Jor-El and Zod were great friends during both their youths on Krypton. Zod had settled down with a wife and son in Kandor while he was a Major and Jor-El was married to Lara-El. They looked out for each other during their time on Krypton as Zod greatly respecting Jor-El as the most renowned scientist on Krypton.
What is the relationship between General Zod and Jor-El?
Zod appears in Superman: Earth One in which he is called Zod-El, brother to Jor-El and thus Superman's uncle. Zod-El is a Kryptonian soldier who wages a six-month civil war against the Science Council, and the one responsible for Krypton's destruction by striking a deal with the Krypton's warring neighbor Dheronians.
General Zod entered and demanded that the codex be returned to him. Upon the revelation that Jor-El and Lara had a naturally-born child and that the codex was with him, Zod attacked Jor-El in rage, and a fight between the former friends ensued.
Zod was power-hungry and narcissistic, and kept grudges against those who opposed him, in particular Jor-El and other members of the House of El. After being freed from the Phantom Zone, he banished Kal-El (Jor-El's son) to the Phantom Zone due to Jor-El sending Zod there in the first place years earlier.
Though Jor-El has done unnecessarily harsh things, none of them were committed out of pure malice. Most of his actions were simply a way of pushing Kal-El/Clark to fulfill his destiny. He burned the Mark of Kal-El's ancestors onto Clark's chest, which periodically burned painfully.
Although he was angered at Jor-El's refusal to restore the Kandorians' powers, Zod nevertheless regretted Jor-El's death, executing the Kandorian responsible and showing some respect for Kal-El out of recognition of his relationship with his father.
Because Clark Kent, or rather Kal-El, Isn't a killer. He took Zod's life in a moment of desperation. But he knows that he just ended a life, and it haunts him, just as any decent human would feel remorse for committing manslaughter in self-defence.
By the time the climax of the Zod/Superman battle is reached, there are no viable solutions to the conflict. Superman's hand is almost forced as Zod begins a sadistic attack on innocent people. It's in this moment that Superman makes the decision to take Zod's life – something that greatly upsets him.
As awful as it sounds, Zod's plan is likely to have worked. By forcefully rationing more resources, the Kryptonian elites could have created Jor-El's device in time to at least postpone Krypton's destruction, if not curtail it entirely.
Some might assume that General Zod sees Superman as his biggest enemy due to their fighting over the years, but that's not actually true. While Zod dislikes Superman, his hatred for Superman is due to Superman's father, Jor-El, whose defeat of Zod haunts him to this very day.
Brainiac intends to take Jor-El to Earth, where he will be a "god amongst men." Brainiac is of course referring to the effect the yellow sun has on Kryptonians. The yellow sun is the source of Superman's powers, so essentially what Brainiac wants is his own Superman - a super-powered Kryptonian under his control.
Thanks to the enhancements he received, Zor-El is theoretically far stronger and faster than Superman himself. However, given his unstable mindset, the villain is prone to making rushed and incertain decisions, almost always resulting in his downfall.
Losing patience with his old friend, Zod faced Jor-El in combat, in a very even fight between both fighters. Jor-El managed to fight back and defeat Zod in hand-to-hand combat, before a defeated Zod pleaded with Lara Lor-Van to cancel the ship's launch.
The terrifying reality of Krypton's destruction has been revealed, and Superman's father Jor-El may be responsible for the planet's demise. The prevailing narrative surrounding Jor-El was one of a brave and brilliant scientist whose warnings went unheeded by Kryptonian society until the destruction was inevitable.
Weakness. General Zod is vulnerable to Kryptonite, radioactive remnants of his home planet, Krypton. The known variations of kryptonite affect him in different ways. Kryptonite renders General Zod physically weak and painfully ill.
It would have helped qualm concerns that Superman is too quick to resort to lethal means. Killing Zod may not be an act of mercy as it is to stop an animal's suffering, but the larger point about the complicated emotional weight involved with death is clearly applicable.
As in the comics, Kal-El's powers are depicted as being superior to other Kryptonians, due to his spending a far greater period of time exposed to Earth's yellow sun and atmosphere, though some have an advantage over him in terms of combat experience (e.g. Zod, Faora and Nam-Ek).
This version was created by Lex Luthor using his blood and the body of General Zod to recreate a monster detailed in the files of a crashed Kryptonian scout ship known as "desecration without name". Once it hatches, Luthor names the creature "Doomsday" and sends it to kill Superman.
However, as time runs short, Jor-El soon finds that he will only have enough time to build a spacecraft to save his son Kal-El. He decides to send Kal-El to Earth, realizing he will gain superhuman powers under Earth's more intense yellow sun and lower gravity.
Lionel met his end in a season 7 episode after being killed by his son, Lex (Michael Rosenbaum). Lionel's original role in the Superman prequel series was shaped by his relationship with Lex, who secretly longed to earn the respect and love of his father.
Massive groundquakes erupted across the planet and Krypton literally shook in its death-throes. With little time to spare, Jor-El and Lara placed baby Kal-El into his rocket ship and sent him off towards Earth. Krypton exploded and everyone on the planet, including Jor-El, were killed.
