Kneel Before Zod #1 Review: Superman's Foe Merits a Sufficient Soap Opera

It has been nearly 50 years since DC Comics first took a gamble on making a villain the protagonist of their own solo title. Back in 1975, it was a nine-issue stint of The Joker, which followed Batman's most colorful foe on mad and kooky run-ins with other DC heroes. Fast forward to the first days of 2024, after years of other attempts to center the maniacal-but-entertaining foes, and the launch of Kneel Before Zod. The new series, spotlighting Superman's long-running antagonist, kicks off in a fashion that is decidedly brutal and not completely flawless, but still brimming with potential.

Kneel Before Zod #1 opens with General Zod in a new position, as he's working to transform the desolate planet of Jekuul into New Krypton's long-awaited haven. Amid this quest for power, Zod must deal with threats from across the DC cosmos, as well as evolving relationships with his son, Lor, and his wife, Ursa.

Across the debut issue of Kneel Before Zod, that premise makes way for less of an ambitious overarching plot, and more of a string of engrossing individual scenes. By and large, that approach proves to work in the story's favor, allowing fans to take every panel or overzealous line of dialogue at face value, until they suddenly have a reason not to. Granted, the lore that Kneel Before Zod takes on is not completely accessible, as readers who were not following Brian Michael Bendis' Superman run might be left confused about some of the semantics of this new status quo. But that doesn't even remotely stop the issue from being enjoyable, as there is an inherent fun in experiencing how Kneel Before Zod chews on and spits out its details.

As Kneel Before Zod makes a meal out of its story, the series is anchored—for better or for worse—by its characterization. The most interesting dichotomy on display is with Zod himself, as Joe Casey's script suggests an inherent sadness behind his delusions of grandeur, but immediately dwarfs them with his horrible actions. While a villain certainly doesn't need to be redeemed to become a compelling protagonist, there is a sense of coldness that prevents him from being the series' emotional core. For the time being, both Ursa and Lor fall into that role with more ease, provoking a genuine pathos in the span of just a few panels. While there was already such a sense of tragedy behind the larger-than-life Kryptonian lore, this family dynamic could be one of the most poignant elements of the series. Without getting into spoilers, one major moment in the issue comes across as a profound pastiche of one of the most iconic sequences associated with Superman.

Aesthetically, Dan McDaid's art helps cement Kneel Before Zod in the realm of DC's expansive space operas, but not necessarily those tied to Superman. Instead, the visuals of this issue often evoke Jack Kirby's work on New Gods, in ways both subtle (Zod's impossibly-square jaw, or a scouring facial expression from Ursa) and obvious (one particular panel deploys Kirby's tricks with negative space in a pleasantly surprising way). That isn't to say that every panel of Kneel Before Zod #1 is perfectly executed, but this scrappy energy feels like an unexpected throwback for the series. David Baron's color work injects it all with a flat and assured use of reds and purples, and Troy Peteri's lettering also conveys a timeless-but-timely tone.

Kneel Before Zod #1 offers some intriguing new shades to its titular villain, but the promise the series holds is almost stronger than the execution of its first issue. Anchored by a fitting brutality and an unmistakable tragedy for its supporting cast, the series sets up a descent into madness that could be consequential to the larger DC Universe and, at very least, will probably be entertaining. 

Published by DC Comics

On January 2, 2024

Written by Joe Casey

Art by Dan McDaid

Colors by David Baron

Lettering by Troy Peteri

Cover by Jason Shawn Alexander