Warning! Spoilers ahead for the “House of Brainiac” crossover!I’ve been reading comic books for years and I have to say the “House of Brainiac” crossover is exactly what I want out of a Superman story. I’d been anticipating this epic ever since it was announced at last year’s New York Comic Con and I’m happy to say it didn’t disappoint me once.

“House of Brainiac” is the conclusion of a plot of plot points that were set up in the earliest days of the Dawn of DC initiative. Everything that’s been teased about Brainiac in the last year and a half finally comes to a head in a story that I think paints a wonderful picture of the Man of Steel’s future.

“House of Brainiac” is the Payoff Superman Fans Have Been Waiting For

“House of Brainiac” is told over the two main titles featuring the Man of Steel, Superman and Action Comics. Green Lantern and Power Girl also tie in to the series, as does the one-shot issue Superman: House of Brainiac Special #1. The main event kicks off in Action Comics #1064 when Brainiac, backed by an army of Czarnians, invades Metropolis to kidnap every metahuman in the city. The Super-Family does their best, but one by one they’re all taken away, causing Superman to feel a fury he’s never felt before.

To get his family back, Superman teams up with the only Czarnian he knows, the Main Man himself Lobo, and the two head out into space to find Brainiac. But Clark’s nemesis is several steps ahead of him. Brainiac sends his Czarnian forces, led by General Chacal, to find Superman and drag him back to Brainiac’s ship. Superman is predictably betrayed by Lobo and the Man of Steel is captured and turned over to Brainiac so that he can use the Kryptonians’ powers to bring a monster known as the Brainiac Queen to life.

The last two chapters were released simultaneously, and thank God they were, because so many things transpire in the final act. The Super-Family fights a legion of Brainiacs, Lex destroys Brainac’s hive mind, Brainiac jettisons his Queen to safety (a nice little set-up for Absolute Power), and the bottle cities Brainiac spent his life collecting are merged into a brand-new planet! The event has a satisfying ending but sets up more chaos down the line with Lex suffering an apparent memory wipe from interacting with the Brainiac hive mind.

The “House of Brainiac” Delivered After Months of Set-Up

When DC Comics started promoting the Dawn of DC, it was already looking to the future. I remember the teaser images the publisher released that showed what titles fans could expect in the upcoming year and pondering what the significance of the Brainiac-like tentacles on these promotional images meant. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long as Superman was one of the first Dawn of DC titles and the first issue of the current volume ended with a tease that showed Brainiac was indeed around and planning something.

In the earliest parts of 2023, I had no idea where Joshua Williamson was going with this Brainiac tease. But I kept up with DC Comics’ releases and kept my eyes peeled throughout the Dawn of DC to see what clues would appear. Things got really interesting to me in Superman’s Knight Terrors book when it was revealed that Clark had some kind of sub-dermal implant in his head featuring Brainiac’s logo. From there, more and more of Williamson’s books started teasing Brainiac’s impending arrival.

Finally, in the fall of 2023, things started to take shape. The Superman Superstars initiative was announced, and while I was bummed this meant Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s time on Action Comics was coming to a close, I was ecstatic to hear Brainiac was officially coming to challenge the Super-Family in a crossover between both Superman titles. Between cameos in Superman and the “Beast World” event, we were finally getting information on Brainiac’s new plot and I could tell this was going to be a truly fun crossover.

“House of Brainiac” Reminds Me of My Favorite Superman Era

When I first got into comics, the Superman corner of the DC Universe was knee-deep in its “New Krypton” saga. The entire Superman line was involved in an ongoing crossover story arc that involved every major member of the Super-Family as they dealt with prejudice, conspiracy, and the looming threat of war between Earth and the recently revived city of Kandor. It was my first exposure to the Superman franchise and it’s a storyline I look back on fondly.

“House of Brainiac” is nowhere near as many issues as the “New Krypton” story arc. The former has only six issues (thirteen with the tie-ins) while the latter is made up of nearly ninety issues. But there’s a lot of what worked in “House of Brainiac” that I also liked in “New Krypton”. For one, it gives good moments to nearly Superman’s entire cast. Superboy, Supergirl, and even Lex Luthor all play vital roles in this story, just as they all did in “New Krypton”.

Most importantly, “House of Brainiac” is a story that truly feels earned. It’s the conclusion to plotlines that were seeded as far back as last year’s Superman #1. And this story wasn’t afraid to embrace new changes to Superman’s lore like the creation of Colu 2.0, the planet composed of Brainiac’s bottle cities or giving Lex Luthor the crossover’s big hero moment. It’s the kind of story that embraces Superman’s lore, puts in the work over an appropriate amount of time and ultimately brings it to a hell of a conclusion.

I Can’t Wait to See What Comes Next For Superman

It’s hard to imagine after months of teasing “House of Brainiac” is finally over. Now we’re heading straight into Absolute Power which I’m sure is going to be its own intriguing event. I truly have no idea where Superman is going to go now that this big plotline is over (though the story does tease Doomsday is coming back soon). But I can say this for certain. This was a fantastic story that captivated me in a way I haven’t felt in years. I’m quite excited to see where Superman’s going now that this chapter of his life is over.

Superman #15 is available now from DC Comics.