Interview: Geoff Johns on the Return of Brainiac in Action Comics
Writer Geoff Johns is best known for re-imagining some of the most beloved heroes in the history of the DCU.
With his work on such books as Infinite Crisis, 52, Green Lantern, Booster Gold, Teen Titans and Justice Society Of America, Johns has “re-booted” some of DC’s most beloved classic heroes, including Hal Jordan, Booster Gold, Power Girl, The Teen Titans and The JSA.
But Johns’ ability to restore characters to their original glory does not stop with DC’s greatest heroes. No, he has left his mark on the villains as well, creating and revamping some of the scariest villains in DC’s arsenal. From his work on The Sinestro Corps War, and his run on The Flash he has placed Sinestro, Superboy-Prime, Cyborg Superman and The Rogue’s Gallery of The Flash back atop DC’s roster of its most dangerous bad guys.
Now Johns is reintroducing the most evil super computer of all, Brainiac, in the pages of Action Comics. Along with artist Gary Frank, the new arc, entitled “Brainiac” begins in Action Comics #866, in stores today.
First appearing in Action Comics #242 as a bald, green-skinned humanoid, Brainiac is the machine responsible for destroying Krypton and shrinking the city of Kandor down to bottle size. This five-issue arc will attempt to reintroduce the character who is arguably one of Superman’s most dangerous enemies back into the DCU.
I had a chance to speak to Geoff Johns about the new arc in Action Comics and the experience of working with his mentor, Richard Donner.
COMICMIX: For starters, tell us about the upcoming “Brainiac” arc in Action Comics. What can fans of the book expect?
GEOFF JOHNS: Gary (Frank) and I are reintroducing Brainiac. The character has been around for a while now but he’s kind of been in a lot of different forms. Our goal was to create a villain that represents… well, we actually say it in one of the issues. For us, Luthor represents the worst of humanity and Brainiac, for us, will represent the worst in extraterrestrials. So we’re building off that. We want to introduce a Brainiac who is frightening, powerful and a little bit mysterious. We also wanted him to be very unsettling, very alien and feel different then the other adversaries that Superman has. The idea is to make Brainiac one of the villains that Superman dreads when he has to face him, rather than just another slot in a long line of villains. I think our first issue has a real creepy vibe to it and Gary did a really great design on him.
