Solar Flare: Science Fiction News

Actor James Marsters who is best know for his role as the vampire Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Marsters will be playing the villain Brainiac on the next season of Smallville which airs on The WB network. Marsters will appear in several episodes of the next season.

Smallville is a re-imagining of the early years of Superman, the DC comics superhero. Brainiac is a classic Superman villain. Marsters plays Milton Fine, a college professor who is the alter-ego of Brainiac. Brainiac has vast knowlege and vast arrogance, he comes to earth with a secret about Clark’s biological family and the truth about the demise of Krypton, Clark’s home planet.

Smallville has largely stayed away from other DC comics characters, choosing to build it’s own villains for Superman (or Clark as he has not yet adopted the Superman identity) to battle. Only a handful of the comics characters have appeared, including The Flash, Mzyzptlk, Perry White and Lois Lane.

I’m not a regular viewer of Smallville as I find there’s a little too much teen angst for my current tastes. I was a little surprised by the choice of Marsters for the role of Brainiac though. Still, he fits the profile for male actors on the show if nothing else.