WARNING: The following contains spoilers for “Into the Ghost Zone” by Chuck Brown, Denys Cowan and John Stanisci in Superman: Red and Blue #2, on sale now.
As the DC Universe’s greatest hero, the mantle of Superman is a constant throughout the Multiverse. While some versions of the Man of Steel are just carbon copies of Earth-0’s Clark Kent, there are more than a few who were able to stand apart from the crowd and live up to Superman’s legacy.
One of those Supermen is none other than Earth-2’s Val-Zod. While fans may be surprised to hear that a Zod is one of the Multiverse’s greatest heroes, the latest issue of Superman: Red and Blue certainly backs up that claim.
Above Earth-2, passenger ships have been under siege with their occupants always kidnapped. To solve the case, Superman and his partner Krypto -- a dog’s head on a robot body -- disguise themselves as the vessel’s pilots to combat this mysterious force.
When the ship is attacked and boarded, it is revealed that the kidnapper is none other than Prometheus, apparently kidnapping living beings for his experiments. Superman and Krypto reveal themselves, making short work of the attacker’s crew and the villain tries to escape. Leaving the captives behind, Prometheus sabotages his own ship to bring down Val’s and before escaping to his Ghost Zone, a pocket dimension only he can access.
As Superman moves to rescue the ship from crashing into the planet below, Prometheus sends out magic drones via remote to stop him. Krypto manages to take control of the drones, allowing Val to focus on the vessel. Later, Prometheus is relaxing inside the Ghost Zone only for Val to catch him entirely off guard, reminding him that nothing is impossible for Superman.
First appearing in Earth 2 #19 by Tom Taylor, Nicola Scott and Robson Rocha, Val is the son of his universe’s Zod and was taken in by Jor-El and Lara after his pacifist parents were executed for speaking truth to power. He soon became close friends with Kara Zor-El and was sent away from Krypton’s destruction alongside Kara, Kal-El and another unnamed child.
His time spent in his escape capsule made him agoraphobic and when he arrived on Earth. He was captured by Terry Sloane and stayed with him voluntarily for years. A pacifist like his parents, Val eventually, had to step up and fight for his adopted home when an evil clone of Kal-El, called Brutaal, threatened to destroy everything.
Donning the family crest of those who took him in, he became the new Superman and fought alongside the Justice Society to protect Earth-2, and later their new colony world after the Earth was destroyed in the pages of Earth 2: Society.
His latest victory against Prometheus is quite impressive since the character is no pushover. Some of the League's closest calls with Prometheus happened during his first couple of encounters with the JLA in their self-titled series by Grant Morrison and Howard Porter. His assault alongside Luthor nearly even led to the end of all things thanks to their paving the way to an interdimensional enemy named Maggedon. Years later, he tore apart the League and destroyed most of Star City in Justice League: Cry for Justice by James Robinson, Mauro Cascioli and Ibraim Roberson. Taking down a threat of that magnitude without a whole League or Society backing up him up is a worthy feat. Finding a way into the Ghost Zone without Prometheus’ special key is no joke, either.
Whether it’s an evil Superman clone or a criminal mastermind, Val-Zod has proven he can take on anything. Whatever threat comes its way, Earth-2 is definitely in safe hands with Superman on the job.