Krypton's Brainiac Will Be DC's First Terrifying Live-Action Villain

For a while now, we've known that Syfy's DC Comics television series, Krypton, was coming. Little is known about the actual series, other than it takes place two generations before Kal-El, aka Superman, is born.

Krypton is set to follow the story of Superman's grandfather, Seg-El, as the Kryptonian receives a message from a time traveler, Adam Strange, of the planet's oncoming doom. These are the broad-strokes we were given. But although the series takes place years before Superman, it seems like that won't stop one of the Man of Steel's biggest enemies from paying a visit to the Syfy show.

As it continues to ramp up its promotional efforts, the cable network has released a first look at the series' villain, along with a video detailing Krypton's approach to the classic Superman foe. With only a single picture and a few seconds of footage, it's clear that the series isn't playing around. This Brainiac is not only comic book-accurate, he's downright terrifying. It's so obvious that we're comfortable saying that he has the potential to be the most faithful and unsettling villain DC has brought to life on-screen, and that's including both television and movies.

What we have seen of Krypton's Brainiac so far is perfect. He appears to be as old as the universe itself, an ancient presence that haunts the dark corners of the cosmos. His metal tentacles are on full display, and his iconic ship has been remodeled into something that is both old and fearsome. His skin is the perfect shade of green, and his armor looks like it was lifted right from Gary Frank's artwork, or the Injustice 2 video game. The promo calls him the "Collector of Worlds," and that is exactly what he is supposed to be. A look at a bottled city aboard his spaceship is all we need to see to realize how dangerous he is, and how faithful he is to his comic book roots. For all intents and purposes, Krypton has given us the definitive live action Brainiac, and the show hasn't even premiered.

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This take on Brainiac is pretty much the opposite of the Brainiac 5 we saw on Supergirl. On the CW series, this future version of Brainiac appeared to be blue, with long white hair, a complete departure from his supposed green and blond look. To many fans, this interpretation of the comic book character was laughable, and quite unsettling for all the wrong reasons.

What's more, the DC live action productions, from the DCEU to the previous solo movies, haven't fared all that well when it comes to truly terrifying villains. Man of Steel's Zod was perhaps effective, but never once did he come across as terrifying. The same can be said for Batman v. Superman's Lex Luthor, who was a mumbling hipster, as well as Doomsday, who was nothing short of a mindless beast. Then, there are Wonder Woman's Ares and Justice League's Steppenwolf, who were both generic gods who viewed themselves as superior to humanity. Both characters didn't get much in the way of development, and neither came across as a true, frightening threat.

The only live-action villain who can come close is The Dark Knight's Joker. Heath Ledger's take on the character immediately became iconic, re-defining the character for the audience. But that was a long time ago, and DC is more than due to give us a solid villain. The various CW shows have tried, with Manu Bennett's Deathstroke becoming the clear standout. Gotham tried as well, but the Penguin isn't close to being comic book-accurate. Suicide Squad, a film filled with villains, didn't even come close to deliver a compelling villain. It seems then that it all falls on Krypton's shoulders to showcase Brainiac as the ultimate on-screen villain.

Brainiac has been named as the first season's big bad, and seeing Adam Strange deliver a warning of the maleficent entity makes us believe that the character will have a large presence throughout the series. We've only seen a bit of the character in action, but already he appears to have a disconcerting presence. The make-up, as well as the effects used to bring him to life, are top notch, which makes it all the more impressive considering this is done on a basic cable television budget.

Brainiac's goal is clear. His mission, devious. He's collecting worlds, and from the comics, we know that the Kryptonian city of Kandor sits mightily atop his collection. Will we see the villain lay waste to Krypton? Is this where we will see how the Collector of Worlds added a great and important city to his stock? With no Superman around, what hope does Krypton have?

We can't wait to find out.

Developed by David S. Goyer and Damian Kindler, Krypton is set two generations before the destruction of Superman’s home planet. The drama follows the Man of Steel’s grandfather Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe), whose encounter with Earthly time traveler Adam Strange (Shaun Sipos) changes his life, and the course of history. Debuting March 21 on Syfy, Krypton stars Cameron Cuffe, Georgina Campbell, Elliot Cowan, Ann Ogbomo, Rasmus Hardiker, Wallis Day, Aaron Pierre and Ian McElhinney.