Diseased Maniacs: The Villains Thread with POLL

[TheScarecrow]

DanielRPK has said that Braniac isn't the villain of the film.

I'm still pulling for this...

 

[Silvermoth]

Has he ever been right? I don’t think he has any insider knowledge at all

 

[Venom 1988]

Has he ever been right? I don’t think he has any insider knowledge at all

He's somewhat reliable. He usually is pretty reliable for marketing stuff, like when a movie or a trailer is going to release. As far as story or casting related stuff he's more hit or miss. I would say he does have legitimate sources, just that they are probably on the outskirts of projects.

 

[Chris B]

He's somewhat reliable. He usually is pretty reliable for marketing stuff, like when a movie or a trailer is going to release. As far as story or casting related stuff he's more hit or miss. I would say he does have legitimate sources, just that they are probably on the outskirts of projects.

FWIW, he claimed just a few months ago that Brainiac was going to make an appearance before now saying otherwise.

 

[WatchProtect]

I'll tell ya Brainiac is cool and all for sure.

But this being a James Gunn film as well as a Superman film, there's like two of three other characters I'd like to see him tackle before Brainiac.

Mxy, Ultra-Humanite, Parasite, even Livewire, just to see these villains be adapted in thoughtful and modern ways.

 

[GreenKToo]

I definitely want Brainiac set up for a future film.

So about Lex.
For me, Lex should have a presence in all the films.
If he is one of the wealthiest ( if not the wealthiest ) and most powerful men on the planet, his presence would almost certainly be felt in the DCU world.
He should have a hand in everything, ie, energy, commerce, transportation, technology, selling weapons to world govts, etc etc.

 

[BobJM]

Metallo, Parasite, Brainiac, The Elite.

And, of course, Lex Luthor.

These are the main villains I want to see in a Superman franchise. Seems like the Elite may be replaced by/amalgamated with The Authority—at least to some degree.

I get that Ultra-Humanite and Mxy are zany & out-of-the-box but let’s get a solid Superman villain with an A-list villain before we start picking lesser-known villains. In my opinion, of course.

 

[Superchan]

Metallo, Parasite, Brainiac, The Elite.

And, of course, Lex Luthor.

These are the main villains I want to see in a Superman franchise. Seems like the Elite may be replaced by/amalgamated with The Authority—at least to some degree.

I get that Ultra-Humanite and Mxy are zany & out-of-the-box but let’s get a solid Superman villain with an A-list villain before we start picking lesser-known villains. In my opinion, of course.

All of these are very doable. Heck you can have Metallo and Parasite as members of the Elite/Authority hybrid. The Authority had a member called the "Engineer" who was a cybernetic/techno expert. That character can be replaced by Metallo. Infact making Corben a cybernetics entity / expert of the team might add dimension to his otherwise "henchman" status.

Parasite my be introduced as the "information gatherer" of the team, where -in his human form- obtains all the necessary info by simply being in physical contact with his target (kinda like Rogue was in Mark Millar's Ultimate x-men run). Imagine if he touches Clark and learns everything about him giving the Elite/Authority a huge advantage to take down Superman.

As for Mxy, well the Authority had another member called "the doctor" who was a magical/shaman type, you could sub him for Mxy.

Lastly the Utra-Humanite, the character is very flexible because he wasn't always an albino gorilla, he started out as a Luthor type villain (before there was even a Luthor!) then he was Dolores Winters and over the years he has taken multiple shapes and forms, so in the hands of a James Gunn the sky's the limit for the Humanite.

 

[Silvermoth]

I think the time is right for brainiac. Zod and Luthor are kind of used up and Brainiac if a great way to build hype.

Adrian Lester would be an amazing Brainiac

Might be time to bump this since Brainiac seems nearly confirmed. Still hoping for Adrian Lester!

 

[AndrewGilkison]

If you are going to reboot Superman cinematically in 2024/25, Brainiac just makes the most sense. Especially with how A.I. and computer automation is relevant more than ever these days. Why would you use anyone else?

 

[Captain Tired]

Metallo, Parasite, Brainiac, The Elite.

And, of course, Lex Luthor.

These are the main villains I want to see in a Superman franchise. Seems like the Elite may be replaced by/amalgamated with The Authority—at least to some degree.

I get that Ultra-Humanite and Mxy are zany & out-of-the-box but let’s get a solid Superman villain with an A-list villain before we start picking lesser-known villains. In my opinion, of course.

Are we calling the Elite A-list in comparison with Mxy? Even Parasite I would argue is not quite A-list. I'd put him and Mxy on a par with Metallo as far as their level of relative notoriety among general audiences.

 

[BobJM]

Are we calling the Elite A-list in comparison with Mxy? Even Parasite I would argue is not quite A-list. I'd put him and Mxy on a par with Metallo as far as their level of relative notoriety among general audiences.

Subjective, of course. But, yes, I am calling Parasite and The Elite more A-list than Mxy.

And I’m not really talking general audiences here. Unfortunately, I don’t think the GA has any awareness of Superman villains outside of Luthor. And maybe Doomsday.

 

[Superchan]

Subjective, of course. But, yes, I am calling Parasite and The Elite more A-list than Mxy.

And I’m not really talking general audiences here. Unfortunately, I don’t think the GA has any awareness of Superman villains outside of Luthor. And maybe Doomsday.

Oh I wouldn't say that at all, Zod and his "keel...." line are well recognized; Brainiac and Bizarro are both in the public lexicon with the former's name often used to describe a smart person and the latter thanks to Seinfield. I remember Steven King on Colbert describing Trump as the Bizarro version of George Washington in the sense that Trump "can ONLY tell a lie".
Doomy, Cyborg Superman and Darkseid are well recognized amongst the pop culture crowd (if not the general public) thanks to Death of Superman for the former 2 and JL animated for the latter.
At the end of the day though all of Superman's rogues pale in recognition when compared to the big guy with the red cape himself and there is no shame in that.

 

[Silvermoth]

I feel like Brainiac is just such a great way to set up a franchise too. Like at the end of legacy he decides to fly off to return the captured worlds brainiac took. In the sequel, he gets captured and sent to War World.

 

[bcap52]

Brainiac would clearly be the bigger more explosive choice as compared to lobo. Lobo on the other hand is an interesting character but the general audience doesn't rly know **** about him so yea its a pretty tough one

 

[Captain Tired]

Not tough at all

Brainiac

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

As a DC fan who isn't a Supes fan I'd vote Lobo.

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

I want a Lobo solo movie but introducing him as a minor villain here would be cool

 

[Iceman]

Got to be Brainiac. Sooo overdue that character.

I don't mind Lobo cameoing to satisfy Gunn's need for weirdness lol, but I don't want him as the main Superman villain.

 

[BobJM]

Between the two, Brainiac. I don’t really need to see Lobo at all in the DCU.

I think Brainiac, the Skull Ship, shrunken cities, etc.—it’s all cool Superman iconography that Gunn can have fun with.

You could throw the Justice League International (Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, Mr. Terrific, Metamorpho, and Gunn announces anyone else) at an invasion of Brainiac drones too while Superman takes on the main threat.

Then DCU can somewhat adapt Morrison’s take on the the JLA, with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc. forming a new team to replace the current “nobodys.”

 

[AndrewGilkison]

I think it makes way more sense to have Lobo working for/hired by Brainiac to take down Superman and then is betrayed by Brainiac when Brainiac has no more use for him, leading to Superman and Lobo being temporary allies.

 

[Babillygunn]

Lobo is a joke of a character that people took seriously for some reason. He was originally intended to be a satire on how, at the time, writers were coming up with misogynistic, ultra-violent, garbage rather than well-layered characters. The fact that he took off in popularity is an ironic indictment against comics audiences.

I hate the character of Lobo with a passion.

Braniac, on the other hand, is one of Superman’s great villains and long overdue for film. So this is a no-brainer of a question for me.

 

[HydraSith12]

Lobo cannot function as a main villain of a Superman movie only as a secondary villain

 

[GreenKToo]

Brainiac. They could still use Lobo tho.

 

[3rdstone]

Brainiac without a doubt.