Nothing left to lose

"(...)I exist only to protect Krypton. That is the sole purpose for which I was born. And every action I take, no matter how violent or how cruel, is for the greater good of my people. And now, I have no people. My soul, that is what you have taken from me!"

General Zod, Man of Steel.

Yes, I know. Another fan art from 'Man of Steel'. But, why not? I loved the film! I'll probably do even more artwork related to it, if I have time...

This illustration is actually a bit of an excersise like my warm-ups. It took me slightly more than the usual forty rigurous minutes I give myself to do anything before diving into proper work, but I think it was worth it, because I tried a couple of techniques I reflected upon pages later.
General Zod is, for me, one of the highlights of this movie. They always say that a hero is as good as its villain and in this case, it's entirely true. The strength of purpose and determination with which Zod threatens the very existence of the human race is so overwhelming that you can't help but feel that you'll have to do nothing short of impossible to stop him. Which Kal-El ultimately does. But, at the same time, there's a richness to his character that isn't just concerned with ruling and world domination; he's a protector, a guardian, a vicious soldier, born to be the last defense of a dying world and though as he says, his means are cruel and violent, they're justified in trying to fulfill his most precious possession: Krypton.
Having been betrayed (in his eyes) by the very people he sought to protect and then witnessing the destruction of his world must've been an unbearable loss for him, thus prompting even further his genocidal plans to revide his planet atop the bones of Earth.

I hope you enjoy this one; for some reason, the B&W seemed fitting of this scene and I can never say no to this medium

See you all soon!

Nic.-