Terence Stamp's Superman Legacy Is Way Deeper Than You Think
He was famous as Zod. But did you know he was also Jor-El?
The world has lost a legend. With the passing of Terence Stamp, an era has ended, one in which everything from a massive blockbuster to a small stage play could be made infinitely more interesting by the presence of Stamp’s smart, artistic approach to his craft. Yes, Queen Amidala placed a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum (played by Stamp in The Phantom Menace), but as countless directors, actors, and moviegoers can attest, Stamp was one of the all-time greats.
For science fiction and fantasy fans, he was the guy from Alien Nation, a strange time traveler in Hu-man, and, yes, the Kryptonian villain General Zod in Superman II. But, interestingly, Stamp’s passing comes at a time when both the light and dark aspects of Kryptonians are currently up for debate. The 2025 Superman film has made us think differently about Superman’s biological father, Jor-El, painting the character more like a General Zod-type, someone who assumes Kryptonians should rule over Earth. But, the funny thing is, not only did Stamp play Zod, he also — wait for it — played Jor-El, too.
Clark (Tom Welling) is burned by Jor-El in Smallville Season 2.
That’s right, the entire dichotomy of the planet Krypton existed within the late Terence Stamp because decades after his role as Zod, he played the voice of an AI version of Jor-El in the TV series Smallville. And as much as David Corenswet’s new Supe is inspired by the Christopher Reeve films, there’s also more than a little bit of Smallville in the ethos of the new movie, too.
In Smallville, the AI version of Jor-El was not the kindly Marlon Brando version. In fact, if fans remember that image of Clark (Tom Welling) with the “S” burned on his chest, that comes from Smallville Season 2, when the AI Jor-El burned the “Mark of El” onto Clark’s chest. Why did Jor-El do that? Well, in the Smallville version of the story, Jor-El wanted Clark to leave his adopted hometown very early and embrace his destiny as a Kryptonian much sooner. Basically, Stamp’s take on Jor-El had a touch of Zod; he wanted Clark to kneel before him, saying in the Season 2 episode, “Exodus,” that “you will obey me!”
Basically, over two decades before James Gunn gave us the douchey Bradley Cooper version of Jor-El, Stamp had basically already laid the groundwork for how to make that aspect of the character more pronounced. And, arguably, it wouldn’t have worked at all if Stamp hadn’t embodied General Zod first.
Terence Stamp in 1981, around the release of Superman II.
The ethical debates about what Kryptonians can and can’t do with their powers extend far beyond just Superman II, Smallville, and the most recent Superman movie. But it’s hard to find a better example of where all those debates exist within one person. If you find yourself thinking deeply about the power of folks from planet Krypton right now, certainly thanks are owed to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, as well as James Gunn and Robert Bernstein, the creator of General Zod.
But, there’s a good chance that without Stamp’s take on both Zod and Jor-El, we wouldn’t be thinking as deeply about these ideas today. It takes immense creativity to come up with these ideas in the first place, but it also requires a true artist like Stamp to bring all those competing complexities to life.
