Why was Jax-Ur chosen instead of Zod to appear on STAS?

[The Overlord]

Why was Jax-Ur chosen instead of Zod to appear on STAS? I thought, with Superman II, Zod would have been a more popular choice, than Jax-Ur.

[Simpler Simon]

Maybe they wanted to give the series a different feel from the theatrical films?

Not that it particularly worked for me...I get the feeling that episode should've made a bigger impact on me, whereas it came off as "okay."

[DR.MID-NITE]

Zod demanded too much money to appear. :p

Seriously. Probably like the poster above said...to differentiate from the movies.

[Aldrius]

More than likely the right's for the character weren't available. Or they just didn't want to have to be bound to the plot of Superman II... considering how popular Zod is.

[Rebis]

Why was Jax-Ur chosen instead of Zod to appear on STAS?
I've always wondered about this myself. Jax-Ur and Mala really do seem like two-thirds of an unfinished Phantom Zone Three. You just keep expecting Zod to show up in "Blasts from the Past."

It's true that, during the Silver Age, the Superman comics saw an endless string of Kryptonian evil-doers march out of the Phantom Zone (Jax-Ur among them), so if the STAS crew wanted to do a Phantom Zone story, they really did have a huge assortment of bad guys to choose from. I suppose Jax-Ur makes as much sense as anybody.

But since Terrence Stamp's awesome interpretation of General Zod in Superman II, the character has started to take up a lot more space in the cultural regard for the Superman myth. John Byrne picked up on it during his run on the Superman comic back in the late-80's when he offered up his version of the Phantom Zone Three: Zod, Quex-Ul and Zaora (who had always been named "Faora" during the Silver Age, but whatever). Clearly this trio of villains was a tip of the hat to Superman II's Zod, Non and Ursa.

To a degree, "Blasts from the Past" feels like a similar tip of the hat to Superman II. Yet it curiously lacks a Zod. I remember reading interviews with Bruce Timm and Paul Dini in which they kvetched (in good humor) about Superman's lack of juicy villains and that they basically imported Darkseid into the STAS rogues gallery because they needed a foe with some big menace. It seems odd to me that they would pass up on Zod -- a villain who is kind of already regarded as a badass by the culture at large -- just "to differentiate" the series from the film franchise. But who knows.

[Aldrius]

Well, I like the fact that they only had two criminals. It gave the series a chance to develop the 'side-kick' as opposed to having two nobodies follow Zod around. (And Jaxxur is basically Zod)

Though this ended up with a very under-developed Zod-like character... and a very developed Ursa-like character.

Oh well. Superman needs more female villains anyway.

[batmanbeyond13]

By the way, Mala was voiced by the actress who played Ursa. And Jax-Ur is nowhere near as great as Zod. But they don't stand a chance against Darkseid.

[Wolf Boy2]

Ehhh... I hated every minute of Superman II, so it doesn't pain me to see S:TAS being different. Jax-ur was the exact same thing as Zod anyway.

[Karkull]

By the way, Mala was voiced by the actress who played Ursa. And Jax-Ur is nowhere near as great as Zod. But they don't stand a chance against Darkseid.Sarah Douglas (Ursa in Superman II) only voiced Mala in "Absolute Power"; she was voiced by Leslie Easterbrook in "Blasts From the Past."

As for why Zod didn't make the leap to animation, I'm guessing that Zod brought too much baggage from the court of public opinion...and that it would be easier to create new villains that didn't have such expectation.

[RAINMAN]

I was kind of hopeing Zod would have show up in JL/U. I`m sure the crew has their reasones for not useing him.

[OverMaster]

As for why Zod didn't make the leap to animation, I'm guessing that Zod brought too much baggage from the court of public opinion...and that it would be easier to create new villains that didn't have such expectation.

Well, under that logic, they wouldn't have used Luthor either, LOL.

I'm going with the 'Legal issues at the time' theory myself.

[Karkull]

Well, under that logic, they wouldn't have used Luthor either, LOL.Luthor's different; he's Luthor. I'm just saying that maybe they didn't want the slot of "Phantom Zone Criminal" to be overshadowed by "KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!"

[Looter]

DC Comics was initially opposed to using Supergirl in STAS. Maybe they felt the same way about Zod for some reason?

[Trevor Balena]

DC Comics was initially opposed to using Supergirl in STAS. Maybe they felt the same way about Zod for some reason?
They were opposed to Supergirl because they wanted Superman to be the last Kryptonian, no exceptions. That's why they could only use Supergirl when they agree to make her technically Argosian, not Kryptonian. However, the Phantom Zone criminals are Kryptonians, regardless of whether you call them Jax-Ur and Mala, or Zod and Ursa. They must have had a different reason for making Zod off-limits if indeed it was DC's decision.

[DisneyBoy]

Argoan.

Anyhoo, Zod has never been all that interesting to me. He's too much the stereotypical villain, out for the blood of the son because the father beat him. S:TAS came up with their own version of that and used it for Brainiac, to much better results.

Jax-Ur and Mala, if anything, show how dull these characters really are. They rely on old story ideas, and don't amount to much more than a fight we all know Superman will win in the end.

Didn't know Ursa voiced Mala the third time around though.

As for Zod fans, he did appear in Superman Adventures #21, as "The Butcher of Argo" - in other words, the same character, only transplanted into Argoan history. Supergirl took him on and won in the wonderful issue. And he's still as stark raving mad as Terrence Stamp was, for those who like that.

[Aldrius]

Jax-Ur and Mala, if anything, show how dull these characters really are. They rely on old story ideas, and don't amount to much more than a fight we all know Superman will win in the end.


I actually reaaallyy liked Mala. (Not so much Jax-Ur... who felt pretty unecessary). Mala was a nice contrast to Superman, with her methods on criminal punishment and such...

And there is a bit of sympathy for her there (after what the Phantom Zone did to her)... though in part 2 that's all pretty much removed and she becomes typical villain #2134... I liked the Supergirl-ish aspects to her at first. (And really, a Kryptonian criminal who's trying to reform is alot more interesting to me than Supergirl was.)

[Karkull]

I actually reaaallyy liked Mala. (Not so much Jax-Ur... who felt pretty unecessary). Mala was a nice contrast to Superman, with her methods on criminal punishment and such...

And there is a bit of sympathy for her there (after what the Phantom Zone did to her)... though in part 2 that's all pretty much removed and she becomes typical villain #2134... I liked the Supergirl-ish aspects to her at first. (And really, a Kryptonian criminal who's trying to reform is alot more interesting to me than Supergirl was.)Mala's arc carried over to Part Two, primarily in the jealousy that she felt towards Lois. She could kinda deal with not ruling the planet (maybe), but the last straw was when, in her mind, Superman spurned her. Look at her face just as it sank in towards the end of Part One -- she almost teared up before she switched back to rage.

[Rima]

Luthor's different; he's Luthor. I'm just saying that maybe they didn't want the slot of "Phantom Zone Criminal" to be overshadowed by "KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!"
You know, initially I was resisting your logic here Karkull, but I think I'm starting to see where you're coming from. Superman II is the only reason any of us even know who Zod is. He was a pretty insignificant villain before that movie, and as far as the comics world was concerned, a pretty insignificant villain afterward too. I suppose if I was making a Superman cartoon, I might be more tempted to pull from the original source material (the comics) or my own imagination, rather than ape another non-comics rendition of the character's world.

Put another way, maybe this is why we didn't see villains like King Tut and Egghead pop up in Batman: The Animated Series.

No, that's probably because they were silly villains.

[The Overlord]

Well, under that logic, they wouldn't have used Luthor either, LOL.

I'm going with the 'Legal issues at the time' theory myself.

What legal issues?

[RAINMAN]

What legal issues?


The rights to used a character from the original comic.

[Trevor Balena]

The rights to used a character from the original comic.
I think he understands the definition of "legal issues", but was asking why there would be any legal entanglements surrounding this particular character. I don't think any of us know, but we're theorizing that it would be the most likely reason why Zod never showed up on STAS.

[Aldrius]

Mala's arc carried over to Part Two, primarily in the jealousy that she felt towards Lois. She could kinda deal with not ruling the planet (maybe), but the last straw was when, in her mind, Superman spurned her. Look at her face just as it sank in towards the end of Part One -- she almost teared up before she switched back to rage.

I honestly don't have the episode on DVD, so I can't check... but I thought the last straw was when she over-heard Hamilton and Superman talking about sending her back to the Phantom Zone...

[The Overlord]

The rights to used a character from the original comic.

That's not what I meant. Why were there legal issues around Zod at that time?

[OverMaster]

That's not what I meant. Why were there legal issues around Zod at that time?

We don't know for sure if there really were, since no one of the STAS staff has outright stated anything on the matter. That's what we said it was just a theory. We are going on our best guesses there.

Hey, Timm and Dini sometimes visit this board, right? Maybe they will see this and reply...