Ranking Every DC Movie Villain From Worst To Best
7. General Zod - Terence Stamp (Superman II)
it's incredible to think that even with the gloss of modern technology in our collective minds, Terence Stamp's performance as General Zod (completely with hokey laser eyes and various other terrible effects) is still one of the best ever in comic book movies. That all comes down to the performance beneath the frills.
Even in a film that was badly hamstrung by a notoriously difficult production, Stamp stands out as a definitive figure. He is cold, calculated and terrifying withthe same chilling detachment from the value of life that Michael Shannon would re-channel for Man Of Steel. Stamp's version came without the quickness to anger: he is poised; a more thespian villain with a Shakespearean edge that hints at the faintest pleasure in his path of destruction.
He might think life inconsequential, but that doesn't stop him from enjoying seeing it extinguished. And other than cruelty, that's largely the only emotion he clearly shows: he's never out of control, which stands him head and shoulders above Shannon's alternate version.
Check out Superman II over at Amazon.