Originally Posted by
PunishedFire
Clark Kent moves on from print journalism and starts his own internet independent news channel where he covers natural disasters and criminality with exposes. This gives him a great excuse to always be around trouble where-ever it may be as he streams. Because he's clever, it also lets him create alibis by Superman being nowhere near Clark (hooray for Superman-robots!)
Lex Luthor is an eccentric billionaire that maintains a death grip on Lexcorp despite barely seeming interested in it. He will invent something new or perform market-wizardry to keep it ahead of competition but otherwise lets CEO Mercy run things. Lex, meanwhile, is in the vein of Doc Strange. He is a man that explores the boundaries of the universe. An evil, unscrupulous Reed Richards minus the powers. His power suits are used in his exploration of space and other places. He re-discovers the Phantom Zone and, learning of the incredibly rigid and authoritarian nature of Kryptonian culture, vows that he will NEVER let someone like Superman woo the world with his super feats. If need be, he will destroy Superman. Lex is fiercely independent and abhors authority over him of ANY kind, stemming from his life beneath an abusive, controlling father. The very existent of Superman as a Kryptonian is too much of a threat for Lex to ever suffer to live. Lex's brilliance is really on display with this version of him. He can multi-task in obviously superhuman ways and is WITHOUT A DOUBT the smartest man in the entire world. Even Kryptonian technology becomes a plaything to him.
Brainiac is the AI that monitored and moderated Kryptonian life. He is built to organize. To bring order. He is Kryptonian culture's greatest failure. For centuries Brainiac pushed them further and further away from freedom and independence. He convinced them to isolate themselves on their planet. He convinced them to turn over increasing amounts of political power and decision making to him "for their own good". Brainiac LITERALLY decided who lived and who died, who bred and who served. When the anomaly Jor-El arose and discovered tectonic instabilities, Brainiac tried to get him to fall in line. Jor-El refused and, worst of all, proved Brainiac wrong. Brainiac double checked...and found that it was true. Jor-El was right. This drove Brainiac truly insane. Naturally, Brainiac hid this information and vilified Jor-El and denounced him. Realizing that there was no way to reveal this information to the Kryptonians without causing massive chaos AND a loss of trust in Brainiac, Brainiac instead worked to save himself. Brainiac used Phantom Zone technology to vanish along with the city of Argo. Later, Brainiac would emerge back into the universe proper now in the possession of "pocket Phantom Zone" technology. Brainiac uses this technology to steal examples of civilizations while wiping out the rest of the planet all in his study of order and chaos. Brainiacs goal is to accumulate examples of every civilization in the cosmos while wiping out all life there. With no remaining free will other than Brainiacs, the universe will finally be ordered...then Brainiac can turn his full attention to his captured civilizations to make them run even better than Krypton under his rule. They are equations to be solved...and when the universe is silent, he'll have all the time in existence to do it.
Superman would be extremely powerful. The pinnacle of Earth's heroes...but he would NOT be the strongest in the universe. On the contrary, Superman would regularly meet more powerful beings that he would have to defeat with wit, guile, innovation and heart. His adventures would have a lot of cosmic focus with exploration and assistance to others being a recurring theme. Superman would be able to use the Phantom Zone tech in his Fortress of Solitude to jump across space, allowing him distant adventures without crazy travel times.
Finally...
General Zod. Zod was the defender of Krypton. The only Kryptonian allowed to use solar-wavelength technology to bathe in yellow sunlight and gain powers that would allow him to protect the planet from natural disasters or invasion. It was his birthright. He did it with pride and unbelievable skill and efficiency. The Superman of Krypton. Amongst the candidates Brainiac had chosen was also Jor-El...Dru-Zod's friend. Jor-El had been disqualified for "moral reasons" according to Brainiac. Of course, this was because Jor-El was a compassionate man...and Zod had a viciously pragmatic streak to him. Jor-El would have reasoned with invading aliens. Zod wiped them out. Naturally, Brainiac preferred this. It was so much simpler. When confronted with the coming destruction of Krypton, Brainiac realized that Zod would be a threat to him. He would be difficult to kill. Perhaps impossible. So Brainiac lied to him. Brainiac told Zod of the instability and of the coming destruction. He told him Jor-El had hidden it from him. This was actually partially true. Jor-El had told no one but the science council and Brainiac. Brainiac explained he had hidden it from the council to spare the planet chaos...and because he had a plan. Zod was sent to the heart of the instability...a place from which strange radiation was rotting the planet. Jor-El learned of this and hurried to his friend, realizing what Brainiac was planning. When Jor-El found Zod, Zod was already retreating from the location...he had been poisoned by the radiation. The newly forming Kryptonite was unlike anything he had encountered before.
Jor-El tried to help Zod but Zod confronted him about the coming destruction of Krypton. Jor-El confirmed it and Zod became enraged that Jor would keep this information from him, his friend. Jor-El swore that he was trying to fix this...and that they could do it together but that he hadn't come to Zod for fear that he would act rashly. Brainiac interrupting the two, revealed to Zod that Jor-El was working on an escape craft...a craft destined for a planet with a yellow son...where Jor-El would be like Zod, indicating that Jor-El wanted all this to happen so that he could gain the powers Zod had that Jor-El was always jealous of. Though weakened, Zod was still fantastically powerful and attacked Jor-El in a rage, his mind poisoned by kryptonite poisoning. Eventually, the brilliant Jor-El is able to defend himself but does not want to kill his friend. Instead, knowing the transfer will purge the radiation from Zod's system, Jor-El jury rigs his vehicles Zone-drive...destroying it and pulling Zod into the Phantom Zone. Realizing what is happening, Zod is horrified at the thought of being placed in the purgatory where only criminals belong...but it's too late. Jor-El swears to free his friend as soon as he can get back to his lab.
Brainiac's task for Zod makes this impossible. Not only did Zod's action expose him to kryptonite, it accelerated the destructive chain-reaction. Jor-El realizes this too late and must enact his contingency plan, sending away his infant son.
Zod is trapped in the Phantom Zone for decades
When he's freed, Zod is a foe every bit as vicious as one would imagine. He has had THIRTY YEARS to turn his "betrayal" at the hands of Jor-El into an all-consuming lust for revenge. His hatred and rage would make the Red Lanterns blush. He is the same age (physically) as Superman when he is freed but has been training with his powers for nearly twice as long, having been prepared to be a superman by Brainiac since he was a youth. As such, his threat to Clark can't be underestimated. Zod also has a blinding hatred for Brainiac that, perhaps, eclipses even his hatred for Jor-El and Clark. He plans on claiming Earth for his own so he can be the "rightful" guardian of it, to instill Kryptonian law & order, destroy Brainiac and return Argo city to proper reality (preferably as the capital of New Krypton built on the foundations of Earth).
I have some other ideas but that's off the top of my head