Major Zod is a younger clone of General Zod made twenty years before Krypton's destruction. During Zod's youth, blood samples were taken from him and his soldiers as part of an experiment to preserve the Kryptonian race in the event of Krypton's destruction. The blood samples were stored in the Orb; in 2009, Tess Mercer opened the Orb, which created the clones of Zod and his soldiers on Earth.