Even as a lifelong Superman fan, I must admit that I’m approaching Krypton with some hesitation. After all, not only is the ten-year journey to becoming the Man of Steel that was Smallville still fresh in my memory, but we also have the Metropolis series on the way. I mean, how much can you exploit the character’s mythology before it’s spread too thinly across television?
Thankfully, that’s not my problem to deal with, but I confess that with the more I hear about Krypton, the more I’m digging it. And if I ever needed a clincher, it most certainly arrived today.
In case you were wondering what’s captured my interest so much, it’s that we’re finally getting a comic book accurate version of Brainiac in live action. Sure, James Marsters gave some great nuanced performances over on Smallville, but that show was unfortunately restricted by its budget, thus giving him a human-like appearance. And while it remains a crime that the twelfth-level intellect has yet to appear in a movie, I’m more than happy to see that the look adopted by actor Blake Ritson takes much inspiration from artist Gary Frank’s rendition, which is easily my favorite look.
While discussing his new gig with USA Today, it quickly became apparent Ritson’s Brainiac has much more in common with his comic book counterpart than just the appearance:
“Yes, he traverses the universe in a gigantic skull ship, ripping cities out of planets, miniaturizing them and placing them on board. But he does so in the spirit of conservation. In his mind, he’s committed to the ultimate philanthropic act: saving all of creation. In many ways it’s analogous to Noah plucking out two of every animal to ensure their survival, even while knowing that others must perish.”
While it’s been said that the “Collector of Worlds” is season 1’s big bad, it’s not made clear if he’s the one who has gone back in time to exterminate Superman’s bloodline. To be honest, he probably is, but we’ll just have to tune in to find out.
Krypton premieres on Wednesday, March 21 on Syfy.