While I’ve enjoyed DC’s previous movie depictions of one important character, I can’t help but still find myself hoping that the villain doesn’t appear in the DC Universe for some time. Though DC’s movie history goes back decades now, some characters have gotten far more features in this time than others, especially when it comes to antagonists. With DC movies tending to focus squarely on one or two villains – and movies in different series tending to reuse the same figures – the list of DC rogues who have gotten the spotlight in a live-action DC movie can be surprisingly limited.

As such, since Lex Luthor is already appearing in the story of the DCU’s Superman – though understandably, given he’s the hero’s main nemesis – it seems wise for the DC Universe to potentially avoid using one of the Man of Steel’s other main antagonists, even though he’s previously been depicted effectively in DC’s history. In fact, these previous depictions arguably add more reason for the DCU to focus on different characters instead, since there hasn’t been a shortage of said villain in the years that have come before.

General Zod Has Had Some Seriously Solid DC Movie Depictions

General Zod has had a central role in both the Christopher Reeves’ Superman movie series, and in the DCEU timeline that came afterward, with both of these takes on Superman’s mythos making Zod into one of the biggest and most important antagonists that the hero faces. Terrance Stamp’s General Zod is first introduced in the 1978 Superman, but only to introduce the idea that he and his allies were trapped in the Phantom Zone around the time that Clark was sent away from Krypton for his own safety. Instead, Stamp’s Zod is the central villain of 1980’s Superman II, which sees him come close to taking over Earth.

Man of Steel – the DCEU’s first movie, and Superman’s first and only solo release in the franchise – also makes Zod its central antagonist, with the General and his own team of allies seeking to terraform Earth and transform it into a state that would suit the new Kryptonian forces they’re seeking to create, albeit at the cost of wiping out humanity. It’s this that ends up pitting Superman against his Kryptonian brethren in the movie’s story, which ends with the DC hero killing Zod and his troops to cement himself as Earth’s defender.

While the decision to have Superman kill General Zod proved a somewhat controversial one, both iterations of Zod provide a fascinating look at the character. Stamp’s more classical depiction of Zod holds up pretty well even to this day – and is enhanced by many of the small decisions made to show the General as a fish-out-of-water learning about Earth as much as he is a brutal ruthless warrior. Similarly, Michael Shannon’s Zod works as a villainous but tragic figure who feels the fact he was artificially birthed to be a soldier means he can only fight for Krypton’s rebirth, or die trying to make it happen.

General Zod Already Having Some Great Movie Depictions Means The DCU Is Best Giving Him A Backseat

Those who have watched Superman’s movie roster are already decidedly familiar with General Zod, since he’s the central villain in two major Superman movies, and plays notable roles in many other films – given his role in 1978’s Superman, and the fact that the DCEU’s Zod also appears in Batman V Superman before his body is made into Doomsday, and in The Flash as an alternate universe iteration of the character that faces off against the story’s protagonists. As such, the villain has gotten plenty of screentime, significance, and focus when it comes to live-action film adaptations.

With this in mind, there doesn’t seem to be as much of an imperative for the DC Universe to also bring Zod to the big screen. While there’s a lot that can be done in terms of pitting Clark against a villain who has hit powerset, and who has ties to his origins in Krypton, this is already pretty well-traveled ground by now, and ground that was already covered successfully and extensively via multiple previous takes on General Zod himself.

This is reinforced by the setting and point at which we’re already established to be in when it comes to Superman‘s story, since James Gunn revealed that we come into the narrative at a point wherein Superman has been operating as a hero for three years (via Fandango) – meaning the character’s story is less centered on finding himself, and there’s more room for him to explore more newfound territory story-wise. Indeed, as it stands, the DCU looking to bring a different and distinct take on the Superman and general DC mythos seems to align best with it avoiding using General Zod in its stories for the time being.

The DCU Has So Many Underused Superman Villains They Could Use Instead Of Zod

While Zod is a great Superman villain, avoiding using the character for the foreseeable future and instead focusing on less-adapted figures in the world of live-action movies looks like it could hold far more promise for the franchise, and help it feel like it’s taking a truly fresh direction in terms of its cinematic trajectory. Perhaps the most obvious choice for this approach would be to bring Brainiac to life, given the iconic DC antagonist has yet to get a live-action movie adaptation, despite the immense potential the character presents in terms of big-screen spectacle.

However, Brainiac is by no means the only antagonist that is arguably underused in terms of Superman movies, or who could present a novel threat for the hero to face instead of going toe-to-toe with Zod once more. The tie-in book for Superman has the hero fight Metallo – meaning they could reprise their conflict in a later chapter of the DCU – and other figures like Parasite or Bizarro also have some distinct potential. Ultimately, even generally “less serious” antagonists like Toyman and Mr. Mxyzptlk seem like they could work in the DCU’s world, which already seems to lean a little more into the more playful side of the DC lore.

With Superman already bringing so many characters into the DC Universe who have usually been underutilized in DC’s live-action movie history, the franchise seems more likely than not to also take the same avenue when it comes to its villains – as while Superman appears to center on Lex Luthor, it does also bring some other interesting side antagonists into the fray as well. As such, while I enjoyed the previous movie versions of General Zod, I’m more excited at the prospect of getting to see some other faces and names get a rarer moment in the spotlight when it comes to Superman’s villains.