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Superman (2023)
Superman: House of Brainiac
The Man of Steel and Lobo defend Metropolis from Brainiac’s army in a can’t-miss Superman event with major repercussions for the DC Universe!
Writer Joshua Williamson’s Superman era reaches a massive inflection point as longtime foe Brainiac invades Metropolis—with an unstoppable Lobo army!
The Super family and all the heroes of Metropolis join the fight, but will they be enough to hold off Brainiac's lethal and crazed soldiers?! Can Superman and Lex learn what Brainiac is searching for? He's not bottling Metropolis, so what is he collecting instead?!
If Superman is going to save the day this time, he’ll have to enlist an unlikely ally—Lobo himself! Can the Man of Steel and the Main Man get along long enough to race across the universe and stop Brainiac? And how is Amanda Waller involved in all of this?
Williamson teams with superstar artist Rafa Sandoval for this game-changing story, which leads directly to the next phase of the DC Universe!
This volume collects Action Comics #1064-1066, Superman #13-15, and Superman: House of Brainiac Special #1, the full House of Brainiac story.
Writer Joshua Williamson’s Superman era reaches a massive inflection point as longtime foe Brainiac invades Metropolis—with an unstoppable Lobo army!
The Super family and all the heroes of Metropolis join the fight, but will they be enough to hold off Brainiac's lethal and crazed soldiers?! Can Superman and Lex learn what Brainiac is searching for? He's not bottling Metropolis, so what is he collecting instead?!
If Superman is going to save the day this time, he’ll have to enlist an unlikely ally—Lobo himself! Can the Man of Steel and the Main Man get along long enough to race across the universe and stop Brainiac? And how is Amanda Waller involved in all of this?
Williamson teams with superstar artist Rafa Sandoval for this game-changing story, which leads directly to the next phase of the DC Universe!
This volume collects Action Comics #1064-1066, Superman #13-15, and Superman: House of Brainiac Special #1, the full House of Brainiac story.
224 pages, Paperback
First published October 22, 2024
27 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
August 11, 2024
An underwhelming event that will fall into obscurity as time goes on. Disrupting a fairly good Superman run for an Action Comics tie-in that attempts a Super team up in order to stop big bad Brainiac, the ending is the only real repercussion of consequence and interest, with the rest being rather painfully mediocre.
actual rating: 2.5 stars
actual rating: 2.5 stars
September 6, 2025
A disappointing book. I love the artwork. The story/plot was drawn out and overly complicated. I wanted to give this 2.5 stars, but the artwork pushes it up.
Brainiac is back, and he is not alone, and he will be taking Superman's family with him when he leaves. How does Lobo fit into this?
What Brainiac was missing was pretty obvious, why is he doing everything he does? I still do not know. For me, this is an overly complicated book that fails to deliver but has some plot points moving forward for later.
Brainiac is back, and he is not alone, and he will be taking Superman's family with him when he leaves. How does Lobo fit into this?
What Brainiac was missing was pretty obvious, why is he doing everything he does? I still do not know. For me, this is an overly complicated book that fails to deliver but has some plot points moving forward for later.
November 18, 2024
I didn't realize going in that this was going to be such a Lobo-centric Joint.
It was all right, though in the style of irony DC excels in you really need to turn your brain off to enjoy this one.
It was all right, though in the style of irony DC excels in you really need to turn your brain off to enjoy this one.
March 4, 2025
3.3 stars
October 22, 2024
3.5 stars
Overall, it was a fun read it was sold through the entire event.
Overall, it was a fun read it was sold through the entire event.
July 24, 2025
All Brainiac all the time!
Brainiac mounts an invasion of Earth, starting by abducting members of the Superfamily. His purpose is to fill missing gaps in his knowledge. Superman gets Lobo involved, as Brainiac is using Czarnian troops. Knockdown, drag out fight, including the creation of the Brainiac Queen. Superman wins out in the end, obviously, but two teasers for what's to come: Lex Luthor has amnesia and Doomsday is trying to break out of whatever prison he is in.
Excited to see what's next.
Recommend. Good crossover with focus.
Brainiac mounts an invasion of Earth, starting by abducting members of the Superfamily. His purpose is to fill missing gaps in his knowledge. Superman gets Lobo involved, as Brainiac is using Czarnian troops. Knockdown, drag out fight, including the creation of the Brainiac Queen. Superman wins out in the end, obviously, but two teasers for what's to come: Lex Luthor has amnesia and Doomsday is trying to break out of whatever prison he is in.
Excited to see what's next.
Recommend. Good crossover with focus.
December 20, 2024
I don't read much Superman and that was painfully obvious in the first issue with a starting situation I didn't know about - Supercorp, Luthor in prison - and half the cast I'd never heard of. If you didn't know, there's a sort of Chinese Superman now. And twins with ridiculous names. I really don't read much Superman.
Not that it matters, because apart from Supe and Luthor, they're pretty much just extras.
Otherwise, what can I say about this run? It's well written but not really that interesting. Brainiac is in pure psycho mode - what's new? - and wants to raze the galaxy to the ground in egomaniacal hubris. What's new is that he's allied with the Czarnians, which justifies Lobo's presence. In my opinion, Lobo is DC's Deadpool: a stupid, pointless character. This clearly biases my judgement because the story is nevertheless solidly constructed and holds together well. The very end was very predictable though.
So it'll be 2.5* with 1/2* added with pleasure for Rafa Sandoval's superb drawing work.
Not that it matters, because apart from Supe and Luthor, they're pretty much just extras.
Otherwise, what can I say about this run? It's well written but not really that interesting. Brainiac is in pure psycho mode - what's new? - and wants to raze the galaxy to the ground in egomaniacal hubris. What's new is that he's allied with the Czarnians, which justifies Lobo's presence. In my opinion, Lobo is DC's Deadpool: a stupid, pointless character. This clearly biases my judgement because the story is nevertheless solidly constructed and holds together well. The very end was very predictable though.
So it'll be 2.5* with 1/2* added with pleasure for Rafa Sandoval's superb drawing work.
November 4, 2024
Glad I read this story arc in a collection, I did not have to wait between stories. Got to peek in every once in a while into the Superman universe!
February 26, 2025
I rarely trust a DC event to be coherent or satisfying, but maybe House of Brainiac works because its limited to the Superman crew? This event spins directly out of the Superman ongoing, so we see Superman and Lex Luthor teamed up, as well as Superman's vast Superfamily. And we see them all kidnapped toot sweet by Brainiac and an army of Czarnian's (Lobo's KISS-friendly race).
Brainiac has some scheme to fill in "gaps" within his infinite knowledge by...creating a robot Brainiac queen? Sure, whatever. The "plot" is not the strongest element in House of Brainiac. Instead, the interplay between the characters is where this book shines. Luthor and the Superfamily (and his daughter!). Superman and, uh, Lobo?? Even Supergirl and Superboy have some fun (tiny) scenes.
There's also plenty of punching if you're into that. The art is consistently superb. Interspersed within the main event are some side stories that flesh out the details nicely. Also included is a Mark Russell-penned issue about Perry White's mayoral campaign. If you bet $10 that it would be aggressively satirical of our modern political environment, you would win that bet. Fortunately, it's genuinely funny and sweet and doesn't grate like some of Russell's satire.
Brainiac has some scheme to fill in "gaps" within his infinite knowledge by...creating a robot Brainiac queen? Sure, whatever. The "plot" is not the strongest element in House of Brainiac. Instead, the interplay between the characters is where this book shines. Luthor and the Superfamily (and his daughter!). Superman and, uh, Lobo?? Even Supergirl and Superboy have some fun (tiny) scenes.
There's also plenty of punching if you're into that. The art is consistently superb. Interspersed within the main event are some side stories that flesh out the details nicely. Also included is a Mark Russell-penned issue about Perry White's mayoral campaign. If you bet $10 that it would be aggressively satirical of our modern political environment, you would win that bet. Fortunately, it's genuinely funny and sweet and doesn't grate like some of Russell's satire.
November 22, 2024
Brainiac is missing something. I’m not as deep on Brainiac lore as I should be but it’s still a solid Superman heart filled adventure.
May 3, 2025
Joshua Williamson has been crushing it with his Superman run, one of the standout titles from the Dawn of DC initiative. Twelve issues in, we have seen an uneasy alliance between Superman and his arch-nemesis Lex Luthor, with the former now the head of a corporation known as Supercorp, formerly Lexcorp. After facing new villains such as The Chained, Williamson brings back one of the most iconic from Supes’ rogues gallery for the crossover event: House of Brainiac.
As Williamson writes three issues each for both Superman and Action Comics, the event sees longtime foe Brainiac invades Metropolis, this time with an unstoppable Czarnian army. In response, the Super family and all the heroes of Metropolis join the fight, only for them to be imprisoned and their powers being taken away. With Superman on his own, he travels to the cosmos and seek the help of another Czarnian, the Main Man himself Lobo.
Throughout this trade, Williamson throws a lot of ideas into a narrative that is grand if rather disjointed. For something called House of Brainiac, there are other multiversal versions of the villain and yet very rarely do they play a part as he really functions more like the Borg from Star Trek, even going far as having a queen that is built to carry on his legacy. While he is driven by his never-ending pursuit for knowledge, I can appreciate Williamson for giving a bit more depth in showing his extended family, even if it is too much.
We may get more backstory regarding Lobo’s home planet Czarnia, where its scientists have unlocked the secrets of immortality, which gives context to Brainiac’s current motivation, it is a shame that General Chacal and the rest of the Czarnians are essentially Lobos. Although there were attempts to make Lobo himself as a parody of the 1990s trend towards the grim and gritty superheroes, the fact that he is applauded for maintaining that 90s attitude was why he is still popular nowadays, even I haven’t always been on board. For a good portion, this is a book is a buddy-up between the Main Man and the Man of Steel, where there is some fun banter as they venture through the cosmos.
With the amount of characters that Williamson chucks into this epic narrative, there is not a great deal of intimate moments. Before the invasion, there is a nice moment where Lois Lane has a day-off and plans to have a jog with her husband, Jimmy Olsen and his partner Siobhan Smythe/Silver Banshee. While you have Olsen dating Silver Banshee which is one of the best developments from Williamson’s run, there is also the continuation of the subplot about Daily Planet's former editor-in-chief Perry White running for mayor. Serving as a detour from the main narrative, it serves as a nice allegory exploring migration laws, specifically the innocent aliens living in Metropolis, and how there are people like Bibbo Bibbowski take cues from Superman and represent the best in humanity.
With multiple artists involved, some of which do the backup issues, the primary artist is Rafa Sandoval, who delivers on the spectacle where you have the Super Family clashing with the likes of Czarnians and Brainiac drones in settings like the Metropolis skyline and Brainiac’s skull ship. Even slugfests like Superman versus Lobo are big and explosive through grand panelling, and it makes you wonder what Sandoval is going to bring towards Absolute Superman written by Jason Aaron.
Like many crossover events, House of Brainiac throws a lot and it doesn't always come together coherently, but there is enough spectacle to get some enjoyment, whilst setting the stage for the next big DC event: Absolute Power.
As Williamson writes three issues each for both Superman and Action Comics, the event sees longtime foe Brainiac invades Metropolis, this time with an unstoppable Czarnian army. In response, the Super family and all the heroes of Metropolis join the fight, only for them to be imprisoned and their powers being taken away. With Superman on his own, he travels to the cosmos and seek the help of another Czarnian, the Main Man himself Lobo.
Throughout this trade, Williamson throws a lot of ideas into a narrative that is grand if rather disjointed. For something called House of Brainiac, there are other multiversal versions of the villain and yet very rarely do they play a part as he really functions more like the Borg from Star Trek, even going far as having a queen that is built to carry on his legacy. While he is driven by his never-ending pursuit for knowledge, I can appreciate Williamson for giving a bit more depth in showing his extended family, even if it is too much.
We may get more backstory regarding Lobo’s home planet Czarnia, where its scientists have unlocked the secrets of immortality, which gives context to Brainiac’s current motivation, it is a shame that General Chacal and the rest of the Czarnians are essentially Lobos. Although there were attempts to make Lobo himself as a parody of the 1990s trend towards the grim and gritty superheroes, the fact that he is applauded for maintaining that 90s attitude was why he is still popular nowadays, even I haven’t always been on board. For a good portion, this is a book is a buddy-up between the Main Man and the Man of Steel, where there is some fun banter as they venture through the cosmos.
With the amount of characters that Williamson chucks into this epic narrative, there is not a great deal of intimate moments. Before the invasion, there is a nice moment where Lois Lane has a day-off and plans to have a jog with her husband, Jimmy Olsen and his partner Siobhan Smythe/Silver Banshee. While you have Olsen dating Silver Banshee which is one of the best developments from Williamson’s run, there is also the continuation of the subplot about Daily Planet's former editor-in-chief Perry White running for mayor. Serving as a detour from the main narrative, it serves as a nice allegory exploring migration laws, specifically the innocent aliens living in Metropolis, and how there are people like Bibbo Bibbowski take cues from Superman and represent the best in humanity.
With multiple artists involved, some of which do the backup issues, the primary artist is Rafa Sandoval, who delivers on the spectacle where you have the Super Family clashing with the likes of Czarnians and Brainiac drones in settings like the Metropolis skyline and Brainiac’s skull ship. Even slugfests like Superman versus Lobo are big and explosive through grand panelling, and it makes you wonder what Sandoval is going to bring towards Absolute Superman written by Jason Aaron.
Like many crossover events, House of Brainiac throws a lot and it doesn't always come together coherently, but there is enough spectacle to get some enjoyment, whilst setting the stage for the next big DC event: Absolute Power.
July 11, 2025
4.25
Enjoyed this. Pure comic book pulp. Retro in ways even. Good story. Williamson usually spins good Superman yarns. Great art. Lobo was fun. But also dumb. The Superman team up works. But the logic of his continued changing of sides was abrupt. And dumb. The inclusion of his whole race was a mere plot convenience. Lost opportunity. This was a heavily defanged and family friendly Lobo--which defeats the purpose.
Enjoyed this. Pure comic book pulp. Retro in ways even. Good story. Williamson usually spins good Superman yarns. Great art. Lobo was fun. But also dumb. The Superman team up works. But the logic of his continued changing of sides was abrupt. And dumb. The inclusion of his whole race was a mere plot convenience. Lost opportunity. This was a heavily defanged and family friendly Lobo--which defeats the purpose.
June 24, 2025
Чесно, кожен раз, коли DC запускає черговий кросовер, у мене спалахує тривожна лампочка: це знову спроба підтягнути інші серії, які не витягують продажами. І відчувається, що «Дім Брейніака» саме з цієї категорії. Він гучний, пафосний, з масою знайомих обличь і потенційно цікавих задумів — але все одно залишає відчуття примусовості й недосказаності.
Брейніак вривається в Метрополіс разом із армією Цзарніанців (так, родичів Лобо), і замість звичного «запакую місто в пляшку», він полює на нові форми знань і безсмертя. Супермен об’єднується з Лютором і навіть із самим Лобо. Командна робота, космічні мандрівки, спроби врятувати сім’ю Супермена — усе як зазвичай. Паралельно розгортаються побічні лінії, як от політичні амбіції Перрі Вайта.
У таких подіях зазвичай є потенціал: велике зло, непередбачувані союзи, космічний масштаб — усе звучить епічно. Але коли доходить до читання, розумієш, що за ефектною обгорткою ховається перевантажена й рвана історія. У «Домі Брейніака» ідей багато, але вони якось мені узагалі не лягають в щось цілісне. Замість напруженого трилера про виживання і битву розумів ми отримали механічне перетягування героїв між сценами, де важко втримати емоційний фокус й увагу. Читати не нудно до кінця, але й не захопливо.
Рафа Сандовал і команда художників виконали роботу добре. Епічні битви, космічні панорами, дизайн космічних кораблів — все це виглядає дійсно гарно. Тому якщо сюжет не зачіпає, то хоч із візуальної сторони є на що глянути.
Особисто для себе я знайшов значно більше мінусів, аніж плюсів. Відчуття вторинності й штучності, перенасиченість персонажами, яким не дають простору, розпорошений фокус, нецікава мотивація антагоніста — досить великий список.
Єдине, що справді тішило, то це Лобо і його сюжетна лінія. Його брутальність, грубість і навіть трохи трагічного бекграунду з планетою Цзарнія додали до подій хоч якоїсь драматичності. І хоч це більше ідейний потенціал, аніж реалізований сюжет, принаймні було цікаво. Ледь не забув, що потішило також в цьому всьому — Перрі Вайт і його балотування в мери. Це було досить незвично й місцями смішно.
«Дім Брейніака» назвав би підводкою до «Абсолютної влади». Він нічого не додає до образу Брейніака, не розкриває героїв по-новому і не пропонує нічого такого, що б захопило. Тому підводка до реалізації планів Аманди Воллер.
Брейніак вривається в Метрополіс разом із армією Цзарніанців (так, родичів Лобо), і замість звичного «запакую місто в пляшку», він полює на нові форми знань і безсмертя. Супермен об’єднується з Лютором і навіть із самим Лобо. Командна робота, космічні мандрівки, спроби врятувати сім’ю Супермена — усе як зазвичай. Паралельно розгортаються побічні лінії, як от політичні амбіції Перрі Вайта.
У таких подіях зазвичай є потенціал: велике зло, непередбачувані союзи, космічний масштаб — усе звучить епічно. Але коли доходить до читання, розумієш, що за ефектною обгорткою ховається перевантажена й рвана історія. У «Домі Брейніака» ідей багато, але вони якось мені узагалі не лягають в щось цілісне. Замість напруженого трилера про виживання і битву розумів ми отримали механічне перетягування героїв між сценами, де важко втримати емоційний фокус й увагу. Читати не нудно до кінця, але й не захопливо.
Рафа Сандовал і команда художників виконали роботу добре. Епічні битви, космічні панорами, дизайн космічних кораблів — все це виглядає дійсно гарно. Тому якщо сюжет не зачіпає, то хоч із візуальної сторони є на що глянути.
Особисто для себе я знайшов значно більше мінусів, аніж плюсів. Відчуття вторинності й штучності, перенасиченість персонажами, яким не дають простору, розпорошений фокус, нецікава мотивація антагоніста — досить великий список.
Єдине, що справді тішило, то це Лобо і його сюжетна лінія. Його брутальність, грубість і навіть трохи трагічного бекграунду з планетою Цзарнія додали до подій хоч якоїсь драматичності. І хоч це більше ідейний потенціал, аніж реалізований сюжет, принаймні було цікаво. Ледь не забув, що потішило також в цьому всьому — Перрі Вайт і його балотування в мери. Це було досить незвично й місцями смішно.
«Дім Брейніака» назвав би підводкою до «Абсолютної влади». Він нічого не додає до образу Брейніака, не розкриває героїв по-новому і не пропонує нічого такого, що б захопило. Тому підводка до реалізації планів Аманди Воллер.
August 20, 2025
Very fun read - great art.
June 25, 2024
This story was so epic, I love how it has this epic start from the get go like focusing on Superman and his supporting cast and that issue is one of the best ones and from there you see the trouble starting with Brainiac and Czarnians after him and how they take down the supporting cast and then on the quest with Lobo and I just love the way Josh writes this character and he has a fun mini arc here, the whole thing with their battles and then teaming up and the story with General Chacal is fun.
There are so many twists and turns and it keeps you guessing and there is also the stuff with other characters and whats going on with them and how they react to it and the surprise coming of Vril Dox and all, it makes the comic so epic and they get their own backups and focus and the stuff with Lena and my favorite moment is towards the end when you see whats going on with Brainiac and why he is doing what he is doing and him trying to make "The Queen", this version of himself like that would be his legacy.
Even in the end when the big battle breaks out, Superman offers him a helping hand and all and what it results with is awesome and truly made me love him more and I love the ending because it sets up so many things like what will happen next and whats coming down the line!
Also the whole story focuses on other characters as well like the relationship between Lena and her father Lex and such a great focus on them and showing how he has changed, maybe for the better, and it shows their heroic moments plus the family in big view and its such a great focus piece on them, its truly a remarkable feat in writing the supporting cast and giving them all their due moments!
Amazing story and event and can't wait to see what comes down the line and the art was freaking fabulous!!
There are so many twists and turns and it keeps you guessing and there is also the stuff with other characters and whats going on with them and how they react to it and the surprise coming of Vril Dox and all, it makes the comic so epic and they get their own backups and focus and the stuff with Lena and my favorite moment is towards the end when you see whats going on with Brainiac and why he is doing what he is doing and him trying to make "The Queen", this version of himself like that would be his legacy.
Even in the end when the big battle breaks out, Superman offers him a helping hand and all and what it results with is awesome and truly made me love him more and I love the ending because it sets up so many things like what will happen next and whats coming down the line!
Also the whole story focuses on other characters as well like the relationship between Lena and her father Lex and such a great focus on them and showing how he has changed, maybe for the better, and it shows their heroic moments plus the family in big view and its such a great focus piece on them, its truly a remarkable feat in writing the supporting cast and giving them all their due moments!
Amazing story and event and can't wait to see what comes down the line and the art was freaking fabulous!!
November 21, 2024
So Brainiac has a bottle city of Czarnians, drawing Lobo into the fray - and Williamson makes that work pretty well, with the requisite heel turn and babyface return flowing logically. Last sons, fist bump.
Brainiac's master plan - everyone else is having kids and now apparently he wants to leave something to the universe, except what he's leaving will destroy the universe?! - is pure goofy, and Williamson doesn't really use the full cast very well (after arriving on the skullship, Superman seems almost a side character at times to Brainiac, Lex, and Lena, and Superboy is barely there except one big moment to thwart Brainiac's master plot). The art's generally pretty good though.
I also enjoyed Mark Russell's "Perry White for mayor election" issue. It ain't subtle, and yet it's somehow more subtle than the actual U.S. election cycle, so it's hard to fault him! Haha. That issue reminded of something too - his handling of Perry, Bibbo, Lois, and (to a lesser degree) Jimmy and Ron -- one thing that I miss about the 90s triangle era was the sense of Metropolis as a real place, as understood through that expansive supporting cast. (To the defense of nearly every creative team since then, the weekly pace gave the triangle-era creatives a lot of page space to develop the supporting cast. A single page of Jimmy Olsen subplot in each issue for six months was 26 pages of subplot development rather than twelve pages!) Given all the alien heroes and villains in the modern-day DCU, the current United Planets angle makes a certain logical sense, but I really enjoyed Russell giving us a human-scale sense of Metropolis as a real place again. It's been a while since I felt that grounding in the city.
Brainiac's master plan - everyone else is having kids and now apparently he wants to leave something to the universe, except what he's leaving will destroy the universe?! - is pure goofy, and Williamson doesn't really use the full cast very well (after arriving on the skullship, Superman seems almost a side character at times to Brainiac, Lex, and Lena, and Superboy is barely there except one big moment to thwart Brainiac's master plot). The art's generally pretty good though.
I also enjoyed Mark Russell's "Perry White for mayor election" issue. It ain't subtle, and yet it's somehow more subtle than the actual U.S. election cycle, so it's hard to fault him! Haha. That issue reminded of something too - his handling of Perry, Bibbo, Lois, and (to a lesser degree) Jimmy and Ron -- one thing that I miss about the 90s triangle era was the sense of Metropolis as a real place, as understood through that expansive supporting cast. (To the defense of nearly every creative team since then, the weekly pace gave the triangle-era creatives a lot of page space to develop the supporting cast. A single page of Jimmy Olsen subplot in each issue for six months was 26 pages of subplot development rather than twelve pages!) Given all the alien heroes and villains in the modern-day DCU, the current United Planets angle makes a certain logical sense, but I really enjoyed Russell giving us a human-scale sense of Metropolis as a real place again. It's been a while since I felt that grounding in the city.
July 31, 2024
Brainiac's thing has always been a thirst for knowledge. Now, it looks like that his collecting has come with a price. One intelligence isn't meant to hold so much at once. He has a new plan and it involves the House of El and every other superpowered person on Earth. He's even drafted some baddies from one of his earlier conquests. Remember Lobo? Apparently, there's somebody badder than 'The Main Man' and Lobo's people sacrificed a whole city(or is it state?) to be free of him.
Why Czarnians? Could have been the next race to pop back up in DC's universe (not unlike the bottle city of Kandor that Zod controls). There were people that were able to regenerate from a single drop of blood. Badass, angry, and always looking for a fight. One fight with the BIG BAD....and now they're dead(?)
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I see the parallels they're trying to make between the House of Brainiac and the House of El, but it seems pretty forced. Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed it. The three stories of family (Luthor, Superman, and Brainiac) had some interesting moments. The Queen Brainiac (or whatever we call her) was way too similar to a Ridley Scott Alien movie monster.
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Bonus: Kon-El mentions (three separate times?) that 'The Chained' used his tactile telekinesis
powers differently. Ok, kid. We get it.
Bonus Bonus: Council of Light revealed? That's it. That's ALL of it? Ummm...
Why Czarnians? Could have been the next race to pop back up in DC's universe (not unlike the bottle city of Kandor that Zod controls). There were people that were able to regenerate from a single drop of blood. Badass, angry, and always looking for a fight. One fight with the BIG BAD....and now they're dead(?)
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I see the parallels they're trying to make between the House of Brainiac and the House of El, but it seems pretty forced. Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed it. The three stories of family (Luthor, Superman, and Brainiac) had some interesting moments. The Queen Brainiac (or whatever we call her) was way too similar to a Ridley Scott Alien movie monster.
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Bonus: Kon-El mentions (three separate times?) that 'The Chained' used his tactile telekinesis
powers differently. Ok, kid. We get it.
Bonus Bonus: Council of Light revealed? That's it. That's ALL of it? Ummm...
April 6, 2025
This major Superman crossover brings the return of Superman ultra-villain Brainiac, who invades Metropolis, kidnapping all of the superpowered people, for another nefarious plan, and he reveals that he had a secret Czarnian army the whole time ready to strike! So it’s a team up between Superman and Lobo to save the day!
This event provided a surprising amount of entertainment, given how lackluster both Superman books have been during Dawn of DC. There is lots of menacing Brainiac, cool Lex Luthor shenanigans, funny Lobo, big references way back to Justice League: No Justice, and a crazy reveal of what Brainiac is planning, leading into Absolute Power.
This event provided a surprising amount of entertainment, given how lackluster both Superman books have been during Dawn of DC. There is lots of menacing Brainiac, cool Lex Luthor shenanigans, funny Lobo, big references way back to Justice League: No Justice, and a crazy reveal of what Brainiac is planning, leading into Absolute Power.
July 20, 2024
The most mid thing in existence, apart from me still not really understanding Brainiac's motivation I literally have zero thoughts on this.
Also not pictured because I cannot find the issues on here, but I also read action comics 1060-1063 and the annual today, the I Bizarro stuff was really good, it didnt feel rushed even tho it was three issues, and the plot was really interesting, it couldve been its own event, and then on the other side the conclusion to the other arc was pretty bad, not much happened on the final two issues, and yet the final issue still felt very rushed, I wish we would've been able to see the people start to distrust superman after the doctored videos came out (even tho I don't think people would buy it because there were a ton of regular people there and they were definitely recording the fight) but still, if youre goiung to make it a big part of your plot at least follow through with it and show us the consequences, overall not a very good arc, appreciate the constantine appearance tho.
Also not pictured because I cannot find the issues on here, but I also read action comics 1060-1063 and the annual today, the I Bizarro stuff was really good, it didnt feel rushed even tho it was three issues, and the plot was really interesting, it couldve been its own event, and then on the other side the conclusion to the other arc was pretty bad, not much happened on the final two issues, and yet the final issue still felt very rushed, I wish we would've been able to see the people start to distrust superman after the doctored videos came out (even tho I don't think people would buy it because there were a ton of regular people there and they were definitely recording the fight) but still, if youre goiung to make it a big part of your plot at least follow through with it and show us the consequences, overall not a very good arc, appreciate the constantine appearance tho.
January 28, 2025
A decent little Superman/Superfamily read. This book is more Superfamily and Lobo based than I expected it to be, but it wasn’t a bad thing at all. We still get to see the Boy Scout in all his glory. This story focuses on the emotion of anger, from Supes dealing with it, to people like Lobo always feeling it, and to even the people of earth with White running for mayor and all the alien refugees residing on planet earth, it’s always an interesting concept to explore because it’s a very human one, flaws especially. While I do believe it’s weaker than the previous Superman stories by Williamson, I also still think it is quite enjoyable and has many take away. Such as the ending mimicking Superman’s origin with the rocket. Or seeing a lot of the Super family in action, or getting to see a little buddy cop team up with Superman and Lobo, and the House of Braniac. Of course the art style was solid and I look forward to continuing this run on Big Blue. Plus my fiancé bought me this volume so of course that means I’m enjoying it pretty much regardless.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 8, 2024
A nice solid science fiction oriented entry into the Superman mythos after some earlier, and well executed fantasy/science fantasy arcs by Phillip Kennedy Johnson.
Brainiac has never seemed much of a threat for an allegedly super evolved AI computer (in humanoid form). Here the self aware computer is surging forward in a quest for all knowledge and it believes the Superman family (and one other) hold the key to its universal goal of knowing everything. Of course Superman and his expanded family object to-
1)the kidnapping of said family members
2) the attack on Metropolis
Look, from a character viewpoint I agree that Superman is a difficult character to write (as I bet James Gunn is finding out). Williamson works the family portion of the storyline well, much as he did during his run on the The Flash.
Avoiding spoilers but this does lead in as did Beast World and Lazarus Planet into the just started Absolute Power story, but it does so in a well executed manner.
Brainiac has never seemed much of a threat for an allegedly super evolved AI computer (in humanoid form). Here the self aware computer is surging forward in a quest for all knowledge and it believes the Superman family (and one other) hold the key to its universal goal of knowing everything. Of course Superman and his expanded family object to-
1)the kidnapping of said family members
2) the attack on Metropolis
Look, from a character viewpoint I agree that Superman is a difficult character to write (as I bet James Gunn is finding out). Williamson works the family portion of the storyline well, much as he did during his run on the The Flash.
Avoiding spoilers but this does lead in as did Beast World and Lazarus Planet into the just started Absolute Power story, but it does so in a well executed manner.
November 27, 2024
This run by Williamson can be frustrating, because moment to moment I think it's pretty great, but it just doesn't seem to be able to land on its feet every time it tries to finish an arc. House of Brainiac starts really strong but doesn't even really end. I still really enjoyed it definitely, and I think as a precursor to Absolute Power it's very cool, but it also feels like it steps away from some of the things I was really loving at the beginning of this run. It returns to those things a few times during these issues, but its identity sometimes feels confused.
Despite my complaints about some aspects, I mostly loved it. Has a bigger splash than the previous trade for me, and while I don't think it's quite as good as the first arc, it is certainly giving its all.
Despite my complaints about some aspects, I mostly loved it. Has a bigger splash than the previous trade for me, and while I don't think it's quite as good as the first arc, it is certainly giving its all.
October 18, 2024
Here comes Brainiac, and he's bringing friends. With the SuperFamily out of action, it's up to the most unlikely heroes to breach Brainiac's ship and rescue them - of course, pinning all your hopes on Lobo is totally a good idea. And who is the Brainiac Queen?
For the first big Superman crossover, this worked pretty well for me. Writer Joshua Williamson handles every issue as well as most of the back-up stories, and it's cohesive and fun, serving as a solid Brainiac story in its own right while also setting up some threads for Absolute Power and reintroducing characters I've always enjoyed but never seem to come up that often (hi, Vril Dox!).
For the first big Superman crossover, this worked pretty well for me. Writer Joshua Williamson handles every issue as well as most of the back-up stories, and it's cohesive and fun, serving as a solid Brainiac story in its own right while also setting up some threads for Absolute Power and reintroducing characters I've always enjoyed but never seem to come up that often (hi, Vril Dox!).
November 3, 2024
I am a casual Superman reader, and my dislike of this event wasn't that I was lost - Williamson did a great job of respecting the broad cast and narrowing quickly to a few focal characters. My problem is that this just felt small - Superman teams up with Lobo to save his supporting cast from Brainiac, and it lasts forever but feels like it could have been a couple of oversized annual issues instead of 7 parts plus tie-ins. The action was chaotic fight scenes, strategy was usually reduced to big splash pages of someone using their power in conventional ways. Not good.
September 28, 2025
can't believe lex luthor lobotomized himself for lena... doty (dad of the year)
okay, seriously now. this run has a big ending with major repercussions for the dc universe, but throughout the execution just didn't hit the spot. it was mostly just a lot of big fights with random information thrown in between that didn't really connect until it was literally spelled out for the reader in the last couple of issues (which is the same problem with williamson's green arrow run). i did like conner saving the day bc i love him. overall: meh.
actual rating: 2.5 stars.
okay, seriously now. this run has a big ending with major repercussions for the dc universe, but throughout the execution just didn't hit the spot. it was mostly just a lot of big fights with random information thrown in between that didn't really connect until it was literally spelled out for the reader in the last couple of issues (which is the same problem with williamson's green arrow run). i did like conner saving the day bc i love him. overall: meh.
actual rating: 2.5 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 25, 2024
Una historia forzadamente épica en la que el hombre de hojalata Brainiac busca su corazón con un alambicado plan que consiste en raptar a todos los personajes de la serie regular de Superman y esperar a que Supes llegue y le reviente a hostias. Como en toda serie épica se producen cambios permanentes en la mitología como es el hecho de que a partir de ahora Brainiac pasa a ser una Reina como la de Alien pero robótica y ya.
July 28, 2025
Un cómic cargado de acción, con una narrativa sencilla y un arte visual bastante atractivo. Cierto, al ser un compilado tomado de varias serializaciones, no reconocí a varios de los integrantes de la súperfamilia, ni algunos otros personajes; pero, debo rescatar que tanto Brainiac como Lobo, son de mis villanos favoritos de Superman, y ninguno me decepcionó aquí, bueno... no sé por qué en la traducción, eligieron darle a Lobo un estilo "cholo". En inglés nunca me ha parecido que sea así.
July 20, 2024
The Sandoval art, and colourist, are fantastic. Story is fine. I did enjoy that it was Superman family contained rather than universe spanning.
I didn't enjoy the Czarnians and don't think I'll ever have love for Lobo.
Nice that Brainiac got a small push, however seems it was just a means to an end for the new Brainiac Queen.
I didn't enjoy the Czarnians and don't think I'll ever have love for Lobo.
Nice that Brainiac got a small push, however seems it was just a means to an end for the new Brainiac Queen.
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November 8, 2024I was enjoying Williamson’s Superman well enough, but this crossover dips into forgettable territory. Williamson tries to liven things up with Lobo and emotion from Lex and Lena (and even Brainiac). I just didn’t care. Lots of loud punching and busy visuals that all blurs together. Mark Russell’s interlude about Bibbo and Perry White is the best part of the book.
January 23, 2025
Typical DC - everything is epic! Still, any story that includes Lobo, Bibbo and a cameo from Space Cabbie can't be all bad, and this one wasn't all bad (but it wasn't all good either). Best for deep fans who still have an interest in seeing this version of Superman fight it out with a familiar baddie.
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