During the height of the DC Extended Universe, many villains presented world-ending threats in terrifying and creative ways. For example, Ares instigated a world war, while Ocean Master wanted to destroy the surface world. Now, with James Gunn's and Peter Safran's new DC Universe starting with The Flash, there's a chance for more enemies to appear and potentially outshine any that came before. That said, Barry creating a new timeline revealed who the real threat of the DCEU always was.

Both 2017's Justice League and Zack Snyder's Justice League established that Darkseid would be the deadliest enemy this continuity would ever face. He was both imposing and nearly unstoppable but also had years of experience to boot. But by seeing so little of him, he could never be the best villain of the DCEU. Instead, as the trailers for The Flash have proven, the best villain of the past continuity was Man of Steel's General Zod.

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What Made Zod So Terrifying in Man of Steel

General Zod and his Kryptonian army in Man of Steel.

Man of Steel's General Zod was a leader that saw his home planet slowly destroyed by elders that had denied the truth of their dying world for too long. In anger, he tried to overthrow them but was instead banished. And in his mind, he felt it was because he loved his planet and people and only wanted them to prosper. However, while his intentions were noble, he was a tyrant and conqueror that would do anything to get what he wanted. That was proven right when he tried to terraform Earth into a new Krypton, leading to the deaths of thousands in Metropolis.

Zod was just as powerful as Clark was but had more training and tactical knowledge to achieve his goals. Because of this, he was a true threat and represented just how dangerous Kryptonians could be. He even led a small army in the conquest of Earth and nearly succeeded in the DCEU reality had Clark not killed him. His menace was so overpowering, in fact, that his actions and death continued to impact Clark years after.

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The Flash Will Show an Unopposed and Stronger Zod

Michael Shannon as General Zod in mid-air in The Flash.

While Man of Steel gave audiences a taste of why and how General Zod has remained the best villain of the DCEU, The Flash will solidify this. That's because, in one universe, Zod almost nearly succeeded in his plans with only one metahuman to stop him. By comparison, this new Zod has already done much more, even though he's fighting a Kryptonian, two speedsters and Batman. And with a full army at his side, fans will finally see the Zod at work and in his prime and confront what makes him so scary.

Not only will he likely have a better grasp on his abilities, but he will also have a headstart on his takeover of Earth as Clark or Kara wasn't there to hinder him. So, while this isn't the same Zod from Man of Steel, he's similar enough to prove that he was always a considerable threat. Thanks to The Flash, fans will finally see that, with his motivations, power and influence combined, General Zod was always the DCEU's best villain.

The Flash hit theaters June 16.