Which villain made more sense, Thanos or General Zod? General Zod makes more sense.

On a surface level, you might think Zod versus Thanos amounts to “I want my planet to survive!” versus “I want the universe to survive!” but that’s not true.

Zod is a genetically engineered warrior. He comes from a generation of Kryptonians who were bred for specific roles on the planet and lacked the freedom to choose their paths. His role was to protect Krypton at all costs. His motivation boils down to that simple purpose, and every decision he makes in Man of Steel builds towards that goal.

Now, where Zod and Thanos resemble each other is their origin story. Both of them came before their world leaders and pitched a simple plan.

Zod wanted to save Krypton by seizing power and ending all degenerative bloodlines. He believed that he could stop the planet’s destruction and strengthen their race as a whole.

Thanos wanted to end his people’s starvation by randomly killing half of Titan’s population. He believed that those who lived would understand and thrive with the additional resources.

Already, Zod’s plan makes more sense. Sure, it’s unethical and dangerous, but it might work. The Kryptonian Council refused to acknowledge the threat to the planet. Zod had legitimate plans for reversing that and saving his race—even if it meant giving himself too much power and unjustly killing off families.

Meanwhile, Thanos’ plan was unsustainable. The population would inevitably grow back, the resources would still dwindle, and they’d have to keep killing the population. Plus, the survivors would be demoralized.

The disparity gets worse throughout their movies.

The Council banishes Zod to the Phantom Zone for his crimes. Once he escapes, he discovers that Krypton is gone. Zod faces a problem: how can he fulfill his genetic programming, which drives his purpose, now that Krypton no longer exists as he knew it? Simple: rebuild Krypton and protect the new Krypton. For Zod, it’s a perfectly reasonable solution. Knowing that one Kryptonian survived, he sits out and looks for Kal-El to take advantage of the additional genetic material. Again, knowing this is the right decision in his position.

Of course, Kal-El refuses to help, so Zod uses Earth as the birthplace of the new Krypton. It is vengeful, but the only hope of converting Kal-El is destroying the planet so that only his Kryptonian heritage remains.

When that fails, Zod forces Kal-El to kill him in combat so that—as a warrior—he can die in battle, exactly what you’d expect from a man genetically bred to fight.

Meanwhile, Thanos’ plan develops into using an infinitely powerful weapon to halve the population. If you gave Zod such a Gauntlet, he’d use it to fashion a new Krypton from scratch and ensure their genetics were perfect. Refrain from amending his plan in the slightest.

Thanos was so wrapped up in his narcissism that he would NOT admit that there were better ways to accomplish the goal of saving the universe—such as doubling resources or compelling every mind to care more about conservation. You know, one of many things you can do with a freaking Infinity Gauntlet. Sure, Thanos didn’t lack will, but he lacked imagination.

And when Thanos did get to see the failure of his plan, he decided that he’d best rip the universe apart as punishment for its inability to thank him and build a new one. It’s better to kill everybody than admit he’s wrong.

So Zod made more sense. He was a warrior tasked with protecting Krypton and did everything he could to accomplish that. Thanos was just a grumpy survivor unwilling to see his plan’s flaws.