messy confusing.
Zod is a character that is closely associated with Superman, but has never had the same prominence or impact within the mainstream comics that he has in other media. In “Zod”, Greg Pak and Ken Lashley deliver an entertaining issue that firmly entrenches the character within Superman’s family history, and makes him feel like an organic and meaningful person in the history of Krypton, instead of a character crammed into continuity due to the popularity of the films.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – Firmly establishes Zod in the DC universe as well-rounded villain and a fairly understandable character, while correcting resisting the urge to simply copy the story from the recent film.
