Superman Vs. Brainiac


By Otto Binder, Jerry Seigel, Edmund Hamilton, Cary Bates, Marv Wolfman, John Byrne, Jerry Ordway, Roger Stern, Joe Kelly, Al Plastino, Curt Swan, Kurt Schaffenberger, Gil Kane, George Pérez, Kerry Gammill, German Garcia, Kano & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-1940-6

Superman is the comicbook crusader who started the whole masked marvel genre and, in the decades since his debut in 1938, has probably undertaken every species of adventure imaginable. With this in mind it’s inevitable and constantly rewarding to gather up whole swathes of his inventory and periodically re-present them in specific themed collections, such as this calculated confection of cosmic clashes with alien arch-foe Brainiac.

Since his first appearance in Action Comics #242, the alien marauder has been a perennial favourite foe of the Man of Steel, and has remained so even after being subsequently upgraded and retooled many times. Brilliant and relentless, he has been continually refitted over the decades until he now stands as the ultimate artificial nemesis, a chilling remorseless thing of cogs, clockwork and undying computer code.

This superb collection represents appearances both landmark and rare from the many brilliant writers and artists who have contributed to the Kryptonian canon over the years, and with faultless logic opens with that aforementioned and extremely impressive introductory saga.

‘The Super-Duel in Space’ was crafted by Otto Binder & Al Plastino (Action #242, July, 1958) and details how an evil alien scientist attempts to add Metropolis to his collection of miniaturised cities in bottles.

As well as a titanic tussle in its own right, this tale utterly altered the mythology of the Man of Steel by introducing Kandor, an entire city full of Kryptonians who had escaped the planet’s destruction when Brainiac captured and bottled them as part of his vivarium of cultures and civilisations.

Although Superman rescued his fellow survivors, the villain escaped to strike again, and it would be years before the hero could restore his fellow Kryptonian survivors to their true size.

Next is a delicious sharp yarn from Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane#17 (May 1960), scripted by Jerry Siegel and illustrated by the sublime art team of Curt Swan & George Klein. ‘Lana Lang, Superwoman’ has the Man of Tomorrow temporarily imbue both Lana and Lois with superpowers to foil a blackmail/murder plot by the viridian villain, after which novel-length saga ‘The Team of Luthor and Brainiac’ (by Edmund Hamilton, Swan & Klein from Superman #167, February 1964) not only teams the hero’s greatest foes in an uneasy alliance but also reveals for the first time that the alien interloper is actually a malevolent mechanism in humanoid form, designed by the fearsome Computer-Tyrants of planet Colu to infiltrate and all destroy organic races across the universe.

Then there’s a big jump to the end of the 1970s for the next story, an epic 3-part clash which originally appeared in Action Comics #489-491 (November 1978-January 1979), scripted by the hugely undervalued Cary Bates and illustrated by Swan & Frank Chiaramonte.

‘Krypton Dies Again’ finds Superman once more battling Brainiac when the light from the decades-gone explosion of his homeworld finally reaches Earth. The resultant flash supercharges his Kryptonian cells leaving the Man of Steel helpless. ‘No Tomorrow for Superman!’ then sees an increasingly berserk hero unable to cope until joined by Hawkman to finally resolve ‘A Matter of Light and Death!’

In Action Comics #544 (June 1983) both Lex Luthor and Brainiac were given radical makeovers to transform them more apposite menaces for the World’s Greatest Superhero. Marv Wolfman & Gil Kane amped up the computer conqueror’s threat-level with ‘Rebirth!’ as uncanny cosmic forces reshape the humanoid horror into a mechanistic angel of death…

When DC Comics decided to rationalise and reconstruct their continuity with Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985 they also used the event to regenerate their key properties at the same time. The biggest gun they had was Superman and it’s hard to argue that the change was not before time. The new, back-to-basics Man of Steel was a sensation and members of his decades-old rogues’ gallery were suitably reimagined to match the new, grittier sensibility.

In this continuity ‘The Amazing Brainiac’ (Adventures of Superman #438, March 1988, written by John Byrne & Jerry Ordway, illustrated by Ordway & John Beatty) was Vril Dox: a monolithic disembodied intellect from the planet Colu who slowly inhabits and transmogrifies the body of showbiz mentalist Milton Moses Fine. Eventually, it grows beyond human physical limits in ‘Man and Machine’ (Action Comics #649, January 1990, by Roger Stern, George Pérez, Kerry Gammill & Brett Breeding) to eventually become a time-travelling ball of malignant computer code, reconstructing or co-opting ever-more formidable physical forms in its self-appointed mission to eradicate Superman…

By the time of ‘Sacrifice for Tomorrow’ (Action Comics #763; March 2000, and realised by Joe Kelly, German Garcia, Kano & Mario Alquiza), the fiend has transformed into its 13th iteration and converted Metropolis into an automated City of the Future.

The malware warlord has also learned how to possess human infants – including Lana Lang’s newborn son and Luthor’s daughter Lena…

With a pin-up page of Brainiac 13 by Scott Beatty, Steve Kim & Tommy Yune (culled from Superman: Metropolis Secret Files #1, March 2000) this comprehensive collection of cyber-chillers offers the merest a taste of the monstrous horror Brainiac is capable of but remains a compelling introduction and overview of the undying enemy alien and a superb treat for fans of every vintage.
© 1958, 1960, 1964, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1988, 1990, 2000, 2008 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.