Action Comics #23.2 Zod

I think most of the public know who Zod is now after Man of Steel.

The formidable general of Kryptonian descent had been a recurring foe for Superman, most recently in the New Krypton arc of the pre-New 52 universe.

So, it was only a matter of time before he came back. And now he has, I have to say it. Wow.


The story does take a little from the same tragedy Zod suffered in the film - he was bred to be a warrior. Here, he seems to have always had a fascination for monsters and how they influenced society.

Does the monsters in our life help shape us into something greater than that we are? Well, Zod believes so.

We meet with Zod when very young. His father was a biologist who studied the anatomy of the Kryptonian fauna. One particular specimen escaped and apparently killed Zod's parents. When Jor-El and Zor-El (seeing them act like brothers for once was good after the Cyborg Superman issue) encounter the disaster zone during one of their excursions (it had to be them, right?), they meet up with Zod, who seems to be a hybrid of a Neverland Lost Boy and a Jumangi scarred Alan Parrish. His response to their 'rescue' is chilling.

As the years go by, Zod is frustrated by the peaceful climate of Krypton. He manipulates genetic experiments stolen from Zor-El's lab to breed a Char like creature, which helps him when he attacks the Chars, a relatively peaceful race. Their dialogue during this 'attack' was ideal.

But Jor-El finds this out and helps sentence Zod to the phantom zone, where he gets a glimpse of Earth and Superman.

But the classic twist is that after Zod's mother died, he himself stabbed his panicky father and left him behind. Truely, Survival of the Fittest at it's cruelest.

For Faora fans (from MOS, duh!), she's back. And Non is there as well.

The Kryptonian fauna in all it's beauty and ugliness was done very well. And Zod comes across as a truely chilling character thanks to some great lines and expressions.

I look forward to him appearing in Superman/Wonder Woman.

So, I give this 9 out of 10