Lor-Zod

* Biography
* Threat Assessment
* Trivia and Notes
* Gallery

## Zenith

### Background

While on a xenocidal campaign against the Calatonians for a brutal assault on the Kryptonian colony of Kandor that resulted in the deaths of the family of Dru-Zod, General Zod and his loyal lieutenant Ursa Hu-Ul fell in love. The two would seal their love with a wartime wedding.

### Lor-Zod: 1972 - 1978

Lor-Zod was born on a military command ship, but before he could walk his parents would be captured shortly after their return to Krypton and charged for their war crimes. Without any family to claim him, and not being the product of a sanctioned noble marriage, Lor-Zod was placed in a state sponsored "nursery" that was essentially a prison camp for children.

While incarcerated, Lor-Zod was assaulted, nearly on a daily basis, simply for being born of two noble houses while the other children in the program's care were from much lower stations. It didn't help that Lor-Zod's parents were xenocidal war criminals. So it was that Lor-Zod had a childhood much rougher than most other Kryptonian nobles.

### Lor-Zod: 1978 - 1987

When Brainiac attacked, Lor-Zod was rescued from his imprisonment. Brainiac's admiration for Dru-Zod led to his decision to preserve Dru-Zod's progeny for study. Lor-Zod was even "given the honor" to watch from the carnage-soaked bridge of a military vessel as Krypton exploded.

Lor-Zod spent weeks aboard the same military vessel manned by a silent robotic crew as Brainiac's guest of honor; but after several months of this isolation, Lor-Zod was placed in cryogenic stasis for later study. When Lor-Zod awoke next, he was a part of Brainiac's menagerie. Lor-Zod joined other children of similar development, from a dozen other worlds that had been drafted into a weird social experiment with Brainiac as their warden.

Lor-Zod did not mind this life. The prison-like environment was familiar to him, and the menagerie lacked his previous abuses. Lor-Zod was also Brainiac's favorite and was afforded special luxuries and privileges. But this is where Lor-Zod met Thara Ak-Var.

Thara was from Kandor, the colony Lor-Zod had understood to be his birthright. Lor-Zod liked to hear her stories of what could have been his home. Thara was pretty and made him laugh. Using these social charms, Thara convinced Lor-Zod to help her stage a rebellion.

### Lor-Zod: 1987 - 2013

Despite Lor-Zod's help, the coup failed. As punishment, Brainiac placed all of the children into stasis. As he did with other children, Brainiac pulled Lor-Zod out of stasis periodically to use the boy for experiments. Lor-Zod hated the feeling of being awake and asked to be returned to stasis so he could at least see Thara in his frozen dreams.

Then, one day, Lor-Zod woke up in a lab. But it was not Brainiac's lab. Lor-Zod feared he had been sold into slavery. He was not sure what to do, but he felt strong. With ease, Lor-Zod tore off his restrains, kicked his supposed captors across the room, and made a break for the exit. That is when he stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of a voice he had not heard in such a long time.

### Ultraman: 2013 - 2014

After being revived from stasis and convinced to side with Sivana, Lor-Zod began to be tutored in English and various Earth-based practices. He struggled more than Thara because he lacked her noble education and had been somewhat brainwashed by Brainiac, so more focus was put on Thara being the spokeswoman for the developing team.

Sivana's publicists and stylists decided to use Lor-Zod's house crest in his costume and decided to call him Ultraman, based on the slight resemblance to the letter U in the English language. The original suit did sport an actual U in the familiar shape of a Kryptonian shield, but Lor-Zod refused to wear such an emblem on his chest as it was not only disrespectful to his House, but also resembled an "improper term" in the Old Kandorian tongue.

### Ultraman: 2014

 File:Ultraman.jpg
When the Salvation Syndicate debuted, Lor-Zod was definitely marketed to be the mysterious, stern bad boy of the group. He rarely spoke and when he did, it was either in Kryptonian or Kandorian with Thara, or in brief, prepared phrases that were drilled into him by Sivana's marketing team.

In the team's public patrols, Thara often stuck around to talk to the media while Lor-Zod would watch over captives and/or evidence until the police arrived. More than once, this left Thara and Lor-Zod without their team when members of the Justice League arrived. The first few of these exchanges were hostile, but eventually Lor-Zod decided that he was tired of listening to Sivana's opinion on things.

One day, while the Syndicate was making an appearance in Metropolis as part of a photo-op with Lex Luthor, Lor-Zod managed to slip away and soared through Metropolis' skies until he encountered Steel. Seeing the emblem on Steel's chest and not realizing that Steel was not himself a Kryptonian, Lor-Zod began speaking in his native tongue. Steel's translator was able to understand the message and he arranged a meeting between Superman and Ultraman. These Last Sons of Krypton spoke for nearly an hour on the roof of the Daily Planet before Thara tracked Lor-Zod down and broke up the meeting.

As they left, Superman mentioned Sivana and the Reach having some questionable ties. Lor-Zod had little knowledge of the Reach but Superman had earned his trust enough that Lor-Zod began to regularly pressure Thara to question Sivana on his involvement with the Reach. This would eventually lead to Lor-Zod and Thara meeting with Superman and Power Girl to review their evidence. Once they did, they knew they had to leave the Syndicate and did so promptly.

### Ultraman: 2014 - 2015

Leaving the public eye altogether, Lor-Zod and Thara were invited to retire to the Fortress of Solitude. They lived there with Kelex as full-time caretakers as Kelex gave them a more balanced education on Earth and its ways. After Thara was given a human identity and began to make frequent trips to civilization, Lor-Zod wished to accompany her. This would lead to Kal-El meeting with Lor-Zod and offering him a chance to have something he never had before: a father.

### Supplemental Reports

* (*Submitted by Valkyrie*) Here some fun facts about Chris Kent:
	+ Veterans at the Daily Planet often assume Chris is a rookie reporter.
	+ Chris is majoring in Economics in college.
	+ Chris struggles with spelling words in English. Probably because he was partially tutored by Lois Lane.
* (*Submitted by Cypher*) Lor-Zod needed an excuse to explain his unfamiliarity with American culture and his close ties to the Kents. As Lois was writing a story on human rights violations in Markovia, it was a convenient excuse to claim Lor-Zod was "Kristof," an informant from Markovia that needed asylum. To accelerate the process, Lois and Clark adopted "Kristof" through an adult adoption arranged by Wayne Foundation lawyers.

### Key Affiliations

* **Salvation Syndicate:** As Ultraman, Lor-Zod was a founding member of the Salvation Syndicate. He was not particularly popular as he rarely spoke in public appearances (as his English was still broken) and was mostly seen as Superwoman's strong, silent boyfriend. However, as his English improved, he began to voice his concerns — which played a part in his and Thara's breaking away from Sivana and the Syndicate.
* **House of El:** Lor-Zod has forsaken his House of Birth and become a son of the House of El. He is likely to be the key to the future of the House's line, too, as he and Thara may very well produce the first full-blooded Kryptonians born in nearly half a century.
* **Justice League:** Lor-Zod joined the Justice League in April, 2017 as Zenith. He has done some work to soften his image and do a better job letting his friendly side shine through in public interactions.
* **Advena Legion:** In exchange for a Presidential pardon, forgiving his involvement with the Salvation Syndicate (even though he had defected prior to the assault on National City), Lor-Zod joined Thara and other alien heroes in endorsing President Luthor's Advena Legion initiative.
* **Brainiac:** Lor-Zod hates Brainiac, but also views him as his own savior.
* **Thara Ak-Var:** Lor-Zod loves Thara Ak-Var with all his heart.
* **Dr. T. Sivana:** Lor-Zod has little to say to Sivana. He doesn't trust him.
* **Zod & Ursa:** Lor-Zod wishes to understand his parents better. He might think he can save his parents, despite Thara's pleas to abandon the idea.

## Trivia and Notes

### Resources

* **Modified Kryptonian Physiology:** Lor-Zod's cellular structure is much more resilient and effective than human tissue. While most of his body is similar to human anatomy, Lor-Zod also possesses organs whose functions are not yet understood but are likely the source of his bio-cellular matrix (or "biomatrix").
	+ ***Solar Radiation Absorption:*** Lor-Zod's cells function like a super battery, hyper metabolizing specific wavelengths of radiation as fuel to enable superhuman abilities. Different wavelengths of radiation have different effects on his physiology, but his cells cannot absorb or utilize all types of energy. The wavelength of his home solar system's red star enables his body to function at a nearly identical level of a healthy human; while the radiation of Earth's yellow star acts as fuel to enable superhuman abilities. Other types of solar radiation have other effects.
	+ ***Enhanced Physicality:*** The limits of Lor-Zod's strength are unknown, but he has the capacity to lift over 300 metric tons. ARGUS lists him as a being with Class VII Enhanced Strength. Lor-Zod is capable of moving, reacting, running, and flying at superhuman speeds. Lor-Zod's running speed has been calculated to be around 2,300 MPH (Mach 3, which is also his cruising speed at flying). Lor-Zod also has the ability to maintain continuous physical actions for an undefined period, provided he is in regular exposure to yellow sunlight. Lor-Zod does require sleep to stave off the mental effects of sleep deprivation. It is likely he will become even stronger and faster with continued exposure to Earth's yellow star.
	+ ***Enhanced Senses:*** All of Lor-Zod's senses are heightened. He can hear sounds before sound waves actually reach him and hear at extreme variances of sound and pitch frequency. He can smell odors from up to a mile away. Lor-Zod can see into the electromagnetic spectrum, view details at a great distance, identify microscopic particles, or even peer through solid matter (excluding lead) at short distances.
	+ ***Flight:*** Lor-Zod can defy gravity and fly at supersonic speed. His maximum flying speed is Mach 7 (approximately 5,400 MPH).
	+ ***Intense Lung Capacity:*** Lor-Zod can create hurricane force winds by blowing, and also supercool his breath to freeze a target.
	+ ***Invulnerability:*** Lor-Zod's body is nigh-invulnerable due to his dense cellular and anatomical structure as well as her bio-electrical aura. Lor-Zod is resistant or immune to common lacerations, blunt force trauma, energy-based assaults, falls from great heights, explosions, the cold void of space, and all known diseases on Earth. His "aura" acts as an invisible "force field" radiating within a few millimeters from his skin while also integrated with his cellular tissues. His invulnerability is in constant flux dependent on his recent solar radiation exposure.
	+ ***Ocular Heat Emission:*** Lor-Zod can fire beams of heat from his eyes.
	+ ***Psychokinetic Cold Projection:*** Due to experiments conducted on him by Brainiac, Lor-Zod has an activated psionic ability to supercool the air around his hands or propel this "psionic chill" outward in a focused stream. He can use a projected stream almost like a tractor beam.
* **Amateur Journalist**

### Weaknesses

* Power Inability: Can't See Through Lead
* Power Requirement: Solar Radiation
* Survival Requirement: Respiration
* Weakness: Sensory Overload
* Vulnerability: Esoteric Energy
* Vulnerability: Kryptonite Radiation

### Analytics

* **Physicality:** 7 — Legendary
* **Occult:** 3 — Trained / Exceptional
* **Weaponry:** 3 — Trained / Exceptional
* **Expertise:** 3 — Trained / Exceptional
* **Range:** 7 — Legendary
* **Strategy:** 3 — Trained / Exceptional
	+ **TOTAL:** 120
	+ **RANKING:** High Threat

## Trivia and Notes

### Trivia

* Zenith joined the Justice League in 2017 nominated by Superman.
* Ultraman served as Superman's counterpart in the Salvation Syndicate.

### Notes

* He's a composite character of Lor-Zod and Ultraman of Earth-3.
* In the comics Lor-Zod was born in the Phantom Zone.
* The Nightwing hoodie is a nod to his identity as the Nightwing of Krypton.
* His Ultraman suit is inspired by Superman's Justice Lords costume. In the comics he has a letter U on his shield.
* His Zenith suit is inspired by his moniker as Nightwing in the comics.
* Lor-Zod and Thara's address is a nod to her first comic book appearance: *Superman #681*, October, 2008, by Geoff Johns and James Robinson.

## Gallery

Ultraman.jpgUltramanChristopher Kent.jpgChris KentZenith.jpgZenith
## Network & Oracle Files

Network Files Lor-Zod 1.pngNetwork Files: Lor-Zod 1Network Files Lor-Zod 2.pngNetwork Files: Lor-Zod 2Oracle Files Lor-Zod 1.pngOracle Files: Lor-Zod 1
## Appears In

Salvation Syndicate.pngSalvation Syndicate

## Links and References

* Appearances of Lor-Zod

1. ↑ Network Files: Lor-Zod 1
2. ↑ Network Files: Lor-Zod 2