Jaw-Dropping Bizarro Superman Appears In More Canceled Batman Game Art
New concept art depicting Bizarro Superman has hit the web from a canceled video game that was likely in WB Games' and Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham series. Although many speculated that players would be taking him on in their newly announced Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Bizarro is one iconic DC character that has never appeared in Rocksteady's superhero series. This opposite Kal-El does appear in other DC games, including an ill-fated first appearance in Superman on Nintendo 64, as an alternate Superman skin in Injustice 2, and in serval Lego games focusing on DC superheroes.
Because he has not tangled with Batman in the comics that often, it'd make sense that he wouldn't be in the initial Batman: Arkham games. That being said, with a clear desire to expand beyond just the Bat-Family, Bizarro would have been a natural choice to include in a game following up on Batman: Arkham Knight. He's also a likely candidate to show up in the new Suicide Squad game, even if the rumors were initially off about the game's poster. Rocksteady always likes to work with lots of villains in their work, and bringing in Superman to face off with Harley Quinn and company also makes many more fan-favorite rogues fair game.
The concept art for the canceled rendition of Bizarro comes from the Instagram of freelance concept artist Jerad S. Marantz, who has been posting several characters from the halted project that he was working on for WB Games. Other highlights include a look at a render of Killer Shark, who stars in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and a red-eyed Batman look, which may have indicated a change of who would have been under the cowl. It also could be a concept purposefully similar to a Batman that was set to appear in a similarly-canceled film set in the Flashpoint storyline, although it has been confirmed by Merantz that all these concepts are from video game work.
Beyond the darker color scheme that would be apropos for Rocksteady's Arkham universe, Bizarro looks relatively faithful to his comic book interpretation. One of the more interesting villains to fight the Man of Steel, Bizarro has had several origins and character shifts in the history of the comics, ranging from a full-on comedic interpretation to a twisted arch-villain written by the pen of Allen Moore. The concept of the character has also inspired other works, including a spot-on parody in the Adult Swim classic Sealab 2021.
While having Bizarro appear in fighting and LEGO games is nice, having him as a villain in a Batman: Arkham-style adventure would be the best thing for the character in modern gaming. Developers still haven't figured out how to best represent Superman in his own game, which would mean that Bizarro would also have a hard time as a playable character. However, as a villain with his own level full of mixed-up rules and bizarre henchmen, he could be a memorable pitstop. DC basically has their very own Sander Cohen, a developer just has to pick up the pieces and bring the idea to life.
Source: Jerad S. Marantz