General Zod's death at the hands of Superman in Man of Steel was controversial, but his plan to terraform Earth into a new Krypton is even more questionable. Villain plans in DC movies often aim for chaos and destruction. For instance, Darkseid wanted to use the Anti-Life Equation to banish free will from the universe, and Ares wanted humans to wage war in order to feed off of it. General Zod, on the other hand, only wanted to bring Krypton back to its former glory, and Earth was just an obstacle in the way.

To achieve his life's purpose, Michael Shannon's General Zod used his Black Zero ship and a Kryptonian world engine to transform Earth's atmosphere into Krypton's, thus creating a new home for the last Kryptonian survivors. Superman had to break Zod's neck to stop him, which sparked controversy among audiences and critics, as such...