10 Amazing Comic Book Characters That Narrowly Missed Appearing In Movies
5. Brainiac
Arguably one of Superman’s greatest foes and a noteworthy villain to the DC Universe in general, it’s somewhat surprising that Brainiac has yet to appear on screen. Sure, the supercomputer from Superman III happened, but that just represented the first in a long line of failed attempts to properly bring the hyper-intelligent alien to film.
Seemingly every scrapped Superman project between Superman IV and Man Of Steel used Brainiac as the lead villain. Superman V would have seen him shrinking Metropolis, Superman Reborn had him creating Doomsday, and Superman Lives teamed him up with Lex Luthor to block out the sun. Screenwriter Michael Dougherty even went as far to say that the Superman Returns sequel likely would have explored the character had the film gotten the go-ahead.
After such an astounding number of attempts to adapt him, it seems fated that Brainiac will eventually get his due. The character is a great villain, and if the rumours are to be believed, he could appear as soon as Justice League: Part One. Hopefully, that too won't get added to the list of films that couldn't quite find a way to use him.