Source: facomics.com

7. General Zod

Ah, yes, General Zod. The only Superman villain other than Lex Luthor who DC Comics allows to show up in movies.

There are too many General Zods. For a while, DC kept introducing Zods. Which is why we have a Zod who's actually the son of two Cosmonauts, and a Zod who's only an Admiral and not a General, and one from a pocket universe and one from Earth-1…and it's all a bit of a nightmare. But okay, fine, I know which one you're interested in.

Dru-Zod was a Kryptonian general, and a member of the Science Council. Zod and his two minions, Non and Ursa, tried to mutiny and kill off the rest of the council. They failed, and Jor-El convinced the remaining council members not to kill the three, but to exile them to the Phantom Zone instead. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as being in the Phantom Zone meant that the trio survived the destruction of Krypton. When they escaped, they went after Superman, who was the son of Zod's mortal enemy.

Zod usually winds up losing his fights against Superman and getting booted back to the Phantom Zone after each battle.