‘Supergirl’: Jesse Rath Responds to Backlash About Brainiac-5 Makeup

Supergirl fans recently got their first look at Brainiac 5 from the Legion of Super-Heroes, but guest star Jesse Rath’s appearance as the hero hasn’t exactly impressed fans. Now, the actor is responding to the backlash.

With purplish-blue skin, white hair, and three odd glowing blue circles on his forehead, Rath’s Brainiac 5 is a far cry from the character’s comic book incarnation, leaving some to wonder if the character is meant to scare Kara/Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) from her dreamlike coma following her fight with Reign rather than simply help her wake up. But, according to Rath, fans just need to have a little bit of patience, posting on Twitter that the character will “grow” on them.

“I get better looking throughout the episode,” Rath wrote. “I promise… Just wait till I start talking. I’ll grow on you.”

While the comment suggests that either the character’s appearance will evolve or that the character is just so charming it won’t matter what he looks like, what we’ve seen of Supergirl‘s take on the character looks almost nothing like the comic book inspiration. In comics, Brainiac 5, or Querl Dox, is a blond-haired, green-skinned native of Colu, a planet whose inhabitants claim to be descended from Brainiac, a villain of Superman. On Supergirl, the last time fans saw a Coluan, it was Indigo (Laura Vandervoort,) the blue-skinned villain with three red dots in her forehead who said that Coluans had served as supercomputers on Krypton.

While Rath’s Brainiac 5 appearance may be more on the blue/purple side of things as a nod to Indigo — after all, Brainiac 5 comes from several centuries in the future and could have a slightly different appearance from Indigo for that reason — it still just isn’t a look that is settling well with fans.

Disappointing appearance aside, fans are excited to finally see the Legion appear on Supergirl. The show has been teasing the team for years, with a Legion flight ring appearing in the Fortress of Solitude during a season 1 episode of the series and the same ring appearing during a vision The Flash had while time travelling. And the Legion appearing on the show is exciting for the cast, too. Benoist recently told reporters during a set visit that it’s exciting for them to finally have the Legion as part of the show.

“I don’t want to tease too much,” she said. “But the fact that the Legion is coming to the show has such a hold in the comic book world, especially with Superman, Martian Manhunter, specifically. That’s really exciting for us.”

Supergirl airs on Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW. New episodes return on January 15.