The DC Universe has the opportunity to finally make a key live-action Brainiac storyline reality after 66 years, following Superman & Lois’ twist with the character. Brainiac first appeared on the pages of DC Comics in 1958, with the character swiftly becoming one of the most prominent – and most dangerous – Superman villains of all time. Though various Superman comic stories appeared to see the Man of Steel destroy the villain, his return was just as inevitable, locking the pair in a deadly stalemate that cemented him as a challenging opponent from the early days of their conflicts.

Given this reputation as part of Superman’s Rogues Gallery, it stands to reason that Brainiac has also been adapted on-screen many times in the years that have followed since, and this is true – albeit true more when looking at DC’s animated releases rather than their live-action shows and movies. In the live-action sphere, Brainiac hasn’t appeared in a movie yet to this day, and across the course of his three live-action Superman show appearances, he’s never managed one outwardly straightforward storyline, despite it being one of the first you might expect when it comes to bringing a Superman villain to life.

Superman & Lois’ Brainiac Twist Means We Didn’t Get To See A Fully Comic-Accurate Brainiac Face Superman

DC’s Live-Action Brainiacs Have Been Great, But Avoided One Notable Approach To The Character & His Story

Superman & Lois‘ reveal of Brainiac in the final season was a thoroughly exciting one, and a move that meant we got to see a villain in live-action who’s often overlooked in lieu of other antagonists. However, season 4’s Brainiac showed no signs of being anything other than human, with Milton Fine appearing for all intents and purposes to have been simply changed into a super-smart person with a particular desire to prove his intelligence that meant he was willing to work alongside Lex Luthor to take the hero down – lacking the powers or alien-possession angle of Milton Fine’s Brainiac comic story.

While this take on Brainiac is interesting and works well with the storyline at hand, it’s one that also means we never got to see a comic-accurate version of Brainiac stand off against Superman in a full adaptation of the hero and villain’s comic fights – something that has been a consistent issue with live-action renditions of the villain. Superman & Lois is the third live-action version of Brainiac we’ve gotten so far, with it depicting Brainiac as human, Krypton depicting Brainiac years before Superman existed, and Smallville seeing Brainiac and Clark Kent fight, but before Kent officially became Superman himself.

Smallville arguably gets closest to a full comic-accurate fight between a fully realized Superman and Brainiac, but still comes short of properly reflecting this – in part also because its Brainiac takes on a more Terminator-esque rendition, but largely because the rules of the show ensured Clark couldn’t truly be Superman until the show’s ending. While Krypton has perhaps the most comic-accurate looking Brainiac – with the green skin and head protrusions most commonly associated with the character in the modern day – the villain here instead serves as an antagonist for Superman’s Kryptonian ancestors, once again missing the mark in this regard.

The DCEU’s Brainiac Plans Left Another Missed Opportunity For A Full Comic Version Of The Villain

The DCEU Came Close To Providing The First Comic-Accurate Brainiac Vs Superman Fight

According to ComicBook, Man of Steel screenwriter David Goyer previously stated that the Krypton show “takes place 200 years before Man of Steel,” explaining that “we’re treating Krypton like it’s a historical piece.” This would have meant Krypton‘s Brainiac would be a part of the DCEU timeline, aligning with the unused plans for the DC hero to face off against Brainiac, which Zack Snyder has discussed multiple times in the past, telling the Post-Credit Podcast in 2021 that “we talked about a Brainiac movie” for the next installment in the Superman series.

All of this helps to lay out the framework of what the DCEU’s Brainiac plans looked like, and this early setup certainly shows that the opportunity would have been there for the DCEU to bring a fully comic-accurate Brainiac against a now fully established Superman. However, the plans to have Krypton be a fully canon part of the DCEU timeline appear to have been walked back, especially since several details appeared to end up contrasting between the Syfy show and Man of Steel itself.

Similarly, the concept of Brainiac starring in a DCEU movie also fell through, with a second Superman movie starring Henry Cavill never happening despite the popularity of the character, leaving these hopes once again dashed. As such, the new reboot of DC’s on-screen movie universe holds some real promise in this regard – and promise that it looks set to actually utilize, since there have already been teases that Brainiac’s next live-action appearance is closer than you might think.

The DCU Is DC’s Next Real Chance At Fully Adapting Brainiac

The DC Universe Already Alluded To The Idea That Superman Will Face Off Against Brainiac Soon

As DC’s next live-action world, the DC Universe is naturally the franchise’s next chance at bringing a comic-accurate Brainiac in as a full Superman villain in his own right. With the DC Universe release lineup already focusing more on space and figures who haven’t seen as much live-action focus historically, it seems entirely likely that this universe could bring the Brainiac story we’ve been waiting many years for. With Brainiac’s interesting history of live-action adaptations still leaving some massive unfulfilled potential on the table, capitalizing on this would only make sense for the new cinematic era of DC.

Indeed, there have already been official teases that the DC Universe might be pitting Brainiac against Superman sooner rather than later, with a post from the official DCU Superman account on X citing the 2008 Superman: Brainiac story as one of “the comics that inspired the upcoming film“. As such, the prospect of Brainiac finally getting his full live-action props certainly seems more possible than ever before, allowing the DC Universe to build on both the villain’s on-screen and comic history, and build a new path forward that lets us see a concept that’s been 66 years in the making.