Superman's got one heck of a rogue's gallery featuring some of the best/worst supervillains, including Lex Luthor, Doomsday, and Brainiac. But, his most personal villain is General Zod. The fellow Kryptonian has been a menacing thorn in Kal-El's life for a long time. However, his own brand of justice has been thwarted his way, as Ra's Al Ghul used his own catchphrase against him.
In Batman/Superman #8 by Joshua Williamson, Nick Derington, and Dave McCaig, General Zod helps bring the bottled city of Kandor is back to life via resurrection from the Lazarus Pit. Zod learned of the pits during his time with the Suicide Squad. Like other beings who have been revived via the pit, like Jason Todd, the resurrection has severe consequences for the inhabitants as they go mad - in this case, the entire miniaturized population attacks at Superman, Batman, Ra's and even Zod.
After the city of Kandor is rebottled, General Zod and Superman have a heated discussion where Kal-El calls out Zod for being selfish and arrogant. Zod offers a fair rebuttal: Batman has used the Lazarus Pit to have lost allies brought back to life, why should he not be able to as well? Before Batman can offer a response, Ra's slices the side of the bottled city with his sword. Superman quickly hurries to the Fortress of Solitude to get the Kandorian's into stasis while Ra's and Zod duke it out. Ra's uses Kryptonite to slash Zod across the chest and offers the words "kneel before Ra's Al Ghul," as he lunges his sword down.
The phrase "kneel before Zod!" has become a popular part of the character's mythos since it was first said by Terrence Stamp as General Zod in Superman II. Since then, variations of the line have been used in countless Superman-related stories, including the television shows Smallville and Krypton, in multiple comics, and other related media. In this case, Ra's uses the line against Zod. It's a great callback to Superman II.
Unfortunately for Ra's, the line doesn't earn him the victory. Zod grabs his throat and is about to kill the villain before he's talked out of it by Batman. The infamous line almost backfired big-time for Ra's as his own arrogance made him forget just how powerful his enemy was. In the end, it doesn't cost him his life - but he'll need to think twice before he decides to burst out a fellow villain's line again - especially when it comes to the powerful Superman foe.
Source: CBR