Blockbuster graphic design veteran Jerad Marantz recently shared his early designs for a few characters from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League on Instagram. The designs range from a fairly comics-accurate Flash to a truly new design for Cyborg, and they’re all worth checking out.
The Flash’s design was actually included as a special feature in the Batman v Superman home release. It was intended as a prototype, so the costume is devoid of any of the yellow bolts that have adorned the many versions of the Scarlet Speedster over the years. Other than that, it’s fairly accurate, with spandex across the costume and some glossy armor plates that bring out a cool and visually engaging pattern.
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Though the first back design for Cyborg is polygonal and layered, it’s also very human. You can see muscle definition in his arms and he’s proportioned, like football player Victor Stone would be. As Marantz explains in his description, he initially used a thicker body exactly for this reason. A much slimmer design ended up making it to the screen in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, but this first look had a more realistic, detailed appearance.
Cyborg’s second design was far more exploratory. It retains the body figure of Marantz’ first back study for Victor, but goes all in on advanced-looking robotics. Without a single inch of skin showing and two additional arms, he looks almost alien. The design also has a much glossier finish than the design in Justice League, which gives it a more futuristic look. Marantz said he spent a great deal of time working on Cyborg’s more unique looks.
“There was a lot of exploration on this guy,” said Marantz. “I was often going back to him between the the (sic) other characters and adjusting the model and incorporating new notes.”
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And, finally, Steppenwolf. The film’s main villain almost looks like a Decepticon from one of Michael Bay’s Transformers movies. It’s quite cool, if unrealistically detailed. Upon a zoom in, you can see a chaotic mess of some sort of metal, pointing in every direction to make up his armor. The final look is miles away from this mechanical design, opting instead for a design akin to an ancient Greek warrior.
Jerad Merantz next project is set to be Mortal Kombat from director Simon McQuoid. It does not have a release date.