Action Comics #647 (November 1989)
Action Comics #647 (November 1989)
Yes! Finally! “The Brainiac Trilogy,” part one of three! Or part one of seven, if you count all the parts in between that don’t say “The Brainiac Trilogy” on the cover. It’s confusing. I’ll explain later.
This is the storyline that transformed Brainiac from pudgy circus performer (as introduced in Adventures #438) to the lean, green badass who will give Superman headaches for the next decade. At this point, poor Brainy had spent the better part of a year going in and out of comas (mostly in), courtesy of his “buddy” Lex Luthor, who is keeping him sedated in a special lab in order to study his mental powers. After weeks of laying still on a metallic bed while under the care of cyberneticist/bedpan-changer Dr. Sydney Happersen, in this issue Brainiac finally goes “BOO!” and shoots a mind-control ray at Happersen.
Meanwhile, Superman recently unlocked his repressed memories from that confusing time in his life when he thought his name was Gangbuster (in Superman #36), and as a result he suddenly remembers that time he found out Brainiac and Luthor were working together. The dramatic revelation comes in the middle of the night, while Superman is in his nighttime pajamas.
The next day, Superman catches up with Luthor at a LexCorp weapons factory to ask him if he’s been teaming up with any supervillains lately, but just at that moment Brainiac mind-hacks into the building and all the robots start trying to kill Luthor. Superman saves Luthor, who is like “Brainiac? Who?” Lex then turns around and calls his Brainiac-studying lab and asks what the hell is going on. Happersen assures Luthor that everything is fine in the lab now but Brainiac escaped – of course, that’s just the mind-control talking, because Brainy is still there, now in complete control of the highly advanced facility, and enjoying the company of a new friend.
“Fine. Miss Corben. I don’t judge.”
Character-Watch:
Yep, Metallo is back too! Last time we saw him was in the Doom Patrol crossover in Superman #20, when his body was destroyed but his head managed to escape. Somehow, Metallo’s parts ended up back in LexCorp, and at the beginning of this issue Happersen has them brought into the lab as a desperate attempt to use their technology to study Brainiac’s brain. What does a Terminator have to do with mind powers? No idea.
Plotline-Watch:
As I mentioned before, this is an unusual storyline for this period: all the Superman titles are still connected, but only Action Comics will feature developments in the Brainiac saga. So, Superman will still worry about the whole “there’s an evil alien intellect out there taking over buildings with his mind” situation in the Superman and Adventures issues, but mostly he’ll be dealing with more urgent matters (like, you know, “Jimmy Olsen is mad at me”).
Also, it’s curious that Superman had some memories erased by the Eradicator in the latest issue of Adventures, and then in this one he suddenly gains back other memories he’d lost long ago. Maybe Superman’s brain only has space for so many repressed stuff.
See comments on Tumblr: https://superman86to99.tumblr.com/post/82032388156/action-comics-647-november-1989-yes-finally#disqus_thread
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