When Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice came out last year, I think it’s fair to say the results were something of a mixed bag. For every one thing that the movie did right, like Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, or that awesome Batfleck scene where he takes down the thugs and rescues Superman’s mom, there were some missteps: Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. Batman straight up murdering people. The “Martha” moment. Oh, and a Doomsday that ended up looking more like the cave troll from The Lord of the Rings than anything from the actual Death of Superman comics.
But before the cameras started rolling on the film, for a brief time Doomsday actually did look pretty comics accurate. Batman v Superman Concept artist Jerad S. Marantz just gave fans a glimpse of his early Doomsday designs thanks to his Instagram account (via Batman News), saying “Here’s a very early Doomsday concept I did for Batman v Superman a couple of years back. I did several options for the character. It really was an honor working on such an amazing project with such an incredible team.†I think it is fair to say that most fans of the original comics would have been much happier with this version than the final product. You can check out the image from Marantz down below:
Lesson to not only the folks at behind the DCEU, but also the folks behind certain Marvel-based films as well (I’m talking about you, X-Men: Apocalypse): when bringing your comics to life on the big screen, remember that it isn’t 1995 anymore. You don’t have to “tone it down” or make it “less comic-booky.” Comic-booky is no longer a dirty phrase. Fans wants to see the comics come to life, not some producer’s notion of how their ideas are better than the comics. If fans are paying to see Doomsday…then give ’em Doomsday. It’s not rocket science.
What do you think of this early Doomsday concept art? Let us know your thoughts down below in the comments.
Images: DC Comics
