l

General Zkul

(General Zod + Red Skull)

Name: Dru-Zkul

Biography: On the planet Krypton, General Dru-Zkul diligently served the planet's governing body, the Science Council, alongside his wife and second-in-command Scarsa (Ursa + Mother Night) their son, Sor (Sin + Lor-Zod), and his most loyal soldier, Nonlow (Non + Crossbones). That all changed when they were ordered to apprehend Krypton's chief scientist, Jor-El for causing a panic by falsely claiming that Krypton was about to explode. It wasn't until after Jor-El was arrested that Zkul looked over his notes and realized that the Science Council had lied to him, Krypton really was going to self-destruct.

Feeling that the Science Council has left Krypton to die, he orchestrated a coup to take control of the planet himself. As Zkul and his forces ravaged the halls of the Science Council, he broke Jor-El out of prison and tried to enlist him. Jor-El refused, citing that violence was not the answer. But in order to escape the Zkul's clutches, he was forced to disfigure him with the general's own weapon, a chemical agent that turned the victim's head into a red skull. While Zkul survived, Jor-El worked with the surviving Council members to apprehend him and his soldiers before exiling them to the Phantom Zone. Before he disappeared, Zkul swore vengeance on Jor-El for ruining his face and betraying Krypton.

The next time Zkul appeared in our reality, it was on a planet he had never heard of full of people who looked like him, speaking a language he could not understand. Until he stepped into the sunlight. Unlike Krypton, which orbits a red star, this planet's sun was yellow. Thanks to his Kryptonian physiology, Zkul absorbed the yellow light, granting him incredible power. With his newfound godhood, he explored the base he was in, learned everything he could from their books, including their language, and killed the scientists who brought him there. Now speaking in perfect German, he told the remaining forces of KOBRA (HYDRA + Kobra Cult) that they now served him, not the Nazis. And with his new power and army, he was going to rule the Earth and create a New Krypton.

However, his bid for world domination would be opposed by another Kryptonian, the son of the man who banished him in the first place, Kal-El or as he's better known as, the Super-Soldier (Superman + Captain America). Super-Soldier and General Zkul's battles were some of the most intense the war has ever seen. But, in 1944, their final battle would end with neither side winning.

Zkul's newest plan was to drop bombs on all the world's major cities that would send them and everyone inside them into the Phantom Zone. Super-Soldier, working with the Defense Society (Defenders + Justice Society), stopped the bombs with the one heading for New York intercepted by Super-Soldier himself, sending him and Zkul, but no one else, into the timeless void.

Enraged by being imprisoned again, General Zkul attacked Super-Soldier. The two of them would battle for decades, neither one aging or wavering, until the day a portal opened back to Earth and Super-Soldier escaped. General Zkul would find his own salvation a few days later, when the news of the Super-Soldier's return spurred KOBRA to bring their old leader back. But Zkul would not let the world know of his return just yet.

After hearing of how there are more heroes than ever, not just a handful and Jor-El's son like last time, Zkul sent dozens of KOBRA agents into the Phantom Zone to find reinforcements. The few that returned did so with exactly what Zkul was looking for: his wife, his son, and his most loyal soldier.

With them by his side and KOBRA obeying his every order, General Zkul had gone from simply being the best in Krypton's military, to one of the most dangerous beings in existence. He will never stop until he ends Jor-El's legacy and brings about the New Krypton he sought to create all those years ago. Once he has, humanity will only have two options: die or kneel.

Powers & Abilities: As a Kryptonian, General Zkul's powers are the same as Super-Soldier's, including flight, super strength, heat vision and more (see the Super-Soldier page for more details).

What differentiates him from Super-Soldier is his years of combat experience and military training. He's a master of multiple Kryptonian martial arts and holds nothing back.

Despite having little formal education, Zkul also has a genius intellect allowing him to become an expert in multiple fields of study including engineering, military tactics and history, politics, counter intelligence, psychology, philosophy, chemistry and physics. This is best seen with his own personally made bio-weapon called the Dust of Death.

Fired from a specialized handgun, the Dust of Death causes the skin of the victim's head to shrivel, tighten and take on a red discoloration, while causing all of their hair to fall out; making the victim's head resemble a red skull. His years of being exposed to the chemicals required to make it granted him a sort of resistance to it, allowing him to survive even after being disfigured.

And the most terrifying thing about Zkul? He just won't die. KOBRA has created multiple fail-safes so that if he ever was killed, General Zkul's mind would just be transferred into a clone body with all the same powers.

Appearance: Zkul was born looking like a human with Caucasian skin, blue eyes and black hair. After being exposed to his own bioweapon, his hair fell out and his head deformed to looking like a red skull.

He wears a black Kryptonian military uniform at all times. When he became the head of KOBRA, he added a green armband with KOBRA's logo on it, a black circle containing a cobra's head with six curling tentacles underneath it.