James Gunn Explains Superman and Brainiac's 'Beef' Ahead of Man of Tomorrow

1 week ago 17

Published May 29, 2026, 2:57 PM EDT

Patrik Walker is an Emmy Award–winning writer who covers all things Comics & Superheroes. His work can also be found at the Dallas Cowboys, The Sporting News, and CBS Sports, among other outlets. One of the most respected names in his field, he is also a diehard enthusiast of all things comics, anime, gaming and movies — thriving in spaces where discussions involving those or similar topics reign supreme.

Anyone who doesn't know about Brainiac quite yet is about to get a crash course into why he's, hands-down, one of the most powerful and ruthless supervillains DC Comics has ever conjured. What's more is the fact he's one of Superman's most challenging foes to defeat, the Boy In Blue having, at times, left the battle with a humiliating loss — forced to regroup and try again — and now the evil super-intelligence is heading for a live-action DCU debut in James Gunn's Man of Tomorrow in 2027.

But to understand why Superman has such a difficult time taking down Brainiac first requires the uninitiated to understand why they're at odds in the first place.

Gunn took to social media to begin building that understanding for those who will be formally introduced to Braniac for the first time when actor Lars Eidinger portrays the supervillain opposite David Corenswet's Superman next year, in what will be the fight of Kal-El's life, and he (in Gunn's DCU) doesn't even know it yet.

James Gunn Explains Why Brainiac and Superman Are At War

Superman meets Brainiac for the first time in DC Comics.

"Brainiac is what happens when intelligence loses ALL connection to humanity," Gunn wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). "And Superman is as human as anyone, so… I get why they have beef. Brainiac made his comic debut on this day in Action Comics #242."

Yes, to truly comprehend the disdain between the two, and all they've done to try and annihilate each other, one must go back to where it all started nearly 70 years ago. When Action Comics #242 was released in 1958, it featured the debut of a superintelligent android (or cyborg, depending upon your tilt) created by DC Comics' writers Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, hailing from the planet Colu.

Braniac is absolutely and unequivocally obsessed with obtaining every bit of knowledge in the universe, and it was his methods of acquiring it that eventually ran afoul of the Son of El.

Superman Can Barely Handle Brainiac and, At Times, Can't At All

Superman facing Brainiac in cover art for the titular story arc.

There is no emotion in Braniac — only reason, and only his.

That's one reason, as Gunn described it, he and Superman can't ever find common ground. The other is the fact that Brainiac makes his way around the universe, shrinking entire cities for his own personal collection after destroying their host planet for no other reason than his belief that the knowledge gained is more powerful if only he, and literally no one else, can ever possess it.

When the super-android makes his way to Krypton (you see where this is going now, don't you?) and shrinks its capital city, things get very real between he/it and that Kryptonians and, in some versions of the storyline, it's actually Brainiac that contributes to the ultimate destruction of that planet — something Superman would never forgive him for.

It often takes the entire Justice League to defeat Brainiac, a fact that has many wondering if Gunn is secretly piecing together the faction for the DCU in his and Peter Safran's God and Monsters plan. But, even then, Brainiac's AI consciousness finds a way to birth itself again in physical form, making his war with Superman a seemingly eternal one, and one that should play out magnificently onscreen in 2027 (and beyond?).