Enemies and villains faced primarily by Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman.

open/close all folders

Kryptonian Invaders

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kryptonians_5.png

"Surrender within 24 hours or watch this world suffer the consequences."

Species: Kryptonians

"You led us here, Kal! And now it's within your power to save what remains of your race."

— General Zod

The only survivors left after the destruction of their homeworld aside from Kal-El, these ruthless Kryptonians led by General Zod escaped the Phantom Zone and wandered in space in search of surviving colonies of their destroyed civilization, but found nothing but death and technology to scavenge. Until the day Clark Kent/Kal-El activated a Kryptonian scout ship in Canada, which sent a signal that brought them to Earth.

In General

Achilles' Heel: Since none of them have acclimated to Earth's atmosphere, they're easily overwhelmed once Superman damages their helmets.
Aliens Are Bastards: They plan to terraform the Earth and destroy mankind. How's that for bastardry?
Badass Crew: They're less than a dozen of superpowered aliens with advanced technology, and that's enough to threaten humanity's very existence.
Batman Can Breathe in Space: As Kryptonians, they can survive and breathe into the vaccum of space without problem, provided they're exposed to a yellow sun. Note that in their native environment, they are not superpowered, apart from being naturally stronger due to Krypton's heavier gravity. Before Earth's sun supercharges their biology, they still need spacesuits, vehicles and fight with (highly advanced) guns.
But What About the Astronauts?: They were frozen aboard a prison spaceship in the Phantom Zone when Krypton exploded. The explosion thawed them.
Collapsible Helmet: The helmet part of their Kryptonian armors can collapse or build itself from just a collar, as seen when Lois Lane is given one to allow breathing within the Kryptonian environment of their ship. The helmets seem to be made of form-fitting force-fields that can also turn opaque or transparent as needed.
The Coup: Zod, some of his officers and loyal henchmen stormed Krypton's high council and gunned down High Eminence Ro-Zar. They then declared that they would execute the remaining leaders for treason by reason of incompetent leadership and then assume control of Krypton. The coup failed due to Jor-El not joining them (stealing the Codex instead) and the surviving loyalist forces rallying after the initial shock.
Darker and Edgier: One of the darkest portrayals of Zod's faction to date.
Dark Is Evil: Their armors, skinsuits and ships are all black, and they're ready to carry out a genocide by proxy on humans.
Disaster Scavengers: When wandering in space, they searched for old Kryptonian colonies. They didn't find any living Kryptonian but still managed to scavenge valuable equipment like their armors or, more importantly, a World Engine.
Evil Wears Black: Their weapons, armors and spaceships are all black.
Human Aliens: Nothing can distinguish them from humans when just looking at them, but their biology is widely different.
Human Popsicles: Well, Kryptonian Popsicles. They are frozen before being sent in the Phantom Zone in a prison spaceship, and the destruction of Krypton thaws them.
Kill All Humans: Their endgame amounts to this.
Knights of Cerebus: With their introduction, you'd be forgiven for thinking Man of Steel has turned into a war movie.
Long-Lived: They look the same after drifting 33 years in the depths of space.
Phantom Zone: They were sent there as a punishment following the coup. The destruction of Krypton freed them from it. Superman ends up sending them back there at the end of Man of Steel, minus Zod.
Powered Armor: They salvaged powered armors on abandoned Kryptonian outposts.
Power Incontinence: While Zod's henchmen have no problem easing into their Super-Strength on Earth, the amplified senses they suddenly gain when their helmets get damaged are very disorienting.
Renegade Splinter Faction: Zod created the Sword of Rao, a renegade military faction inside the Kryptonian military, in order to take over Krypton in a military coup. His crew is made of his most trusted followers from said faction.
Strong and Skilled: They (at the very least Zod, Faora and Nam-Ek) get the same powers as Kal-El did when they are on Earth and they have some advantage over him in addition to their numbers with their Kryptonian military training vs Kal-El's lifelong stay at a farm, as Zod puts it.
Superpower Lottery: In their native environment, Kryptonians are no more impressive in their abilities than humans. But a yellow sun, such as the one in the Earth's solar system, has tremendous effects on the Kryptonians' biology, heightening their strength, speed and senses dramatically. They also gain separate abilities, such as the power to fly, see through opaque objects, and project thick beams of heat from their eyes, as well as becoming virtually impenetrable to most weapons.
Terraform: They salvaged a World Engine, a machine conceived for this very purpose, and intend to terraform the Earth, regardless of the fact that the planet will become uninhabitable for humans.
Two Girls to a Team: Car-Vex and Nadira are the only female Kryptonians in Zod's crew.

Commanders

General Zod

General Dru-Zod of Kandor

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zod_3.jpg

"I'm going to make them suffer, Kal. These humans you've adopted, I will take them all from you one by one."

Species: Kryptonian

Citizenship: Kryptonian

Affiliation(s): Kryptonian Warrior Guild, Sword of Rao

Portrayed By: Michael Shannon

Voiced By: Dafnis Fernández (Latin-American Spanish), Akio Hirose (Japanese), Xavier Fagnon (European French), Marc-André Bélanger (Canadian French)

Film appearances: Man of Steel | Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Other appearances: From the World of Batman v Superman | Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Upstairs/Downstairs

"I exist... only to protect Krypton. That is the sole purpose for which I was born. And every action I take, no matter how violent or cruel, is for the greater good of my people."

The general in chief of Krypton's military and a former longtime friend of Jor-El. Zod believes Jor-El's warnings about the hopeless state of Krypton and launches a coup after concluding that the Council is incapable of saving their race. When the coup fails, the Council has him and his most loyal followers imprisoned in the Phantom Zone, a decision which ironically spares them the fate of their home planet. After arriving on Earth in search of Kal-El, he decides to terraform it for the sake of building a new Krypton, endangering the human race in the process.

Achilles' Heel: Much like his fellow followers, while Zod is massively empowered by the beams of a nearby yellow sunlight, he also experiences extrasensory overload, which can cause him severe pain and disorientation if left unchecked, hence he wears a Powered Armor to minimize those effects. This is something that Clark manages to exploit, giving him an edge in battle, though Zod reprimands that he will eventually get used to it through adapting to Earth's atmosphere.
Adaptation Origin Connection: Zod murdered Jor-El in Man of Steel, when in every other adaptation Jor-El lived to see Krypton's final days.
Adaptational Nice Guy: Downplayed; Zod here is a lot more impressionable and polite than most versions of the character make him out to be, with this one being more in lines with his Post-Crisis/Post-Flashpoint iteration. His politeness is still very much a façade, but here he does try his best to appeal to others when it's possible, especially towards Kal-El.
Adaptational Personality Change: In the comics and previous films, Zod was a generic antagonist and a War Criminal who attempted a coup prior to Krypton's destruction before being sent to the Phantom Zone, wishes to kill Superman simply for being the son of his old friend Jor-El (who he blames for his banishment). Man of Steel however expands on his motivation, having him attempt his coup because Krypton is dying and he blames the rulers for it, and his attempted conquering of Earth being so he could preserve his now-near extinct species. Although this isn't entirely the film's invention, as Zod had been known to display some of these traits in comics such as the New Krypton arc.
Adaptational Sympathy: While previous iterations of Zod were maniacal warlords who wanted to either take over Earth or kill off it's population out of a right of superiority, this Zod is instead motivated by personal loss and angst over being unable to save Krypton and its people. His death also elicits a sense of tragedy to his overall character.
Alas, Poor Villain: Even if Zod was a genocidal maniac, all he wanted was to ensure the security and future of the Kryptonians after Krypton blew up, even if he had to make disturbing decisions to do so. Years of isolation in the Phantom Zone clearly didn't help matters. Notably, when Superman kills Zod, the Man of Steel melts down in sadness not only because of the mass destruction of Metropolis he caused - not to mention being forced to end it by violating his own Thou Shalt Not Kill rule - but because he had just killed one of the last of his people remaining in the universe.
Alternate Self: Zod has one on Earth-Prime, one on Earth-96 and two on Earth-167 as himself and his son.
Antagonist in Mourning: He's got a lot of baggage, from having to kill his closest friend to losing his home planet along with any hope of rebuilding it. When he deletes the Jor-El hologram, it's clear he takes no joy in it.
Anti-Villain: Unlike prior depictions of the character, this version of Zod is genuinely dedicated to acting in his people's best interest (albeit from his own Ax-Crazy point of view). He is also a rather tragic figure given that his savage and ruthless personality is largely a byproduct of being bred and indoctrinated by Krypton's totalitarian system to be the perfect killing machine. He also doesn't have any joy killing humans.
Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Of the surviving members of Krypton's military caste, Zod is the only one revealed to have mastered over the course of barely a day ALL the powers that took Superman years to fully control.
Zod: I was bred to be a warrior, Kal. Trained my entire life to master my senses. Where did you train?! ON A FARM??!!
Awesomeness by Analysis: Zod is able to figure out the mechanics of flying and how to use heat vision, as well as using the heat vision's cool-down period against Superman.
Ax-Crazy: Despite possessing noble intentions, it is clear that he has a highly confrontational and violent disposition which is only exacerbated by his fanatical elitism.
Badass Boast: After Kal-El's mother Lara confidently tells Zod that her son has escaped to a place far beyond his reach, he later menacingly promises her that he will dedicate his entire existence to tracking down Kal to the ends of the universe.
Zod: You believe your son is safe? I will find him! I will reclaim what you have taken from us!! ... I will find him, Lara. ... I WILL FIND HIM!!!!
- The aforementioned quote about Kal-El training "on a farm".
Batman Can Breathe in Space: As a Kryptonian, Zod can survive and breathe into the vacuum of space without problem, provided he's exposed to a yellow sun. However, in his native environment, Zod is not superpowered, apart from being naturally stronger due to Krypton's heavier gravity. Before Earth's sun supercharges Zod's biology, he still needs spacesuits, vehicles, and fight with (highly advanced) guns.
Beard of Evil: The ruthless Zod has grown a beard - much like his Alternate Self in Superman II - by the time Clark is an adult.
Beard of Sorrow: Zod is implied to be this, as he's an Anti-Villain who genuinely cares about Krypton, and we only see him with the beard after Krypton is destroyed.
Big Bad: Of Man of Steel. Zod poses the greatest threat to Jor-El's vision of peacefully carrying on their civilization's legacy on Earth by first attempting to murder Kal-El as an infant on Krypton and later targeting the Earth's entire population for extermination.
Big "NO!": Zod lets one out when he realizes Jor-El planted the codex on his newborn son, who had just been launched into space.
Big "NEVER!": He shouts this when he's making an attempt to kill a nearby family, partly to spite Kal-El, and partly because he subconsciously wants to die. It ends up being his last words as Clark snaps his neck shortly after.
Blade Below the Shoulder: Zod has a retractable blade in his right gauntlet. He uses it to stab Jor-El.
Cape Snag: General Zod grabs Superman by the cape and throws him across the city, sending Superman crashing through half a dozen buildings before his motion slows down.
Chest Insignia: Zod wears the crest of the House of Zod on the chest of his armor (before losing it upon his arrest) and the uniform under it.
Chewing the Scenery: Michael Shannon clearly had a blast. Zod has a habit of Suddenly Shouting the moment he's agitated, complete with a snarling tone to highlight his brutality.
Colonel Kurtz Copy: Zod's a charismatic military leader with maniacal ambitions to expand Krypton's empire - whether the Kryptonians want it or not - to the detriment of all other lives in the universe.
Composite Character: Thanks to Lex Luthor, he becomes Doomsday in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. In the comics, the two were separate villains (though the scout ship's A.I. implies the original might still be out there).
The Coup: Zod lead henchmen stormed Krypton's high council and gunned down High Eminence Ro-Zar. He then declared that they would execute the remaining leaders for treason by reason of incompetent leadership and then assume control of Krypton. His coup failed due to Jor-El not joining him (stealing the Codex instead) and the surviving loyalist forces rallying after the initial shock.
Crippling Overspecialization: Zod and his henchmen were bred and trained specifically to be soldiers, to be the extreme solution; that's all he knows. As such, it makes him the most tragically prominent example of the failure of the predetermination paradigm of Krypton's population control, and an apocalyptic threat to Earth.
Dark Messiah: To the surviving members of Krypton's warrior caste.
Death Seeker: After Kal-El destroys all hope of restoring Krypton and its people, Zod fights Kal-El to the death, no longer caring whether he lives or dies, because he knows that, without a people to protect and serve, he no longer has a purpose.
Despair Event Horizon: Zod hits this hard near the end of Man of Steel when his entire crew is sent to the Phantom Zone again. He vows to kill Superman or, failing that, hurt what he cares about.
Designer Babies: Zod is the result of one; he was genetically engineered since birth to be a steadfast warrior who believed that fighting and conflict was the best way to instil order and management towards Krypton. He was literally born to be a general for Krypton council and that he was meant to fill up a societal role of being a warrior for the planet's populace. As a result, Zod has a militaristic, confrontational mindset and this plays a role in why he thinks its best to terraform Earth and wipe out its inhabitants as a way to make a new home for the surviving Kryptonians.
Determinator: Upon deciding on a course of action, he single-mindedly dedicates his entire being towards fulfilling it regardless of the consequences. He also overcomes the debilitating effect of his new haywire Super-Senses by concentrating really hard. Best exemplified in his last words:
Superman: Stop!
Zod: Never!
Disaster Scavengers: During his nomadic voyages throughout space, Zod went through many planets and ship remains, hoping to find any Kryptonians who survived their planet's destruction as well as scraps and materials that can help him in his travels.
Do Not Adjust Your Set: Zod apparently shorts out all electric devices - besides those with screens - and broadcasts his "You Are Not Alone" message, imploring Kal-El to come to him.
Evil Counterpart:
- To Jor-El. He and Jor-El shared the goal of saving Krypton's civilization, but not the methods required to achieve it.
- Also to Superman. Both want to "go home", even though their home planet has been destroyed. While Superman learns to let go, Zod tries to remake Krypton with total disregard for Earth's inhabitants.
Evil Evolves: It took Zod only a few hours to acclimate to Earth's atmosphere, as well as gaining control over his heat vision and mastering flight, the latter of which even Superman struggled with. If Superman didn't kill Zod when he did, he may very well have surpassed the Man of Steel. Not to mention his resurrection as Doomsday.
Evil Former Friend: Zod shares a respectful relationship with Jor-El, and even asks him to not fight him once he tries to take over Krypton. Even when he kills Jor-El, he looks regretful for what he had done. When he admits to killing him to a captured Kal-El, he confesses that the deed still haunts him.
Evil Is Hammy: Michael Shannon loves Chewing the Scenery at any given chance.
Expy: He's essentially Mustapha Mond taken to a Logical Extreme.
Evil Wears Black: His and his trope's weapons, armors and spaceships are all black.
Fallen Hero: Jor-El's words to him that he will "honor the man he once was" suggests that he was once a noble Kryptonian until he turned to villainy.
Fantastic Racism: Zod despises humans (and his fellow Kryptonians that belong to "inferior bloodlines").
Faux Affably Evil: Upon arriving on Earth, Zod seems to have changed greatly from the zealous megalomaniac he once was as he warmly greets Kal-El in a dignified, fatherly manner. However, it doesn't take long for him to reveal that time has done nothing to diminish his brutality as he attacks Kal's adopted mother and moves to annihilate Earth's entire population.
Faux Shadowing: Zod's Blade Below the Shoulder that he used to kill Jor-El. In the final fight with Superman, Zod makes an adjustment to his right gauntlet, as if to bust out the blade, but instead just removes his armor.
- It veers into straight Foreshadowing when Zod is brought back as Doomsday and stabs Superman with a spike erupting from his arm.
Fighting for a Homeland: A rare evil version; the destruction of Krypton left Zod and his followers without a homeland to settle in, resulting in them traveling around spacefor resources to keep them physically sustained. When they discover and arrive on Earth, he sees an opportunity to repopulate the planet with his kind partly because it's atmosphere is suitable for Kryptonians to live under and partly because Kal-El, who had been living there, has the Codex embedded within him, giving Zod a reason to capture and kill him do that he could use the Codex to recreate his kind, albeit at the cost of humanity's extinction.
Final Solution: Zod's method of bringing back his race involves annihilating humankind to extinction via terraforming, which is also furthered by Zod's less-than respectful viewpoint on Humanity. Though it should be noted that Zod's goals lean less on hatred and discrimination and more towards desperation, though once his means to said goal is destroyed, Zod switches to killing off humankind solely as a way to spite Kal-El, which completely distorts the original intent of his goals.
Flight Is the Final Power: A villainous version. General Zod begins developing the same powers Superman possesses after being exposed to Earth's yellow sun. After showing his destructive power via heat vision and strength, Zod proves his adaptability by learning flight faster than Clark did, putting them on the same power level.
Flying Brick: Like Superman, he ultimately harnesses Super-Strength, Super-Speed, Super-Senses, Eye Beams, Nigh-Invulnerability, and, finally, Flight.
For the Greater Good: His excuse for every atrocity he commits.
Four-Star Badass: Well, he is a General, after all.
Freudian Excuse: His personality stems from being bred by Krypton's totalitarian system to be single-mindedly devoted to protecting (up to recreating) Krypton at any cost.
General Failure: Zod is a tragic case of a Well-Intentioned Extremist turned into one of these because he couldn't grow beyond his own programming. The product of an alien Super Breeding Program, Zod was conceived from day one to be a military leader, and as a result can't conceive of any other way to approach problems other than through overwhelming force. If he'd been of a less forceful temperament he could have allied with his old friend Jor-El, but instead he launches a coup d'état against the Obstructive Bureaucrat-laden Council that rules Krypton, turning Jor-El against him (though unwittingly also saving himself and his subordinates from dying with the world). Later his Attack! Attack! Attack! mentality hamstrings him again when he decides to re-establish the Kryptonian race. Despite being in possession of a terraforming device that would allow him to transform any planet in our galaxy into one habitable to Kryptonians, he decides to go to war with the one inhabited planet in said galaxy, which alienates yet another El against him and mires him in another war he can't win. Perhaps most tragic is that Zod seems aware on some level that he is self-sabotaging his own efforts, as seen in a melancholy dialogue with a program of his old friend Jor-El and later a flat-out Antagonist in Mourning speech when Kal exiles every other Kryptonian but him back to the Phantom Zone. Most Failures here are so by their own pride and stupidity, but Zod is a failure because he's literally hardwired to be one.
General Ripper: He blames all of Krypton's problems on its ruling body and starts a violent Civil War in order to take the power away from said ruling body, whom he accuses of making their race "weak" and allowing the planet to come to the verge of destruction.
Genius Bruiser: In addition to being an outstanding military tactician and combatant, he is also revealed to be a gifted engineer as seen in flashbacks when he uses the Phantom Projector that originally imprisoned him and his followers to power up their ship's hyperdrive and escape the ruins of their homeworld.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Sports a big one on the left side of his face, which he got from a tussle with Jor-El.
Hair-Trigger Temper: Whenever his plans are frustrated or his ego feels slighted in any way, Zod immediately goes from being a dignified (albeit grim) authority figure to a raging brute (much unlike his icily calm Sub-Commander, Faora).
Heartbroken Badass: Non-romantic related example at the end of Man of Steel— his anguish stems not from losing a specific loved one but from losing what was the last of his race of people as well as losing what may very well have been his last chance at giving the Kryptonian race a chance to start over, and by extension losing his sole reason for existing, as he was born and bred to be a warrior defending Krypton, no matter the cost. Though having been with those particular Kryptonians troops for so long it's entirely possible that on some level Zod also saw them as his family, thus making him a Heartbroken Papa Wolf.
Heavyworlder: Zod, being a Kryptonian, has adapted to his planet's atmosphere, which is noted to have a larger level of gravity than Earth does as well as red sunlight that weakens the Krypton's populace. As a result, when Lex arrives on Earth, the lighter atmosphere as well as the presence of a regular sun allows him to be far stronger there than he was in his former homeworld.
Homeworld Evacuation: This is actually one of the few things Zod and Jor-El have an agreement on regarding what to do in the event of Krypton's explosion. Zod, however, only intends to save the elite bloodlines in his planet's population, which ends up with him going against his friend's desires and objectives.
Hostile Terraforming: Zod tries to turn Earth into a new Krypton using a World Engine. Not only is the process incredibly destructive, but Krypton's atmosphere is toxic to humans. When Jor-El tries to persuade Zod not to do this, appealing to the fact that Earth's environment gives Kryptonians super powers and they can live side-by-side with humanity, Zod says he doesn't care about the humans and he doesn't want to have to adjust to the enhanced senses.
How Do I Shot Web?: After first experiencing the sensory enhancement (read: complete overload) a Kryptonian gains on Earth, and seeing Kal-El flying and using heat vision, Zod does some quick training to learn how to use his full potential that gets unleashed in the final fight with Kal-El.
Human Aliens: Nothing can distinguish him from a regular human someone might meet in the street, but their biology is widely different.
Human Popsicle: He is frozen before being sent to the Phantom Zone in a prison spaceship, and the destruction of Krypton thaws them.
I Did What I Had to Do: When Clark tells him You Killed My Father, Zod makes it clear that he regretted it, but that he would do it again if he had to. Plus, he knows that his attempted genocide on humans is wrong, he still maintains that it is for his people's good. According to David S. Goyer, Zod wouldn't have minded working with Jor-El, but their differing priorities and means meant that this wasn't going to happen and that Zod would have went with killing Jor-El again over the matter, even if he doesn't take any comfort in it.
Instant Expert: Justified, since he and his comrades in the Kryptonian military were genetically engineered to be perfect warriors and subsequently underwent rigorous training to master their senses.
Invading Refugees: Being among the last of their kind, Zod arrives on Earth with the intent of repopulating Kryptonians and even being open to bringing along Ka-El for their goal. Unfortunately, his method of repopulation involves terraforming the planet and reducing humans to extinction, which inevitably sets up a violent confrontation between Superman and Zod.
Jerkass Has a Point: While murdering the political caste was a step too far, Krypton's elites did lead their civilization to ruin as he points out during his coup.
Kill All Humans: Zod's plan to create a new Krypton involves this, though it's not something he wants to do... until Superman defies him, at which point he wants to destroy humanity out of spite.
Killing for a Tissue Sample: Zod's enmity against Superman may be one born of personal reasons and severe disagreements on each other's ends, but Kal-El is also infused with the Codex, which contains the key to DNA plans on a way to reconstruct the Kryptonian race. The Codex can only be extracted via cellular extraction, which can only happen after the holder's death, which means that Zod has to kill Superman if he has to achieve his goals.
Kneel Before Zod: Surprisingly averted. At no point in the movie does Zod command anyone (not even Kal-El) to kneel before him. Funnily enough, Superman indeed involuntarily falls to his knees when brought before Zod on the Black Zero ship (but only due to its unfamiliar atmosphere weakening him), as well as after killing Zod due to emotional exhaust.
Knight Templar: His goal is to protect Krypton and its people, no matter the cost.
Kubrick Stare: It is Michael Shannon.
Large Ham: Crosses into this with his line "I WILL FIND HIM!" reminiscent of Sting in 1984's Dune.
Laser-Guided Karma: After threatening both Lara and Martha, Zod gets pummeled by their son. The former of which Superman had no knowledge about.
Last Villain Stand: Zod does this when his entire army is sealed in the Phantom Zone with his ship and all of his weapons. He even masters a full set of Kryptonian powers for the fight.
Leitmotif: Zod's theme is a menacing composition consisting of rapidly ascending and descending strings, deafening war drums resembling artillery blasts, and roaring trumpets that simultaneously evoke battle-fueled rage and fanatical resolve. In this manner, his theme reflects not only his savagery and megalomania, but his single-minded obsession with becoming Krypton's savior at all costs as well. See the following tracks of the Man of Steel score: "I Will Find Him", "Arcade", and (naturally) "General Zod."
Lightning Bruiser: Fittingly for a Kryptonian general, Zod is not just a physically powerful combatant, but he's also quick on his reflexes and fast enough to fly across Earth in a matter of minutes. Then further exposure to the Earth's suns make him even more powerful and faster, allowing him to be on par with Superman himself in their powers and capabilities.
Madness Mantra: "I will find him!", which Zod chants as he is sentenced to an eternity in suspended animation.
Military Coup: His occupation as a military general meant that he thought the best way of taking over Krypton's leadership was through violent force. He had the right answer in regards to Krypton's council being corrupt, but the wrong conclusion, which led to the end of his friendship with Jor-El and him being sent to the Phantom Zone.
Motive Decay: While initially he wanted to terraform the Earth to rebuild Krypton and held no ill will towards humanity, Superman stops him from doing that by destroying the World Engine and banishing Zod's followers back to the Phantom Zone. When he realizes that all hope is lost, he admits that he's now going to wipe out mankind out of pure spite.
Motive Rant: Zod has two: one where he tells Jor-El how he's going to save Krypton. And the second has him tell Kal-El how he's going to kill every human he finds in revenge for Superman taking his purpose in life.
My Death Is Just the Beginning: As the first major enemy Superman faced, Zod shaped a major aspect of his enemy's life. Aside from becoming the last Kryptonian once again, Superman solidified his no-killing code and becomes more nuanced in his superhero career. His invasion also had massive societal ramifications, especially in how the world would see superhumans and aliens. There is also the fact that Lex Luthor seizes his corpse and uses it to create Doomsday, who kills Superman which indirectly stirs the Motherboxes. This would then set up the plot for Justice League.
My Kung-Fu Is Stronger Than Yours: Zod boasts during his fight with Superman that he has trained his whole life to be the perfect warrior, while Clark is just a farm boy surrounded by people that could never put his combat skills to the test.
A Nazi by Any Other Name: When coupled with his fanatical belief in Social Darwinism, his speeches about saving Krypton's race by rooting out "degenerate" bloodlines and exterminating "inferior" species (i.e: Earthlings) are eerily reminiscent of a certain totalitarian ideology that first gained notoriety in Europe during the the first half of the 20th century.
Neck Snap: How Kal-El/Superman eventually kills him.
Nerves of Steel: When his followers are cryogenically frozen, they're all shown writhng and crying out in pain, including Faora. Zod just clenches his jaw.
Never My Fault: Zod blames Krypton's Council for imprisoning him when he was the one who started a revolution and murdered Jor-El, as well as blaming Clark for the codex being destroyed and his army being sent back into the Phantom Zone, conveniently forgetting that it was his attempt at genocide that forced Clark to do those things in the first place.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Zod's decision to also take Lois hostage for additional leverage and information and to hold her in a room that has a console. The console has a slot for the spaceship key that Clark slipped her so they wouldn't find it on him, and inserting it allows Jor-El's Virtual Ghost to upload to and commandeer the ship, help Lois and Clark escape, and give them crucial information.
No Full Name Given: Zod's given name is never spoken. Even the scout ship's A.I. only refers to him as "General Zod of Kandor".
No Social Skills: Zod's approach to pretty much any situation is to be as blunt and imposing as possible. When he contacts the people of Earth, he can't help but threaten them with violence if Kal-El does not come forward. Zod does manage to put on a friendly facade when he first meets Superman in person, but then again he knows he won't need to maintain it for more than a few seconds as Superman succumbs to the Kryptonian atmosphere.
Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Zod's mission is to protect Kryptonian civilization at all costs, and his whole reason for attempting to overthrow its corrupt ruling class is to prevent them from recklessly destroying their own homeworld, and his attempted genocide on humanity is again motivated not out of any malice against humans but a desperate last plan to revive Krypton over Earth's foundations. However, by the end, he finally loses whatever good intentions he originally had when Superman stops his World Engines and Zod vows to wipe out humanity out of pure spite.
One-Winged Angel: During his final fight against Superman, Zod ends up having to quickly adapt to Earth atmosphere without the help of his helmet. While painful at first, he gets used to it and is eventually able to better his fighting skills against Clark. It culminates when Zod breaks off his armor and displays the ability of Flight, allowing him to fight against Superman on equal footing as well as being more destructive than before via gaining the power of heat vision.
Pet the Dog:
- A minor example, but he doesn't fault Superman for neglecting to address him as General Zod.
Superman: I take it you're Zod?
Faora: General Zod, our commander.
General Zod: It's alright, Faora. You can forgive Kal any lapses in decorum. He's a stranger to our ways. This should be cause for celebration, not conflict.
- He's shown comforting Faora after Krypton's destruction.
Posthumous Villain Victory: While Zod dies in his first movie appearance, he does manage to succeed in making Superman a controversial figure by Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Eventually, his body is then used to create the monster Doomsday, and while Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman manage to defeat the beast, Doomsday still manages to land a fatal blow on Clark. Essentially, Zod did get to kill Superman later on, even if by that point, he was dead and/or his body was now the host of a rampaging monster. Though this gets muted by Justice League when Clark is revived.
Power Incontinence: The first time Zod's powers manifest he doesn't quite control them, such as when Superman breaks his bubble-helmet, which makes him experience the Sensory Overload of the Super-Senses the Earth's yellow sun gives to Kryptonians, or when his Eye Beams manifest, slicing the Wayne Financial building in all directions. He masters it all pretty quickly however, in a matter of minutes while it took Superman a good part of his youth to do so.
Power Limiter: As with the rest of the invaders, Zod's helmet allows him to absorb yellow sunlight rays on a minimal basis, ensuring that while he does become powerful, he doesn't have to receive enough sunlight to make him got into a panic via a Sensory Overload, something which Superman exploits by breaking off Zod's helmet. That said, Zod ends up adapting to this problem over time.
Powered Armor: Zod and his fellow invaders wear one, which allows them to display enhanced physical feats as well as enhanced defenses such as immunity to bullets and limiting the amount of sunlight cast upon them to make sure he and his followers don't go into Sensory Overload. Eventually, Zod's adapts in Earth's atmosphere enough that the armor is unnecessary and sheds it, allowing him to fly and to further enhance his strength.
Proud Warrior Race Guy: Or, in this case, Proud Warrior Caste Guy. Zod takes great pride in his martial ability and believes it to be the key to saving Kryptonian civilization.
- Note how it took Clark much of his life to master his powers (with his flying abilities being the last one he mastered at age 33) when it only took Zod a day to gain complete control over his. Which, when you think about it, makes sense. Zod is a genetically engineered Kryptonian Super-Soldier, which means that his body can absorb and adapt to yellow sunlight more easily than Clark, who was born in Krypton's intellectual caste.
Ramming Always Works: In their final battle, Zod gets the first hit by sucker-ramming Clark with his Super-Speed. The resulting fight sees Zod usually using coordinated fighting skills against Superman, though he does occasionally ram his enemy, especially after gaining flight.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red to Faora's Blue. In contrast to his stoic and calculating second-in-command, Zod has an fiery and combative personality, as well as a brutal and aggressive fighting style.
- Also the Red to Jor-El's Blue. Whilst Jor-El attempted to reason with the Kryptonian Council about their planet's doom using a civil, calm tone of voice, Zod opts instead to burst into their conference room guns akimbo, kill one of the leaders, take the rest away, and attempt to take control of Krypton himself. Also, he's quicker to resort to violence than Jor-El, which is somewhat evident in their fight scene as well.
The Remnant: Zod and his followers position themselves as the sole remnant of the Kryptonian civilization and seek to restore it.
Renegade Splinter Faction: Zod created the Sword of Rao, a renegade military faction inside the Kryptonian military so that he take over Krypton in a military coup. Zod made sure his crew was made of his most trusted followers from said faction.
Resurrected for a Job: Lex Luthor gets a hold of Zod's corpse and ends up transforming him into Doomsday to kill Superman when Batman fails to bring down the Son of Krypton.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Kal-El has ruined Zod's chances to terraform the Earth and repopulate it with Kryptonians. Needless to say, the only thing he has left is his rage and superpowers, and he brutally uses them to fight Superman and cause as much damage as he can to Metropolis.
Running on All Fours: Before figuring out how to fly, Zod tried running vertically up a building's surface in such a manner to meet the airbore Superman head-on.
Sadistic Choice: Zod forces one on Superman when the latter has him in a headlock, threatening to incinerate an innocent family before Clark's eyes unless he snaps Zod's neck.
Scars Are Forever: Zod gets slashed down the side of his face during the Krypton prologue. The resulting scar is still very much visible when he shows up on Earth.
Scientist vs. Soldier: He is the soldier to Jor-El's scientist, which also ties into what they had in mind to warn Krypton of its imminent destruction as well as saving its people; Jor-El's scientific mind and knowledge meant that he sought a more diplomatic solution to things whereas Zod's upbringing and status as a general meant that he saw brute force and a coup as the best way to assume leadership and avert Krypton's destruction.
Sensory Overload: Zod experiences this after Superman rushes him back in Smallville, fracturing his helmet. Zod retreats and acclimates to Earth's atmosphere at his own pace so he'll have one less weakness to exploit the next time he fights Superman.
Shadow Archetype: Zod's character arc provides a sinister foreshadowing of what Superman could become if the Bad Future from Bruce Wayne's nightmares isn't prevented. Zod longs for a world he can call his home, but unlike Clark he never accepts Earth as it is. He's willing to die for what he stands for, which leads to him being revived by a billionaire in a crazed state (Doomsday and Clark even arrive at the Superman monument in the same fashion). If Cyborg's premonitions are indeed true, then Superman is fated to have his raison d'etre left in ashes as he kneels at the feet of his foe, before giving in to fury and turning on Earth.
Shed Armor, Gain Speed: He only masters the power of flight once he takes off his armor in the final battle of Man of Steel.
Slasher Smile: He only grins twice in the entire film, and this one is the second and most visible. It's also in response to Superman rising to fight him when Zod clearly wants to either crush him for foiling his plans or die in battle.
The Social Darwinist: To the core. Zod wanted to purge the Kryptonian race of its buerecrats so that the next generation wouldn't drive their culture off a proverbial cliff. Then he makes it clear to Superman that he won't think twice about committing genocide so that the Kryptonians may take Earth. Not that he's pleased about it.
Somebody Doesn't Love Raymond: He shows tell-tale signs of this given that he becomes outraged whenever anyone disagrees with him or opposes his will in any way. While he patronizingly dismisses Kal-El's failure to address him as "General" as the result of the latter's unfamiliarity with Kryptonian "decorum", Zod becomes absolutely incensed when the preserved consciousness of Jor-El, a man whom he held in high esteem, tells him that Kal is "twice the man" he used to be.
Starter Villain: The primary villain faced by Superman in Man of Steel, the first film of the DC Extended Universe.
Strong and Skilled: Zod was already a highly-trained military badass before he got to Earth and won the Superpower Lottery.
Suicide by Cop: With his ambitions now ruined beyond repair, Zod fights Superman to the death, with his goal to either get his vengeance or to die a warrior's death.
"There's only one way this ends, Kal. Either you die or I do!"
Superhero Movie Villains Die: Zod forces Superman into a position where killng him is the only way to stop his Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
Superpower Lottery: By the end of the film Zod has harnessed all the same powers Superman has, within a much smaller timeframe to boot.
Taking You with Me: Zod uses his eye lasers to try and kill all the surrounding humans when Superman restrains him.
Tantrum Throwing: General Zod throws a pickup truck into Martha Kent's house when he's told the codex isn't hidden in the family barn.
Too Powerful to Live: Zod isn't drawn back into the Phantom Zone with his subordinates and it would be some time before anyone would find any kryptonite, meaning he's one of the most powerful beings on Earth once he masters his superpowers. With this in mind, Superman is given no choice but to kill him.
Tragic Villain: As noted in the folder quote at the top, he admits he does horrific things he doesn't want to do, but because of his origins, he feels that his mission to restore Krypton is all he's got keeping him going and when his plans fail, he goes into a violent Roaring Rampage of Revenge trying to kill as many people as possible just to spite Kal.
The Unfettered: He wants to recreate Krypton, no matter the cost.
Zod: I have a duty to my people ... and I will not allow anyone to prevent me from carrying it out!
Unfulfilled Purpose Misery: General Zod sees it as his purpose in life to protect and - after its destruction - rebuild Krypton. When he believes Superman has destroyed any chance of that happening, he has a Villainous Breakdown.
Zod: I exist only to protect Krypton. That is the sole purpose for which I was born. And every action I take, no matter how violent or how cruel, is for the greater good of my people. And now I have no people. MY SOUL! THAT IS WHAT YOU HAVE TAKEN FROM ME!
Unstoppable Rage: When he and Superman throw down in their Final Battle, Zod goes completely and utterly crazed with fury.
Villain Has a Point: At the start, anyways, once you get past his personal flaws and overwhelming desire to eradicate certain Kryptonian bloodlines while keeping the race ‘pure’. Krypton is careening towards an impending global apocalypse, (which Zod mentions to Kal is literally the only thing him and Jor could agree on) and the people who are in charge who caused the crisis to begin with (through their own short-sightedness) are now actively ignoring the problem. Can you really blame him and his men for trying to seize power and actually address the issue?
Villainous Breakdown: Twice in the film: prior to his imprisonment in the Phantom Zone and, later, during the conclusion when his plan has been ruined beyond repair.
Villain Respect: To Jor-El whom he apparently viewed as an intellectual equal. However, any lingering affection Zod harbors for Jor-El disappears when the latter's preserved consciousness tells him he can never aspire to be the man his son is. And even then, he seems to grimace in distaste.
Villains Want Mercy: When Superman breaks into the scout ship's cockpit, fully prepared to crash it, Zod begs him to stop, as the scout ship is the only piece of Kryptonian technology left that can restore dead homeworld.
Zod: Stop! If you destroy this ship, you destroy Krypton!
Superman: Krypton had its chance!
We Used to Be Friends: To Jor-El, who is revealed to be an "old friend" of Zod. Based on their dialogue in the film, it is strongly implied that Jor-El was a mentor to Zod and possibly even something of a father figure.
Zod: (to Jor-El) Haven't given up lecturing me, have you? Even in death.
Would Hit a Girl: Personally shoots and kills High Eminance Ro-Zar during his coup in the opening of the film.
Would Hurt a Child: Zod tries to murder Kal-El as an infant at the beginning of the film, and in his final battle with Superman, he uses his heat vision to try and kill an innocent family.
You Are Not Alone: Zod's message to Kal-El upon finding Earth.
You Monster!: When Zod announces his intent to destroy all of human life after seeing his plans fail, Clark. Is quick to call him a monster for what he intends to do.

Faora

Sub-Commander Faora-Ul

"You will not win. For every human you save, we will kill a million more."

Species: Kryptonian

Citizenship: Kryptonian

Affiliation(s): Kryptonian Warrior Guild | Sword of Rao

Portrayed by: Antje Traue

Voiced by: Jocelyn Robles (Latin-American Spanish) | Atsuko Tanaka (Japanese) | Julie Dumas (European French) | Julie Beauchemin (Canadian French)

Appearances: Man of Steel

"The fact that you possess a sense of morality and we do not gives us an evolutionary advantage. And if history has proven anything, it is that evolution always wins."

Zod's second-in-command, and the most dangerous warrior of his crew. She is physically brutal, and combines Kryptonian enhanced strength and speed with lethal martial arts.

See Alternate Timelines for information on her appearance in The Flash

Adaptation Personality Change: In the comics, Faora is a violent misandrist and a serial killer who allied with Zod mostly for her benefit. In the film she's a Noble Demon, his loyal right-hand woman, and isn't shown to have any particular hatred for men. This characterization would even carry over to the New 52.
Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She's very dismissive towards everyone except her allies, and is an Emotionless Girl to boot.
Badass Boast: When Superman rescues a few soldiers from a crashing chopper.
Faora: You will not win. For every human you save, we will kill a million more.
Baddie Flattery:
- She's impressed with Colonel Hardy's bravery when he takes out a knife to try and fight her. She even draws her own knife so as to meet him on his own terms, and delivers a pretty cool Pre-Asskicking One-Liner before moving in for the kill.
  Faora: A good death is its own reward.
- Even before that, she seems pretty impressed that he stood up to her when attempting to take Lois to the ship.
  Faora: Should I tell the General you are unwilling to comply?
  Hardy: I don't care what you tell him.
The Baroness: The "Sexpot" variety given her nature as a beautiful yet sadistic Super-Soldier fanatically loyal to Zod's cause, although her beauty/gender never otherwise come into play.
Boyish Short Hair: Faora has short hair and is the lead Dark Action Girl for Zod's faction.
Bridal Carry: After she's knocked unconscious during a battle, Nam-Ek cradles her like this as he carries her to safety.
Colonel Badass: Her rank of "Sub-Commander" seems to be roughly analogous to "Colonel," and she's very badass.
Composite Character: Like most adaptational versions of Faora, she combines the comic book Faora's martial arts skills with the Number Two position and loyalty to Zod of Ursa from Superman II.
Creepy Monotone: Never raises her voice, no matter the provocation.
Dark Action Girl: Very, very dark. Most human deaths occur off-screen or are somewhat obscured by the clash and din of battle, but when Faora engages human soldiers in combat, we see and hear every brutal impact and shattering spine.
The Dragon: Acts as Zod's Number Two and primary enforcer, and is the most efficient and effective combatant among the Kryptonian invaders save for Zod himself.
Eating the Eye Candy: Downplayed. When she first meets Superman face-to-face, she gives him a very satisfied once-over from top to bottom.
Emotionless Girl: Despite her capacity for violence, she maintains a cool and impassive demeanor throughout. A single tear shed for her lost homeworld, and a faint haughty satisfaction at the fear she generates in her human opponents are about the extent of her emotional displays. In marked contrast to Kal-El or Zod, she never once screams or loses her composure in battle, not even at the end, when coming face-to-face with a fairly epic Oh, Crap! moment.
Excessive Evil Eyeshadow: Opinions vary on whether it's truly excessive, but her eye make-up is smokey, dark and definitely more lavishly-applied than that of any other female in the film.
Expy: This incarnation of Faora is closer to Ursa than the man-hating Faora from the comics. It's not very clear which one was created first, Faora debuted in the comics in Action Comics #471 (May 1977) and Faora in the 1978 film (which was filmed between 1977 and 1978. Interestingly, in the Ruby Spears animated series, both act together with Zod in the episode The Hunter.
Fate Worse than Death: Colonel Hardy sends all of the Kryptonians into the Phantom Zone where Faora will either slowly starve to death or live forever in a barren landscape. Somewhat karmic as she is denied the death of a warrior in the heat of battle.
Faux Affably Evil: She may seem civilized upon the first meeting, but she'll kill you with a song in her heart at the first opportunity.
Flash Step: While fighting human soldiers, she exploits this power ruthlessly, sometimes taking down several in rapid-fire succession.
Hoist Hero over Head: Does this to Superman during their fight before throwing him halfway across Smallville.
Ice Queen: Villainous example. She is cold, silent and employs quick precision in battle.
Icy Blue Eyes: Made all the more striking by her dark eye-shadow.
In a Single Bound: She never quite masters flight, but makes up for it with astonishing leaps.
Ironic Echo: Faora compliments Colonel Hardy's spirit to continue fighting her by saying "A good death is its own reward." When she fails to stop the US Military from activating Superman's spaceship that will send her and Zod's men back to the Phantom Zone, Hardy's last words are to repeat what she said to him.
Lady of War: She's icily polite to Kal-El (at least in their first meeting) and, unlike Ursa, she doesn't go out of her way to hurt or belittle Lois, either. With all the raw power that comes with being a Kryptonian, it's hard to imagine one of them managing to fight in a truly elegant or ladylike way. That said, Faora makes a credible effort, favoring precision over grandiose displays of brute power.
Lightning Bruiser: She's the only Kryptonian to fully exploit her super-speed in combat and, despite the size difference, she manages to hold her own against Kal-El thanks to her superior speed, agility and martial arts skills.
Never Found the Body: Her ultimate fate is left unresolved. She was injured by sufficiently powerful Earth weapons earlier in the film, so it's entirely possible the impact of Kal's ship and the Kryptonian vessel could have killed her, but given the nearly limitless durability of her Kryptonian body, maybe not. Either way, subsequent events make it impossible to know for certain.
Not So Stoic: Upon witnessing Krypton's destruction, Faora is visibly grief-stricken.
Older Than They Look: Despite looking about the same age as Superman, she's old enough to be his mother.
Power Hair: Faora originally had her hair styled upwards when Krypton was still intact. She switches to a more practical style in the prsent day due to wearing a helmet.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Dishes one out to Superman during their fight in Smallville's IHOP.
Faora: You are weak, son of El, unsure of yourself. The fact that you possess a sense of morality, and we do not, gives us an evolutionary advantage. And if history has proven anything... it is that evolution always wins.
Red Baron: In the novelization, she is known on Krypton as the "Tigress of Zod".
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Blue to Zod's Red. In contrast to her Hot-Blooded and combative superior, she possesses a cool and calculating personality and likewise employs a fighting style that favors precision over brute force.
Ret-Canon: Her portrayal in this movie would be used for her comics portrayal in the New 52.
Sadist: Unlike Zod who at least realises that his actions shouldn't be celebrated, Faora loves violence for its own sake.
The Social Darwinist: Gives a speech to Superman about how only the strongest and most evolved creature wins, and that she is stronger than him because she lacks "weaknesses" such as compassion.
Speed Blitz: Due to Flash Step, it becomes this pretty much every time she engages in battle.
The Stoic: She almost always remains calm and composed.
Undying Loyalty: To Zod, whom she firmly believes to be her race's messiah.
The Unfettered: She remains stoic and glacial even when it comes to annihilate an entire population in order to take a planet away from them.
Villain Respect: It's quick, but the look on her face shows she is clearly impressed by Colonel Hardy pulling a knife out to try and fight him.
Violently Protective Girlfriend: To her commander, General Zod. While the extent of their relationship is never made clear, she has hardly any patience for those who disrespect her leader and targets all those who threaten him with extreme prejudice.
Virtue Is Weakness: She gives Kal-El a speech about this combined with rantings of social darwinism when fighting him in Smallville.

Soldiers

Nam-Ek

Species: Kryptonian

Citizenship: Kryptonian

Affiliation(s): Kryptonian Warrior Guild | Sword of Rao

Portrayed by: Hugo Steele (on-set stand-in)

Appearances: Man of Steel

The imposing behemoth of General Zod's crew. He complements Faora's speed with brute strength.

See Alternate Timelines for information on his appearance in The Flash

Bald of Evil: Whatever can be seen of his head in the film's opening scenes shows him to have no hair on his scalp.
Beard of Evil: Likewise, he's also shown sporting a chinstrap beard.
The Big Guy: The powerhouse among Zod's followers.
The Brute: A hulking behemoth who uses his size and strength to support Faora.
Cape Snag: Grabs Superman's cape during the Smallville fight and uses it to slam him into the ground.
Combat Pragmatist: After being punched to a train yard by Superman, Nam-Ek rejoined the fray by throwing a train at him.
Expy: An enormously tall, non-verbal bruiser distinguished by his incredible strength and loyalty to Zod? He's Man of Steel's stand-in for Non from Superman and Superman II.
Gas Mask Mooks: Wears a gas mask constantly when he goes on Earth, even when the others use their Collapsible Helmets only.
Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke: The most obviously modified soldier from Krypton, with rumors circulating that some kind of prehistorical Kryptonian beast's blood was used to create him.
Giant Mook: He is by far the tallest of Zod's crew.
Lack of Empathy: According to Faora in the novelization, Nam-Ek is literally incapable of feeling empathy towards his enemies.
Ludicrous Gibs: Nam-Ek disposes of a fighter pilot by bursting him.
Serkis Folk: His impossible height and physique are the result of motion capture. We see glimpses of his face but they're not clear.
Shout-Out Theme Naming: His name is a throwback to a Kryptonian adversary from the comics. Not to mention sharing the name of a planet in another franchise that draws strong similarities to the Superman mythos.

Tor-An

Species: Kryptonian

Citizenship: Kryptonian

Affiliation(s): Kryptonian Warrior Guild | Sword of Rao

Portrayed by: Richard Cetrone

Appearances: Man of Steel

One of General Zod's officers (of unspecified rank), he is mostly seen beside Faora-Ul.

All There in the Manual: His name and backstory don't appear in the film, they are only revealed in the novelization.
Blinded by the Light: Kelex uses an impromptu flash attack on Tor-An to give Jor-El the time to kick butt and escape.
Genius Bruiser: Identified the signal from Kal-El's re-activation of the scout ship and deployed as a field commander on Krypton.
Mook Lieutenant: Leads the three-man squad that Zod orders to arrest Jor-El.
Underestimating Badassery: Doesn't realize the kind of guy Jor-El is until the old Kryptonian scientist is punching him in the face.

Car-Vex

Species: Kryptonian

Citizenship: Kryptonian

Affiliation(s): Kryptonian Warrior Guild | Sword of Rao

Portrayed by: Samantha Win

Appearances: Man of Steel

A minor officer under General Zod's command.

Dark Action Girl: A more subdued example compared to Faora, but still counts. When Lois escapes from her cell in the Kryptonian spacecraft, Car-Vex attempts to use lethal force to stop her. At one point, she attempts to punch her in the head, an attack that most certainly would have killed Lois had Jor-El not warned her a few seconds before.
Multicultural Alien Planet: Being played by an actress of Asian origins, she might be a clue (along with the African-looking Kell-Ur from Man of Steel Prequel) that Krypton's population might have been as ethnically diverse as the Earth's own.
Shout-Out: Her name, "Vex", is a throwback to a criminal who was condemned to the Phantom Zone in the comics.
Silent Antagonist: She has no speaking lines.

Nadira

Species: Kryptonian

Citizenship: Kryptonian

Affiliation(s): Kryptonian Warrior Guild | Sword of Rao

Portrayed by: Apollonia Vanova

Appearances: Man of Steel

A former Kryptonian soldier and follower of General Zod.

Adaptational Wimp: Nadira has psychokinetic abilities in the comics. She has none of this here.
Odd Name Out: Per Kryptonian naming conventions, all of the crew has surnames in three or four letters followed by a hyphen and the Kryptonian house they belong to ("Dru-Zod", "Faora-Ul"; "Car-Vex" and so on)... except "Nadira". Most notably because her house is not specified (if she has any).
Sci-Fi Bob Haircut: She sports a bob haircut, and she's from a Higher-Tech Species.

Miscellaneous

Jax-Ur

"You're wasting you efforts. The strength you derived from your exposure to the Earth's sun has been neutralized on our ship. Here, in this environment, you're as weak as a human."

Species: Kryptonian

Citizenship: Kryptonian

Affiliation(s): Kryptonian Thinker Guild | Sword of Rao

Portrayed by: Mackenzie Gray

Voiced by: Jorge Ornelas (Latin-American Spanish) | Yohei Tadano (Japanese) | Luc Bernard (European French)

Appearances: Man of Steel

"It is of little consequence, because I have located the Codex. It was never in the capsule. Jor-El took the Codex, the DNA of a billion people, and he bonded it within his son's individual cells. All of Krypton's heirs, hidden in one refugee's body."

A Kryptonian scientist and follower of General Zod.

Bald of Evil: Seeing as he's essentially Lex Luthor as a Kryptonian, it's rather fitting.
Creepy Monotone: His voice never changes during his time onscreen.
Evil Genius: A scientist who uses his knowledge of genetics to support Zod's nefarious plans.
High Collar of Doom: A follower of Zod who's shown wearing a high collar in his everyday wear.
Looks Like Orlok: His pale skin and bald head give off a vampire-esque vibe.
Oh, Crap!: Has one such moment when Kal-El frees himself from the operating table as Jor-El's Virtual Ghost turns Zod's ship's atmosphere off, and cowers behind the room's automatic door.
Remake Cameo: Mackenzie Gray already worked on Smallville.
They Would Cut You Up: Intends to extract the Kryptonian Codex from Kal-El/Clark's cells this way.
Token Minority: Jax-Ur is the only member of Zod's forces who is not a member of the warrior caste.

World Engine

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_20210802_222549_samsung_internet.jpg

"Release the World Engine."

Affiliation(s): Sword of Rao

Appearances: Man of Steel | Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (wreck)

Emil Hamilton: Oh my God. They're terraforming!

Calvin Swanwick: Turning Earth into Krypton.

Carrie Farris: But what happens to us?

Emil Hamilton: Based on these readings, there won't be an us.

An alien machine that has the power to terraform planets to suit kryptonians.

Combat Tentacles: The World Engine is able to produce a series of tentacles to provide it defense against anyone who would interrupt its terraforming.
Hostile Terraforming: The World Engine is designed to turn Earth into a new Krypton, regardless of the local lifeforms.
Insectoid Aliens: It resembles a gigantic three-legged arthropod.
Pillar of Light: It terraforms a planet by blasting pure energy from its underside directly towards the Earth's core. The Kryptonian prison ship that Zod's army occupy reflects this energy back.
Punch-Clock Villain: Due to being a machine, the World Engine gives no heed to the ethical implications of its function. Its sole purpose is to make planets hospitable to its masters, any considerations to the consequences that may befall the natives are not factored into its programming.
Small Role, Big Impact: The World Engine only gets one scene to make an impression, but by the time Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice comes out, the consequence of its attack are shown. It turns out the world engine produced Kryptonite.
Threshold Guardians: Within the story, the World Engine exists to show Superman's commitment towards protecting his adoptive world. It produces Kryptonian atmosphere that weakens Superman and has enough strength to beat him into submission, nearly killing Superman when it throws him into the path of its terraforming beam. Superman shows his mettle by flying fistfirst into the World Engine's beam and blasting it from the inside-out.

LexCorp Industries

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lexcorplogo.png

"Let's build a better tomorrow, today."

LexCorp Industries is the company founded by Alexander Luthor Sr. in Metropolis. After his death, his son Alexander "Lex" Luthor Jr. took over as CEO. Behind his company's financial successes and the great help it provided in reconstructing Metropolis after the Kryptonian invasion, Lex has quite a bunch of twisted and sinister motivations to hide.

The Company

Early-Bird Cameo: Some LexCorp logos◊ can be spotted on several occasions in Man of Steel, although they were not definitive versions. The company formally appeared in the next film, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, with a new logo.
Evil, Inc.: Lex uses the company's technology and profits to serve his nefarious schemes while maintaining a benevolent facade, engaging in shady weapons deals for instance.
Family Business: Lex ended up at the head of the company his father created.
MegaCorp: The richest and most powerful corporation to appear in the DCEU so far. Lex turned his father's aging petrochemical and heavy machinery company into a high tech darling of the Fortune 500 — A promotional graphic◊ for the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice tells us LexCorp is the country's biggest investor in defense research and development by far.

Chief Executive Officers

Lex Luthor

Alexander "Lex" Luthor, Jr.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lex_61.jpg

"The Red Capes are coming! The Red Capes are coming!"

^{Click here to see him with a shaved head}

Species: Human

Citizenship: American

Affiliation(s): LexCorp

Portrayed By: Jesse Eisenberg

Voiced By: Héctor Emmanuel Gómez (Latin-American Spanish), Adolfo Moreno (European Spanish), Hiroshi Kamiya (Japanese), Donald Reignoux (European French), Hugolin Chevrette-Landesque (Canadian French), Sergio Cantú (Brazilian Portuguese)

Film appearances: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice | Justice League | Zack Snyder's Justice League

Other appearances: Metropolis Turkish Airlines TV Spot

"Devils don't come from Hell beneath us. No, they come from the sky."

Lex Luthor is a young megalomaniacal multi-billionaire, and the owner and CEO of LexCorp. Subjected to physical and psychological abuse at the hands of his emotionally distant father in his childhood, Luthor is driven mad by the absence of God in the world.

And so when a godly figure like Superman arrives on the scene, Luthor has already been firmly molded into a decidedly wrathful misotheist. Thus, a legendary enmity is forged, and Luthor makes it his life's work to either destroy Superman or have him bend to his will.

Abusive Parents: Why he hates Superman. Because when he endured the abuse, God was either not powerful enough to stop it, or deliberately chose not to. And now that there's an actual God-like entity to direct his anger toward...
Adaptational Intelligence: While Lex is by no means stupid in most media, in the comics, there was an instance where one of his employees figured out that Superman was Clark Kent, but Lex refused to believe it, unable to understand why someone as powerful as Superman would ever want to live a normal life. This incarnation of Lex not only managed to figure out Superman's Secret Identity on his own, but Batman's as well.
Adaptation Name Change: Sort of. While Lex is still short for "Alexander" like the Post-Crisis and New 52 versions (pre-Crisis Earth-1's "Lex" was short for "Alexis" and Earth-2's was short "Alexei"), he is the first version of classic Lex Luthor to be "Alexander Luthor Jr." (the pre-Crisis Earth-Three's Luthor was named Alexander and named his son after himself).
Adaptation Personality Change: The previous movie versions of Lex (and a lot of his comic book counterparts too) were quite the hammy villains, but none of them ever went to the level of flamboyant campiness and childish glee this version did. He's apparently shifting in a more traditionally quiet and calm demeanor after escaping from Arkham.
Affluent Ascetic: He makes a point of seeming more down to earth for a genius billionaire, dressing in more casual clothing, driving his own car and even riding a motorbike. He goes in the other direction in Justice League, having a large boat, wearing a fancy three-piece suit and drinking very expensive champagne.
Agent Peacock: On the surface, an exceedingly campy and almost bratty pretty boy with dorky mannerisms. Beneath that surface, however, is an exceedingly dangerous opponent and a completely Wicked Pretentious sociopath with a Norman Bates-esque obsession with his dead father.
Alliterative Name: Lex Luthor. A deliberate invocation, since his proper first name starts with an A.
Alternate Self: Has his own scattered throughout the multiverse, including Earth-Prime, Earth-9, Earth-96, and Earth-167.
Arch-Enemy: In just a single movie, he manages to become Superman's most personal enemy. He kidnaps Lois and Martha Kent, frames Superman for the bombing of the Capitol, manipulates him into fighting Batman for the life of Martha and even creates Doomsday just to kill him. Not even Zod has hurt Superman this badly, proving that no matter the universe, Superman and Luthor will always be bitter enemies.
Asshole Victim: Being sent to Arkham Asylum by Batman. Hey, he did commit several atrocities throughout the film.
Ax-Crazy: This version of Luthor is far more unhinged than his comics counterpart. He is willing to blow up a Senate courtroom full of people (A.K.A. mass treason) just to fuck with Superman and unleash a threat to humanity (Doomsday) just to kill him.
Badass in a Nice Suit: When we see him again in Justice League, he has switched from his formerly casual clothes to a nice and expensive-looking three-piece suit. His badass side was demonstrated by breaking out of Arkham Asylum.
Bad Boss: He sends Mercy Graves into a courtroom hearing, knowing full well that she'll be killed in the blast that he himself orchestrated.
The Bad Guy Wins: Subverted. While Doomsday, his creation, is successful in killing Superman, Superman's death via Heroic Sacrifice makes him an Inspirational Martyr with all of humanity mourning him and Batman is inspired to form the Justice League. Not to mention that his attempt to escape punishment for his crimes of mass murder and treason by attempting to invoke the Insanity Defense is exploited by Batman pulling a few strings around to get him transferred over to Arkham Asylum. So, yeah, nice job fixing it, villain. Hope the ego trip was worth it.
- The Stinger of Justice League shows that he didn't stay in Arkham for long though.
Bad Samaritan:
- His company greatly helped to rebuild Metropolis, yet he has no qualms unleashing a very destructive creature (Doomsday) to kill Superman.
- Think he helped a handicapped man to be friendly? Wrong. He was just using him to frame Superman for a bombing at the capital.
Bald of Evil: His hair is completely shaven off upon his arrival in prison, though unlike the comic version it seems to be by choice rather than a condition. Seemingly, he had his hair cut to blend in with other inmates so it would take guards longer to realize he's escaped, as demonstrated in both versions of Justice League.
Believing Their Own Lies: Lex seems to sincerely believe that Clark is a danger and that he is doing humanity a favor by exposing his true nature to the world rather than simply lashing out in rage over his own horrible childhood.
Beneath the Mask: Beneath the eccentric genius demeanor lies a violently unstable and utterly ruthless man.
Beware the Silly Ones: Publicly, he's a quirky genius with dorky mannerisms. Privately, he's a remorseless, mass-murdering psychopath whose complete ruthlessness makes him one of the few mortals able to truly challenge the incredible might of both Superman and Batman. Anyone who meets him tends to dismiss Lex as a Cloud Cuckoo Lander at best and an annoying jackass at worst, ignoring how dangerous and ruthless he can be.
Big Bad: The main antagonist in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Downplayed. He really sucks at not being a dick to people, but it is still hard to tell how psychopathic he really is.
Brains Evil, Brawn Good: He is the scientific and terroristic Brains Evil to both Batman and Superman as the Brawn Good.
Break the Badass: He manages to cause tremendous emotional suffering to Superman in the pursuit of his god-killing delusional goals.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He gives off the vibe of being a socially awkward, neurotic, and eccentric genius. How much of this is real and how much is a facade is hard to say but he's undeniably a very dangerous man despite his odd behavior.
The Caligula: A non-monarchical (though still hereditary) instance of someone who has way too much power and influence, given that he has nowhere near the level of moral integrity or mental stability to actually handle it. This Luthor is a Sociopathic Manchild who indulges in his power to a horrifying extent for his own sick amusement, and should anyone defy his will or even just slow him down, he will find a way to end them.
Captain Ersatz:
- He's an exceedingly camp evil genius who's obsessed with the hero and is noticeably more unhinged and flamboyant than most previous interpretations of the character. Jim Moriarty anyone?
- He's also an Agent Peacock, and a seemingly benevolent philanthropist who is actually a murderous Sadist and who is still obsessed with his dead father, lending him similarities to Mason Verger.
Characterisation Marches On: After escaping Arkham, Lex doesn't have bouts of twitching, mumbling or shouting and overall seems more focused and slick. He mentions going through extensive therapy during his time in the Asylum, which might explain the sudden change in mannerisms.
The Chessmaster:
- The way he manipulates Batman and goads him to fight Superman, tracks down all the metahumans despite their impressive secrecy, and finally goads Superman into fighting Batman shows how cunning and devious he is.
- And then he manages to break out of Arkham Asylum and hide out on a luxury boat. The latter implies he's managed to hide a significant portion of his wealth when his assets would have been frozen upon incarceration.
Cloudcuckoolander: To say that he lives in his own little twisted world inside his head would be an understatement.
Collector of the Strange: Lex has acquired multiple files on metahumans such as Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and The Flash. He is also in possession of a world-famous collection of meteorite crystals.
Composite Character: He has traits of canon Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor, Alexander Luthor Junior from Earth-3 and Lex Luthor's clone/son. He's the first movie version to draw on the Corrupt Corporate Executive version ("skinny Kingpin" as Neil Gaiman called him), though his sanity seems to be closer to that of the Mad Scientist Lex. His Daddy Issues with his Corrupt Corporate Executive father also seem to partially come from his Smallville incarnation.
- He also borrows from the fictional version of Dwight Eisenhower that appears in DC: The New Frontier, seen when he pressures Superman into fighting Batman by mentioning Martha Kent.
Conspicuous Consumption: When meeting Deathstroke on his yacht in The Stinger of Justice League, Lex serves himself some Goût de Diamants ("Taste of Diamonds" in French). It is the most expensive Champagne (and alcohol overall) in the world, it costs about $1.2 million for a single bottle - the alcohol itself doesn't contain diamonds of course, the bottle is encrusted with diamonds. Lex can afford it, of course.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: The CEO of LexCorp and involved in shady arms deals, mass murder, political corruption, and siccing alien abominations on Superman out of spite.
The Corrupter: To Batman. Bruce was already fragile but Lex's manipulations were what finally pushed him over the edge.
The Corruption: The way the narrative plays it, his blood was apparently the catalyst that mutated Zod into Doomsday.
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: To General Zod. Zod was a super-powered alien soldier who fought Superman on equal footing while Lex is a human with no powers who never engages Clark physically. Zod was (usually) stoic and calm while Lex is flamboyant and extroverted. Zod was upfront with Clark about his intentions while Lex pretends to be altruistic and relies on deceit and manipulation to achieve his goals. Zod was tall and muscular while Lex is short and slight. Zod genuinely believed that his actions were for the greater good of Krypton and regarded his actions as being unpleasant but necessary while Lex's motives are selfish and he takes sadistic glee in the pain he inflicts on Clark.
Daddy Issues: Was physically and psychologically abused by his father to the point where it even serves in part as his primary motivation in wanting to take down Superman.
Dead Guy Junior: This Luthor is named after his father, from whom LexCorp actually got its name. According to Lex, his father started telling investors it was named after his son to get their sympathy.
Deadpan Snarker: As par with other Eisenberg roles and the character himself; however, this Luthor's snark is more sinister and even nightmarish at times.
Deconstructed Character Archetype:
- Lex Luthor has typically been depicted as an obsessive, sociopathic narcissist with a history of child abuse, but he's always managed to appear relatively sane outside of his villainy. The cinematic version shows how a person with Lex's psyche would barely function. His plan to defame and kill Superman is so complicated that being able to strategize and implement while putting on an act of benevolence is just too much for him to juggle at once.
- A very obvious deconstruction on the Gene Hackman version of Lex Luthor — Hackman's Luthor was a bit of a showman, always ready with a quip or clever soundbite, and was so repugnant that the Christopher Reeve Ideal Hero Superman could barely tolerate his presence. He freely admitted that causing the death of innocent people is how he "gets his kicks," and is perfectly ready, willing, and able to sink most of California for the sake of profits. Here, we see what a "diseased maniac" such as he would be like: a grating maniac with delusions of being cleverer than he actually is, who treats the lives of the everyone around him like disposable objects in a petty game fueled with a burning passion worthy of a toddler's temper tantrum.
Delusions of Eloquence: Luthor keeps ranting and invoking various cultural references (Nietzsche, Milton, Paul Revere), but he barely articulates it coherently nor does he make it clear how these references work. His speech at the party has him free associating the Greek origins of the word philanthropy before going to a frankly inaccurate summary of the myth of Prometheus, while Diana Prince, an actual Greek Amazon, rolls her eyes at his butchering of antiquity.
Devil in Plain Sight: As said in Bitch in Sheep's Clothing, he's a downplayed version. He really sucks at hiding his true devilish and dickish nature. which obviously exposes him as evil. He still managed to blend in as a normal guy in Metropolis's community throughout his schemes until he's exposed for everything though, and even then. Considering that he's Lex Luthor, he'll manage somehow to buy his way out and regain a positive reputation. Even when he's set to be transferred over to Arkham Asylum at Batman's arrangement.
Didn't Think This Through: His creation of Doomsday very nearly backfires when Doomsday, upon exiting from his cocoon, tries to kill him.
Disabled in the Adaptation: He seems to have a mental disorder in addition to the sociopathy he had in common with other versions.
Driven to Villainy: He suffered from abuse at the hands of his father, and it's strongly implied it played a part in making him into a psychopath.
Eccentric Millionaire: As is often the case with this trope, everyone tolerates Lex's odd behavour because he's a wealthy benefactor, without seeing just how crazy he is.
Establishing Character Moment: He greets Senator June Finch and her entourage warmly enough at his building, before showing them a chunk of kryptonite and passive-aggressively warning them of the consequences of allowing superbeings like Clark on Earth. He then sits right in front of Senator Barrows to work out a rather one-sided deal where he gives up the kryptonite in exchange for complete access to Zod's ship and permission to conduct any experiments he wants with his corpse. And just when it looks like he'll let Barrows go, he stops to shove a Jolly Rancher in his mouth.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: According to Lex, power and benevolence can't go hand-in-hand, so a man who is both and can prove him wrong just makes his blood boil.
Evil Counterpart: Clearly one to Bruce Wayne, but also a subtle one to Clark Kent:
- Like Bruce, Lex is a multi-billionaire who inherited his company from his father, and in his first appearance, both men are against Superman.
- Symbolically, both Lex and Clark are the fully-assimilated American sons of highly-successful biological fathers dissatisfied with their own "other worlds"; Jor-El was from Krypton, Alexander, Sr. was from the "Second World" (an old term for communism) of East Germany.
Evil Genius: Lex relies on his intellect to achieve his goals and is shown to be extremely intelligent through his scientific abilities and his manipulation of Bruce.
Evil Gloating: He does this to both Superman and Batman, revealing that he knows their identities and openly gloating about how he used this knowledge to stir up trouble for them both and pit them against each other.
Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: Lex enjoys making jokes at other people's expense, typically to their faces. He especially enjoys mocking people with physical injuries.
- He meets with Wallace Keefe - a wheelchair-bound amputee - while sitting in a high-tech wheelchair that he clearly doesn't need.
- When Deathstroke takes his mask off and hints at wanting revenge on Batman, Lex just can't resist saying "An eye for an eye". Deathstroke is not amused.
Evil Is Petty: This Lex is one of the more petty versions of the character; the reason for his hatred of Superman is because he views Superman's mere existence as an affront to his belief that God Is Evil or doesn't exist, and thus, Superman's mere existence is an affront to his worldview. On top of it all, he takes the time to make sure that a jar of urine labelled "Granny's Peach Tea" is the last thing Senator Finch sees before her death. He also tells Deathstroke Batman's true identity as revenge for getting him sent to Arkham Asylum, clearly not learning his lesson.
Evil Redhead: Has a mop of strawberry blond hair, and his motives are more than questionable.
Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: He has the face of an affable young man, and he's among the most cruel and deranged villains in the DCEU, if not in comic book films in general.
Faux Affably Evil: He puts on this act, but it doesn't work since most people find him to be insufferable and even vaguely intimidating. This is evident from the fact that, even after charming a Senator into giving him full access to the Kryptonian scout ship, Luthor can't resist asserting his dominance by shoving a Jolly Rancher into the man's mouth. He kills a large number of Superman-skeptics at a U.S. Senate committee hearing and blasts out a good portion of the U.S. Capitol just to make Superman look bad, showing how sociopathic he really is.
Feeling Oppressed by Their Existence: In the extended cut, he admits flat-out that he considers Superman's greatest sin to be existing.
Flaw Exploitation: How he manipulates both Batman and Superman, playing with both the former's jaded and violent vigilantism and the lives of the latter's loved ones to pit them against each other.
Foil:
- Is Superman's complete antithesis. Superman is an impressive specimen of a man, while Luthor is physically unremarkable. Superman had Good Parents, while Luthor had an abusive father. Superman is stoic; Luthor is flamboyant. Superman acts on impulse; Luthor is a chessmaster. Superman is secretive and humble in his heroic duties, while Luthor brags about being a philanthropist. Also, Luthor kills his own allies, while Superman gave up his own life to save and protect others.
- His biggest one is arguably Batman. Both are well-known billionaire philanthropists, both have a distrust of Superman that morphs into outright hatred, and both suffered awful events in childhood that still seriously affect them into adulthood. But while Bruce has tried to use his trauma to make the world a better place, Lex has become wrathful, selfish, and cruel. While Bruce realizes his hatred of Superman was wrong and makes an effort to atone, having been changed by Clark's heroism, Lex stays as hateful towards Clark as ever, even after Clark saved him from Doomsday. Their ideologies basically amount to Bruce believing that no one else should go through the same things he suffered through, whereas Lex lashes out in the belief that others should suffer along with him.
- Like Lois Lane, Lex is a non-powered redhead with a fixation on Superman and somekind of control over the distribution of information. However, while Lex uses his connections to ruin Superman’s reputation via lies and manipulation, Lois tries to save it through her investigative skills uncovering the truth. At the end, Lex ends up in jail thanks to Lois revealing his machinations.
Foreshadowing: It's implied that he knows of the next incoming threat; the painting in his father's study depicts a large, grey-skinned Satanic Archetype descending from the sky.
For the Evulz: Some of Lex's actions, such as letting Senator Finch know about the bomb moments before it goes off and that he is behind it, serve no purpose other than this trope.
Freudian Excuse: The abuse inflicted upon him by his father, and the fact that no benevolent protector ever intervened to save him from such hardship, molded Lex into a firmly wrathful misotheist hateful of the very concept of God. And so when a godlike figure like Superman arrives on the scene, this immediately puts him at odds with Lex.
Gambit Roulette: He instigates a fight between Superman and Batman with a plot that's both convoluted and straight-up relies almost entirely on things that are completely out of his control. In particular, his plan would've failed if:
- A), Superman had been able to tell Batman that Lex was holding his mother hostage before the two started fighting (he even tries to, but Batman's not willing to listen).
- B), He hadn't been able to kidnap Martha Kent to begin with.
- C), Batman opted not to fight Superman at that time.
- D), Another superhero (i.e., Wonder Woman) showed up and interrupted the fight.
- Additonally, his creation of Doomsday to finish off Superman could only lead to unecessary destruction and depended entirely on any nearby metahumans to contain the monster long enough for somebody to use the Kryptonite spear to kill him.
Genius Sweet Tooth: He uses a LexCorp snack bar as an "office" and eats candies while talking shop.
Go Mad from the Revelation: He goes from being moderately unhinged to going completely insane once he starts learning about the secrets found in the Kryptonian database. Namely, Darkseid.
Gone Horribly Right: In the extended cut, we learn that he uses the Insanity Defense in order to not stand on trial for his crimes. To his horror, Batman exploits this and has him transferred to the notorious Arkham Asylum.
Great Escape: The post-credits scene of Justice League shows he has escaped from Arkham Asylum.
Hair-Trigger Temper: One of Lex's defining personality traits. His childhood filled him with intense seething anger at the world and he is obsessed with directing it at Superman, no matter what he has to do or whom he has to hurt or kill along the way to do so. There are also scenes, such as with Senator Finch or during his speech at his house, where Lex seems like he could go absolutely berserk at any moment.
Hammy Villain, Serious Hero: He is the comical and hammy villain to the more stoic and serious Superman and Batman.
Hate Sink: This film's version of Lex Luthor could be considered the patron saint of hate sinks. His mannerisms get on people's nerves, he openly mocks people who don't help him, he projects his personal issues on people who had nothing to do with them (his reason for hating Superman in this incarnation is that his worldview, shaped by being a victim of abuse by his father, is that power and benevolence can't go hand in hand), and he'll kill anyone who refuses to help him or even has a crisis of consciousness at his actions. He takes Senator Finch's "Take a bucket of piss and call it 'Granny's Peach Tea' " jab and throws it back at her in a very literal way before blowing her up to discredit Superman, and creates Doomsday to kill Superman. This makes it very cathartic in the Ultimate Edition when after Luthor smugly mocks Batman over knowledge about his secret identity as Bruce Wayne and that he pulled an Insanity Defense for his crimes, Bruce wipes the smug look off by revealing he's arranged for Luthor to be sent to Arkham Asylum.
He Knows Too Much: Lex challenges Superman to bring him Batman's head, hoping either A: Batman will manage to kill Superman, or B: the more likely outcome that Supes will rip Batman apart, which will be convenient for Lex since Batman's been learning of a Lex Corp criminal conspiracy for the whole movie.
Hero Killer: His goal in relation to Superman. He succeeds.
Hoist by His Own Petard: His actions in Batman v Superman lead to Superman's death, which according to Snyder's Justice League, activated the Mother Boxes, allowing Steppenwolf to gather them, find the Anti-Life Equation and turn Darkseid's focus on earth, and complete the unity and scorch the earth just about a month after Luthor's half-planned shenanigans. While it's a bit uncertain how destructive the effect is (outside the ground zero anyway) and Barry managed to revert time just enough to undo it, it's still noticeable that no glimpse of any Bad Future thus far has actually shown what happened to Lex, making it possible that he's one of the casualties of Darkseid's invasion.^note
Hollywood Atheist: Though not a literally religious example, Lex very vocally operates under the logic of a Hollywood Atheist in thinking Superman isn't the good guy because he wasn't around to prevent Lex's personal tragedies.
Humans Are the Real Monsters: He's one of the biggest, most evil bastards introduced in the film franchise so far; in blowing up a Senate hearing and creating Doomsday, a threat to humanity itself, in his quest to kill Superman, and based on his Villainous Breakdown, Lex could end up causing far more damage than General Zod, the Enchantress and Ares ever did. Even the Snyder Cut version of Steppenwolf can be sympathized with in spite of his villainy.
Hypocrite: Sees Superman as a threat that needs to be stopped, yet he himself committed treason by blowing up a Senate hearing and he created Doomsday, who is far more dangerous than any other character seen so far. And then there's his little action of using Kryptonian technology to signal more aliens to come to Earth, including malevolent ones, when he claimed that he just wanted to keep the world safe from aliens.
I Have You Now, My Pretty: Taunts Lois with this at one point, putting his arm around her to "show her the view", and then making a show of smelling her.
I Have Your Wife: Captured Lois specifically to draw Superman out of hiding. Also, he takes Martha Kent hostage and tries to use her to force Superman to kill Batman, in his plan to destroy Superman.
I Know Your True Name: He takes both Superman and Batman by surprise when he admits that he knows who both of them really are.
Lex: The problem of you on top of everything else. You above all. Ah — 'cause that's what God is. Horus. Apollo. Jehovah. Kal-El. Clark... Joseph... Kent.
Insanity Defense: In the Ultimate Edition of Batman v Superman, Luthor invokes this when Batman confronts him in prison, smugly stating that he's too mentally ill to stand on trial for his crimes. Batman admits that people with mental illness would be sent to hospitals and be treated with great care... but reveals that he had Luthor transferred to Arkham Asylum instead where some of Batman's "friends" are. Lex's smile disappears when he hears that.
Insufferable Genius: He's an egomaniacal genius who pulls all the strings. Zack Snyder himself describes Luthor as "the Puppet Master who forces our two heroes into conflict". Bruce Wayne noticeably lets out a sigh of derision when Lex butts into his conversation with Clark Kent.
Superman: You've lost.
Luthor: I don't know how to lose.
Ironic Name: Alexander means defender of men. While he claims to be one, his actions lead to (or cause) more danger to mankind.
- Lex also means "The law", and this version takes that irony far further than any other. Not only is he a ruthless criminal mastermind who casually breaks the law, but part of his plan also involves blowing up the U.S. Capitol building during a court hearing.
It's All About Me: As is standard for Lex. He's perfectly willing to cause untold death and destruction for his own personal vendetta all the while believing that he is justified in doing so. His reasoning also seems to be based on his belief that others shouldn't have a savior when he didn't.
Jerkass: Meeting a man in a wheelchair whilst sitting in a far superior wheelchair is a pretty dick move, even if he did offer it to the man as a gift. Ultimately, however, he kills him, kills Senator Finch, his own bodyguard, and destroys the Capitol... aka mass treason.
Jerkass Has a Point: His cynical view of beloved figures like Superman isn't entirely without reason. As powerful and well-meaning as Superman is, there are still plenty of people he fails to rescue. Granted, if Superman was completely flawless, then there'd be no need for the Justice League.
Kick the Dog: Frequently. Highlights include gleefully showing Clark pictures of his mother held captive, letting Senator Finch know about the bomb moments before it goes off and boasting about how he fooled Bruce by making him feel responsible for the death of his employees.
Kill the God: He basically sees Superman as a god, and fully intended to kill him.
Knight of Cerebus: In spite of his surface-thin goofy demeanor, he manages to be worse than Zod. Blowing up the Senate hearing firmly establishes him as this.
Lack of Empathy: Lex hates Superman, and is willing to do anything to screw with him. Like blowing up a Senate hearing full of innocent people, including his own bodyguard. He even created Doomsday and unleashed him upon Metropolis with no thought for the number of innocent lives that might get caught in the crossfire.
Laughably Evil: It's pretty difficult to take Lex seriously due to his Evil Is Hammy moments.
Large Ham: Lex has a very high-energy personality, which he uses to mask his sinister nature.
Laser-Guided Karma: He gets what's coming to him big time by the end of the film. After blowing up a Senate hearing, kidnapping Martha Kent, manipulating Superman and Batman into trying to kill each other, and creating Doomsday, Lex is arrested, and his use of an Insanity Defense to avoid jail time backfires when Batman arranges for him to be sent to Arkham Asylum.
Leitmotif: "The Red Capes Are Coming", traditional classical elegance in the hands of a madman.
Light Is Not Good: He is a Villain with Good Publicity and his white clothing befits this.
Long-Haired Pretty Boy: He starts out with long hair, but at the end of Dawn of Justice, it gets shaved off when he's sent to prison.
Mad Scientist: Beyond animated versions, is the only onscreen Luthor to reconcile the original mad scientist iteration of the character with the corrupt CEO version that's become more popular in the last few decades, though he's not shown having scientific acumen on-screen and his inventions involve using Kryptonian tech rather than his own.
Manipulative Bastard: Skilled enough that he's able to convince the government into allowing him full access to both Zod's body, and the Kryptonian scout ship. And that's not even mentioning the fact that he manipulates public opinion against Superman through intimidation or corruption of witnesses, and is able to dupe the world's greatest detective into fighting the Man of Steel. Swerves into Smug Snake territory when he gloats about how this wasn't even particularly hard for him to do.
Man of Wealth and Taste: His post-credits cameo in Justice League and Zack Snyder's Justice League shows him lounging on a private yacht surrounded by attractive women and wearing a finer suit, bearing a near-identical semblance to his 1980s incarnation.
Mask of Sanity:
- He sports one and it's just barely able to conceal the full level of horror lying beneath the surface. It finally drops when he confronts Superman, showing him as being frothing-at-the-mouth crazy.
- Inverted in the Ultimate Edition. Luthor tells Batman that he's going to plead insanity and get off with a lighter sentence, but Batman counters that he's arranged for him to be sent to Arkham Asylum.
Motor Mouth: Standard trait for a character played by Jesse Eisenberg.
The Napoleon: Lex is a head shorter than both Batman and Superman. The height difference is exaggerated with Superman floating while Lex tough-talks him.
Narcissist: He fits this trope like a glove. He's convinced of his genius and that he knows Superman's true nature, he's incredibly self-absorbed, seeing no issue with making the world pay for his awful childhood, works hard to maintain a benevolent image, he loves praise and being the center of attention and he has absolutely no empathy. Jesse Eisenberg himself describes Luther as "a narcissist of the highest order".
Naytheist: The abuse he suffered at the hands of his father led him to believe that either God was not powerful enough to stop it from happening or simply didn't care. This is a key factor in his hatred of Superman.
Lex: See, what we call God depends on our tribe, Clark Joe, 'cause God is tribal, God takes sides. No man in the sky intervened when I was a boy to deliver me from Daddy's fist and abominations! I figured it out way back! If God is all-powerful, he cannot be all-good. And if he is all-good, then he cannot be all-powerful...and neither can you be. They need to see the fraud that you are. With their eyes. The blood on your hands.
Nerd in Evil's Helmet: Lex isn't the Chessmaster of the comics but an obsessive rich dweeb who feels worthless with a person like Superman around and convinces himself that Supes is the Dark Messiah and needs to be killed by "The Bat". Worse still, this Lex creates a Monstrous Humanoid just so he can kill Superman without even considering what's going to happen to everyone once Supes is killed and the monster left unchallenged. Of course Lex in comics and other media has aligned with the likes of Brainiac to do the same so it fits.
Nerves of Steel: Say what you want about Lex, but he's no coward. He shows no fear in dealing with Superman and doesn't flinch when face to face with Batman alone in his cell. The only times when this is subverted are when he finds out he's going to Arkham and when he is dealing with Deathstroke, whom he knows better than to piss off.
Non-Action Big Bad: He never fights Batman or Superman directly, but he's very intelligent and cunning and uses that to his advantage.
No Sense of Personal Space: Lex really seems to like getting close to people to intimidate them and doesn't seem to care about their discomfort as seen in his interactions with Senator Finch and the way he shoves a Jolly Rancher into Senator Barrow's mouth. When he has Lois captive, he even sniffs her hair, which she reacts to with disgust.
Not-So-Harmless Villain: Make no mistake, despite his foolish antics and childish behaviour, this version of Lex Luthor is a dangerously crafty opponent and a master manipulator. He expertly plays every party, and has them doing exactly what he wants, even if they know he's not completely trustworthy. He also manages to not only manipulate both Superman and Batman into fighting, but neither of them even know it until it's almost too late. Luthor even knows both of the heroes' identities. And when Superman does confront him, Luthor has already engineered the situation so that, no matter what, Superman has to do what he says. And that doesn't even get into the fact that, at the end of the day, this is the only iteration of Luthor that actually manages to score a definite victory over Superman.
Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: He uses the already existing fears of Superman as a threat to the world (and his ego), but this immediately leads him down the slippery slope of killing massive numbers of innocent people, setting a monster with mass destruction powers loose, committing treason to his government, and helping an alien entity that has the capacity to eventually conquer Earth.
Obfuscating Stupidity: Played With. The bubbly, quirky goofball persona that he presents to the public, is merely a mask for an infinitely more sinister and devilish nature. But it could also be his mental instability making itself more clear. It's very ambiguous as to which parts are his cover, and which parts are simply his mental instability.
Oh, Crap!: Twice, both times because of Batman.
- The first is Luthor answering the phone, expecting Knyazev to inform him about Martha being killed. Instead, he gets this reaction when Batman answers.
- He went from smug to horrified upon hearing Batman arranged for him to be sent to Arkham Asylum in the Ultimate Edition of BvS.
Parental Issues: His wrathful hatred of Superman partly stems from the psychological abuse inflicted upon him by his father and how there was no "god" to save him. Because of this, he believes a godly figure like Superman should answer to him, and that it's his humanitarian duty to expose Superman as being a fraud.
Practically Joker: Jesse Eisenberg's eccentric portrayal of Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice came off a lot like Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight. He has the stringy hair, disheveled appearance, Ax-Crazy demeanor, and he’s an expert strategist with a nihilistic worldview.
- The comparison is even alluded to in-universe, as when Deathstroke comments to Luthor's insanity, he goes with the phrase "a few clowns short of a circus".
Psychopathic Manchild: What you get when a tyrannical, petty little Cloudcuckoolander is put in a position of power.
Rage Against the Heavens: The main reason behind his hatred of Superman. Since God did nothing to intervene against his father's abuse, Lex developed a hatred of him, believing that God was either not powerful enough to stop it or simply didn't care.
Rule of Symbolism: His hair is like the plainclothes equivalent of a supervillain's mask. Once his crimes are made public, it's shaved off.
Sadist: It's clear that Lex takes immense pleasure in the pain he causes Superman and anyone else who gets in his way as seen when he shows Clark the pictures of his kidnapped mother and he also seems to take pride in the way he pushed Bruce over the edge.
Sanity Slippage: Zigzagged. This version of Luthor is noticeably more unhinged than many of his comic counterparts and he lapses into Axe-Crazy behavior at times, but he nonetheless maintains a fairly calculating mindset.
Second Episode Introduction: Introduced to the DCEU in its second film entry.
Secret Secret-Keeper: He's known about Superman and Batman's real identities for some time, which allows him to stir up trouble for both without either suspecting it. When he reveals this knowledge to one and then the other, he's openly gloating about it.
- After breaking out of Arkham Asylum, he leaks his knowledge of Batman's true identity to Deathstroke out of vengeance.
Smug Smiler: Lex is full of self-satisfied smirks and grins.
The Sociopath: A manipulative, Insufferable Genius who will do anything to screw with Superman and Batman. Like blowing up a Senate hearing full of innocent people with Bruce's former employee as the patsy.
Sore Loser: By his own admission, Lex doesn't really know how to lose.
Sweet Tooth: He eats Jolly Ranchers at one point, and pokes one into Senator Barrows' mouth ("It's cherry!").
Tech Bro: Instead of being the well-dressed, poised Lex Luthor usually seen in adaptations, this Lex is a casually-dressed, bratty, awkward and almost campy younger man. He's still in charge of a very rich tech company though, which gives him vast resources with which to oppose Superman.
Thin Chin of Sin: As he's played by Jesse Eisenberg, this is a given.
Time for Plan B: Following the theft of his Kryptonite sample by Batman, Luthor decides to use the Kryptonian scout ship's A.I., the ship's genesis chamber and Zod's body to create Doomsday to make up for it and provide himself with another way to kill Superman.
Troll: He could give the Joker a run for his money. After being denied an import licence by Senator Finch, Luthor leaves her a jar of liquid that could be either peach tea or urine, and then he blows her up.
Uncertain Doom: No glimpse of any Bad Future thus far has shown Lex in any way whatsoever, meaning he may simply have been killed in the mess he helped create. As mentioned on the franchise's What Could Have Been page, he was planned to be killed by the now-corrupt Superman on Darkseid's orders after he conquers the earth, suggesting he is indeed a Posthumous Character in the Knightmare sequences.
The Unfettered: Goes to very scary lengths to to try and kill Superman.
Ungrateful Bastard: Clark saving him from being turned into paste by Doomsday doesn't seem to have done anything to change Lex's animosity towards him.
Unknown Rival: He absolutely detests Superman and will go to any length to destroy him but Clark is unaware of his involvement until the final act of BvS, thinking of Bruce as the bigger threat, and seemed to regard Lex as nothing more than an annoying businessman at first. After Lex kidnaps and threatens his mother however, he starts to view him with absolute hatred.
Verbal Tic: He regularly peppers his lines with "Hmmmm".
Villainous Breakdown: He's alerted to the imminent arrival of Darkseid, after being exposed to the Kryptonian scout ship's records and seeing a vision of Steppenwolf. After being arrested, Batman physically threatens Luthor and leaves him hysterically screaming about how "The bells can't be unrung!", and making ringing noises.
Villain in a White Suit: The color white is present in much of Lex's apparel; including his suits, shirts, lab coats and the like. Fits his role as a wealthy, manipulative villain.
Villainous Underdog: In classic Lex fashion, he's a normal human going up against both a superpowered being and a vigilante with decades of experience. Further emphasized by his being much shorter and skinnier than the tall and massively built Batman and Superman with either one able to snap him in half like a twig.
Villainous Valor: For all of Lex's flaws, he's not a coward. He has no fear going up against or provoking Superman and doesn't flinch when trapped in a cell with Batman, not even when Bruce takes out his branding device.
Villain with Good Publicity: Is a benefactor to the construction, agriculture, and fuel industries. He's also third in philanthropic contributions behind Kord Industries and Wayne Enterprises. It is due to the destruction and chaos brought about by the fight between Superman and Zod in Man of Steel that he is able to put his foot in the door and further cultivate a "Nice Guy" image by rebuilding Metropolis from the ground up, as shown in a commercial for Turkish Airlines. By the end of the film, he's outed as the lunatic he really is and gets locked up in Arkham Asylum.
Wealthy Yacht Owner: He has a meeting with Deathstroke on his private yacht to discuss the creation of a Legion of Doom in the post-credits scene of Justice League. The topic is changed to Batman's secret identity in Zack Snyder's Justice League.
Western Terrorists: Blowing up the Senate marks him as one of these.
Xanatos Gambit: His plan is one of these. Either Superman kills Batman, in which case the world turns against him and sees him as a violent authoritarian (no longer "all good"), or Batman kills Superman and Lex sees his enemy dead (no longer "all power"). His plan very nearly succeeds, and even when the fight ends with no fatalities, he has Doomsday waiting in the wings to finish the job.
You Are What You Hate: He utterly loathes Superman for, in his view, seeming altruistic to cover his evil nature, even though that's exactly what he's been doing as well. Similarly, for all the hatred he has of his father, he's become far more like him than he'd probably like to admit, giving the impression of being a noble philanthropist while secretly being a cruel and ruthless man.
Younger and Hipper: Luthor is normally depicted as somewhat older, but is now in his early 30s like Superman. Jesse Eisenberg is a few months younger than Henry Cavill, making him the first actor playing Lex to be younger than the actor playing Superman. He's a very 2010s version of Luthor in general, dressing and acting far more casually, driving himself rather than getting chauffeured everywhere, and munching on sweets while setting his "kill Superman" plot in motion.

Alexander Luthor Sr.

Species: Human

Citizenship: American

Affiliation(s): LexCorp

Appearances: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (mentioned)

"You know, dad was born in East Germany. He grew up eating stale crackers. And every other Saturday, he had to march in a parade and wave flowers at tyrants."

— Lex Luthor

The deceased father of Lex Luthor and founder of LexCorp. He emigrated from East Germany before Lex's birth in 1984.

Abusive Parents: He used to abuse his son violently.
Lex: No man in the sky intervened when I was a boy to deliver me from daddy's fist and abominations!
Adaptation Name Change: He's been named both Jules and Lionel the few times he was depicted in the comics. Originally the only Alexander Luthor Sr. was the heroic counterpart from Earth-3 (until the New 52).
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Put on the guise of a savvy businessman and devoted father who rose up from nothing, but in secret was emotionally unstable and took it out on his son.
Ironic Name: Same deal as his son. Specifically, his bad parenting directly caused Lex to be a monster who nearly destroyed mankind.
Posthumous Character: He died 15 years before the present-day events of Batman v. Superman, and he is mentioned several times in the film.
Rags to Riches: Through sheer grit and ferocity, he managed to carve an empire out of the company after emigrating from East Germany.
Shrine to the Fallen: Sort of. For some reason, Lex kept his father's living room exactly as it was before his death.
Lex: This was his room, I kept it just the same. Maybe one day daddy'll come back if I just keep everything the same. Mmmh, that is silly.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Due to his abuses on Lex, he's at least partly responsible for his son's descent into madness and villainy.
Villain with Good Publicity: While he was a cruel father, he managed to endear himself to the public by claiming that LexCorp was named after his son. Given that Lex Jr kept this facade up even after his death it's possible that his father's image had become the lynch-pin of the company.

Employees

Mercy Graves

Species: Human

Citizenship: American

Affiliation(s): LexCorp

Portrayed by: Tao Okamoto

Voiced by: Alondra Hidalgo (Latin-American Spanish), Nerea Alfonso (European Spanish), Ami Yamoto (Japanese)

Appearances: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Lex Luthor's right-hand woman.

Adaptational Wimp: The comic version of Mercy is a super strong Amazon, this version appears to be a mere human, like her original animated incarnation, though she lacks the fighting skills of even that version. In fact, this version of Mercy takes after her counterpart in Superman: Doomsday in being a personal assistant for Luthor, not his bodyguard.
Adaptation Dye-Job: Usually portrayed with brown or blonde hair.
Adaptation Personality Change: She has very few things in common with her comic book counterpart and most versions (particularly the DCAU version) outside of her name and association with Luthor. She's portrayed as his secretary/assistant instead of his bodyguard/chauffeur.
Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Black hair and a stoic personality means she fits this trope like a glove.
Ambiguously Evil: How much she knows about Luthor's plot isn't clear. She's present in his acquisition of Zod's corpse and the kryptonite - all of which were being gathered for the purpose of building weapons to deter Superman - but at the same time she was completely unaware that he'd planted a bomb in the Capitol building.
Ironic Name: Lex leads Mercy to her early grave without a second thought.
Not So Stoic: She looks uncomfortable during the senate hearing, clearly realizing something is wrong when Lex isn't with her. She is proven correct when she and everyone else die when the bomb goes off.
Number Two: She is Luthor's closest assistant.
Race Lift: Averted. She's Caucasian in the original comics continuity, but Asian-American in the New 52 comics.
Satellite Character: The film never gives her much depth outside of being Luthor's Number Two to the point that during the senate hearing she seems a little uncomfortable about the fact that Luthor isn't with her. This is the first sign that something's about to go very wrong.
The Stoic: She has a calm and serious demeanor.
Stoic Spectacles: A stoic glasses wearing woman.
We Hardly Knew Ye: Despite being featured prominently in several scenes, she doesn't get much characterization before dying in the explosion at the Capitol.

Luthor's Bodyguards

Species: Human

Citizenship: American

Affiliation(s): LexCorp

Portrayed by: Katia Elizarova, Gem Refoufi, Leila Reid, Suan Li-Ong, Tina Balthazar, Penny Lane

Appearances: Justice League (2017) | Zack Snyder's Justice League

Lex Luthor's personal attendants.

Bodyguard Babes: A squad of professional bodyguards that look like supermodels. One of them is even shown swimming in a nearby pool.
Decomposite Character: The blonde bodyguards bear a strong resemblance to Mercy Graves as she appears in other media, most notably in Superman: The Animated Series.
Lovely Angels: When Deathstroke meets up with Lex, the businessman is flanked on either side by a blonde woman and a black woman.
Navel-Deep Neckline: A few of them wear plunging necklines.

Affiliates

Anatoli Knyazev

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/knyazev_7.png

"Good luck for one is always his brother's misfortune."

Species: Human

Citizenship: American

Affiliation(s): Vory v zakone, LexCorp

Portrayed by: Callan Mulvey

Voiced by: Óscar Flores (Latin-American Spanish), Andryi Antonovsky (European Spanish), Jean-François Beaupré (Canadian French), Kosuke Sakaki (Japanese)

Appearances: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

"Drop it. I said DROP IT! I'll kill her! BELIEVE ME I'LL DO IT!"

A ruthless Russian mercenary working for Lex Luthor.

Adaptational Attractiveness: The comics KGBeast is very bulky.
Adaptational Wimp: Compared to the super-assassin KGBeast of the comics who was a match for Batman in his first appearance, this version is little more than a undistinguished thug who never displays any real combat skills.
Affably Evil: He may be a remorseless killer-for-hire, but off the clock he's quite chilled out and personable, thanking the bartender for a shot of vodka and casually chatting with Bruce.
Anonymous Ringer: His organization is never identified, but there aren't many other Russian PMCs working in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Anatoli is under instruction to keep Martha alive unless Lex Luthor calls off the kill. When Batman comes after him, he still doesn't kill Martha, likely realising that if she dies Batman will have no reason to go easy on him.
Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: He's known as the KGBeast in the comics, yet he is never addressed as such in Batman v. Superman. Justified, of course, as the KGB hasn't existed since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Dirty Coward: Outside of being chased though Gotham's docks, he never directly confronts Batman or Superman, targeting unarmed civilians and at one point threatening to set his hostage on fire if Batman tries to attack him.
Distinguishing Mark: He's immediately recognizable by his slick black hair, Rugged Scar and tattoos.
The Dragon: To Lex Luthor, although his ties aren't fully apparent until the end of the movie (unless you watch the Ultimate Edition Cut).
Flamethrower Backfire: Anatoli uses a flamethrower in the finale of Batman v Superman to try and kill Martha Kent. When Batman reaches him and points a machine gun at him, he threatens to burn Martha to a crisp. Batman says "I believe you" and shoots Knyazev's flamethrower's gas valve. The gas catches fire, Batman immediately plunges to protect Martha and himself with his fireproof cape and Knyazev dies in the explosion.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Dies by Flamethrower Backfire.
Human Shield: Uses Martha Kent as one when Batman reaches him after defeating all of his mooks.
Kill It with Fire: He uses a flamethrower to burn the pile of corpses of Amajagh's men and later plans to use it to execute his hostage, Martha Kent, should things not go as Luthor planned.
The Mafiya: According to his tattoos, he is (or was) a Vory v Zakone, a high-ranking Russian mafia member.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: During an attempt to frame Superman, Knyazev lets a stray bullet embed itself in Lois' notebook, but doesn't think to take it with him. Lois then uses said bullet to trace the incident back to Lex Luthor and alert Swanwick to his deeds.
Not So Stoic: Anatoli is normally quite calm and intimidating, but when Batman mows down all of his henchmen and has a rifle pointed at him, Anatoli is reduced to panicked screaming that he'll kill Martha if Batman doesn't let him go.
Private Military Contractors: He and his men are hired and equipped by Lex Luthor to be his private army and execute dirty tasks (such as massacring an entire African village and blaming Superman for it).
Reimagining the Artifact: The original KGBeast was, obviously, a Dirty Commie and part of an organization that no longer exists. Anatoli is instead depicted as a Russian mercenary part of a group analogous to the Wagner PMC, a state-supported paramilitary group that first came to prominence in 2015 for their involvement in Ukraine and Syria, and later extended their operations to Libya and various Sub-Saharan African countries. He also has Mafiya tattoos to reflect his likely origin as a soldier-turned-gangster-turned-mercenary in reference to Russia's turbulent history in the 1990s. The tattoos themselves imply he's a far-right Orthodox Russian ultranationalist instead of a far-left political extremist, which is also more fitting for the film's late 2010s setting.
Tattooed Crook: Probably best seen here. He sports the usual tattoos that Russian Vory v Zakone criminals tend to get (usually in jail) on his hands - related to either Orthodox Christianity (the one on his left hand might be the Virgin Mary) or skull imagery (like the one on his left). He also has the Russian coat of arms tattooed on his throat, and Knuckle Tattoos.
Waxing Lyrical: Quotes "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" by Ella Fitzgerald right before he tries to kill Martha.

Doomsday

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/20201017_083643.jpg

"If Man will not destroy God, THE DEVIL WILL DO IT!"

Species: Genetically engineered Kryptonian deformity

Portrayed by: Robin Atkin Downes

Appearances: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice | Zack Snyder's Justice League

"Ancient Kryptonian Deformity. The blood of my blood. Born to destroy you. Your doomsday!"

— Lex Luthor

A monster Lex Luthor created in the genesis chamber of the Kryptonian scout ship 0344 using General Zod's corpse and his own DNA, as a last card up his sleeve to kill Superman. He has the same powerset as Kryptonians when they're exposed to a yellow sun, only much stronger.

Adaptational Achilles Heel: Doomsday's weakness to Kryptonite was never mentioned in the comics, where Superman and his allies have to rely on either elaborate methods or raw brute force to kill the monster.
Adaptational Context Change: In regards to his name. In the original story he debuted in, Booster Gold described the creature’s rampage as “It’s like doomsday up in here!”. In this film, Lex describes the monster as “Your doomsday!” (while talking to Superman) referencing how he was created solely to kill him and keeping up with this Lex’s penchant for religious terms.
Adaptational Early Appearance: In the comics, Doomsday appeared late into Superman's career long after Superman already had an established Rogues Gallery in Lex, Brainiac, Bizarro, Parasite, Zod, Metallo, etc. In this film, he appears alongside Lex as a reanimated corpse of Zod before most of Superman's other villains can even get a shot at the big screen.
Adaptation Origin Connection: In the movie, he is created by Lex Luthor using the corpse and DNA of General Zod. In the comics, he is a genetically modificated monster from prehistoric Krypton with no connection to Luthor or Zod at all.
Bald of Evil: Due to his size being increased prior to his reanimation, Doomsday doesn't have any of Zod's hair visible.
The Brute: He is quite a powerhouse and Luthor's last trump card against Superman.
Call-Back: The spike from his wrist that he gains when Wonder Woman cuts his hand off bears a great resemblance to the knife blade General Zod kept in his gauntlet. Both are used to kill a member of the House of El.
Came Back Strong: Not only does Doomsday has a much stronger version of a Kryptonian’s basic powerset, with the exception of flight and Super-Speed, but he also has a few unique abilities of his own, which includes a Breath Weapon version of a Kryptonian’s heat vision, a weak Healing Factor and the ability to generate a massive energy dome with enough power to level whole city blocks and is large enough to be seen from outer space, once he’s absorbed enough energy.
Came Back Wrong: Doomsday has none of Zod's strategic mind or Lex Luthor's intelligence nor the same speed as Zod, but he exaggerates Zod's Ax-Crazy Blood Knight tendencies.
Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: He is never called "Doomsday". However, the name gets referenced when Luthor tells Superman that he'll meet his "doomsday" when the monster's creation is complete.
Composite Character:
- There's a bit of the New 52 iteration of Bizarro in his backstory, being created by Luthor. He's also a resurrected Zod.
- His origin - being a hybrid of Kryptonian and human DNA created by Luthor - also brings to mind Nuclear Man.
  - Also, several versions of Superboy have similar origins.
- His initial appearance and ability to feed off pure energy are similar to Parasite.
Covered with Scars: Unlike his comic book incarnation who has a much more powerful Healing Factor, this version of Doomsday has a ravaged look to his body.
Curb-Stomp Battle: The final battle against the Trinity is painfully lopsided in Doomsday's favor. It pretty much consists of him sending Superman flying around like a ragdoll repeatedly before turning his attention back to Wonder Woman, and going after Batman (who can only run and hide, mind you) when she isn't around. Wonder Woman is the only one that is capable of fighting him somewhat equally, but it's clear it takes all she has just to keep up with him. It's only when they start using Batman's Kryptonite weapons that they finally manage to turn the tables on Doomsday.
Dismemberment Is Cheap: Doomsday isn't the least bit inconvenienced when Wonder Woman hacks off his hand. In fact it ends up helping him kill Superman.
Dragon-in-Chief: As Luthor is a Non-Action Big Bad, he has to rely on Doomsday to fight Superman once the latter forms an alliance with Batman.
The Dreaded: Krypton's Council considered creatures like him too monstrous and dangerous to even be allowed to exist.
Dumb Muscle: Downplayed. Although he lacks Zod's strategic mind and reacts to everything with animalistic rage, Doomsday briefly shows semblances of human intelligence, such as staring at Superman's monument and adapting to the Trinity's attacks during the final battle.
Energy Absorption: Doomsday is shown to absorb energy, best seen when the government tries to nuke him and it just makes him stronger.
Evil Evolves: It's remarked that any offensive on Doomsday will only make him stronger. A nuclear blast damages his skin, so he just grows another layer and sheds the previous one. Wonder Woman managed to chop his hand off, but Doomsday regenerated the bone into a spike and used it as a weapon.
Evil Eyebrows: His eyebrows are made of bone.
Evil Is Bigger: He's almost as big as the Superman statue in Metropolis. Even if in the comics Doomsday was huge (official height of 8 feet), it was not this massive.
Evil Is Not a Toy: Doomsday is Lex Luthor's trump card against Superman, but despite Lex boasting that Doomsday is "Blood of my blood" as soon as he is released, the first person Doomsday attacks is Lex himself. Had Superman not got in the way of its punch, Lex would have been paste on the wall.
Evil Makes You Ugly: Zod was already a villain, but when he's brought back from the dead with Lex Luthor's blood cells contaminating his genetic coding, he becomes a towering monster.
Eye Beams: He has heat vision and shoots lasers out of his eyes, just like Superman and Zod, with the added bonus of also having a Breath Weapon version of the same. They are much more powerful than Superman's and at their maximum range, can reach all the way to outer space.
Fate Worse than Death: To Zod, a Kryptonian supremacist now mixed with Luthor's human DNA and turned into a deformity.
Feral Villain: His comic counterpart provides the page image. Most of the film has him reacting to stimuli in an animalistic rage, but then it seems like he has Zods' memories including a hatred for Superman which focuses his rage and gives him purpose.
Final Boss: He's the final enemy in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Frankenstein's Monster: Doomsday was born from a reanimated corpse that was tampered with by a madman on a power-trip using scientific measures that were considered unethical at best and dangerous at worst. The end result is a horrific monstrosity with superhuman strength that knows only rage and tried to murder his creator.
Full-Frontal Assault: He doesn't wear clothes.
Generic Doomsday Villain: He's engineered solely to kill Superman, and spreads chaos and destruction along the way. Makes sense, though; he is an adaptation of the original Trope Namer.
Glowing Eyes of Doom: Just like Superman, his eyes glow whenever he's about to unleash his Eye Beams.
Hair-Trigger Temper: If he sees anything move, he'll attack it until it doesn't move anymore. Batman takes advantage of this and distracts Doomsday before he can find any innocent civilians to attack.
Head Blast: He can combines energy coming from both his eyes and mouth into one powerful blast.
Hero Killer: In his last move, he ensures that Superman dies with him.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Superman kills him using Batman's Kryptonite spear, although this ends up with Superman getting impaled as well.
In a Single Bound: He doesn't know how to fly yet, but when you can jump from an island in the middle of the bay all the way to Gotham, you don't need to learn.
"Instant Death" Radius: Once he's absorbed enough energy, he can release a massive energy dome that levels city blocks, turns entire zones into hellish wastelands, and is large enough to be seen from outer space.
It Can Think: It's hinted that Doomsday has some of Zod's memories as he seems taken aback by the monument erected in Superman's honour before growing even more enraged.
- Whenever Doomsday regenerates, hs expression is one of horror. Given Zod's belief in his superiority over his fellow Kryptonians, seeing himself become a constantly mutating abomination must have been his own personal Hell.
The Juggernaut: It is made quite clear that he is the strongest being in the film and clearly the most powerful (such as winning a heat vision duel against Superman). The Trinity is painfully incapable of stopping him without the Kryptonite weaponry Batman constructed.
Kill the God: Lex created him for this purpose.
Knight of Cerebus: In a film franchise teeming with some truly heinous villains, Doomsday is one of the few that can hold avclaim to killing Superman. An act that only the fully-synchronised Motherboxes in the Snyder cut managed to replicate.
Kryptonite Factor: A literal case, as the only thing that actually inflicts lasting damage to him is Kryptonite weaponry like the Kryptonite smoke grenades Batman created and he winds up getting killed with Batman's lance with Superman.
Legacy Character: The ship's computer hints that this Doomsday wasn't the first of his kind.
Lightning Bruiser: Like his comic counterpart, he's a nightmarishly strong and durable behemoth and can move with frightening speed. His strikes send Superman and Wonder Woman flying like rag dolls, punching and kicking them through buildings and debris.
Monstrous Humanoid: Created from a Kryptonian corpse and implanted human DNA, Doomsday is a creature who only exists to destroy everything in his path.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: "Doomsday". The Kryptonian ship's A.I. also calls such monstrosities "the desecration without name".
Nigh-Invulnerable: He survives being hit with a nuclear warhead and continues to take significant amounts of punishment after that. In fact attacking him with energy simply makes him stronger as he absorbs it (after seeing what the nuke did to him, the US military realizes they can't attack him at all without making him into an even bigger threat). He basically takes Superman's normal ability to gain strength from sunlight and exaggerates it. And bear in mind that the climax of the film takes place at night.
- Blunt physical force is equally ineffective, as all of Superman's punches and tackles don't do a damn thing besides moving Doomsday around. He falls all the way from outer space with a nuclear explosion propelling him downwards while he's on fire, and creates a massive crater when he finally impacts the ground. The ground is more hurt than he is.
- Even dismemberment wasn't able to stop him, as he was simply able to regenerate a spike in its place.
Red Baron: More towards his predecessors than himself: The Desecration Without Name.
Roar Before Beating: The first and last warning you'll get before meeting a grisly death at his hands.
Scars Are Forever: He retains the scar next to his left eye that Jor-El gave Zod at the beginning of Man of Steel.
Shadow Archetype: His existence was enough for Diana to be wary of bringing Superman back from the dead in the theatrical cut of Justice League. Doomsday in general could be seen as what Superman would be like if he lacked self-discipline and let out all his inner rage on the world, forgoing all kinds of restraint and unleashing his full destructive power. While Clark usually takes great care in how his powers affect the world around him (physically and figuratively), there have been instances of him causing unneeded (and unintended) amounts of destruction due to a lack of control in his emotions (a big example being the silos and gas station he destroyed to pummel Zod after the latter threathened his mom) yet despite that, his biggest priority always remains to protect and prevent damage as much as he can. Doomsday deliberately causes destruction by simply existing. Clark is also never shown to harbor any hatred or resentment towards the world, even when having perfectly valid reasons to do so: Doomsday is in a perpetual state of fury towards all living beings.
Small Role, Big Impact: Doomsday's role in Batman v Superman is minimal, yet he kickstarts the plot of both Suicide Squad and Justice League by killing Superman.
- Suicide Squad deals with Amanda Waller pitching a team of exceptional criminals and metahumans to combat future threats on par with Superman and Doomsday. Superman's death also created a power vacuum that Enchantress was able to exploit.
- Justice League has Bruce Wayne tracking down the metahumans that Lex Luthor had files on in the hopes of uniting all of Earth's forces to fend off future threats more effectively. The Snyder Cut also shows that when Doomsday impaled Superman, he let out a death cry that was detected by the Motherboxes, galvanising the New Gods of Apokolips and bringing Earth one step closer to the Knightmare future that Bruce envisioned.
Sphere of Destruction: He can generate devastating dome-shaped energy blasts.
Spikes of Villainy: In his initial appearance they're present, but they aren't nearly as prominent as most artists have depicted them since he's newborn. However, he grows more over the course of the battle, even growing spikes from his wrist stump when Wonder Woman cuts his hand off. Since the musculature of a humanoid isn't compatible with bone spurs erupting from random places, they're more like calcified flesh.
Superpower Lottery: He's got pretty much all the powers of a Kryptonian who's exposed to a yellow sun, except they're exaggerated. He most probably didn't have the time to master flight, however.
Super-Reflexes: He easily dodges Superman and Wonder Woman's attacks despite being so bulky. The only time they can actually land a hit on Doomsday is when he's distracted by someone else.
Super-Strength: It takes all of Superman's own considerable strength to block just one of Doomsday's punches. He hits so damn hard that each blow staggers Superman into a daze, and he spends most of the fight casually punching, kicking, and hurling Superman and Wonder Woman across the island.
Super-Toughness: Doomsday can withstand the brunt of a nuclear blast and reentry into Earth's atmosphere, yet shows no injury or fatigue. Getting his hand chopped off by Wonder Woman doesn't cause him to bleed out and even exposure to Kryptonite isn't guaranteed to subdue him for more than a few seconds, with Superman having to drive the Kryptonite spear all the way through Doomsday's torso to finally kill him.
Taking You with Me: He makes sure that Superman dies as he is killed. Subverted, of course, when it turns out that Superman survived the fight, albeit left in a comatose state.
These Are Things Man Was Not Meant to Know: Lex Luthor finds out about the knowledge needed to create him. The Council of Krypton specifically banned the creation of abominations like him, but since there is no more Krypton...
Throat Light: His mouth glows along with his eyes before he starts shooting his heat ray.
Tragic Villain: As horrific as he is, it's worth remembering that Kryptonians suffer from sensory overload when exposed to Earth's atmosphere, so Doomsday's explosive temper is essentially that of a newborn being bombarded with sensations it's not equipped to process.
Unskilled, but Strong: To its logical conclusion: a Physical God without any combat prowess or sense of tactics beyond being The Berserker.
Unstoppable Rage: As in the comics, this guy is pissed.
Walking Spoiler: Even if the trailers did reveal his presence, as he has big impact in the final act of the movie, and given Doomsday's original purpose was The Death of Superman, him being in the movie implies tragedy is coming.

Characters / DCEU: Superman's Rogues Gallery aka: DCEU Lex Luthor

Edit Locked

Kryptonian Invaders

Species: Kryptonians

Commanders

General Dru-Zod of Kandor

Species: Kryptonian

Citizenship: Kryptonian

Affiliation(s): Kryptonian Warrior Guild, Sword of Rao

Portrayed By: Michael Shannon

Voiced By: Dafnis Fernández (Latin-American Spanish), Akio Hirose (Japanese), Xavier Fagnon (European French), Marc-André Bélanger (Canadian French)

Film appearances: Man of Steel | Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Other appearances: From the World of Batman v Superman | Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Upstairs/Downstairs

Sub-Commander Faora-Ul

Species: Kryptonian

Citizenship: Kryptonian

Affiliation(s): Kryptonian Warrior Guild | Sword of Rao

Portrayed by: Antje Traue

Voiced by: Jocelyn Robles (Latin-American Spanish) | Atsuko Tanaka (Japanese) | Julie Dumas (European French) | Julie Beauchemin (Canadian French)

Appearances: Man of Steel

Soldiers

Nam-Ek

Species: Kryptonian

Citizenship: Kryptonian

Affiliation(s): Kryptonian Warrior Guild | Sword of Rao

Portrayed by: Hugo Steele (on-set stand-in)

Appearances: Man of Steel

Tor-An

Species: Kryptonian

Citizenship: Kryptonian

Affiliation(s): Kryptonian Warrior Guild | Sword of Rao

Portrayed by: Richard Cetrone

Appearances: Man of Steel

Car-Vex

Species: Kryptonian

Citizenship: Kryptonian

Affiliation(s): Kryptonian Warrior Guild | Sword of Rao

Portrayed by: Samantha Win

Appearances: Man of Steel

Nadira

Species: Kryptonian

Citizenship: Kryptonian

Affiliation(s): Kryptonian Warrior Guild | Sword of Rao

Portrayed by: Apollonia Vanova

Appearances: Man of Steel

Miscellaneous

Jax-Ur

Species: Kryptonian

Citizenship: Kryptonian

Affiliation(s): Kryptonian Thinker Guild | Sword of Rao

Portrayed by: Mackenzie Gray

Voiced by: Jorge Ornelas (Latin-American Spanish) | Yohei Tadano (Japanese) | Luc Bernard (European French)

Appearances: Man of Steel

World Engine

Affiliation(s): Sword of Rao

Appearances: Man of Steel | Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (wreck)

LexCorp Industries

Chief Executive Officers

Alexander "Lex" Luthor, Jr.

Species: Human

Citizenship: American

Affiliation(s): LexCorp

Portrayed By: Jesse Eisenberg

Voiced By: Héctor Emmanuel Gómez (Latin-American Spanish), Adolfo Moreno (European Spanish), Hiroshi Kamiya (Japanese), Donald Reignoux (European French), Hugolin Chevrette-Landesque (Canadian French), Sergio Cantú (Brazilian Portuguese)

Film appearances: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice | Justice League | Zack Snyder's Justice League

Other appearances: Metropolis Turkish Airlines TV Spot

Alexander Luthor Sr.

Species: Human

Citizenship: American

Affiliation(s): LexCorp

Appearances: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (mentioned)

Employees

Mercy Graves

Species: Human

Citizenship: American

Affiliation(s): LexCorp

Portrayed by: Tao Okamoto

Voiced by: Alondra Hidalgo (Latin-American Spanish), Nerea Alfonso (European Spanish), Ami Yamoto (Japanese)

Appearances: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Luthor's Bodyguards

Characters / DCEU: Superman's Rogues Gallery
aka: DCEU Lex Luthor