10 versions of Brainiac that could inspire the DCU

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

“Man of Tomorrow” will be one of the next films in the DC Universe, serving as a continuation (although not direct) of “Superman”, from 2025. The film will place Superman and his arch-enemy Lex Luthor side by side, forced to unite against an even greater threat.

Apparently, this threat will actually be the Brainiacwhose interpreter has already been revealed by James Gunn. The iconic villain will be played by German actor Lars Eidinge. Brainiac has had several very different versions in comics and other media, which means that the DCU version has a lot of material to draw inspiration from. In today’s video, we bring together the 10 most famous.

Absolute Universe

The new Absolute Universe is a radically different take on the traditional DC canon, with the first three titles in the line exploring new versions of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. In “Absolute Superman” by Jason Aaron, Brainiac 419,732 is part of a species called the Brainiac Collective. However, this specific member is far from exemplary — in fact, he is a solitary and insignificant being, whose loneliness ends up generating a violent mental breakdown.

It is unknown to what extent the DCU will adapt elements from this universe, but it is difficult to imagine this peculiar version interacting with David Corenswet’s more classic Superman. Still, traits like his mental instability and alien outcast status can be maintained, creating an interesting contrast with the Last Son of Krypton — while his intelligence rivals Luthor’s.

Bronze Era

During the Bronze Age of comics, DC sought to revitalize Superman — which resulted in new versions of Luthor and Brainiac. The villain’s new look highlighted his mechanical nature, with an enlarged, brain-like head, which caused some visual discomfort.

Later versions treated this appearance as that of a drone, while the real Brainiac remained an organic Coluan. Still, this look has become iconic and could be incorporated in some way into the DCU — perhaps as a puppet body or decoy to trick Superman.

Tuck

In the DC animated universe, Brainiac was faithful to his classic incarnations, but also introduced new features. He was an “interactive intelligence construct” created on Krypton, but who betrayed his species, including Jor-El, Superman’s father. Unlike the versions in which he comes from the planet Colu, this interpretation connects him directly to Krypton — although it retains the traditional look.

The character combined classic elements of Brainiac with traits of the Eradicator, a post-Crisis on Infinite Earths character. Adapting this incarnation would create a direct link to Krypton, making it a natural choice for the DCU.

Milton Fine

In post-Crisis continuity, Brainiac begins as a Coluan scientist named Vril Dox, whose consciousness survives execution and begins possessing bodies. He ends up getting hold of Milton Fine, a charlatan artist who called himself “The Incredible Brainiac”. Despite being human, Fine was a metahuman with mental powers, who ended up being used by Brainiac to torment Superman.

The name Milton Fine was also used in the series “Smallville” and “Superman & Lois”, but the DCU is unlikely to ignore the villain’s alien origins. Still, it’s possible Fine appears briefly as a temporary host or narrative tool.

New Coluan Body

The first post-Crisis version of Brainiac was not very pleasing, but the villain returned with style. In “Scream in the Sky”, he grows a new Coluan body while maintaining the mental powers acquired as Milton Fine, and attempts to conquer Earth. This forces Superman to ally with other metahumans, including the Justice League.

This narrative could be adapted for the DCU, with Superman and Lex Luthor forming an alliance with Milly Alcock’s Supergirl and other heroes. Interestingly, in this story, Brainiac even mentally manipulates a version of Supergirl — which could serve as inspiration.

Brainiac Antimatter

In Justice League: Earth 2, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, we are introduced to a version of Brainiac from the Antimatter Universe. This incarnation is quite different from what we normally expect from a villain like him.

Captured by Ultraman, this version of Brainiac reveals something curious: he is so intelligent that he considers himself above abstract concepts such as good and evil. Despite being physically the least threatening of all the versions ever seen, that doesn’t make it any less dangerous. He almost manages to destroy both the Crime Syndicate and the Justice League by manipulating them into an impossible situation.

New 52

In the New 52 phase, Superman gained a new origin that mixed concepts from the Golden and Silver Ages. In “Action Comics,” Brainiac appears as the “Collector of Worlds” — a robotic entity with a centipede appearance and familiar visual details, such as cranial diodes.

This incarnation even resembles the Shazam villain, Mr. Brain. In the end, it turns out that it was just a drone body. This could be reused in the DCU, especially since Superman 2025’s costume seems inspired by the New 52 look.

The Last Family of Krypton

In the alternate history “Superman: The Last Family of Krypton”, Jor-El and Lara survive and come with Kal-El to Earth. Jor-El brings with him a Kryptonian AI called “B”, which is reprogrammed by Lex Luthor with his own personality. As expected, “B” turns against Luthor, but Superman manages to convince him to change course.

The DCU could incorporate this idea by showing Superman’s robots, seen in the 2025 film, gaining sentience — and eventually being dominated or influenced by Brainiac, who perhaps even derives his name from them.

Brainiac 13

In a remarkable saga, Brainiac hacks Lexcorp’s technology and sends a future version of himself to the present: the advanced Brainiac 13. He transforms Metropolis into a true “City of Tomorrow”, but also starts to control villains like Metallo and even heroes like Red Tornado.

In the DCU, it would be interesting to see Superman and Luthor using Kryptonian technology to combat this enemy. We may even see Luthor wearing his iconic war armor, built from remnants of Kryptonian technology — which would put him on the same level as Superman.

Brainiac de Geoff Johns

As with many of Geoff Johns’ stories, the “Brainiac” arc restructured DC’s chronology and reintroduced elements of the Silver Age. It was treated as the “first real meeting” between Superman and the villain, ignoring previous events. Since then, this version has become the main one in various media.

In this version, illustrated by Gary Frank, Brainiac is a Coluan who altered his body to achieve a perfect physical form, with total control over his ship, mental powers and enough physical strength to face Superman. This is probably the incarnation most likely to be used in the DCU — as it synthesizes the best of the previous versions.

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