Absolute Superman has been an interesting breath of fresh air for anyone who felt Superman was a bit stagnant, but what of his villains? In Absolute Superman #7, Brainiac takes center stage in a bottle episode, revealing his background and, more importantly, the utterly horrific take on this character. Keep the lights on when you read this issue!
Certain characters trend towards horrific, with the Joker being a notable one. They aren’t always scary, but when they are, they are the stuff of nightmares. That’s the case with Brainiac in this issue. It’s a certainty that Jason Aaron and Carmine Di Giandomenico have given the world a version of Brainiac that’s straight out of a John Carpenter film in this issue. He’s not only twisted, evil, and without an ounce of empathy, but he’s freakish to look at. This is a twisted version of Brainiac that is only told around campfires to raise the hairs on your neck.
Absolute Superman #7 opens with a crew of Omegas infiltrating a compound. They’re ready for Brainiac, or at least they thought they were. Very quickly, they learn their implants won’t stop Brainiac from shrinking the skin off a guy, turning a person’s bones to liquid, and far worse. With but a thought, Brainiac can commit utter horrors. And that’s just the opening.
Somehow the legs make him even freakier.
Credit: DC Comics
From there, Aaron and Di Giandomenico reveal a Brainiac who’s not completely in control of himself. He’s too emotional, which makes him far more dangerous in the moment. A key flashback reveals he was just one of millions (maybe billions) of Brainiacs, which frighteningly places this villain not as a singular threat, but almost like a virus. He had a hard road to the top, which required that he augment himself with little skill, but he managed. He’s the underdog of underdog villains, it seems.
Di Giandomenico draws this character with incredible precision with a black mouth and visible guns and teeth. This is a creature that’s haunting, and yet, the story somehow makes him a bit of an underdog. A mentally ill underdog, but a creature that was made by the conditions he rose up in. There’s a complexity there that juxtaposes well with some of the most scary visuals of Brainiac ever throughout the issue. There are images of Brainiac that rival what Greg Capullo did with the faceless Joker.
Along the way, Aaron infuses the narrative with tidbits to help layer this character and the larger narrative. Ras Al Ghul is mentioned, for instance, and it’s clear that Brainiac is currently less than the top brass and more of a tool. But for how long?
Absolute Superman #7 transforms Brainiac into a true sci-fi horror villain with unsettling visuals and a chilling backstory, offering one of the most daring reinterpretations of the character in years. Jason Aaron and Carmine Di Giandomenico elevate a classic foe into something monstrous yet tragically complex, making this bottle episode a standout chapter in the Absolute Universe saga.
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