I always loved the design that Bill Sienkiewicz gave to Warlock of the New Mutants. It truly evoked a feeling of an alien technology that is constantly in flux. I've seen other artists try to tackle the character, but none have been able to present him as effectively as Sienkiewicz (Art Adams came the closest in my opinion).
Brainiac is one of my all-time favourite villains but not in this incarnation. Showing my age, but I remember the bald, green humanoid with a pink top of the Silver Age - several classic Curt Swan covers.
ReplyDeleteI cold turkeyed on comics for a while and when I next peered in, he'd become a robot! When? Why? I didn't like that development. But it seems to be canon now.
And I loved the bottle city of Kandor too.
Fun premise. I started with the silver age Brainiac with the pet monkey. Once he was established as an android seeking all knowledge it changed a few things. With his "new" knowledge base constantly growing, why didn't he use MAGIC on his foes? Once he learned of magic it would have been imperative that he learn and control it. Magic would be control of matter and energy conversions. Controlling formation of atoms.
ReplyDeleteThe modern version seen in Convergence a few years back seemed the most powerful and invincible. All those eyes gave him a totally different feel than previous incarnations. Now it seems forgotten.
Wonder how Brainiac would deal with Dr Manhattan & the Infinity Gauntlet?
Think of the replicatior on Star Trek Next Gen. That would seem like just magic to many worlds.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the "Guest Starring" sign, I thought you meant the bar code - y'know, because of the machine nature of Brainiac and Warlock. But then I figured you meant Big Blue.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be an ironic turn if the supine figure turned out to be a Superman robot?
ReplyDeleteI too am old enough to remember Brainiac's Coluan appearance, a tactic that his computer creators used so his foes would underestimate him (such as by trying to appeal to his humanity, or attempting an attack that would affect his biology). They even gave him a "son" whom they assigned the name Brainiac 2, and of course that fellow went on to have a notable great-grandson.
About Warlock, while I too was impressed by his visual design, I was more intrigued by his speech pattern. It certainly did much to make him seem alien, with expressions that seemed transliterated more than translated, though it seemed odd to me that he never seemed to improve and speak more accurate English especially considering who he had for his best friend.
Speaking of Cipher, it'd be interesting to see him team up with another hero who excels at language. The two who come to mind are Indiana Jones or the Eleventh Doctor. (Hey, throw in Hoshi Sato from Star Trek: Enterprise and maybe one other, and you have the makings of a team of Linguists!)
Awesome!!!!! :-D
ReplyDeleteBrilliantly awesome! Just one question, though. If Warlock wins, will he join Robo Force?
@Detective Tobor: Silver Age Brainiac probably would have used magic, eventually. Provided some writer had thought to have him usurp control of Amazo!
ReplyDeleteWell now I want to see a cover where the barcode teams up with the heroes for real :D
ReplyDelete@BigMike20X6: That's brilliant! A team-up of the Barcode and... Johnny DC! :D
ReplyDeleteIs this cover sourced from the Brainiac-centered DC Heroes game module? It looks familiar ...
ReplyDeleteGood eye!
ReplyDeleteIsn't this when Lex teams up with Brainiac again and then Magneto compliments the two of them for having such a bold hair style choice? Hmmm, can Brainiac wash his hands for 20 seconds after every conquest?
ReplyDelete@Horsefeathers: no, I think that was Deadpool disguised as Green Lantern.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous: how long did you have that joke "Ryan" around?
ReplyDelete@Carycomic, it's ok, he had it wrapped up in "Reynold's" wrap. Fudge Cookie!!
ReplyDeleteHorse Taker for the win! :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is My Favorite Version of Brainiac,that's all I came to type.
ReplyDeleteAlison Brie Larson! How long can this chain get?
ReplyDeleteShort story. Rest In Half Wilson Fisk.
ReplyDelete