As the leaders of the military guild in Kandor, the House of Zod is structured on their strength and dedication to keep the city in order. Above all their house is known for their relentless honor to serve Kandor without question and with full obedience to the Voice of Rao. Each main member of the house introduced in season one of “Krypton” all uphold the aura of being a Zod but they all differ in unprecedented ways.
Jayna-Zod is the Primus of the military guild and the mother of Lyta. The first scene with Jayna shows that she has no tolerance for weakness, especially from her daughter, as she proceeds to drive a knife through Lyta’s hand in a duel. “We never ask for mercy. And we never give it.” Jayna is driven by honor and resilience, molded by her father to always be the strongest person in the room. Jayna’s honor is put to the ultimate test when Lyta’s life is on the line and the Vexs’ gives her the ultimatum of saving Lyta from execution by betraying the Voice of Rao to usurp the power to Daron Vex. Not only would Jayna taint her own honor but also that of the Sagatari in enlisting them in treason with her. She does not make this decision easily and its not until the last minute that she decides to save Lyta’s life. This weighs heavily on Jayna and when explaining the truth behind what really happened she recalls Lyta as her “greatest shame”. It was in this moment that Jayna proved to be more than the warrior her father molded her to be, she in fact did value family more than honor and this showed that Zod’s are more than what they seem.
Lyta-Zod is the female comic character that I hope inspires girls everywhere. Lyta does not fit in the stereotypical box of just being there as a love interest for the main hero, Seg. However, she also does not fit in the box of being a cold-hearted Zod. Georgina Campbell portrays Lyta in a relatable way whether it’s with her straining relationship with her mother, her need to do what’s right or the ache to follow her heart. Lyta is constantly torn between trying to be the best version of herself; to be the best lover to Seg, to be the loyal friend to Dev, to be the perfect daughter and to be the best Sagatari.
Female characters have the tendency to either be the perfect girl-next-door or the aloof, independent type but Lyta allows herself to be more than that. She loves Seg with everything in her, while still being the strong warrior that Zods are meant to be. Lyta uses not only her love for Seg, but her love for the people of Kandor, to fuel her in everything she does. She surprises her fellow soldiers and her mother when she mercilessly kills the leader of her squadron Quex-Ul in a duel to become commander. Lyta does not do this for the rank, but to protect the rankless from a commander with prejudice and malicious intent. Lyta struggles to keep a balance of loyalty to each of the pieces of her life and this continually gets her into trouble. Her unwavering trust in Seg gets her accused of treason, and her trust in her family ultimately causes issues with her relationship with Seg. Throughout all that Lyta does try to be the truest version of herself, and every action she makes is out of love. Lyta’s heroics are much more complex than Seg’s, everything she does is calculated and she uses her position as a Zod to her advantage.
Dru-Zod, most commonly known as General Zod, the infamous enemy of Superman. His appearance on this first season was entirely unexpected, as well as the true nature of his reason for being in the present timeline instead of his own. Zod first appears as a mere Black-Zero terrorist, trying to cause chaos in Kandor but it isn’t until the season finale we learn to full nature of his intentions. Perhaps one of the best things about this character is the way the plot makes you feel about him, once learning his true identity the immediate reaction is wariness. But why is Superman’s enemy in a timeline before he was born? Then, it’s revealed he is the child of Lyta and Seg which warranted a more open-minded response. As Lyta is probably my favorite character on the show I couldn’t hate Zod anymore, and since he was there to stop Brainiac he must not be the villain in this current arc.
Like his mother and grandmother, he was not as simple as predisposed thoughts of his character. Zod is known for trying to save Krypton, whatever unethical means he uses to try to save his people there is no doubt Zod wants the existence of Kryptonians to outlive their inevitable doom. He makes himself an ally of the group trying to stop Brainiac and while everyone is worrying about the “collector of worlds” and the looming threat of Doomsday being released, Zod is patiently waiting for all pieces to align in his favor. By the end of the season he is in his rightful place, as both savior and ruler of Krypton.
Krypton has introduced exceptional villains in its first season. Brainiac, one of the most feared beings in the DC universe seemed a small pawn in the grand scheme of what Zod was doing. Colin Salmon executed one of the most chilling and conniving performances as a villain. We got to see more than his goals for Krypton and also the dimensions of his relationships between both of his parents, but in the end Krypton is his main focus. He outlines his tyranny and plans for Krypton in his speech saying “All will kneel before Zod.” While season 2 will no doubt bring more villains and problems for our heroes, Zod is not to be underestimated again.
Season 2 will test the House of Zod in many ways, especially with the reappearance of the seemingly dead brother of Jayna, Vidar-Zod. Lyta will have to come to terms with who her son really is and fix the damage Zod will do as tyrant over Krypton. The house will be tested in many ways but with the release of Doomsday no one will be safe.
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