Lor-Zod (New Earth)
From DC Database
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History
While imprisoned inside the Phantom Zone, the Kryptonian known as General Zod and his mate, Ursa, gave birth to a child named Lor-Zod. While living inside of a transported Kryptonian prison cell known as Fort Rozz, Zod manipulated Phantom Zone technology and created a small space-worthy vessel that could maintain a substantial form and leave the Phantom Zone. As his son was the only Phantom Zoner capable of maintaining a physical form, Zod sent the rocket ship out of the Phantom Zone carrying their young son. The rocket entered Earth's atmosphere and would have crash-landed in the heart of downtown Metropolis but for the timely arrival of Superman. Recognizing that the child was of alien origin, he reluctantly left him in the care of Sarge Steel and the Department of Metahuman Affairs. Lor-Zod stunned everyone when he lifted a three-hundred pound television cabinet above his head with no effort. After hearing the child speak, Superman immediately recognized him as Kryptonian. Steel insisted on keeping him overnight for observation. Scientists ran oral DNA tests to determine whether the boy truly was a Kryptonian.
Lois Lane wrote the exclusive story on the child's arrival on Earth in the Daily Planet, and the news quickly spread across the globe. The Department of Metahuman Affairs relocated the unnamed Kryptonian to a secure location in Washington, but neglected to inform Superman of the transfer. Enraged, Superman broke Lor-Zod out of custody and brought him to the Kent farm in Smallville.
Determined to keep him safe from the government and from scientific persecution, Clark asked Lois if she would agree to adopt the boy with him. Lois remained uncertain of her capability regarding parenting, but quickly acquiesced, and even supplied him with an Earth name – Christopher.
The Department of Metahuman Affairs was not the only source of interest in regards to "Christopher Kent". Lex Luthor, secretly monitoring Sarge Steel's broadcasts learned of the child's Kryptonian origin and set about claiming the boy for himself. Having somewhat trained the creature known as Bizarro to do his bidding, Luthor sent Bizarro into the city to capture Lor-Zod. A fight broke out between Bizarro and Superman, and Lor-Zod demonstrated his Kryptonian invulnerability by surviving the impact of a school bus falling directly on top of him.
Shortly after the battle took place, Lor-Zod's birth parents, General Zod and Ursa, broke free of their Phantom Zone prison and arrived on Earth to find him. Collecting Lor-Zod, the criminals freed the rest of their Kryptonian brethren from the Zone and mounted a massive invasion of Earth. During the siege of Metropolis, Lor-Zod turned against his father, burning his hand with twin blasts of heat vision. After the defeat of his biological parents, Lor is adopted by Kal-El and his wife Lois who have decided to raise the boy on Earth as their foster son in the name of Christopher Kent. Chris has accepted the younger Kents as his parents, and Clark's foster parents as his own grandparents, even calling Lois "Mama Lois" as he adapts to life on Earth.
When Zod and Ursa and their associates broke free of the Phantom Zone a second time, they attacked Kal-El and his family. Zod and Ursa recaptured Christopher as a bargaining tool to intidimate Superman into surrendering. However Superman was able to hold off Zod and his criminal allies until Luthor's technical assistance was able to exploit the connection that all the Kryptonians who had been in contact with the Phantom Zone and force them to be drawn back into it. Unfortuantely, this link was also inclusive of Christopher who was born in the Zone and even Superman who had some interaction with the Zone. Seeing that the Zone portal would not close after all the criminals had been sucked back in, Christopher chose to sacrifice himself to close the breach rather than let it continue possibly causing more damage to the city and before his foster father could be swallowed up by the Zone as well. [1]
When Superman contacted his "cousin" Mon-El (Lar-Gand) who remained in the Zone due to his own radiation poisoning to find out about Christopher's fate, Mon-El informed Kal-El that Christopher was either not in the Zone or was transferred to some very remote locale within the Zone that no one knew of.
In truth, it was the Kandorian Thara Ak-Var who had rescued Chris from the Phantom Zone shortly before the Zone began to collapse upon itself. Although only a short time had passed, Chris' unique physiology aged him to approximately fifteen or sixteen-years-old. Thara knew that the emergence of thousands of Kandorians in the physical world posed a great threat to the planet Earth, and she enlisted Chris' aid to become a costumed, Kryptonian crime-fighter on Earth. Thara and Chris adopted the code names of two legendary Kryptonian heroes, Flamebird and Nightwing. As Nightwing, Chris began actively patrolling several American cities. [2]
Nightwing
After returning to the Phantom Zone, Chris entered the Kryptonian prison where his parents had made shelter. Finding a piece of Brainiac's technology, Chris's mind interfaced with the device, expanding his consciousness, and somehow forging a connection with the mind of Thara Ak-Var, security chief of Kandor, which had recently been freed from Brainiac's ship by Superman. Thara used the connection between their minds to stage a successful rescue attempt with the added help of Non.[3] When the citizens of Kandor created New Krypton, which was placed in orbit around the Sun at the opposite side of Earth, Chris and Thara tasked themselves with the mission bring in the Phantom Zone Kryptonian criminals hiding on Earth as sleeper agents. Since the belligerent government of Alura Zor-El and Zod had tarnished all Kryptonians' reputations on Earth, Chris and Thara decided to act as a new Nightwing and Flamebird duo, at first with simple cloth masks, then with fake power suits, to throw people off about the origins of their powers.
However Chris, due to his birth in the Phantom Zone, exhibited strange and uncontrollable growth spurts: despite when Thara saved him he was still the young boy left by Lois Lane, as Nightwing he was shown being roughly 15 or 16, and after another debilitating growth spurt of about seven years, he had aged to 23 years old.[4]
His mother, Ursa, stalked him for vengeance. Chris had been shown refusing his heritage, and insisting Thara to address him with his "human" name, despising her attempts to transliterate it as a Kryptonian name, and never going by his birth name of Lor-Zod. [5] After a brutal attack by Ursa, Thara is left gravely wounded by a frangible Kryptonite knife, and Chris is forced to bring her to Lois Lane for medical assistance.[6]
Once he brought Thara to Lois, the two had a tearful reunion; although Lois was happy to see him again she was concerned about his advanced aging. Lois called Doctor Light for medical assistance while Chris went back to the fortress and was again confronted by his biological mother. Their conflict was cut short as UAVs sent by General Lane arrived at the scene, forcing both to flee.[6]
While Chris returned home to Lois, he found that Thara had recovered and was being quizzed by Lois about their relationship. Before Lois was able to learn anything, the two flew away to confront a Kryptonian couple on a crime spree. The four battled, with Chris and Thara quickly gaining the upper hand; however their fight was interrupted by Codename: Assassin and what seemed to be a gang of "ogres". [6] The sleeper couple used the distraction to escape. Nightwing pursued them, but was forced to let them go in order to save some innocents from a falling bridge.[7]
After the two had received a hero's thank you from a crowd in Hollywood, Thara noticed that one of the girls gave her phone number to Chris. Chris asks if she is jealous, while Thara/Flamebird lies that she does not care if he goes around with hundreds of girls. Reacting on an impulse the two share a kiss. Before either of the two actually manages to respond they are attacked by Metallo and Reactron and captured.[8]Powers and Abilities
Powers
Kryptonian Physiology: Lor-Zod's cellular structure is more dense, resilient and biologically more effective than human tissue. Strangely enough, he does not seem to possess superhuman strength levels despite his enhanced cellular ability without constant exposure to yellow solar energy. Without such charging, his strength seems on par for a human of his height and weight who engages in regular physical activity. As an alien he possess several organs whose functions are not yet disclosed or understood but are believed to be part of and perhaps even the source of his biomatrix force field and reclamation aura. Lor-Zod's body also stores energy actively within his bio-cellular matrix as an energy pattern that is linked to his body's electromagnetic field. This energy powers most of his electromagnetic capabilities such as flight and heat vision. It also supplements his physical strength by a factor of about 12,000 times.
- Solar Energy Absorption: Technically, this is the main source of Lor-Zod's powers. Because his powers are greatly due to exposure to Earth's yellow sun, his powers have been affected by extreme absorptions of solar power, whether voluntary or involuntary.
- Superhuman Strength: While the exact magnitude of Lor-Zod's strength is unknown, it is generally accepted that Lor-Zod is strong enough to lift several tons. Though it is clear that compared to fully adult New Earth dimensional Kryptonians Lor-Zod's strtenght level is very weak as his biological father Zod was able to crush his skull in the same manner that a full grown human male would be able to do to an approximate same age human child. Lor-Zod's strength is more an act of conscious will on energy fields than actual physical strength. It is through this act of conscious will manipulation that allows Lor-Zod to engage in physical feats that are beyond merely applying applicable force such as moving an object without said object crumbling under its own mass while he moves it.
- Invulnerability: Lor-Zod's body is nigh-invulnerable to extreme energy forces. In addition, his immune system protects him from toxins and diseases. His invulnerability is not protective to the heat vision that fully adult Kryptonians can generate which has been shown to penetrate his own skin and bone with instantaneous results.
- Heat Vision: The ability to fire beams of intense heat at a target by looking at it with the conscious act of activating this power. Visually, the power is typically depicted as two beams of red light firing from his eyes. These beams can be made invisible, allowing Lor-Zod to work undetected. The maximum temperature of his heat vision is said to be around that of a nuclear detonation though that is not proven or stated. It IS however shown to be intense enough to burn fully adult Kryptonians as he did against his biological father to try to protect Kal-El.
Abilities
Lor-Zod has the same abilities as most DC Primary Kryptonians living in an environment under a yellow sun. The full range of his powers has yet to be determined. Thus far, he has demonstrated superhuman strength, superhuman levels of endurance (so called "invulnerability") and heat-vision.
- Lor-Zod's learning capabilities are well in advance from that of a normal child. Within days of landing on Earth, he began to comprehend and speak English with relative ease.
Strength level
Weaknesses
Solar Energy: Like all New Earth Kryptonians, Lor-Zod's powers will diminish if he does not absorb "yellow" solar energy.
Kryptonite: Exposure to Kryptonite radiation will greatly weaken a Kryptonian, robbing them of their powers. Prolonged exposure to Kryptonite will result in radiation poisoning killing them.
Magic: Lor is also vurnerable to mystical forces.
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Solar Watch: Chris wore a red sun wavelength generation watch to curb his superhuman powers allow him to interact with normal humans on a more equal level. He retains a portion of these powers, despite usually wearing the watch.
Notes
- When his powers get too out of control, a small machine attached to his wrist inserts a certain amount of lead to suppress them.
- As he was born in the Phantom Zone and the only one who can maintain a physical form and presumably a ghostly form (Wraith).
Trivia
- Lor-Zod's adoptive name, Christopher, is likely an homage to the late actor, Christopher Reeve. Reeve played the role of Superman in four feature films and passed away in 2004 due to complications from paralysis.
See Also
- Discuss Lor-Zod (New Earth) on the forums
- Appearances of Lor-Zod (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Lor-Zod (New Earth)
- Quotations by Lor-Zod (New Earth)
- Images featuring Lor-Zod (New Earth)
Recommended Reading
- Action Comics #844
- Action Comics #845
- Action Comics #846
- Action Comics #851
- Action Comics Annual #11
Links and References
Footnotes
- ↑ Action Comics Annual #11
- ↑ Action Comics #875
- ↑ Action Comics Annual #12
- ↑ Greg Rucka: Man of "Action"
- ↑ Action Comics #875 (2009)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Action Comics #876 (2009)
- ↑ Action Comics #879
- ↑ Action Comics #880 (2009)
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