Other Phantom Zone villains include Kru-El, Superman’s villainous cousin. Ak-Var, a petty criminal imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. Upon his release from the Zone, Ak-Var became the Kandorian vigilante, Flamebird. Doctor Xadu, a murderous physician. Jer-Em, a religious zealot and the man responsible for destroying Supergirl’s home, Argo City, and who died exposing himself to Kryptonite so he could achieve salvation in the 80s Steve Gerber Phantom Zone mini-series. Lar-On, a Kryptonian werewolf (because comics are awesome), Nadira and Az-Rel, two more petty criminals introduced by Steve Gerber who ransacked Earth during a series of thrill-seeking spree crimes, Zora Vi-Lar, who took up the identity of the Black Flame until she was defeated by Supergirl, and of course General Dru-Zod himself.
While initially not the main Kryptonian villain, that honor would go to Jax-Ur, thanks to Terence Stamp’s portrayal and Richard Donner’s creative direction, Zod has become one of the greatest Superman villains in history. Since Superman II Zod has had surprisingly few comic appearances.
In the wake of Crisis on Infinite Earths and John Byrne’s 1986 reboot of the Superman mythos (coincidentally titled Man of Steel), DC decided that Superman should be the only living Kryptonian. While fans were clamoring for Zod, DC stuck to their guns, introducing the Phantom Zone criminals as part of artificial pocket universe (because comics are confusing). In Adventures of Superman #444 (1988) by John Byrne and Jerry Ordway. Superman discovered this pocket universe, which once contained the classic Superboy, was destroyed by Zod, Quex-Ul, and Faora. To keep the trio from finding his reality, Superman murdered the trio with Kryptonite, sparking off one of the most controversial Superman storylines of the 80s and 90s. It was an intense story, fraught with drama, but it removed Zod from the playing field. If fans wanted to see the real Zod, they would have to wait awhile.
No comments:
Post a Comment