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Topic: Brainiac Robot Body Design (Do you like it or not?)) (Topic Closed Topic Closed) Post ReplyPost New Topic
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Robbie Parry
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Joined: 17 June 2007
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Posted: 05 November 2016 at 3:54pm | IP Logged | 1  

Eric, I was ready to "unfriend" you at this:


 QUOTE:
I hate it. I loathe it. I despise it. It is an abomination, a horror, an assault to the eye, ugly, disturbing, irritating, nauseating, an unnecessary blot to the Superman legend.

But you redeemed yourself for me with this:


 QUOTE:
I liked the changes to Brainiac that were done in the Animated Universe. Still humanoid but obviously not human, still the red head terminals - but spooky, kinda creepy, and a little less humanoid.

;-)
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Robert Cosgrove
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Posted: 05 November 2016 at 5:48pm | IP Logged | 2  

Strangely, I didn't mind it.  I thought it was much better than the cliche-ridden redesign of Luthor that came out about the same time.  As it happens, Brainiac's very first appearance in comics, with the Curt Swan cover and interior Al Plastino story, is the very first comic book I can remember buying off the stands.  And a good story it was, too!

--Robert the Old 
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Ariel Justel
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Posted: 05 November 2016 at 6:48pm | IP Logged | 3  

James Woodcock
Robbie Parry
Trevor Smith
Eric Smearman
David Miller
Robert Cosgrove

Thank you all for your comments. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who likes this design so much!

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Andrew Bitner

I agree that Brainiac looked exactly as an alien Lex Luthor. This design gave him uniqueness.

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Andy Mokler

I always thoght that Terminator was first... but you're right! According to the dates, Ed Hannigan's design came first! More points to him!

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Brian Hague

As Andy Mokler explained, this design predates The Terminator movie so it is even more original!

I remember having that Super Power action figure when I was a child! I gave it (with a lot of my other toys) to an Orphans Institution when I grew up. I always regreted not preserving this figure at least!

I don't like the newer Brainiac versions where he has an army of disposable robot probes based on this design. What a waste of a cool design! I was very dissapointed with the green hulking full of steroids Brainiac version that Geoff Johns and Gary Frank used in the Superman Brainiac arc. I think Gary could have made wonders drawing the original design. And the story was excellent. A wasted opportunity...

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Phil Frances

I had the opportunity to buy that Brainiac figure in a comic convention and I let it pass. I never had the chance to find it again (and I look for it in any convention year after year!).

Brainiac was able to connect with the ship with his head, hands and feets. Actually, the ship and him were one and the same if I'm not mistaken (the ship responded like an extension of his body). What a wonderfull idea!

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Ted Pugliese

I, too, loved Lex Luthor's new design too with that glorious George Perez armor. Those years were full of imagination and cool stories. It was a good era for DC.

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Eric Sofer

How old were you when you saw this design? It amazes me how much you dislike it! Hahaha...

This Brainiac was not a simpe disposable robot... he was a living machine... And it was not as simple as to destroy his phisycal body to beat him since he can regenerate another one (as seen in COIE). Even more, the full ship was alive and was also part of Brainiac!

I believe this design is more true to the character than his original interpretation.

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Thom Price
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Posted: 05 November 2016 at 8:06pm | IP Logged | 4  

I liked the robotic Brainiac redesign as a kid, but as an adult I have no appreciation for it.  I think character redesigns should still stick with the basic visual concepts of a character, and this was just too much of a departure; it might have been an adequate design for Ultron.

That said, can't say I'm all that found of Brianiac's earlier look either -- kinda silly looking, and kind of just a green Luthor with electrodes on his noggin.  I like the Timm redesign, which kept relevant traits from the original look while making the character look more menacing.
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Christopher Frost
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Posted: 05 November 2016 at 8:42pm | IP Logged | 5  

This was the first version of the character I was introduced to when I was a kid and it is still my favorite look for him. I think it looks both cool and menacing whereas the bald green look just makes him look like Luthor with green coloring. In my opinion, it reinforces the alien nature of the character and gives him more gravitas than the old look.Sure, nostalgia will colour my preference since this was how he looked when I first encountered Brainiac, but I still like it more than any of the other looks he's had over the years.
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Eric Sofer
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Posted: 06 November 2016 at 7:31am | IP Logged | 6  

Ariel Justice, I was probably around 21 when I first saw this design.

" this design is more true to the character than his original interpretation" - Brainiac's original interpretation was to steal cities from planets, and to appear humanoid as a functionary of the Robot Tyrants of Colu (even to giving him a pet monkey-type critter, and an adopted son) - so he was created to seem as much human as possible. I don't see how this design emphasizes that as much as is as contrary to it as possible.

However, we never found out who or what the Master Programmer was, so it is entirely possible that when Brainiac's form was changed, so was his programming. Which means, of course, that anything goes.

Robbie Parry - come now, sir. You can find MUCH better reasons to unfriend me than my dislike of this design! I'm positively despicable and contemptible!!! ;)


Edited by Eric Sofer on 06 November 2016 at 7:32am
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Robbie Parry
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Posted: 06 November 2016 at 10:17am | IP Logged | 7  

Robbie Parry - come now, sir. You can find MUCH better reasons to unfriend me than my dislike of this design! I'm positively despicable and contemptible!!! ;)

***

;-)

I think what I liked about the robotic Brainiac is that it looked totally merciless, chilling, etc. Not a thing you could negotiate with, reason with, appeal to, etc. 

Not saying there aren't other supervillains like that, but some seem that way. Offer the Penguin some sort of negotiation/trade -and you may find that possible. It may be possible to appeal to the better nature of Lex Luthor (it must be buried in there somewhere). With robotic Brainiac, though, no redeeming features or reasoning at all.
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Wallace Sellars
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Posted: 06 November 2016 at 10:32am | IP Logged | 8  

I prefer the "old school" look for Braniac to the one shown in the first
post. The JLAnimated version was neat.
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Eric Smearman
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Posted: 06 November 2016 at 4:52pm | IP Logged | 9  

I don't think we were never supposed to find out who the "Master
Programmer" was. I tended to think it was some kind of paranoid
delusion on Brainiac's part: the "Master Programmer" was "God" and
Superman was "God's" chosen champion or "Avenging Angel" to
oppose and/or destroy Brainiac.
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Ariel Justel
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Posted: 06 November 2016 at 6:23pm | IP Logged | 10  

Eric Sofer, what I mean was that this design was more true to the notion that Brainiac is a living machine.
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Trevor Smith
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Posted: 06 November 2016 at 6:52pm | IP Logged | 11  

Ariel - I don't think I made myself clear! I like his
ship design, but I don't care for the look of the
character himself AT ALL!
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Jason Czeskleba
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Posted: 06 November 2016 at 9:15pm | IP Logged | 12  

 Eric Sofer wrote:
Brainiac's original interpretation was to steal cities from planets, and to appear humanoid as a functionary of the Robot Tyrants of Colu (even to giving him a pet monkey-type critter, and an adopted son) - so he was created to seem as much human as possible.


I agree with everything Eric has written in this thread.  As noted above, the new Brainiac significantly altered the concept, personality, and appearance of the character.  Whenever changes that drastic are made to a character, I can't help but wonder:  Why not just create a new character, fergawdsakes?  If you're not going to retain much more than the name, why even use the old character?  When O'Neil and Adams wanted Batman to have an arch-foe who was a criminal mastermind and head of a vast crime empire, they didn't shoehorn the Joker into that role and change his personality to fit it.  They created R'as Al Ghul.
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