Today comes the first reveal of Krypton’s villain, Braniac. Braniac is one of Superman’s top villains, but this version looks closer than anything adapted from the comics before. The villain looks menacing and intimidating. It is a show with an interesting premise: How do you tell a compelling story that everyone knows the end to already? It will be interesting to see how David Goyer handles this process when the show debuts next month.
Blake Ritson is Braniac, an alien who steals cities and shrinks them for his private museum. Ritson previously worked with the show runner, Goyer, on Da Vinci’s Demons. Although versions of the character have popped up in shows before, this will be the first time that fans will experience the traditional villain in all of his glory. Check out the U.S. featurette below:
And the International featurette here:
USA Today won the honor of revealing the first look at Krypton’s character along with a featurette showing off Braniac’s iconic skull-shaped ship. Ritson says that his make-up takes 4 1/2-7 hours to apply. He says that his Braniac is close to that of his role as Count Riario from Da Vinci’s Demons:
“I’ve played characters who’ve objectively committed monstrous actions, but feel entirely justified, as they’ve acted from a misplaced sense of a noble cause. Generally speaking, people cast themselves as the hero in their own narrative.
Yes, he traverses the universe in a gigantic skull ship, ripping cities out of planets, miniaturizing them and placing them on board. But he does so in the spirit of conservation. In his mind, he’s committed to the ultimate philanthropic act: saving all of creation. In many ways, it’s analogous to Noah plucking out two of every animal to ensure their survival, even while knowing that others must perish.”
Check out the full mock-up of Ritson in full Braniac mode:
Krypton takes place two hundred years before an infant Kai-El is sent to Earth fleeing his home planet’s destruction. Superman’s grandfather is is Set-El (Cameron Cuffe) a strong-willed young politician who lives in Kandor City. He is trying to protect the reputation of the house of El. His fight has only just begun.
Krypton premieres on Syfy channel on March 21.
