Superman Lore Changes Forever as the Origin of a Major Villain's Power Is Revealed

Warning! Contains spoilers for Superman: House of Brainiac Special #1!

Summary Brainiac's immortality is revealed, tied to a deal he made with Czarnians for their healing factor.

Brainiac's unstoppable nature is explained by his ability to regenerate, making him a formidable foe for Superman.

Superman faces a daunting challenge in fighting Brainiac, who will never truly be defeated due to his immortality.

Some Superman villains are defeated and never appear again, but one villain has been persistent for decades: no matter what happens to Brainiac, he always seems to return. While Brainiac's seemingly unstoppable nature was always a mystery, DC just revealed that he is truly immortal due to one surprising secret.

The Superman Family is entering a new conflict with the "House of Brainiac" crossover event. This story is already off to a major start by revealing the surprising origin of Brainiac's power in the first chapter, by Joshua Williamson and Edwin Galmon, of Superman: House of Brainiac Special #1. Brainiac has been traveling the universe, seemingly forever, and has been collecting cities and people from all over. While most fans likely waved this away due to the supposed longevity of Brainiac's race, it turns out that's not actually the reason, as revealed in these preview pages.

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Brainiac once made a deal with Tribb of Czarnia. Tribb offered Brainiac one of Czarnia's cities — along with the secret of Czarnian immortality. Czarnians have one of the most absurd healing factors in DC history, and it seems that Brainiac now shares that power. This would go a long way to explain why Brainiac never seems to die or even age, despite how long he's been traveling the galaxy.

"House of Brainiac," a major crossover event between Superman and Action Comics, begins in Action Comics #1064 by Joshua Williamson and Rafa Sandoval, available now from DC Comics.

Related Brainiac's Threat to the Superman Family Is Bigger than Fans Realize The “House of Brainac” is almost here, and the Superman family is about to face their greatest threat in the form of Brainiac’s dark history.

Brainiac Has the Surprising Power of Immortality

Brainiac Has a Secret Connection to the Czarnians

Brainiac has been one of the most iconic villains of Superman for decades. He is a knowledge-hungry alien who travels the galaxy shrinking down cities and stealing them for his own collection. In some interpretations, he's even responsible for the destruction of Krypton, purely so he could keep their cultural knowledge for himself. Brainiac's desire for knowledge was so strong that he even traveled beyond the Source Wall in search of what was beyond. It seems that no matter how dangerous the situation was or where he went, he always managed to get what he wanted, and DC finally revealed how.

Czarnians have unstoppable healing factors; even just causing a single Czarnian to bleed will cause a brand new Czarnian to regenerate out of the blood drop. Now it seems that Brainiac has this exact same power, explaining not only how Brainiac can continually go up against the likes of Superman, with seemingly no long-lasting injuries, but also how he can explore the most dangerous areas of the DC Universe with no concern at all. He managed to travel beyond the Source Wall, a place where almost no one has been, and was completely unconcerned, which makes a lot of sense if he has the strongest healing factor DC has to offer.

Brainiac Will Never Truly Be Defeated as Long as He's Immortal

Does Superman Have a Chance?

Superman has gone up against tons of villains and plenty of them have been defeated or at the very least set back in their plans, but no matter what happens, Brainiac never seems to suffer any real loss. Even the Lost City of Kandor being stolen from him was a hollow victory for a long time, as Superman was unable to return the city to normal size for years. Brainiac is one of Superman's most effective villains because he simply never stops, and that's partly because his body will always be able to keep up with his insatiable lust for knowledge — because Brainiac's body will never give out.

Superman: House of Brainiac Special #1 is available April 30th, 2024 from DC Comics!

SUPERMAN: HOUSE OF BRAINIAC SPECIAL #1 (2024) Writer: Joshua Williamson, Mark Russell

Artist: Edwin Galmon, Steve Pugh, Fico Ossio

Colorist: Jordie Bellaire, Rex Lokus

Letterer: Dave Sharpe

Cover Artist: Jamal Campbell