Iconic writer Grant Morrison almost became the face of Brainiac in Alex Ross’ depiction featured in DC’s Justice. Although it never happened, concept art for Superman’s highly intelligent enemy was revealed in Ross’ Rough Justice: The DC Comics Sketches of Alex Ross.
Known for his photorealistic portrayal of superheroes, Alex Ross has brought life to the DC Universe, the Marvel Universe, and many others throughout the years. Among his most popular work is the Justice series, which depicted the Justice League and the Legion of Doom in their most recognizable costumes. However, Ross still took some liberties and elaborated on a few villains’ designs. While remaining faithful to the Silver and Bronze Ages, he had some ideas for how to make Brainiac stand out from his fellow Legion of Doom members.
In Rough Justice, it was revealed that Grant Morrison nearly played the part of Brainiac in Alex Ross’ take featured in Justice. As the writer was gaining popularity among DC fans, Ross thought incorporating their likeness would make for a fun cameo. However, he chose against it, as he didn’t want to distract from the story he was creating alongside Jim Krueger. Ross wrote about the scrapped idea, saying, “Inspired by his gradual takeover of the DC Comics mainstream, I intended to do a tribute to the prolific writer Grant Morrison, characterized as the master-planner Superman villain Brainiac. I was discouraged from distracting the audience with his well-known likeness. Still, a more sinister, restrained approach emerged for the many villains in our story.”
Although Morrison’s likeness didn’t appear in Justice, there still appears to be some vague resemblance in Brainiac to the beloved writer. Ross might have made the right call to leave the writer’s cameo on the cutting room floor, but such an uncharacteristic appearance in the series would have been a fan-rewarding surprise. Since he’s known for using real people as physical inspirations for his work, it wouldn’t be unfounded for an actual living person to show up.
In Kingdom Come, Ross chose to base Norman MacCay on his own father. The only difference with Morrison playing the part of Brainiac is that readers would instantly recognize their face. It’s possible that other real world people were incorporated in Justice without readers knowing. However, there doesn’t seem to be any DC writers or artists who made the cut. For now, Grant Morrison’s Brainiac will only remain a fan cast in the mind of Alex Ross.
