Superman vs. Brainiac

by Otto Binder, Gil Kane (Illustrator), George Pérez (Illustrator)

Superman takes on Brainiac, an infamous android who is forced to develop more powerful upgrades and malicious tactics when he meets his match while taking on the Man of Steel.

Genres: Comics, Superman, Dc Comics, Comic Book, Graphic Novels, Superheroes

192 pages, Paperback

First published November 11, 2008

About the author

Otto Oscar Binder. Used these alternate names: Eando Binder (together with his brother Earl Binder -E and O Binder-), John Coleridge, Gordon A. Giles, Will Garth, Ian Francis Turek, Ione Frances Turek and Otto O. Binder.

Reviews

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brainiac is a computer mind created on the alien world, Colu. Its primary mission is to save the civilisation of dying planets by shrinking entire cities before causing planetary destruction. When its mission takes it to Earth, Superman must intervene.

Brainiac is a strange villain for Superman to face. This is possibly down to the rather one dimensional portrayal of evil without purpose. There have been efforts to show that Brainiac is saving entire civilisations from extinction, but leaning into this even more would make Superman's dilemma greater. How can you fight something that truly believes it is doing the right thing for the right reasons?

The variety of stories here introduce readers to Brainiac quite well, and the graphics still hold up quite well. This book is not perfect for Superman fans, but it's still enjoyable.

[Ross Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

For one of Superman's greatest villains, this compilation does little to deliver on the hype. The problem is that these stories, written from 1958-2000) are not done with anything remotely close to continuity. Brainiac is an alien collector of cities, then a silly plot-motor, then an evolved robot, then remade into a Cthulhian intelligence, then (after the 1986 Crisis) a disembodied spirit of a smart alien scientist possessing a mentalist, then... I don't know.

But there's a lot of backstory that's missing, and I am sure Brainiac's ever-revolving origin story is not yet done, as long as there are comics to be sold. The only high point here was to see the introduction of the City of Kandor, and Supes' first interactions with this green baldie.

[Mr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a bit of a mess of a volume.
Though intended to be an overview of decent Brainiac stories it ultimately falls flat. The early stories are good fun but the Brainiac character is constantly being reinvented. He takes on new forms and at one stage inhabits a human.
The most egregious of the selections involves Brainiac evolving into a new form and ends with a cliff-hanger with Superman in jeopardy. The volume than skips ahead to the next time the character was reinvented leaving the story unfinished.
I have read better Superman volumes that span from early to later stories. This compilation really needed more care.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting collection of Braniac stories. As always, I love compilations like this that show how a character evolves over the decades. I’d be interested to see a more up-to-date edition with more recent comics. It’s particularly intriguing how Braniac has been an alien, an AI, and even a human circus performer taken over by alien intelligence. One particularly interesting comic was the issue where the destruction of Superman’s home planet Krypton finally became visible from earth. A poignant read that still delivered solid action and even seemed a little ahead of its time.

[Al Gritten · Rating 3 out of 5]

By today's standards in the comic/graphic novel industry the story line is fairly straightforward and the art, while good for its day, is a bit dated. But that was why I enjoyed it. This took me down memory lane back to the days when Lois and Lana were in competition for Superman's attention and the bad guys were less complex and complicated. It made me feel like a kid again waiting for the latest ediction of the "man of steel". I loved it!

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

A selection of comics from different eras showcasing the narrative and physical transformations Brainiac has undergone. Later comics were more continuity heavy, and were harder to jump into in-media-res. Still, I understand the Brainiac character (prior to new 52 anyway) much better than I did before picking up this book.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun little overview of the history of one of Superman's arch-foes.
The early stuff is the best, as post-Crisis there were some good ideas, but the stories were a mess and kept getting reimagined or just more convoluted with each 'fix'.

[alejandro galvez · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was ok. Wish it was better.

There are good to great Brainiac stories out there. This book had some but you will find better elsewhere. The book is fine. I just had higher expectations I guess. Still worth a read but there are better books to read.

[Grace Hennessey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved seeing Kara in this !!

[Aundre Dollete · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great art work. and the development of Brainiac into a malicious technical marvel is startling. And as an old-school reader and fan, I enjoy it because Superman will always have his one-upmanship in the end. Good trumps evil..

[Annette McIntyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compiliation of several comic books where Superman battles Brainiac. What is interesting is to see the changes to both, but particularly Brainiac, over the course of a few decades. Some stories are told fully, other's are not, but an interesting read none-the-less

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful artwork by Gil Kane. I mostly knew him as a Green Lantern artist, but his poses are really amazingly 'suited' for superman too.

[Dena Grover · Rating 4 out of 5]

good collection, neat to see the changes to characters over the years