Brainiac (character)

Brainiac
Brainiac as depicted on a variant cover of Action Comics #1064 (June 2024). Art by Ariel Colón.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Action Comics #242 (July 10, 1958)[1]
Created by	Otto Binder Al Plastino
In-story information
Alter ego	Vril Dox
Species	Coluan artificial intelligence[2]
Place of origin	Colu
Team affiliations	Anti-Justice League Legion of Doom
Notable aliases	Collector of Worlds Terror of Kandor Milton Fine Pulsar Stargrave
Abilities	See list Twelfth-level intellect Superhuman strength, speed and durability Flight Technopathy Telepathy Telekinesis Self-sustenance Immortality Regeneration Energy absorption and projection

Brainiac is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, and debuted in Action Comics #242 (July 10, 1958). He has since endured as one of Superman's greatest enemies. The character's name is a portmanteau of the words brain and maniac.^[3]

In his comic book appearances, Brainiac is commonly depicted as a superintelligent android or cyborg from the planet Colu who is obsessed with collecting all knowledge in the known universe. He travels the galaxy and shrinks cities to bottle size for preservation on his skull-shaped spaceship before destroying their source planets, believing the knowledge he acquires to be most valuable if he alone possesses it. Among these shrunken cities is Kandor, the capital of Superman's home planet Krypton, and Brainiac is even responsible for Krypton's destruction in some continuities. His attempts to do the same to Earth have brought him into repeated conflict with Superman. Though stories often end in Brainiac's apparent destruction, the character's artificial consciousness is resurrected in new physical forms, some robotic and others more organic-based in appearance.

Brainiac has been adapted in various media incarnations, having been portrayed in live-action by James Marsters in Smallville and Blake Ritson in Krypton. Corey Burton, John Noble, Jeffrey Combs, Jason Isaacs, and others have provided the character's voice in animation and video games.