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"Brainiac, I'm coming!" has got to be the best line in the DCAU

I didn't dwell much on it, but I assumed it was just Brainiac's foot prints in Luthor's memory. But not being able to see him in destroyer doesn't make much sense with that.

Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor is THE definitive Lex Luthor of all time. And now he's General Kregg for Invincible

Luthor going through a Flowers for Algernon trauma makes the most sense to me. He reached the apex of everything he ever wanted only to have it all ripped away from him. Seems reasonable even he would have a bit of brain damage after that; trauma only cured when he accidentally reawakened Darkseid in his pursuit of Brainiac, which forced him to reevaluate his priorities.

Cadmus conspiracy arc made The Question my favourite character in the show. The writing was phenomenal which allowed lesser known heroes to shine

Maybe there's Brainiac in all of us. Because he's real in our hearts...

One thing we can confirm is Luthor is comming for Brainiac

I don't like the idea of Grodd using his psychic abilities to make Brainiac appear to Luthor. I like the idea he either went crazy, or he was real and pushing Lex to revive him but regardless Darkseid was brought back instead and gained power from whatever remnants of brainiac he was revived with. As for if Brainiac is fully gone? Nah, there's some "back up plan" of his that lead to the future brainiacs.

It's safe to say we all came for Lex coming for Brainiac

One alternate explanation I could see, given what we know of these characters, is that Lex IS being manipulated with visions... but not by Grodd. After all, I could be wrong, but I don't recall Grodd being able to cause hallucinations to this extent. It's been a long time since I saw JLU, so if I'm wrong, please let me know. But even if he could, if Grodd wanted to mentally control Lex, he could just... control him. Manipulating him in such a roundabout way just seems impractical to me. However, consider this: Braniac has learned from experience that combining with another life form, as he did with Lex, is a good idea. Sure, the last time he did, he failed, but this is something he'd never tried before. Like you said, it was LEX who suggested it. So maybe Braniac decided the problem wasn't the combining in and of itself, but rather the one he combined with. As he himself put it, he had doubts about Lex prior to them becoming one. But now that he knows that the idea has merit... he just needs a better partner. And what better partner... than a God? Braniac knew how powerful Darkseid was, and that both he and Darkseid desires knowledge, even if it is for different reasons. Combining with Darkseid would serve both their purposes, more than reuniting with Lex ever could. And it just so happens that Darkseid died in Braniacs old base. His evaporated remains are mingled with those of Braniac. All he needs is for someone to put them together again. See, one thing that's fundamental to know about Braniac is... he learns. That is literally all he does, all that motivates him. So what did he learn by combining with Luthor? Manipulation. Cunning. Strategy. And now, with some small part, even if it's severely weakened, inside Lex, maybe he pushes him to use his intellect to make this happen, using Lex's own desire to reunite as the motivator. It'd explain why ghost-braniac is so friendly with Lex, urging him on and on about how "we can be together". Now, why not tell him right away where the rest of the pieces are, and get it out of the way? Well, maybe he is trusting Lex himself to work it out, to reach the conclusion himself. Telling him too much, too quickly, would perhaps make Luthor too cautious. Why is this a bad thing? Because Braniac being brought back to normal isn't what he wants. Combining with Lex doesn't serve his purpose. So what's to say, if Braniac is interconnected to all parts of himself, that he didn't deliberately prevent Luthors experiments from succeeding? Braniac has a goal, and to accomplish that, he needs Lex to fail. He needs him to keep looking for alternative solutions. He needs Lex well and truly desperate... because a desperate man makes mistakes. For Braniac's plan to succeed, he needs Lex blinded by his desire. But then, Lex betrayed Tala and strapped her into the machine, leading to her, in her dying moments, using her magic to turn Lex's plan on its head. This was an X-factor Braniac didn't expect. Sure, he knows full well how Luthor thinks and operates, thanks to being part of him. But he's not telepathic. He can only go by the data he has. Braniac knows technology. He is an expert on machinery, both technological and biomechanical. But he knows nothing about magic, and what it can do. It's an unquantifiable factor, by its very definition. And the result So instead of a reconstituted Braniac, augmented with the powers of the New Gods... they got Darkseid, augmented by Braniac. Or, which is also possible, he just underestimated Darkseids willpower and was outright overpowered by him. Combining with a willing host of unusually high intellect is one thing. Combining with one of the New Gods, powered by the Omega Force, a being who's willpower is THAT STRONG... that's a different matter entirely. Yes, their goals do align on the face of it, but Darkseid isn't a team player. There is no "our goal" in Darkseids world. And this is something Braniac did not, could not prepare for. Now, is this what really happened? I have no idea. Like your video said, the creators were deliberately vague about it. But I think it does hold up to scrutiny, and we have just about as much evidence for this as any other explanation.

"You know something Bruce, Your not always right" that was absolute gold!

I always wondered what Clark's reaction was when he learned that a future reincarnation of one of his worst enemies hooked up with his cousin. Without a doubt a damage that not even all the kryptonite in the universe could match. 😅

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, Not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become real." "Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit. "Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. - The Velveteen Rabbit

1) Luthor is just insane in the membrane. (Insane in the brain!) 2) If we see a live action Brainiac, I want it to be in the Batman Beyond future. I think that he'd make a great villain in that setting and tie it further together with rest of the DC universe. You could even use the current Beyond comics run as basis, and just make that the twist for the screen. Whadda ya think?

Honestly even as a kid i assumed it was all a hallucination, It just made the most sense in the end.

I would want to Brainiac to be given the DCAU origin, being the ultimate cause for the planet not being able to survive. I think having him and Superman being the last sons of krypton would be interesting in that sense, seeing as one is the savior of a new planet while the other was the destroyer of its home. As for the theories, I’d like to believe that it’s Grodd messing with Lex, but his confusion at the beginning of the season when Lex is talking to Brainiac is the only think making me skeptical of it. I do think the idea of Lex just going crazy makes the most sense.

Okay, that Kalibak bit at the end was a goddamn masterclass in closing out the running gag, good job.

Tbh, I have always loved the continuities that stablish Brainiac as someone responsible for the extinction of Kryptonians. It makes his rivalry with Superman much more epic and personal, similar to the one Goku and Frieza share

I had no idea Grodd returned somehow. That's the big thing I learned from this.

Completely agree with you about the Flash running round the world while ripping Brainiac out of Lex is the coolest scene in the DCAU. Hell I think it's one of the coolest scenes of any cartoon.

LOL... if you watched that particular part of the series then you dn't even need to watch this vid LMAO... the answer is ALWAYS Yes.... Braniac was real and it had imprinted itself onto Lex so even after it was striped completely from his body because of The Flash but the essence of Braniac was still in Luthor's DNA... Because Braniac CAN DO THAT if you Didn't know

I never had my doubts of Brainiac being part of Luther. In the world of DC and comics in general, anytime you hear voices or see projections of somebody, it always leads into something more disastrous and crazy down the line to not be believed!!!😂

The Cadmus arc is indeed one of the greatest seasin long storylines in any show EVER. Its awesome on its own, but it's elevated even more when you've watched the other shows and they tie it all in. And then finale of the show just culminating absolutely everything else from before is a mind blowing experience and pay off. It's like a reward for being a fan.

Brainiac and Lex relationship feels like Symbiote and Eddie Brock relationship, in the DCAU we have Luthoriac and Marvel-Spider Man Universe they have Venom. Also, this DCAU theory for Brainiac gave me vibes of Rei from Evangelion, like the same character but it not the same character.

The aspect of Brainiac I enjoyed the most, and would like to see in a movie, is his general steeliness. I’d like to see an actor capture that cold calculating nature while also sounding especially intimidating. Maybe he can ponder orbs in his ball pit, I don’t know.

Did you know that through precisely focused sound waves, you can make a whisper sound like it's coming from right next to someone, even hundreds of feet away? Anyway obviously it's Toyman messing with Lex by projecting a hologram with the lightwaves targeted so only Lex can see them

Brainiac always has a backup plan for survival like how after Lex made him a body he blasted him with nanomachines and a copy of his consciousness so he can live afterwards, so not impossible that theres still a part of him in Lex's brain 🤔

"Less talking, more hitting!" I knew there was a reason I liked Hawkgirl.

I think the Brainiac we see in the new 52 would be great for film. It simplifies the history enough to not need an extended knowledge of comics to appreciate, could condense it enough for a single movie while still offering enough to make him appear multiple times if necessary, preys upon modern fears of AI and technology and the depths of the internet, and is still genuinely faithful and menacing. Hugo Weaving or Javier Bardem could be cool in the role. As for Lex...I gotta agree that he probably just cracks by the end of the show.

I'm a big fan of the Superman TAS version of Brainiac. I like that it started as Krypton's AI, it gives a nice tie-in to Superman. Design wise, my favourite look for Brainiac is from the 80s, when he was a terminator style looking robot. I had the Super Powers action figure of him, and that was my first exposure to Brainiac.

Honestly, I always interpreted it as Darkseid's soul manipulating Luthor through the Brainiac code still embedded in his psyche to push for his resurrection, and that Brainiac had been too weakened by the Flash's actions during Luthorac's destruction to stop or even resist it. After all, Darkseid is a New God, and his spirit is far tougher than any mortal's. That's how I interpreted it, anyway. And it made sense, because the second that Darkseid got what he wanted, he cast Luthor away, and stopped using the link to manipulate him.

I like when brainiac’s origin is directly connected to Superman’s, so having him be the cause of krypton’s destruction in some way would be cool to see in live action, even if it wasn’t quite like the dcau’s spin on it. And I think the grodd theory would be pretty interesting, so I’m going with that one.

If we were to get live action Brian…I mean Braniac, I really hope it’s inspired by the DCAU version. I’m admittedly not well-versed on Braniac, but I’ve found the DCAU version to be the most compelling. His connection to Clark’s backstory, and his really sinister voice are both so compelling to me

Grodd mind manipulating Lex is a pretty good theory, and I always wondered why Grodd had LOD peeps exactly where Luthor ended up after breaking out of the clink. It makes sense that Grodd led Lex there. Also, “Poor, old Goldface”😂

I doubt that it was actually Brainiac do to some of the lines the two share. I think it has to be Lex’s subconscious because of him gaining such power and then losing it broke him. I think that is an obsession for him regaining his power. I think the explanation for how Brainiac survived could be that when The Flash separated the Lex from Brainiac maybe other tech survived and he remains.

I honestly never thought Brainiac was really communicating with Lex. I always thought it was another symptom of Lex's megalomania in that for one shining minute not only was he Superman's equal he was more he had truly become a god and he couldn't handle that being taken away. And that was so traumatic that his mind fabricated brainiacs voice and his presence just so Lex wouldn't have to deal with the trauma of the fact that he was back to being just a mere mortal. Because that's what it has always been for me with Lex it isn't that he hates Superman because Superman thinks he's above humans he hates Superman because himself can't be anything but human

I have always thought the coolest thing about the Flash scene is that after he beats Luthor to bits and stops to stand before him he's drawn WAY buffer than usual, like absolutely yolked. In my head I always saw it as Wally ran so fast, so far and was so mad that the speed literally worked his muscles out massively and briefly gave him a bunch of extra muscle mass, like working out for a year in the span of a couple of seconds.

If he ever gets to be in live action, I think it’d be amazing for us to see more about Colu, kinda of how Superman: Unbound and The Legion of Superheroes did it, showing us how the civilization that created him affects the way he acts now.

According to DCAU wiki this is the code's reason. "The code Luthor enters "060669" refers to June 6, 1969, the day the Kinney National Company bought out Warner Brothers Seven Arts. Kinney National had previously absorbed both DC and All-American Comics in 1967 so this day is effectively the day DC comics merged with Warner Brothers; essentially making the WB DCAU possible."

one joke that got left on the cutting room floor "you managed to cure my cancer, but couldent be bothered to grow back my luscious red hair?!"

My god...To think this legendary series could be any more potentially legendary. The Key is the key!

So, my favorite interpretation is that it was actually Darkseid. His consciousness survived a bit and manipulated Lex into resurrecting him. That's why Brainiac's voice went silent. Darkseid didn't need it anymore and he wouldn't bother explaining himself to a lowly mortal. I'd also like to say, it bugs me that Lex was convicted after the Luthoriac thing. Everyone in that room heard Brainiac admit that he'd been guiding Lex's actions for years. How bad was Luthor's lawyer that he couldn't work that into an acquittal?

I always thought that lex's brainiac visions were "real," just with the twist that it's some part of Darkseid's that essence haunting the face meteor.

”brainiac- I’m coming” will now be stuck in my head as a personal inside joke

I kinda like the theory that Brainiac was all just in Lex's head cause he sorta went crazy after having a computer man fused with him. As for the question, I think it would be fun if he still did the city shrinking thing and Supes has gotta stop him from shrinking Metropolis. Also could setup the whole "Superman gets Kandor" plot and lead to a future Kryptonians come back story later on. But make him a computer man and not just some bald green guy.

If they use Brainiac in the new DC movies (not to be confused with The New Scooby-Doo Movies), I hope they keep his backstory as Krypton's AI. That's the coolest origin he's ever had.

Man, the way you use references, even half-sentences in new contexts, is really clever. Amazing work

Loved the commitment to the Luthor "I'm coming" bit lmao

BRAINIAC, I'M COMING

I can name at least ten different scenes in the DCAU that are just as cool as Flash vs Robo-Lexy-Poo. 1. I am vengeance, I am the night, I am Batman! 2. World of Cardboard 3. Superman vs Darkseid in Twilight 4. Everything with Dan Turpin 5. Terry vs Joker 6. Everything with Question 7. Static going back in time to save his mom 8. The ending of Mask of the Phantasm 9. Everything with Lobo 10. Introduction of Darkseid Also, June 6th, 1969 was the date when Warner Bros was purchased by the Kinney National Company, which had also purchased DC and All-American Comics, so this was basically the date DC became part of WB and led to the DCAU. Why yes, I did paraphrase what I read from the DCAU wiki. Why do you ask?

The Grodd Theory still makes the most sense to me even if Grodd survives cuz he would still be roughly in position to see the wtfbbqheug explosion that took out the HQ. As far as he knows, Lex probably wouldn't be seeing any more Brainiac visions one way or the other. If he *wasn't* within range to see the explosion, he probably was pulled so far away that he couldn't exert his powers over lex anymore.

Grodd was playing a dangerous game yanking Lex's chain in the first place. So I can believe it goes deeper. I don't even think Grodd has a meaningful range limit on his powers, since he was able to fry Metallo while he was at the center of the Earth. If he was not brain-restrained by that helmet he could keep sending the visions. I do have to wonder what his endgame was. Sure get Lex in the Legion. Work for some time... but then what? Just trust that by the time he hands over the Braniac chunk Luthor is so comfortable inside the Legion headquarters he'll stick around and keep working for Grodd part time while he devotes his energy to the possibly tampered-with Braniac chunk? Grodd probably wouldn't suggestion to Luthor via Braniacvision that he was double crossing him. Visions from Grodd to make Luthor look like an ineffective, incompetent, untrustworthy leader after his takeover in Dead Reckoning sound good... but I'd argue the Braniac vision in Grudge Match actually works to Lex's advantage. Since it reminds him to go make money for the villains in the Legion that are paying up to him... which turned out to be a smash success for Roulette until however long it took Huntress to sniff it out.

"Normally I'd take anything Bruce (Timm) says as law" I used to be like that, then he kept on shipping Barbara and Bruce (Wayne) and hooo boy Also I was sorta under the impression that Darkseid, highjacking any possible signal of Braniac he could, was the one pulling Lex's strings in order to remake his avatar in the DC Animated Universe since iirc Darkseid is basically a magical version of the Braniac cloud idea, only his real self is in another universe...and would destroy all of reality if it ever left said universe.

If Joker can rewrite Tim Drakes DNA when he was a child Brainiac Definitely can

Props to you using the "Correction, sir: That's 'blown out'" clip.

7:08 I totally agree with this point. But Kevin Conroy’s adaptation of Batman releasing his pride to sing in front of a live studio audience just for Sercy to give Wonder Woman back her human form was also really cool. That scene, Flash Running to beat Robo-Lexi-Poo and Batman dropping the Watchtower onto the Shield Generator are 3 of my favorite moments in this series

Narrator: we're lead to believe Brainiac is still somehow inside of Lex Lex: Brainiac, I'm coming!!! 😅😂😂😂

I love all these theories tbh. My favorite is the Grod one since it’s twisted and works with the opening scene of lex escaping and him being saved by Grod’s group. And that last smoking gun moment of it stopping after Grod gets sucked out is the kinda moment theories need to make them at least a cool interpretation .

This may be the smoothest sponsor transition I have ever seen.

I was under the impression that Lex's visions of Brainiac were just a tool of darkside to trick Lex into bringing him back.

Jeez, I just don’t get why it’s such a challenge to bring this to live action?!? It’s all right here in the DCAU 😂

I like to think Braniac was still in Lex's brain, even without the hardware. Given how deep the fusion had been, whatever Flash pulled out was the Dark Heart/Braniac bits. What was left was already imprinted in him. Grodd being responsible doesn't seem like the type because there's always a visual cue of him using his powers to manipulate others. Grodd also is visibly confused when Lex is talking to someone else who isn't there. That's proof to me he isn't responsible.

Personally I think that Grodd was telepathically pushing Lex's buttons to keep him on mission, but these buttons were already there to be pushed due to Luthor having already cracked under the pressure of losing everything again and again. That the piece Grodd showed him was a knockoff made by the Toyman, who never had anything to gain by spoiling the joke. And of course that the "blown out the airlock" joke is the mark of a true Trekkie in the writing team. I approve, most highly.

If Part of Brainiac still existed in Lex couldn't it still exist in Richie Foley as well? Also more digimon

As much as I love Wally joining with the Speedforce and kicking Luthor/Brainiac’s ass, Superman’s “World of Cardboard” speech and moment are even more epic because they show how powerful and how great a hero he is; if Superman is maintaining that level of self control at ALL TIMES, that truly shows how amazing he is and how dedicated he is to saving people and protecting people.

“Shut up Dan! You’re not my real dad”😂😭

I don't think Brainiac wanted to really fuse with Luthor again. I think he wanted Luthor to reconstitute him under the pretext that he would merge with him again. He wanted Lex to rebuild him, but he didn't realize that Tala would sabotage the process and bring Darkseid back instead

Lex Luthor: A Complex Villain, struggling with the grief of getting out of a codependently toxic relationship he wasn't prepared for.

I like the twist where it was Lex's lust all along. Brainiac is like an ex trying to leave him and he deludes himself into having that non-existent relationship. After tasting such power a guy like Lex would have a hard time being mere mortal again.

I love the Grod theory.. I can't remember if this is from justice league or JLU but I thought the last episode was Luthor giving Darkseid the anti-life equation and leading him away to the source wall? Regardless, if brainiac were still part of Lex that far in the show.. He, possibly Brainiac, and Darkseid at the end of time is insane to never know what really happens. 😢 P.s. My favorite JLU member is by far The Question. He's so mysterious, not enough for a video though.

The most unbeatable artifact in both Marvel and DC is the Legendary Occam's Razor...

However they do Brainiac in the DCU, I hope he has some connection to Krypton, whether being a Kryptonian AI or just having dealings with the Kryptonians in the past. It makes Superman's rivalry with Brainiac so much richer and personal when he's not only Kal-El's enemy, but Jor-El's as well. It also adds a little bit more tragedy that one of Superman's last connections to his home world is an enemy that holds the key to so many secrets that he'll never know.

I always saw it as Lex losing it. Also he really enjoyed having that power when he merged with Brainiac so much that he'll do anything to get it back.

I always took Brainiac possessing Luthor at face value, but you make a very, very compelling point with the Grodd theory. I think I'm going to headcanon that now.

07:02 I don't disagree that the Flash super hyper punching the Braniac out of Lex was ONE of the coolest moments in the DCAU, but nothing holds a candle to Superman's "world made of cardboard" speech. FIGHT ME NERDS

A new WD video, now that's the good stuff. Always wondered why the Brainiac visions went nowhere.

"Brainiac im coming"-Lex Luthor 💀💀💀

I hope to see in live action is that Brainiac has the bottled city of Kandor and Superman learns more about Krypton and it’s past. And his first appearance outfit, just somewhere.

John Stewart reciting the Green Lantern oath was the best scene in the DCAU.

Brainiac was surprised by Lex's creativity and the way he pushed the JL's buttons all the way through during their final battle. Just like Lex's perception of Brainiac was altered due to their fusion, it could be that Brainiac's "programming" was infected by Lex's personality and now both seek each other as a means of achieving what they now perceive to be their true, or complete forms. I totally buy that Brainiac would be praising Lex like that, after all he was infected by Lex's mindset and egocentric nature.

Two elements I'd like to see in a live action Brainiac would be his iconic big skull ship, and the idea that there are various kinds of Brainiac, that way we can see a variety of him, from silver age alien with a monkey, to bronze age robot skeleton, and maybe even Brainiac 5 being brought in.

My thoughts when I first watched this about the times Brainiac didn't appear was that the team was looking at their budget and/or production timeline, so to save money and/or time, they didn't invite him to return for certain episodes and got away with it by having Lex talk to himself.

My understanding was that Grodd found one of the Brainiac chunks that Flash knocked off of Luthiac with his hyper-speed punches.

You really overplayed the "I'm coming" bit. I laughed harder and harder every time.

You would think if Grodd was manifesting the brainiac visions he’d have used that to try and convince Luthor to spare his life while he was about to be sent into space. I know that luthor used Grodds psionic abilities against him but he did turn it off so I’m assuming he has some kind of ability to do that, but maybe not. Maybe the belt was still enough to prevent any kind of psionic effect.

In a live action setting, I think it’d make sense for them to adapt Brainiac being a computer based mind like in the DCAU and Smallville. However, maybe that could’ve just been part of the cyberizing process that turned Vril Dox into the Collector of Worlds we know. Smallville had Brainiac start out as an AI, and somehow he was able to develop/mimic human emotions, so why not do the reverse and have a humanoid alien slowly transform into a robot minded supervillain?

Take a shot every time Lex says BRAINIAC I'M COMING and don't die

Good job on the video man! I always just called him Lexiac since that was easiest to say. Keep up the awesome work folks and ty again!

I'd like to see the concept of the Bottle Cities explored, forever keeping a culture in stasis, as a villainous act. I think that it could be a dark mirror for Superman. He wants a stable society, so does Brainiac.

Obviously the Superman unleashes on Darkseid scene is the actual best scene in the DCAU

14:56 There's also the fact that Grodd would know if Braniac is in Luthor's head and would tell him he's not even if he was so Lex can focus on the LoD stuff.

The man stole 40 cakes. That's as many as four tens! He's _clearly_ unhinged. And for a guy that hates aliens as much as he does, he sure was dependent on Brainiac for a good while there. _And that's terrible._

I think a better name for Brainiac and Lex "fused" together is "Lexiac"

I've always thought it was Grodd. There was just something too convenient about about that whole deal

I remember thinking that the piece of Brainiac that Grodd had was fake. I later dismissed that idea because Lex would have obviously tested it.

The Luthor coming bit was hilarious especially with the very end, bravo sirs 😂

7:02 I feel you bro... this is the most epic moment in all DCAU... we discovered how trully badass Flash can be

Guys He’s coming

20:16 That line there is what made me conclude back in the day that the image of Brainiac was Darkseid's doing, and he was somehow manipulating Luthor in order to revive him, not Brainiac.