BRAINIAC Was Almost In SUPERMAN RETURNS

Brainiac, that dastardly villain of Kryptonian origins, was “this close” to silver screen. Bryan Singer meant to include the green baddie in an after credit teaser in his 2005 Superman Returns, and the character would’ve been the main villain in his cancelled sequel Man of Steel (a title which Zack Snyder reused for his 2013 reboot). We’ve tracked down some newly discovered concept art of the baldie. Equal parts baby puke and discounted Darth Vader costume, Singer’s Brainiac would’ve been a weird sight to see. If Robotic Space Zombies were ever a thing, this version of Brainiac would definitely be their brand ambassador.

Take a look.

Brainiac has a pretty messed up backstory (about a dozen or so exist at the moment), but the Superman Animated Series best adapted the character as a sorta interstellar collector, fueled by a cruel streak and a sense of Kryptonian superiority. Bryan Singer would’ve certainly utilized that iteration, which is less dependent on the “so, this dude travel’s through space and time, melds with some other dudes and he’s kind of a robot”. Seriously, that’s a majority of Brainiac’s origins.

SOURCE: CBM