Actor Colin Salmon is very familiar to fans of genre fare — but who is he playing on SYFY’s Krypton?
You wouldn’t think it would be a question, since the show has been pretty up front about everything else, from arch-villain Brainiac to time-traveling Adam Strange. But ever since Colin Salmon’s character was introduced in “The Word of Rao,” they’ve been weirdly non-specific about his allegiances.
We discussed this a bit on the last episode of our Krypton podcast, but at first it seemed like he was a Black Zero operative, one of the revolutionaries trying to break down the caste structure in Kandorian society. Then it seemed like maybe he was the Black Zero, a name that’s been used by a few Superman villains throughout the history of the comics. And then Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe) figured out that he was more likely a Sagitari, based on his military armor.
All we know for sure is that he knows Brainiac is going to attack Krypton, and desperately wants to stop the Collector of Worlds from destroying his home. He also has some sort of relationship with the House of El; but then, who doesn’t, ya know what I’m sayin’?
Black Zero Operative? More Like Zero Info Operative
Complicating matters, if you check out the Krypton IMDB page, his character name is blank. The omission is particularly weird since he’s been called “Black Zero operative” in press materials. So is he not “Black Zero operative” at all?
By the way, if you’ve been wondering how you know Colin Salmon, it’s most likely from his DC appearance as Walter Steele, Moira Queen’s ex-husband on Arrow. You might also recognize him as General Coburn on 24: Live Another Day, or as Charles Robinson from the Pierce Brosnan Bond movies. He’s also been in dozens of other movies and TV shows, so basically you’ve seen him around a bunch.
Getting back to… Whoever he’s playing… He’ll be appearing on the next episode “House of Zod,” tracking Seg-El through the snowy wasteland outside Kandor. And based on images from the episode, possibly manages to capture Seg again. Whatever is going on with ColinSalmon (oh, maybe he’s Aquaman because of the fish name???) we should know more when the next episode rolls around.
Here’s the official description of the series from SYFY:
Set two generations before the destruction of the legendary Man of Steel’s home planet, Krypton follows Superman’s grandfather (Cameron Cuffe, The Halcyon) — whose House of El was ostracized and shamed — as he fights to redeem his family’s honor and save his beloved world from chaos. Based on DC characters, Krypton is executive produced by David S. Goyer (Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Dark Knight trilogy). Cameron Welsh (Ash vs Evil Dead) will serve as executive producer and showrunner.
And be sure to subscribe to our Krypton podcast for recaps as soon each episode is done airing!
An unofficial after-show for SyFy's Krypton, hosted by Comic Book Club!
Wild theory…but could he be Lex Luthor from the future? Traveled back in time to save Krypton so Kal-El is never sent to Earth as an infant…? Therefore, Superman doesn’t exist to stand in his way.
Oh, I like that theory a lot! Might explain the bald head, too. And maybe the armor?
That said, Krypton is probably going to explode regardless of what happens with Brainiac… So then again, maybe not?