10 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About '90s Superman Cartoon

Outside of Lex Luthor, the malevolent Kryptonian, General Zod, is the most well-known Superman villain. Due to the character's popularity, viewers were baffled he never made a single appearance in Superman: TAS.

Because the Man of Steel fought obscure characters like Volcana, Toyman, and Parasite, it seemed bewildering not to have one episode dedicated to Zod.

So why wasn't he included? And the answer is... No idea. Many people theorise that the show's producers couldn't get the rights for the character. This was true for Zod's henchman, Ursa, since she was created for the film, Superman, meaning DC Comics didn't have the authority to license her to the series. As a result, a female Kryptonian called Mala was created for the show as a substitute for Ursa. But since Zod debuted in the comics, it's unclear why he wasn't incorporated.

Instead, the writers decided that Superman would regularly square off against a different Kryptonian, Jax-Ur. In the comics, Jax-Ur was a scientist whose dangerous experiments resulted in the destruction of Krypton's moon. As punishment, he was the first person banished to The Phantom Zone. In the show however, his personality and appearance is much closer to Zod than his comic counterpart.