I’ve just realized what Superman movie I think has the closest thing to a live-action Brainiac film appearance, and I can’t get over which movie it is, and how it happens. Superman’s live-action movies have provided some strikingly good villain depictions, and some far, far more divisive villain depictions, resulting in a varied roster for DC’s franchise-defining Man of Steel. Part of the reason these results are so varied is arguably that many installments use the exact same antagonists, giving us more of a direct comparison point between these releases that can make people more adverse to some iterations.
This is interesting to note, given Superman – as one of DC’s most popular, most long-lived, and most prolific heroes – has a huge assortment of villains he’s faced in the panels and pages of the comics, but who haven’t had their full dues on the big screen. Brainiac is perhaps the most famous and most notable of these, making the movie story that came closest to his live-action movie debut in the 67 years since the character was made all the more special, and all the more weird to note.
Brainiac Has Been Criminally Underused In Superman’s Live-Action Movie History
Despite being one of Superman’s main comic antagonists – and having a range of interesting adaptations during his almost 70-year-long history – Brainiac has yet to get his moment in the sun as the villain in a live-action feature film, much to many DC fans’ discontent. While there have been various plans and attempts to make this a reality, this story avenue has not yet come to fruition, with films tending to instead focus on Lex Luthor and or General Zod as the central antagonist that Superman has to face in his movie endeavors.
Brainiac’s potential in the film world has been demonstrated by a range of animated DC movies instead, with an assortment of animated film roles from 2006 to 2023 showing that it isn’t impossible to fit Brainiac into a movie’s story, and that there can be some unique appeal in bringing him to life in a film versus solely through the world of television. Krypton also provided a look at a live-action Brainiac that similarly teased his live-action movie potential, albeit through the show providing an example of how striking Brainiac could look in this format, and how fascinating his story could be.
That said, even when simply looking at the comics alone, it’s evident that Brainiac could be a legitimately fantastic opponent for the DC hero. The premise of Brainiac being an immensely powerful artificial intelligence made from the remains of the scientist who bonded with his alien technology is one that is both fascinating by itself and all the more interesting in how it mirrors Kal-El’s own Kryptonian heritage – and the villain’s immense intellect makes him a truly next-level enemy for the Man of Steel to face. Funnily enough, there is one Superman movie villain who’s also delved into some similar territory, albeit without the galactic edge.
I Genuinely Think The Closest We’ve Gotten To Brainiac Is Superman III’s Villain
Superman III is one of Superman’s more divisive installments – both because of its story decisions, and because of the lingeringly controversial decision to replace Richard Donner as director, despite his hopes to direct two other Superman movies after the 1978 Superman, which ironically were set to include Brainiac in the third installment according to the director himself (via CBR). While Donner wasn’t able to make his plans for Brainiac’s live-action movie debut a reality – and Richard Lester instead directed Superman III – the film, oddly enough, still managed to bring us the villain that’s arguably the closest we’ve gotten to Brainiac in this regard.
Superman III first debuted in July 1983.
Superman III centers around Ross Webster’s villainous plans to control several key resources on Earth, starting with coffee and then going on to focus on oil. Webster’s efforts are primarily carried out by Gus Gorman, one of Webster’s newest employees, who he discovers has an affinity for computers. Towards the end of the movie, Gus requests that Ross build a cutting-edge computer that he feels he can use to carry out both his and Ross’ aims, which leads to the development of the “Ultimate Computer” – a concept that feels equal parts sillier and yet also a little more harrowing looking back now in the modern day.
However, it’s not Gus or Ross that end up being the closest to Brainiac here, but rather the computer itself – or rather, the computer itself after it bonds itself to Ross’ sister Vera Webster in its efforts to not be destroyed, having gained a sort of sentience in the final act of the film. This unsettling amalgamation of flesh and computer ultimately isn’t that far off from Brainiac’s own story or premise – and the fact the “Ultimate Computer” almost defeats Superman at several points in their conflict because its artificial intelligence can detect anyone’s weakness also has parallels with Brainiac himself.
Superman III’s Story Highlights Why The DC Universe Needs To Use Brainiac
While the collective of the Ultimate Computer and Vera Webster aren’t exactly identical to Brainiac – partially because Vera becomes this techno-organic being unwillingly, and partially because she ends up being separated from it once more after Superman is able to defeat the machine – this only highlights all the more that DC is sorely missing out on the chance to make the character into a live-action movie star. Though the Ultimate Computer is an interesting concept, a version of this story that could tie into the wider scope of DC’s universe would logistically be even more exciting for audiences to get to see.
With the DC Universe timeline already looking to delve into less-adapted corners of the comic lore, using Brainiac to flesh out the wider galaxy while also letting him be an interesting challenge for Superman in his own right would have twofold benefits, and prove immediately interesting to fans, especially given how many times we’ve just missed out on getting Brainiac in full force in a live-action movie. This would also mean Superman III isn’t the closest we’ve gotten to a live-action Brainiac as a movie villain, since the film, despite its own strengths, is still some way from actually adapting the villain.
Now that 2025’s Superman movie is only weeks away, there’s even more reason to hope that the DC Universe’s future can bring a flux of underappreciated characters into the franchise and onto the big screen – and plenty of reason to hope Brainiac can be in the first rounds of these new appearances, or even potentially appear in some capacity in the Superman movie itself. However, things will only really become clear when the first DC Universe movie debuts, and gives us a better understanding of whether the franchise might actually take on the iconic DC villain.
