9 Incredible Pieces Of Concept Art From Cancelled Superhero Films

9. Brainiac (Superman Lives)

Superman Lives is an aborted comic book adaptation so legendary that it even has a documentary dedicated to it. Nicolas Cage would have played the Man of Steel, Kevin Smith was on scripting duties and Tim Burton was set to direct.

This would have been a Superman movie like no other, with the death and resurrection of a flightless Supes, a Fortress of Solitude guarded by polar bears and a giant mechanical spider among the highlights from Smith's script, which he drafted after raiding Jay and Silent Bob's secret stash, from the sound of it.

Lex Luthor and Brainiac were the movie's villains, and it's the latter who is featured in this piece of concept art. The alien mastermind is depicted as a twisted amalgamation of man and machine here, though numerous redesigns were later proposed.

Brainiac and Luthor's dastardly scheme involved blocking out the sun to weaken Superman before unleashing Doomsday to finish him off. From there, the story would have loosely followed the Death and Return of Superman comic book arc, with some bizarre deviations along the way.

Superman Lives would either have a been a subversive classic or the worst thing to happen to DC Comics on screen since Joel Schumacher.