Warning! Spoilers ahead for Action Comics #1064!In an instant, Superman and his powerful family have been defeated by one of his most menacing villains. After months of planning and waiting, the super-intelligent menace Brainiac attacks in his most devastating assault on Earth.
In Action Comics #1064 by Joshua Williamson and Rafa Sandoval, it’s a normal day in Metropolis and every member of the Super-Family is content is enjoying their day off. But the peace doesn’t last long as Brainiac’s army of robotic drones and Czarnians descends to wreak havoc on the city. Every member of the family steps up to fight and it isn’t long before Clark realizes who’s behind the attack. Just as Superman wises up, Brainiac begins the next phase of his plan.
The Man of Steel has been through a lot in the last year. Between striking up a working relationship with his greatest enemy and facing off against the Lex Luthor Revenge Squad, the hits just haven’t stopped for Clark Kent. But now he faces his most intense challenge as Brainiac comes to Earth for his most wicked plan yet.
Brainiac Finally Attacks and Takes Out Most of Superman’s Family
Brainiac sends his army to apprehend Lex Luthor, currently being held at Supercorp. Brainiac reveals himself to Lex and taunts the criminal over what Brainiac has planned. Mercy Graves tries to protect Lex, but she and Lex’s daughter Lena are suddenly bottled and disappear in a flash of pink light. Lex makes an escape thanks to a quick construct armor, but the rest of Superman’s family isn’t so lucky. One by one, Supergirl, Superboy, the Super Twins and anyone else with powers in Metropolis are abducted by Brainiac.
Superman faces off against General Chacal, who mocks Clark over the prospect of losing another world. With every abducted metahuman on Brainiac’s ship, Brainiac orders a retreat. Chacal attempts to bottle and abduct Superman, but Lex sacrifices himself and tells Superman that he’s the only one who can save the Earth. The Man of Steel tries to pursue Brainiac, but the villain disappears and Clark is forced to return to his city. Superman can barely contain his fury as he makes plans to find the one person who can help him: Lobo.
Where Has Brainiac Been in the Dawn of DC?
From the moment the Dawn of DC began, Brainiac’s presence has been looming over the DC Universe. Teasers setting up future ongoing titles and miniseries were accompanied by images of tentacles from Brainiac’s iconic ship. The first time Brainiac truly showed up was in the final pages of 2023’s Superman #1, which showed the Coluan villain keeping a close eye on Superman. The extent of Brainiac’s observation was seen in Knight Terrors: Superman #2, which revealed Brainiac had somehow implanted a subdermal nanobot inside Superman.
Brainiac began making sporadic appearances in the Superman title, later appearing in Superman 2023 Annual #1. This issue revealed a surprising side experiment Brainac was conducting that involved a bottled city composed of violent Czarnians far more bloodthirsty than Lobo. Brainiac noted during this experiment he was attempting to unlock the greatest secret in the universe and trying to find a way to not feel alone in the universe. However, Brainiac still had much to do before he could directly confront Superman on Earth.
Superman #850 showed Brainiac once more and revealed that he was obsessed with understanding why Earth had such a large concentration of metahumans. It also revealed that the Czarnians Brainiac imprisoned were working for him and he tested out their lethal potential by attacking an Earth-like planet called Braal. The planet didn’t stand a chance against the Czarnians led by the ruthless General Chacal. Brainiac was satisfied and began plans to attack Earth so he could work towards his ultimate goal: Creating new life.
Brainiac Has Captured Superman’s Family (But Why?)
It’s a bit of a jaw-dropper seeing Superman’s entire family being taken out at once. Superman has spent several decades amassing one of the largest and most powerful superhero legacies in DC Comics, but Brainiac came in and eliminated them like it was nothing (a testament to how much time he’s spent preparing this attack). Screen Rant recently attended a “House of Brainiac” roundtable hosted by DC, where writer Williamson said:
“I don’t think it’s any secret that I love legacy and I think legacy is really crucial to DC. I think it is built into the DNA of DC Comics”.
This seems to cut to the core of what Brainiac is out to do, i.e. build a legacy. While Brainiac does have a family line that ultimately results in the Legion of Super-Heroes’ Brainiac 5, the original Brainiac doesn’t have anyone like him in his life. Brainiac is one of the smartest Coluans who has ever lived, and while he values knowledge, it doesn’t make up for the life of solitude he leads. Brainiac sees what Superman has done and is attempting to perfect it with a house of of Brainiac’s own.
Brainiac sees the potential of what Earth and its metahumans can offer him. Brainiac wants a companion similar to him and he feels the secret to unlocking it lies within the power native to Earth’s population. It took months of preparation and planning, but the villain succeeded and successfully contained almost Superman’s entire family. With Superman left stranded behind, it seems that there’s nothing stopping Brainiac from cracking the secrets behind Earth’s power and using that knowledge to construct his greatest creation.
Brainiac’s Destruction Has Left Superman in the Dust
Joshua Williamson has spoken about how he’s used his time on the Superman titles to explore other genres such as romance or Westerns. Speaking on “House of Brainiac,” Williamson said:
“I had to take my foot off the gas on exploring some of the genres a little bit. But with [House of Brainiac] I was like, that’s a disaster movie.”
This issue definitely feels consequential as Brainiac’s ultimate plan starts to come into full view. While there’s likely to be plenty of surprises down the line, for now, Clark and his allies have taken one of the worst losses they have in some time. Hopefully, Superman has a plan to come back from Brainiac’s devastating attack and bring his family back together again.
Action Comics #1064 is available now from DC Comics.
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