Brainiac: The Perfect Villain for Superman’s Man of Tomorrow

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According to reports, Brainiac will be the primary villain in the upcoming film, Man of Tomorrow. He’s a fitting choice to build upon the foundation laid by Superman. The new DC Universe quickly established Superman as a protector of Earth, moving past his origin story to portray him as a seasoned hero still figuring out his place as both a human and a Kryptonian.

Although Lex Luthor challenges Superman, his next enemy will be even more dangerous. According to The Wrap, Brainiac will appear in the upcoming film, Man of Tomorrow, as the primary villain. Brainiac is an incredibly intelligent robot who travels the universe, trying to gather all existing knowledge.

He thinks knowledge is only worthwhile if he has it, and will often destroy planets after gaining the information he seeks. Though not directly in the Superman story yet, Brainiac seems to be a key piece of the overall plan James Gunn is building towards in Man of Tomorrow, and will let certain characters develop in a natural way.

Lex Luthor’s Unrelenting Envy Will Lead To His Team-Up With Superman To Beat Brainiac

James Gunn revealed artwork for Man of Tomorrow on Instagram showing Superman and Lex Luthor together – Superman leaning on Luthor, who was in his signature green suit. This suggests the next Superman movie will feature a partnership between the two, even though Lex Luthor typically despises Superman.

This version of Lex Luthor doesn’t have a complex backstory for hating Superman. He simply resents Superman’s power and is determined to destroy him because of it. He admits his jealousy is the driving force behind his actions, even believing it’s the “only hope for humanity” – the reason he must eliminate Superman.

Honestly, I think he sees himself as the one who’s going to save us all, but it’s clearly about his own deep-seated insecurities. He acts like he’s the smartest person alive, and his ego just won’t let him admit anything else. It really bothers him that people admire Superman more, and I think it’s because no amount of intelligence can give him that kind of power. It’s frustrating to watch, because it’s all about him, not about actually helping anyone.

Brainiac is the ideal opponent for Lex Luthor because he’s considered the most intelligent being in the universe. While Lex doesn’t care about the fate of Metropolis or even Earth, he does deeply care about maintaining his image as the smartest person. This desire to be superior will ultimately make Lex act, even if it means working against his dislike of Superman.

Lex Luthor is currently imprisoned, and his only chance of freedom might be to help save the Earth from Brainiac. Driven by his jealousy of the android, Lex will try to defeat Brainiac, and may be forced to work with Superman as part of a deal for his release. However, he’ll also need to demonstrate that he’s more intelligent than Brainiac to satisfy his own ego, requiring him to find some way to cooperate with Superman.

Brainiac As The Villain Can Continue Superman’s Conflicted Relationship With Krypton

A recent storyline in Superman has changed the established story of Kal-El’s origins. For a long time, it’s been believed that Superman was sent to Earth by his parents, Jor-El and Lara, as a symbol of hope for humankind. This is what the new Superman, played by David Corenswet, initially thought, based on a partial message from his parents. But the complete message reveals a different story.

The story shows that Superman’s birth parents, Jor-El and Lara, actually intended for him to rule humanity as a powerful, even ruthless, leader and recreate Krypton with a large family. However, Superman rejects this destiny and instead chooses to live by the morals taught to him by his adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent. This is a fresh perspective on the Superman mythos, as his Kryptonian heritage is so central to who he is.

Even though Superman might be setting aside what his parents wanted, he may not be finished with Krypton. In the DC Comics universe, Brainiac has a special link to the planet. Before Krypton was destroyed, he actually took the entire capital city of Kandor and reduced it to a miniature size, keeping it preserved on his spaceship as the last part of the planet that remains.

Some Superman stories depict Brainiac as the one who destroyed Krypton. Since Brainiac is set to be Superman’s next enemy, the filmmakers could use this backstory to create a stronger link between the villain and Superman’s origins. Even if Brainiac doesn’t destroy Krypton, the city of Kandor offers a compelling moral challenge for the story.

Superman is troubled by what his parents intended for Earth. If he discovers Kandor aboard Brainiac’s ship, he might struggle with whether to save it, fearing he’d be introducing a potentially dangerous population of Kryptonians to humanity. He worries they might share the same controlling ambitions as his parents.

Lex Luthor definitely wouldn’t want any more Kryptonians on Earth, and the restoration of Kandor could create new conflict between him and Superman after they deal with Brainiac. Superman’s complicated relationship with his Kryptonian heritage was a strong part of the Superman story, and bringing back Kandor gives James Gunn a chance to explore that even further.

Brainiac could be a great addition to the DC Universe, offering potential storylines beyond just Superman and Lex Luthor, and even opening doors for future movies and TV series. But a Man of Tomorrow film feels like the ideal way to introduce him, building on the foundation already laid for Superman’s classic enemies.

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2025-11-23 19:02