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Superman ’78 artist Wilfredo Torres reveals the comic’s take on Brainiac was modeled after Yul Brynner, star of the original 1973 Westworld film.
Superman ’78 artist Wilfredo Torres says that when he was looking for inspiration for the comic’s take on the classic Superman villain Brainiac, he turned to an era-appropriate movie star: the late, great Yul Brynner.
Torres shared an image of some Superman ’78 design sketches featuring Brainiac in a post to Twitter. “Early on when I was still trying to figure out what a Superman ’78 Brainiac might look like I followed the straightest line in my head which lead directly to Yul Brynner,” the artist wrote.
Brynner starred as the Gunslinger in the original Westworld film, which released in theaters in 1973. He subsequently reprised the role for Westworld‘s sequel, Futureworld, which arrived three years later in 1976. The franchise continued in 1980 with the short-lived CBS television series Beyond Westworld before being revived on TV in 2016 via HBO’s Westworld, which is currently gearing up for its fourth season.
Similar in nature to Batman ’89 — which rejoins Michael Keaton’s version of the Dark Knight following the events of 1989’s Batman and 1992’s Batman Returns — Superman ’78 is a comic book series that follows the continued adventures of Christopher Reeve’s version of the Man of Steel from 1978’s Superman: The Movie.
Reeve, of course, subsequently reprised his role as Superman for 1980’s Superman II, 1983’s Superman III and 1987’s Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. That being said, the Superman ’78 comic will apparently serve as a direct follow-up to the original 1978 film. The comic will prominently feature the villain Brainiac, who was originally left out of the Superman film tetralogy.
Created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino, Brainiac first appeared in 1958’s Action Comics #242. The villain appeared in an early script for Superman III, though was ultimately cut from the final film. There was even a rumor that actor/comedian Richard Pryor — who played Gus Gorman in Superman III — was actually originally supposed to play Brainiac. That rumor is false, however, as the version of the script featuring Brainiac was thrown out long before Pryor joined the project. Despite never appearing in the Christopher Reeve films, Brainiac did eventually make his way to live-action, having been portrayed by James Marsters on Smallville and by Blake Ritson on Krypton.
Written by Robert Venditti and illustrated by Wilfredo Torres, Superman ’78 #1 goes on sale Aug. 24 from DC Comics.
Source: Twitter
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