Superman’s world is getting a big shakeup courtesy of Brian Michael Bendis, but nobody expected one particular movie villain to make his DC Comics debut as part of that shakeup.
The villain in question is none other than the Nuclear Man, who debuted in the often criticized Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. It all started thanks to a joke by Nick Derington, who drew a sketch of Nuclear Man when Brian Michael Bendis was announced on the Superman title, and now he’s actually making his way into the series.
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“So when they first announced I was taking over Superman, @nickderington did a sketch of nuclear man from Superman 4: the quest for peace. people started challenging me to put him in my run. Challenge accepted!!! 🙂 This is by @ivanreisart and you’ll find it in superman issue two #superman #superman4thequestforpeace #dcnation #dccomics #bendisdcinstatakeover,” Bendis wrote.
The sketch of Nuclear Man is pretty dead on, perfectly recreating the character but also making him way more imposing than he ever was on screen in the film. The art was done by Ivan Reis, and Nuclear Man will make his DC Comics debut in Superman #2.
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace was the fourth and final film in Warner Bros. original Superman series of films, and ended the series on a rather sour note. Critically the film was panned, and commercially the film made only $15.6 million on a $17 million dollar budget. For comparison’s sake, Superman III was also disappointing at the box office, but that at least managed to make $59.9 million.
Bendis has already created plenty of new characters for his Superman run, 14 to be exact, and that’s just a sampling of what he has planned for the Superman universe. Bendis is currently paving the way for his big Superman run in The Man of Steel, which is drawn by Kevin Maguire with a cover by Joe Prado and Ivan Reis. The official description for The Man of Steel #4 is featured below.
“Rogol Zaar has committed a string of atrocities across the cosmos that have led him to the Fortress of Solitude—and now Superman and Supergirl plan to crush his schemes! But are even two Kryptonians enough to stop his sinister machinations?”
The Man of Steel #4 is in comic stores today.
