Brainiac is coming to the DCU when Man of Tomorrow hits theaters in 2027, and it is going to be attention-grabbing to see how James Gunn portrays him on the large display screen. Superman has confronted numerous villains since his debut in DC Comics, however few villains have been as highly effective and have posed as many issues as Brainiac. Debuting in Motion Comics #242 (1958) by Otto Binder and Al Plastino, Brainiac can also be a villain who has gone by extra modifications than virtually some other Superman villain. Whereas many villains, like Lex Luthor, modified primarily based on eras, Brainiac modified as a result of that’s a part of who he’s, and with each change got here a brand new energy set that made him virtually unattainable to beat.
From the unique Brainiac to the Absolute DC Universe model, listed below are seven highly effective variations of the Superman villain who may dominate in James Gunn’s DCU.
7) The Unique Brainiac
After his debut in Motion Comics #242, Brainiac returned in Superman #167 (1964) as a robotic. Not like the green-skinned alien that almost all readers are used to, this was a super-computer created by the Coluan race of those who had an impossibly excessive Tenth-level intelligence. What the Coluan individuals didn’t know was that this pc would turn out to be sentient, and it started to self-replicate, and it will definitely enslaved the Coluans. To battle this super-computer, the Coluan individuals created Brainiac, who seemed like a robotic however was natural.
This model of Brainiac additionally had the brainwaves of a useless Coluan scientist to offer the robotic a persona and make it appear extra alive. This model of the Superman villain can also be extraordinarily highly effective, with thoughts management skills, Mechanokinesis, and vitality projection. Whereas this wasn’t the model that got here alongside later, this was the one who grew to become a city-collecting menace, and he helped introduce the bottled metropolis of Kandor to DC Comics.
6) Indigo (Brainiac 8)
Indigo made her debut in Titans/Younger Justice: Commencement Day #1 (2003) by Judd Winick and Ale Garza. Her debut made her seem as a broken, childlike android who couldn’t management her powers but. Nonetheless, it was later revealed that she was Brainiac 8, a descendant of Brainiac despatched again in time to homicide Donna Troy. The explanation for that is that Donna was fated to forestall Coluan domination sooner or later. This was a surprising second as a result of Indigo succeeded and really killed Donna, which precipitated the Titans and Younger Justice groups to interrupt up.
Indigo nonetheless appeared to be a hero, as she joined the Outsiders, however she was a plant, and he or she betrayed everybody who trusted her. She additionally had a tragic ending, as she realized she couldn’t management what she was programmed to do, and he or she begged her lover, Shift, to kill her earlier than she may harm anybody else. There have been Brainiac fashions earlier than that straddled the road between good and unhealthy, however a sleeper agent Brainiac on Earth within the DCU may make for an excellent story.
5) Vril Dox II (Publish Disaster)
Vril Dox II is technically Brainiac 2, a crafty clone descendant who based LEGION. This revamped model of the character was launched in Invasion #1 (1989) by Keith Giffen, Invoice Mantlo, and Todd McFarlane within the post-Disaster DC Universe. He was the lead in LEGION and its successor, REBELS, and he mainly based the interstellar police pressure by homicide by wiping out a whole prison drug ring. This makes him a ruthless tactician who manipulates everybody round him to realize his objectives.
In an attention-grabbing retcon, he was modified from Brainiac’s adopted son right into a self-made clone of Brainiac, and he’s truly the ancestor of Brainiac 5 of the Legion of Tremendous-Heroes. Vril Dox II additionally had a legacy, as his son Lyrl Dox (Brainiac 3) seized management of LEGION from his father. It might be attention-grabbing within the DCU if there have been a Brainiac house cop coming searching for the unique Brainiac, as he has attacked Earth, solely to show to be extra ruthless than even his father.
4) Milton Wonderful
Milton Wonderful was the principle retcon to Brainiac that occurred after “Disaster on Infinite Earths.” He debuted in Adventures of Superman #438 (1988) by John Byrne and Jerry Ordway throughout the post-Man of Metal reboot. The unique Milton Wonderful was a touring present mentalist often known as the Superb Brainiac, and he was a metahuman with psychic powers. It’s because his thoughts was taken over by the alien consciousness of the Coluan scientist Vril Dox.
Because of this, for the primary time in DC Comics, Brainiac was a human who was managed by a synthetic intelligence, whereas each earlier model was a robotic. He ended up concerned in one of many deadliest moments in DC throughout that period, throughout the “Panic within the Sky” crossover, the place he kidnapped Supergirl and seized a battle station known as Warworld to show it in opposition to the Earth. He ultimately died in “Superman: The Doomsday Wars” in 1998, and Brainiac deserted the physique. Having Brainiac as a creepy human earlier than he turns into the last word villain might be an excellent setup within the DCU.
3) Brainiac 5 (Legion of Tremendous Heroes)
Brainiac 5 is the hero model of Brainiac. That is Brainiac 5, and he debuted in Motion Comics #276 (1961) by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney as one of many earliest members of the Legion of Tremendous-Heroes. He’s a descendant of the unique villain Brainiac, however is even smarter, with a Twelfth-level mind. The Coluan joined the Legion to assist atone for his ancestor’s evil methods and years of villainy. He’s the Legion’s essential inventor and created a force-field belt amongst different objects.
He did have a second within the comics the place he went darkish and framed Extremely Boy for homicide earlier than trying to remake actuality, which drove Matter-Eater Lad insane. This was a tricky storyline as a result of the 2 heroes each ended up institutionalized after the incident. Nonetheless, he had so a few years as a hero earlier than that, proving he might be an excellent addition to the DCU. If James Gunn ever decides to make a Legion of Tremendous-Heroes streaming collection, it must have Brainiac 5 in it.
2) Absolute Brainiac
If James Gunn needs to go utterly darkish, there may be at all times the brand new Brainiac launched within the Absolute Universe. This isn’t seemingly as a result of Gunn’s tales have largely known as on traditional DC comedian guide tales, and none go fairly as darkish as what DC is pulling off in its Absolute Universe. On this model, Superman was not raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent and was largely roaming round earlier than lastly discovering his place on the earth. That introduced him into contact with Brainiac.
This Brainiac debuted in Absolute Superman #1 (2024) by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval, the place Brainiac will not be a lone being touring by house however a part of the Brainiac Collective that has been on Earth since 1938. He runs Ra’s al Ghul’s Lazarus Corp whereas growing the weapons and tech for Ra’s. This model additionally collected bottled cities, however not as a scientist. He solely needed to listen to the individuals within the cities scream. He’s essentially the most sadistic, horror-tinged Brainiac ever proven in DC Comics.
1) Vril Dox (Prime Earth)
The Vril Dox of Prime Earth proved that everybody who got here earlier than wasn’t the true Brainiac, and he was the one true menace. This was an unbelievable twist for DC Comics, because the storylines confirmed that each Brainiac that Superman fought prior to now was only a clone despatched out to check the Man of Metal as the true Brainiac rested and deliberate his final assault. Whereas his clones have been inflicting havoc, this Brainiac was gathering alien species that him, together with the town of Kandor.
One other huge distinction is that this isn’t a robotic. This can be a natural-born Coluan citizen and an excellent scientist. The explanation for the clones is that his conceitedness satisfied him that he couldn’t belief anybody to get issues proper apart from himself, and he cloned himself to make sure that his assistants have been as much as the duty. This was the Brainiac that lastly confirmed himself in “Superman: Brainiac” in 2008 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, broadly thought-about the best Brainiac story ever advised.