DC makes one ofSuperman’s greatest foes the biggest Justice League villain in an alternate universe. For ages, Darkseid has been commonly known as the Justice League’s archnemesis. Other villains like Amazo, the Anti-Monitor, and Starro have also been associated with the League.
InBatman:Gotham by Gaslight - A League for Justice #2, written by Andy Diggle, the Justice League assembles for the first time in the late nineteenth century. WhileMartian Manhunter reveals the details of Krypton’s apocalypse, Ra’s al Ghul reveals the biggest threat to Earth. Ra’s also reveals that the League of Shadows was created exclusively to stop him.
In theBatman:Gotham by Gaslightuniverse, Krypton has been believed to be a mythical era of world history, similar to Atlantis. The revelation that Krypton was a planet filled with powerful extraterrestrials is shocking, even for other heroes. But who exactly is behind its destruction may be even more surprising.
Gotham By Gaslight’s Zod Promises To Be The Archnemesis Of Three Justice League Heroes
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight - A League for Justice #2; Written by Andy Diggle; Art by Leandro Fernandez
The villain who Ra’s al Ghul describes as the"one who threw wide the gates of death"is none other than Dru-Zod. However, Zod’s threat doesn’t stop here.According to Ra’s, Zod is the"herald of Krypton’s bane", the"tyrant of the Martian genocide"and the"scourge of lost Themyscira".In this universe, Zod seems to be a Darkseid-level supervillain.
In traditional DC lore, Krypton is destroyed due to natural disasters or overexploitation of the planet’s resources,the Martians die due to H’ronmeer’s plague, and Themyscira stays away from human civilization indefinitely. Never have the three of them been linked by one single threat. WhileGotham by Gaslight’s Krypton dooms itself to dark magic, Zod also seems to have played a role in its destruction.
The fact that the League of Shadows was created specifically to hold Zod back also makes Zod a Batman villain in theGotham by Gaslightuniverse. It wouldn’t be shocking if Zod was involved inAlan Scott’s Green Lantern backstoryin this timeline as well. And now that Lex Luthor comes face to face with him, Zod may have taken the first step towards destroying the Justice League.
General Zod Deserves To Be More Than A Superman Villain
Dru-Zod Has The Potential To Be A Bigger Cosmic Threat More Often
General Zod has had several memorable moments in Superman comics, from his Silver Age debut as a fellow Kryptonian criminal to his many brutal clashes with Superman. Yet despite these highlights,Zod has remained largely confined to being Superman’s personal foe, or at most, a recurring problem for DC’s Kryptonian heroes.
Zod has everything he needs to evolve into an established Justice League enemy. Zod combines his Kryptonian powers with military genius and the kind of ideological conviction that could place him in direct opposition to Earth’s other heroes. The League often faces cosmic threats, so it only makes sense for Zod’s brand of militaristic tyranny to be of their concern.
TheGotham by Gaslightuniverse finally begins to push Zod past his usual persona. Zod’s role in the origins of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter shows how influential he could be in more mainstream timelines. At least on this Earth, there’s no other cosmic threat the Justice League have to worry about but Zod.
