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Battle of the Brawn: What DC comic lore says about General Zod's strength compared to Superman and Batman

The villain has fought against many DC superheroes and is undoubtly one of the strongest characters from the comics

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: One of the most feared villains from the DC universe goes by the name of Zod or General Zod, as he has come to be known. He has appeared in many DC comics and has fought several superhero characters including Superman, Batman and Supergirl. He is one of the Kryptonians still alive in the universe but is he the strongest? Stronger than fellow Kryptonian Superman? 

General Zod will be making a comeback in the DC extended universe in ‘The Flash’ releasing on June 16. He will once again be facing DC’s beloved Batman (Michael Keaton) along with the speedrunner and Supergirl. Let us find out more about his powers and whether he is stronger than the likes of Earth's superheroes, Superman and Batman. 

Origins of General Zod and his powers

Zod is one of the characters who comes from the alien planet Krypton, like Superman and Supergirl. Ever since his birth, Zod has trained to be a warrior and hence in comparison to many characters of the DC universe, he has a lot more experience with combat and application of his own powers. He has every ability that the Man of Steel possesses plus years of training and familiarity with his powers. 

General Zod’s upper hand is also the result of exposure to the yellow sun and the Earth’s atmosphere which, according to DC's comic lore, grants him superpowers. Zod is also genetically modified to be a warrior which only adds to his superhuman abilities. 

So, is he the strongest?

Not really. Zod can be labeled as one of the strongest in DC Universe. But if we were to discuss the comics, it completely depended on the different writers and often the circumstances of the battles between the superheroes and Zod. 

General Zod, on occasions, has defeated Superman in the lore of DC. But the opposite has happened too. So one cannot make a solid argument against either of them being the "stronger" one.

In the case of Batman, it won’t be hard for Zod to easily win in a fight. Batman was only able to win the most-awaited battle between himself and Superman because of his access to Kryptonite. Since Zod has grown up on the alien planet and is not affected by Kryptonite, Batman would lose even that advantage. 

So, we can reach a conclusion that General Zod is one of the strongest characters, especially a villain, in the DC universe. It would be interesting to see him battling The Flash along with Supergirl and Batman in the upcoming film. It remains to be seen if he can be killed again like in 'Man of Steel'.