Nam-Ek is a major antagonist in the 2013 film Man of Steel, the first installment of the DC Extended Universe. He's a Kryptonian War Criminal who participated in the Kryptonian Civil War. He's a former member of the Krpytonian Warrior Guild and is a member of the Sword of Rao and is a follower of General Zod.
Biography
Early life
Nam-Ek was born on Krypton where he was genetically engineered to be a soldier of the Kryptonian Warrior Guild. He eventually came across General Zod and joined the Sword of Rao, a group of radical revolutionary extremists.
Kryptonian Civil War
Nam-Ek had participated in the Kryptonian Civil War, a military coup instigated by General Zod, and first appeared where Zod and his forced broke into the council hall and had declared the council to be disbanded. Eventually however, the loyalists had won and Nam-Ek was imprisoned in the Phantom Zone along with the rest of the Sword of Rao forces.
Reawakening
Following the destruction of Krypton, Nam-Ek and the rest of the Sword of Rao were freed and left onboard the Black Zero starship orbiting the ruins of the former planet of Krypton. He eventually assisted Zod in re-activating the ship and began their search for the codex and Kal-El, now known as Superman.
Finding Kal-El
Eventually after some time, the codex was located on Earth along with Superman and so, General Zod orded the people of Earth to hand over Superman or suffer the consequences. Superman was handed over via turning himself in, but he eventually broke out of the ship which resulted in the Sword of Rao being deployed to Earth.
Battle of Smallville
Realizing what happened and growing impatient, General Zod had ordered the Sword of Rao to be deployed to Earth in an attempt to locate the codex. Nam-Ek accompanied Zod and this eventually lead to a fight in Smallville where he and Faora-Ul, his superior, engaged Superman in a fight and eventually fought against forces of the United States Air Force. Eventually however, Faora's visor was damaged and so Nam-Ek and the Sword of Rao had retreated back to the Black Zero.
Black Zero Event
Realizing that the codex could be extracted from Superman without needing him alive, Zod devised a plan to kill Superman and had also ordered the use of the World Engine where he and the Sword of Rao would terraform Earth and turn it into a new Krypton. Nam-Ek was present in Metropolis during the battle. However, the Black Zero was soon sucked back into the Phantom Zone and Nam-Ek went in along with the rest of the Sword of Rao.
Personality
Genetically engineered into the Kryptonian Warrior Guild as a warrior, Nam-Ek was a fierce combatant, but due to him being the product of mixing Kryptonian genes with those of a Rondor beast, Nam-Ek, while being inhumanly huge and muscular, had limited intelligence and was unable to speak, while also, according to Faora, was genetically incapable of feeling empathy towards his enemies.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Kryptonian Physiology: As a Kryptonian, Nam-Ek's bone structure is almost identical to that of a human. On a planet near a red class M main-sequence star (like Krypton with its sun Rao), Nam-Ek would have physical attributes nearly identical to those of humans, but if on a planet near a yellow G-type main-sequence star (like Earth), he has many new abilities and powers, all of them far beyond the capabilities of humans and even most metahumans, making him appear godlike. However, Nam-Ek notably never did manage to master the powers of heat vision, x-ray vision, and flight.
- Solar Battery: Nam-Ek's Kryptonian cells absorb only yellow solar energy and this in turn fuels all of his powers and abilities. His cells also store solar energy as well, allowing him to retain his powers under roofed structures or even at night, although he eventually needs a yellow sun to recharge his powers.
- Super Strength: As a Kryptonian, Nam-Ek has a tremendous level of superhuman strength, virtually incalculable. He can generate large shock-waves with his mighty punches, he can effortlessly hurl cars and trucks great distances, shatter concrete, break through thick metal walls and doors with ease, and fight evenly against fellow Kryptonian Superman. In fact, his blows were powerful enough to visibly hurt the latter, while Nak-Ek's larger hulking physique allowed him to initially dominate the younger Kryptonian. Together with Faora, he was also able to force Superman back down when the latter tried to fly up into the air. Nam-Ek was able to hurl a railroad car at Superman so hard, that the latter was briefly knocked unconscious.
- Super Leaps: Nam-Ek is able to use his incredible strength to perform super jumps, shown when he easily leaped onto a flying military jet, and when he quickly caught up to Superman, when the latter tried to fly up into the air.
- Super Stamina: Nam-Ek almost never grows tired if he is continuously powered by the yellow sun of Earth. He doesn't need to eat, sleep, or breathe. Hence, he ferociously battled with Superman and numerous human soldiers without ever needing to stop and catch his breath.
- Super Speed: Nam-Ek, in spite of his inhumanly huge physique, can run and react at incredible speeds, and was able to land several brutal blows on Superman in their fight. However, Nam-Ek is still noticeably slower and less nimble than less bulky fellow Kryptonians Superman, Faora, and General Zod, as well as the speedster Flash. As a result, the faster and more agile Superman was able to catch and dodge quite a few of Nam-Ek's blows as their fight progressed.
- Invulnerability: Nam-Ek's body is incredibly durable, virtually indestructible. Hence, he can withstand massive explosions, exposure to both temperature extremes, falls from great heights, high-caliber bullets, anti-tank depleted uranium rounds, Maverick missiles, plasma bolts from Kryptonian weaponry, Superman's heat vision attack (though it caused him burning pain) and even numerous mighty blows from fellow Kryptonian Superman, remaining unscathed, though Superman ultimately managed to knock him out with a tremendous punch. While Nam-Ek can be affected by the considerable force of powerful impacts, they only at most cause him to stumble and briefly knock him down, leaving him unscathed. The only things capable of breaking through Nam-Ek's invulnerability and actually harming him are Aquaman's Trident, Wonder Woman's Sword, and beings of comparable incalculable strength, as they are strong enough to physically break though his invulnerability without the need of Kryptonite.
- Healing Factor: Nam-Ek, in the rare instances when he is hurt, is capable of healing at superhuman speeds, especially in direct sunlight. However, if the injuries are serious enough to instantly kill him, his healing factor will not be able to save him.
- Longevity: Nam-Ek, as a Kryptonian under a yellow sun, has a lifespan far greater than that of a human. As such, he doesn't show signs of age as long as the yellow sun is there to empower him. Nam-Ek is unaffected by earthly diseases and draws energy from the sun to live, meaning that had Nam-Ek stayed on Earth, he would have effectively been an ageless immortal.
- Super Strength: As a Kryptonian, Nam-Ek has a tremendous level of superhuman strength, virtually incalculable. He can generate large shock-waves with his mighty punches, he can effortlessly hurl cars and trucks great distances, shatter concrete, break through thick metal walls and doors with ease, and fight evenly against fellow Kryptonian Superman. In fact, his blows were powerful enough to visibly hurt the latter, while Nak-Ek's larger hulking physique allowed him to initially dominate the younger Kryptonian. Together with Faora, he was also able to force Superman back down when the latter tried to fly up into the air. Nam-Ek was able to hurl a railroad car at Superman so hard, that the latter was briefly knocked unconscious.
- Solar Battery: Nam-Ek's Kryptonian cells absorb only yellow solar energy and this in turn fuels all of his powers and abilities. His cells also store solar energy as well, allowing him to retain his powers under roofed structures or even at night, although he eventually needs a yellow sun to recharge his powers.
Abilities
- Expert Combatant: Nam-Ek, as a member of the Kryptonian Warrior Guild, is a fierce and ruthless combatant, though his fighting style, unlike the more sophisticated ones of General Zod and Sub-Commander Faora, is one based more on brute force and his huge hulking physique rather than martial arts, though it is just as effective. However, while Nam-Ek was able to use this to initially dominate Superman in their fight, the latter utilized his superior agility and speed, managing to gain the upper hand against Nam-Ek relatively quickly.
Weaknesses
- Kryptonite: Nam-Ek's greatest weakness is this radioactive green xenomineral from Krypton, as it is extremely deadly to him. Kryptonite exposure makes Nam-Ek instantly lose his powers and invulnerability, and induces sickness symptoms in him, which collectively weakens Nam-Ek to almost human levels, to the point that he can be relatively quickly incapacitated, defeated, and even killed by an opponent as strong as the heavily armored Batman, if the latter is wielding a Kryptonite weapon. In addition, wounds inflicted by Kryptonite will not vanish after the mineral is removed from proximity to him (making Nam-Ek unable to regain full power even after his superpowers subsequently return), and they will only heal upon Nam-Ek being directly exposed to yellow solar radiation.
- Red Sun Radiation: Nam-Ek is robbed of the powers that he gains under a yellow G-type main-sequence star when exposed to the radiation of a red class M main-sequence star. Because of this, any environment filled with red sun radiation (such as Krypton with its sun Rao) will render him to human levels.
- Kryptonian Atmospherics: Nam-Ek, when breathing in an atmosphere, the composition of which is identical to that which was once on Krypton, and remaining in an environment shielded from any solar radiation (such as the interior of his Black Zero), is induced to lose access to his stores of solar energy, which, in turn, renders Nam-Ek to human levels. Kryptonian air will not, however, have such an effect on Nam-Ek when he is in an environment full of yellow solar radiation, as he still had access to his powers on Earth, while wearing a breather with Kryptonian air.
- Sensory Overload: As Nam-Ek has superhuman senses, his brain can be overwhelmed by the information it takes in. Though he can gradually learn to hone his senses in time, an attack on his sight and/or hearing can briefly stun and greatly weaken Nam-Ek. Hence, he was forced to compensate for this by wearing a Kryptonian breather while on Earth.
- Beings of Equal Power: Nam-Ek, when fighting beings of comparable incalculable might, such as other Kryptonians and the monster Doomsday, is more vulnerable, as they can generate enough force to knock out, injure and even kill Nam-Ek, breaking through his invulnerability without the need of Kryptonite, much like how Superman was able to temporarily knock Nam-Ek him out with a tremendously mighty punch during their battle. It did, however, still take quite a bit of effort on Superman's part to do this though, as Nam-Ek was able to withstand numerous blows from him, which, while visibly very painful to Nam-Ek, left him almost unscathed afterwards.
Equipment
- Battle Armor: Nam-Ek, as a Warrior Guild member, was hardly ever seen not wearing a suit of extremely durable and fiercely intimidating Kryptonian battle armor, equipped with a breather.
- Kryptonian Rifle: Nam-Ek wielded a Kryptonian plasma rifle while helping General Zod overthrow the Kryptonian Law Council, though it was ultimately confiscated by the Sapphire Guards.
Relationships
Allies
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Enemies
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Gallery
