DC has teased that something evil was coming during Dawn of DC. Something called the ‘Trinity of Evil’. The infamous Amanda Waller took over in her way following the events of Titans: Beast World while Zur-En-Arrh has been a big part of Chip Zdarsky’s Batman run. A Trinity would be incomplete without a third member who happens to be… Brainiac!
The crossover event story House of Brainiac, marks the return of Brainiac as well as the introduction of the Brainiac Queen, the newest adversary in Superman’s rogues gallery! This story is also part of the year-long initiative Superman Superstars, in which a pair of writers and artists tell a mini-arc in three issues in Action Comics and then hand over the title to a new creative team.
As DC Comics explained, House of Brainiac starts with “Brainiac’s Czarnian army invading Metropolis! The Super-Family and all the superheroes of Metropolis join the fight, but will they be enough to hold off Brainiac’s lethal and crazed soldiers?! Can Superman and Lex Luthor learn what Brainiac is searching for? He’s not bottling Metropolis, so what is he collecting instead?”
What to Read Before Superman: House Of Brainiac?
Don’t forget! These are suggestions and are optional. You should be able to understand the event without any prior preparation!
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House of Brainiac has been teased many times during the past twelve months. As Williamson writes the event, we first invite you to check out his run on Superman:
- Superman Vol. 1: Supercorp
Collects Superman (2023) #1-5 and Superman 2023 Annual #1 - Knight Terrors: Superman #1-2
Collected in Knight Terrors: Knightmare League - Action Comics Presents: Doomsday Special #1
Written by Dan Watters and Art by Eddy Barrows. - Superman Vol. 2: The Chained
Collects Superman (2023) #6-12.
Power Girl has also ties in this event. To know what the character has been up to recently, catch up with her title Power Girl (2023)!
Some personal reading suggestions (for new readers)
Don’t know who Brainiac is? We invite you to read the Brainiac story-arc written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Gary Frank which can serve as a good entry point for the character for new readers:
- Superman: Brainiac
Collects Action Comics #866-870
As Superman will join forces with Lobo in this story, that can be a great opportunity to check out one of Lobo’s classic stories if you’re not too familiar with the character:
- Lobo: The Last Czarnian
Check out the digital version. the story has also been reprinted in the big Lobo Compendium!
Superman: House Of Brainiac Reading Order: Collected Editions
You’ll find the main event in the following trade:
- Superman: House of Brainiac
Collects Action Comics #1064-1066, Superman (2023) #13-15, and the Superman: Superman: House of Brainiac Special
House of Brainiac Checklist, issue by issue
Now that the event has concluded, the checklist has been updated to reflect the chronological order of the story and/or to ensure the fluidity of the story.
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Green Lantern tie-ins! It’s Guy’s Bogus Lobo Adventure with Lantern Guy Gardner assigned by the United Planets to capture Lobo. This is a backup story in the Green Lantern set before the main event. It’s is totally optional and a reading mostly for Guy fans!
- Green Lantern (2023) #10 – Guy’s Bogus Lobo Adventure, Part One: Gotcha!
- Green Lantern (2023) #11 – Guy’s Bogus Lobo Adventure, Part Two: Mistakes Were Made
- Green Lantern (2023) #12 – Guy’s Bogus Lobo Adventure, Part Three: Places to Be
- Action Comics #1064
- Superman (2023) #13
- Superman: House of Brainiac Special #1
- Action Comics #1065
- Superman (2023) #14
- Action Comics #1066
- Superman (2023) #15
Power Girl tie-ins! The story in Power Girl starts during Action Comics #1064 and has no links to the main event until the last pages of the last issues where it loosely reconnects for the conclusion. This is quite an optional read and there is no need to interrupt the flow of the main story with the side adventures of Power Girl (and Crush). So, we recommend to read those issues after.
- Power Girl (Vol. 3) #8
- Power Girl (Vol. 3) #9
- Power Girl (Vol. 3) #10
After Superman: House Of Brainiac
No rest for the heroes of the DC Universe as this event will directly lead into Absolute Power, DC’s 2024 Summer Crisis Crossover and it starts with Absolute Power: Ground Zero #1 in June.