General Zod quotes from Krypton

Seg-El

You said you're here to stop Brainac, that you've studied him. Let's hear the plan.

Firstly, you have to understand that Brainiac is virtually immortal. Existing for thousands of years. He possesses the intellectual plunder of countless advanced civilizations. He's far beyond us. And as history has proven, Krypton's current weapons are useless against him.

Lyta-Zod

Yet here you are. And we still haven't heard a plan yet, General.

Adam Strange

That's because he doesn't have one. On account of he's full of shit.

General Zod

When Brainiac took Kandor, both our families made it out. They made their way to Kryptonopolis. In that city's ancient archives, I learned of the location of a hidden weapon. A pre-cataclysm instrument of violence so powerful, it would give even Brainiac pause.

Seg-El

That's why your base is down here?

General Zod

I've been searching these catacombs for months. With only one clue. [indicating his coat] Inside pocket.

Adam Strange

Don't come crying to me if he's hiding some kind of freaky-ass space spider in there that bites your hand off. Just saying.

So, what are we going to do?

Jayna-Zod

We need to raise an army. We can go to Kryptonopolis, establish a base there, reach out to other city-states, and return in force.

Nyssa-Vex

My sisters live there. They can provide us with those resources and connections we need.

There's no time. Brainiac's gonna take the city in a matter of weeks. We must stay and fight!

Jayna-Zod

We will not stand a chance. He controls the Sagitari. If we attempt this ourselves, we'll be slaughtered.

Then so be it. If we are going to die, then at least...

Kem

I'm just gonna stop you there. Um, I don't wanna die, so...

Seg-El

There's another way. The Nova Cycle celebration. That's how we get our army. [holds up a blaster]

Jayna-Zod

Not with that. Our weapons have no effect on him.

Seg-El

They might not harm him, but they will piss him off... when everyone was gonna be watching. If we can provoke him into revealing his true nature, if we can show the people that the Voice of Rao is an alien creature, the entire city will rise and stand against him. We will have our army.

Kal-El, the Superman you keep hearing about. He was no different than any other kryptonian. He just happened to make it off our planet before it was destroyed. Then landed on a planet with a yellow sun. That's what makes him super. Radiation. That and dumb luck. But if Krypton never was destroyed, we could all have the powers he has. Imagine all the good that could do in the universe.

Jayna-Zod

How did you survive Krypton's destruction?

I wasn't on Krypton when it exploded.

Jayna-Zod

Where were you?

The Phantom Zone. It's... sort of an extra dimension or... abyss. Defying the laws of space or time. Turns out it's perfect for housing criminals.

Jayna-Zod

You were in prison? What did you do?

I attempted a coup. Guess it runs in the family. I grew up in Kryptonopolis, and the council there was inept as yours here in Kandor. There was one person on the council that I truly respected. Of course, he was the one who foiled my plans and sent me away. His name was Jor-El.

We will need your grandfather's unsurpassed intellect. I believe Val-El is our last, best hope.

Seg-El

You left my grandfather stranded in that place with no way out, but now that we need him, you suddenly have a way to free him.

If you hadn't kept this place a secret from me, I couldn't have done it anytime, if there had been a need. [to Val] I assume you can activate it.

Lyta-Zod

So what's the catch?

Someone has to go in and get him.

Seg-El

I'll go.

You would get lost in there forever. I know my way around and I'll find him.

Nyssa-Vex

Or now that you've failed to stop Brainiac, this is your means of escape.

No one's ever been in there would consider going back an escape.

General Zod

For all the futures you witnessed, did you ever see one in which you would escape the Phantom Zone?

Val-El

No.

General Zod

So we can change things.

Val-El

No, you can't. From inside the Phantom Zone, I have seen a multitude of possible futures. And they all end the same way: with Brainiac's victory. I assure you, Kandor will be taken. And anyone still there...

Seg-El

...will be trapped in there with Doomsday.

General Zod

We find the Cynthonnites who took him, and we force them to tell us where they hid it.

Val-El

Of the many futures I have seen, the one in which Doomsday is used against Brainiac is, by far, the worst.

Seg-El

Then you lied to me. You promised me there would always be a better tomorrow. And as hard as it was, I believed you. Mom and Dad, they believed you. They gave their lives for your better tomorrow.

Val-El

Those were the empty words of an naive old man. The only tomorrow I have seen are unimaginably worse, as your friends will soon discover.

Seg-El

Where are you going?

General Zod

I'm going to save Krypton!

Seg-El

I will not let you trade Val to Brainiac.

General Zod

I don't think you can stop me.

Seg-El

Val is your flesh and blood too. You would sacrifice him to that thing?

General Zod

And you would sacrifice everyone else?

Seg-El

You don't even know if he'd take the deal! He might just kill you.

General Zod

Is that what you're really afraid of, father? I didn't think so. [pushes Seg aside]

Seg-El

If Brainiac gets a hold of Val, imagine what he could do with that information. Imagine how many more worlds he can conquer! The entire universe will pay the price for this.

General Zod

If he spares Krypton, then so be it.

Seg-El

Look, if you're here to try and force me to tell you where Doomsday is, then you're wasting your time. The Cynthonnites double-crossed me; they hid it somewhere.

General Zod

That's not why we're here. We need you to get us to the Fortress. We're gonna bring back your grandfather.

Seg-El

Where did he go?

Into the Phantom Zone, a dimension that exists outside the normal space-time continuum.

Lyta-Zod

How do you know that?

Because I was trapped in there with him.

Seg-El

You mean you were sentenced there for leading a coup.

Yes. Because the Council convinced me was as corrupt as the one that condemned Val-El.

Seg-El

That doesn't make sense. If Val went into the Phantom Zone 14 cycles ago, and you were thrown in there some point in the future, how did you two even meet?

Once inside the Phantom Zone, time and space have no meaning. Val told me that her father and the Voice of Rao believing that he was dead, it game him opportunity to seek out Brainiac, observe the way the creature operated in order to help Krypton prepare its defenses.

Seg-El

Then why didn't he come back?

Because he didn't have this. It was his only way out.

Nyssa-Vex

So you stole it? You betrayed him.

Only one of us could get out with this. So, yes, I betrayed him, but not his mission. Who better to stop Brainiac, hmm? A frail old man or a general? Such a mission required a Zod, not an El. Turned out I was both.

General Zod

My fellow Kryptonians, six months ago, we came together to face the dawn of a new era. I stood before you, a man from the future, with a vision for the future to rebuild a Krypton unrecognizable in its perfection. I knew only unity and equality would heal our divisions and secure our future. And now I offer my gratitude.

Adam Strange

[landing in an alley] Ooh. Oh, god damn it, right in the johnson.

General Zod

Because while I may have led our efforts, it is by your own strength that today, Krypton is indeed unrecognizable. And perfection lies within our grasp. We are now ready to claim our rightful place amongst the stars and fulfill our duty of promoting Kryptonian exceptionalism as rulers of the galaxy. To those anarchic separatists on Wegthor, know that through the toil, courage, and sacrifices of true Kryptonians, we will crush your treacherous rebellion. And there has been no more noble a sacrifice than that of my father, Seg-El, who gave his life so that we may all see a better tomorrow.

Lyta-Zod

It's been six months, and we are still no closer to locating Doomsday. Yet we continue pouring our resources into the search, when we should be bringing the Wegthor conflict to a close.

We barely survived Brainiac, and we don't know what other planetary-scale disasters lay in our future. We must get off this planet, begin seeding others. It's the only way to ensure the survival of our people. With Doomsday under our control, should a world reject our offer of annexation, we simply deploy the creature. Our adversary would capitulate or face total annihilation. Either way, we secure our victory without the loss of a single Kryptonian life.

Lyta-Zod

Then you prioritize Doomsday, and let me handle the resistance. Latest intel suggest Val-El, Jax-Ur, and Nyssa-Vex are done recruiting. Apparently, they're in Kandor as we speak.

[she activates a hologram] What's this?

Lyta-Zod

My mission proposal to smoke them out from wherever they're hiding.

Are you really sure this is where you want your focus to be?

Lyta-Zod

Why wouldn't I?

They were your allies once.

Lyta-Zod

And that's how I know this will work.

General Zod

They look so delicate outside of the creche. So helpless, fragile. Yet bursting with life.

Nyssa-Vex

Give me back my son.

General Zod

Nothing would make me happier. However, there is something I need from you first.

Nyssa-Vex

What?

General Zod

It is time for this resistance to end. Val is my great-grandfather, my blood. We should be together, not fighting each other. And I need you to convince him of this.

Nyssa-Vex

And if I refuse?

General Zod

That would break my heart, because I believe there is nothing more sacred than the bond between mother and child. But if that is your resolve, then you leave me no choice. I will raise young Cor-Vex myself, and be to him the father I never had, in honor of Seg.

Nyssa-Vex

You're just like my father.

General Zod

Get some rest. Perhaps you'll reconsider in the morning.