Warning! Spoilers for Superman 78 #1
In Richard Donner’s Superman universe, Brainiac’s origin is homaging Zod’s backstory. Long before Kal-El made his way to Smallville, the alien threat was present at the destruction of Krypton.
Christopher Reeve’s iconic take on Superman continues to leave a mark on pop culture, as the highly anticipated Superman 78 #1 develops Richard Donner’s universe. Although Donner only directed the first two films, his voice defined the franchise with such contributions as General Zod, debuting in Superman II as portrayed by Terence Stamp. Now, writer Robert Venditti and artist Wilfredo Torres are bringing fan favorite villain Brainiac into the continuity established by Donner. However, the green evil genius has some similarities with the Kryptonian general.
When Krypton meets its doom, Brainiac isn’t far behind, watching from his ship as it explodes. Just as General Zod had once been banished to the Phantom Zone by Jor-El and the council before the planet’s demise, Brainiac is bitter toward Kryptonians. Similar to Zod, he takes a logical approach, unfazed by the events which transpire. Much like the general, Brainiac’s roots go back to the destruction of Superman’s home world. Since he will offer Clark a piece of his mysterious past, their relationship is automatically personal. “The Kryptonians sealed their planet’s fate. The era of a careless, dangerous civilization…”
Taking place before General Zod made his way to Earth, Brainiac’s inevitable invasion of Kal-El’s adoptive home is underway. The new iteration of Brainiac will likely take a note from the versions from the Silver and Bronze Age, as they were the primary versions of the villain around the time of Superman: The Movie. With his robotic army, Brainiac easily has more of an arsenal than Zod ever had, making him appear like more of a threat. Unlike the general, Brainiac poses an intellectual problem for Superman. As Zod forced Clark to face his Kryptonian heritage, Brainiac will retroactively make Kal-El consider his own origins more deeply. There is no one who appears more alien and distant in Superman’s rogues gallery than the green evil genius.
Currently, there isn’t a reason as to why Brainiac feels superior to Krypton, like Zod previous had felt following his banishment. If Brainiac has scoured the universe collecting various planets, it might make sense that he would arrogantly see himself as above such civilizations. In comparison, Krypton might even seem primitive to his intellect. However, Brainiac could prove to be an even greater threat than Zod ever was. Whereas Zod had a sense of logic to his madness, Brainiac is far removed from any sentimentality and simply wants to collect information. For all Superman knows, Brainiac might have been the true cause of Krypton’s end, making Zod look like a footnote.