Which Zod is better? Michael Shannon or Terence Stamp?

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Kotor3
I do not know if this has already been done but which Zod do you think is more memorable?

Zack Fair
Shannon.

Stamp's Zod was a bit too 1 dimensional for my tastes, but that has more to do with the script than the actor.

Who will ultimately be remembered? Stamps. The "kneel before Zod" is just too much.

Mindship
Stamp's Zod had more of a comic-book (precrisis, yet) sensibility, and you get the impression he had fun with the role, especially delivering his memorable lines.

Shannon was deadly serious, more realistic. I'm not sure how fair it is to even compare the two, but yeah, I think Stamp takes this as far as memorable goes.

Kotor3

Mindship
"Realistic" as far as this subject matter could be taken (perhaps "less comic-booky" would be better?). It's sort of like comparing Caesar Romero's Joker with Heath Ledger's. One is played a bit campy / tongue-in-cheek; the other has a very serious tone.

BruceSkywalker
Shannon..

Stamp was good but was too comic booky which was good for its time

Kotor3
Originally posted by Mindship
"Realistic" as far as this subject matter could be taken (perhaps "less comic-booky" would be better?). It's sort of like comparing Caesar Romero's Joker with Heath Ledger's. One is played a bit campy / tongue-in-cheek; the other has a very serious tone.

Understood.

If it is one issue that I have with Nolan's portrayal of comic book characters (not excluding how he totally destroyed Batman's character for me in TDK) on screen, is that I feel he tries to mix in to much reality instead of leaving some of the comic book feeling in it.

COG Veteran
Shannon had a terrifying presence as Zod. Guess because of the more serious tone. Plus he was being genocidal, as compared to Stamp's version who just wanted to rule the planet if I remember correctly.

super pr*xy
they both served their purposes.. as far as who is better, well that's up to personal opinions.. shannon zod was definitely more menacing and calculating.. i liked shannon zod, personally speaking of course.. not to say that stamp didn't do his job well as zod..

Filmigos
Shannon's Zod is THE Zod. Son of Terrance Stamp, kneel before Zod!

-Pr-
Shannon's was a more rounded performance, but Stamp's was more memorable imo.

zeel
stamp. Shannon was a more new age persona and that's what the kids like. As has been mentioned before in theses MOS threads this new movie is less comic bookish then the past( I personally like the comicbookish style hehhe) But Shannon was still good. as far as who was more menacing, I think shannons Zod had a sense of honor and phucked up integrity in him. He did what he thought was right. I think people forget about how stamps zod took a undefencless astronaut in supermanII through him in the air and jerked out his air line. Remember the look on stamps face? He looked proud of what he did. Almost a sense of passion for suffocating this poor astronaut. Remember where stamp lifted that poor farmer in the air with his hand beam the farmmers 12 year old son bagged him to let him down, and Zod only let him down after the kid showed respect called him general and then dropped the poor farmer 50 feet. Stamps zod was cruel and hateful. Not as dark as shannons but he just was plain evil shannons had as sense of honor in him even if it was misplaced.



I liked both.

steverules_2
Kneel before Zod...it is implied!

Lord Lucien
Stamp's is far more memorable and entertaining.

WhiteWitchKing
Shannon was overacting the whole time; maybe he got confused, thinking he was playing Leonidas? Stamp was the better. S2 was my favorite b/c of the PC Kryptonian, especially Stamp's portrayal.

Jim Colyer
Michael Shannon

Tzeentch._
Shannon was the better actor, but his Zod was a shitty villain. There was nothing about his Zod that was memorable in a positive way, there was nothing "zod'ish" about his persona. Nothing. Add onto that that he was extremely incompetent and lost, literally, every fight he or his people were involved in, and you find yourself disappointed.

focus4chumps
i love michael shannon. he's among my favorite actors. however man of steel sucked. MoS zod was crappy just as he was poorly written to be.

so: kneel before stamp

Mindset
Stamp.

Esau Cairn
Shannon played a great villain but he didn't have to be a revamp of Zod.

If you were old enough to watch Superman 2 on the big screen then Terrance Stamp will always be Zod.

focus4chumps
Originally posted by Esau Cairn

If you were old enough to watch Superman 2 on the big screen then Terrance Stamp will always be Zod.

its not nostalgic bias, i swear.

in superman2 the evil kryptonians did things that defined their character as opposed to being in a fullon rage like MoS. we got to see things like:


-evil kryptonians socializing with eachother. really they never speak unless its about their mission. in SM2 we got to see them explore and mock our planet and **** with people.

-superman caring about collateral damage. part of the fun of SM2 were the scenes of zod putting people in peril to troll superman, mocking his caring for them.

-no evil kryptonian spam. didnt have to be 3. even if it was just zod and ursa that would have seemed less blandly saturated and more compelling and defined.

-no generic metallic glowing apocalypse machine as bare-naked plot device.


i was hoping for a modern and not-silly version of SM1+2. instead we got MoS.

jinXed by JaNx
Both hold a demanding screen presence but I prefer the more current adaptation of Zod. Stamps performance had a much broader range and whether or not he was being diplomatic or chaotic his emotions and actions always felt genuine and justified. I don't mean to insinuate that, Shannon is incapable of giving a similar performance and even though he did a very fine job at portraying a cold demeanor he never felt as threatening as Stamps performance. Although, this just may be the way his character was written and directed.

Esau Cairn
Originally posted by focus4chumps


in superman2 the evil kryptonians did things that defined their character as opposed to being in a fullon rage like MoS. we got to see things like:


in SM2 we got to see them explore and mock our planet and **** with people.

-superman caring about collateral damage. part of the fun of SM2 were the scenes of zod putting people in peril to troll superman, mocking his caring for them.


i was hoping for a modern and not-silly version of SM1+2. instead we got MoS.

I guess because Clark was still lost & trying to "define" himself, Kryptonians openly mocking earthlings wouldn't have had much impact on him. Whereas in S2, Clark/Reeves had already embraced humanity...thus Zod & co took advantage of that.

If Zod featured in MOS2 then we'd probably see Zod messing more with the humans to get under Supes' skin.

DARTH POWER
Originally posted by Esau Cairn


If you were old enough to watch Superman 2 on the big screen then Terrance Stamp will always be Zod.


thumb up

Or if you grew up watching it on the small screen year after year.

carriewhity22
.

steverules_2
Originally posted by Esau Cairn
If Zod featured in MOS2 then we'd probably see Zod messing more with the humans to get under Supes' skin.

He did do that in MOS though, why do you think Zod started using his heat vision on that family when Supes had a hold of him? Plus Supes went as far as killing Zod to actually protect them

erik.dansereau
Stamp Hands down.
Shannon had a better performance and script to work with but stamp will always be zod to me. However 20-30 years down the road the younger generation may feel that way about shannon

-Pr-
I think Shannon's was a deeper, more layered performance.

That said, Stamp's will always be more iconic.

Supra
Originally posted by Zack Fair
Shannon.

Stamp's Zod was a bit too 1 dimensional for my tastes, but that has more to do with the script than the actor.

Who will ultimately be remembered? Stamps. The "kneel before Zod" is just too much.

Word Shannon almost stole the show

Tzeentch._
Yeah he did. Mostly with his over-acting.

Ls7r5JJSEzw

haermm

Mindset
Haha, that's terrible.

I liked him as Zod though.

Firefly218
Although Man of Steel sucked major ballls, I thought Michael Shannon was an amazing villain. Nostalgia gives Terrance Stamp the edge, but Michael Shannon was the bright spot of the movie.

Allankles
He was about to be reconditioned into a stool pigeon of his former self, maybe the emotion wasn't out of place?

I thought Shannon was a better Zod. Stamp was 70's campy - fun but, really actually silly.

Dr Will Hatch
Both Zod's were campy. It just comes with the territory, but I prefer Stamp's interpretation by far.

siriuswriter
Originally posted by DARTH POWER
thumb up

Or if you grew up watching it on the small screen year after year.

thumb up

quanchi112
Stamp hands down. Shannon's performance was terrible.

mrserjod
Agree with quanchi112, Shannon's performance wasn't that good, hoped it to be better.

FistOfThe North
Nah, Terrance Stamp all day.

I just cannot shake that redneck Michael Shannon vibe I always get from seeing him. Then trying to associate that with Zod.

Stamp had that stately, articulate, regal, pompous, nonchalant 'tude about him that perfectly matched an egotistical general that could embarrass any earthly leader not only physically but more importantly, mentally. Michael Shannon had that nationalist, militant, temperamental, mentality that comes with the typical extremist, aggressive, redneck attitude that didn't match a typical effective leader but Terrance had a confident, leader like, look down on you, hands behind his back, authoritive, chin up, better than you, maniacal demeanor ..

It's subjective really, but I like Stamp's Zod way better

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