The new Luthor and Brainiac

[Genis Vell]

In 1983 ACTION COMICS 544 (45th anniversary issue) featured the new versions of Superman's most lethal foes. Do you remember that hystorical issue? I have bought it (and the rest of the two sagas in AC 545/546 and SUPERMAN 385/386) some week ago (I have ordered a lot of old SUPERMAN and ACTION ISSUES from Mile High Comics!), and I have appreciated that change... The new Luthor, with his Lexorian warsuit, was deadly than ever. Bronze Age Lex was a very interesting character; during the Silver Age Lex was principally an evil genius that used his mind to fight versus his Kryptonian arch-foe, but during the '70s he became more dangerous... He didn't use only his brain: Lex wanted to enter in the battleground like other supervillains do. So, he created his purple and green suit and he became more powerful. The warsuit was a further evolution of this. Using that alien weapon Lex was really strong, anc he could compete with Superman. Poor Lex, he had the chance to life with his wife Ardora (I prefer her to the contessa; I hope to see her in post-Crisis Age, someday) but his hate for Superman was too big and he ruined all.

The new Brainiac was great, too. I never liked the pre-Crisis version. He didn't seem so terrible... The robotic Brainiac instead was really scary and powerful: indeed, Superman nedded the help of the JLA and the Teen Titans to defeat him. It's a pity that nhe robotic Brainiac didn't appear again in the Superman titles. He appeared during CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, but I wanted to see him versus Supes again.

Now, Lex has his warsuit again (even if it has been created in Apokolips; no Lexor in the post-Crisis Continuity, <choke>) and Brainiac is no more B13 but he is very similar to his Silver Age version. I'd like to see him in his robotic form in new stories, too. His skull-ship appeared during the ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN ANNUAL/L.E.G.I.O.N. '90 ANNUAL crossover in 1990 and in the epic "Panic in the sky" saga in 1991/92, but it has disappeared for a while now...

[Gernot]

I loved that Anniversary issue of Action Comics, but you're a bit off as far as Brainiac's appearances.  He appeared in an issue of DC Comics Presents (Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes) and a Teen Titans Annual which introduced a new group of heroes that no one cared about at all, so they never appeared again.    

Also, both villians appeared (with Joker and Penguin) in the mini-series Super Powers in 1984.    

I too wish we'd gotten more stories of the updated Luthor and Brainiac.  I'd like to see those stories reprinted in a Luthor and Brainiac pair of trade paperbacks.  

Gernot...

[Super Monkey]

The Exo-Skeleton Brainiac was really cool!


He was in the cartoon show Super Powers, which was an updated 80's version of Superfriends.

This was what the famous action figure line was based on or is that the other way around? It was the 80's, when every cartoon was based on toy lines, so it's hard to tell.

In the comic book version (3 mini-series in all) by Jack Kirby of all people had the Exo-Skeleton Brainiac!

[Genis Vell]

I loved that Anniversary issue of Action Comics, but you're a bit off as far as Brainiac's appearances.  He appeared in an issue of DC Comics Presents (Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes) and a Teen Titans Annual which introduced a new group of heroes that no one cared about at all, so they never appeared again.  ;)  

Thank you, I'll search these stories.
I had forgotten that the new brainiac appeared on a panel of SUPERMAN ANNUAL 11, too.

[Gangbuster]

Loeb reintroduced Lex's suit in Superman/Batman #6. He is going to be moving to the new Supergirl series coming out this summer, but if Loeb gets to write Superman again in the future, we could conceivably see the return of the Brainiac/Luthor team.

[NotSuper]

I've read about this issue but have never actually gotten to read it. I loved the cyber-organic Brainiac and would really like to read the first story he appeared in.

[Bill 9000]

I was never really a fan of Lex Luthor's battlesuit. I much preferred his purple/green combat uniform. But I was thrilled with the redesign of Brainiac. The changes made him into a truly fearsome villain that gave one the impression that he could actually present a mortal danger to Superman.

[Captain Kal]

I think the really key element of the upgraded Luthor of that issue wasn't so much his Lexor armour -- though that did make him a more credible foe of Superman and George Perez's design wasn't hard on the eyes by a longshot -- but the change in motivation.

Many fans had troubles buying into Lex losing his hair as a good enough reason for a lifelong feud with Superman and all he stood for.  Blaming Superman for the loss of the one world that idolized him, the normal life he could have led there, and his wife and son were far more credible for such everlasting hatred.

As Maggin explored the hair loss hatred and for anyone who's been ultra-self-conscious and vulnerable as a teenager, Siegel's motivation does indeed work.