‘Superman: Man of Steel’ Casts Antje Traue as Villainess Faora

About a month ago, we brought you news that Zack Snyder’s Superman: Man Of Steel had finally cast its main villain, General Zod, to be played by Boardwalk Empire star Michael Shannon. It seems now Zod has a sidekick, as German actress Antje Traue has been cast as Zod’s right hand woman Faora.

Comic fans may know the name, but for those who aren’t inundated in DC’s lore as much, Faora was the main inspiration behind the character Ursa from Richard Donner’s Superman and Superman 2. Variety breaks down the origins of the character.

There are multiple Faoras in the Superman universe, so it remains unclear which one Traue has been tapped to play. The first Faora, Faora Hu-Ul, was introduced in Action Comics #471 as a beautiful Kryptonian woman with an intense unexplained hatred for all men.

She was an expert at the Kryptonian martial art of Horo-Kanu, which utilizes pressure points on the Kryptonian body and made her a dangerous foe for Superman to fight in hand-to-hand combat. In fact, he was forced to flee from their first encounter.

That said, it’s more likely that Traue will be playing the version of Faora that debuted in Action Comics #779 as a Pokolistanian aide of General Zod. That character was an orphan metahuman with the ability to disrupt molecular bonds, which allowed her to create a mutagenic virus that served as the linchpin of Zod’s plan.

So with that news, it looks like we’ve got a solid storyline and main antagonists in place. Traue will be joining a full cast of characters already in place such as Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, and Henry Cavill playing the Man of Steel himself.

Hopefully, we’ll be filling out the rest of the cast soon enough, with some more fan favorite characters like Perry White and Jimmy Olsen getting their movie-life counterparts.