WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Dark Nights Death Metal: Infinite Hour Exxxtreme #1 by Sam Humphries, Denys Cowan, Bill Sienkiewicz, Chris Sotomayor, Dave Sharpe, Beck Cloonan, Rags Morales, Andrew Dalhouse, Rob Leigh, Frank Tieri, Tyler Kirkham, & Arif Prianto, on sale now.
Lobo is one of the few figures in the DC Universe who has been largely unaffected by the events of Dark Nights: Death Metal. The alien bounty-hunter has been on the job, hired by Lex Luthor, and traveling to the edges of the galaxy solo. But now, he's got some unexpected back-up.
Lobo just got a surprising partner for his mission in Dark Nights: Death Metal: a recently-freed Brainiac, who has plans for how Lobo could save the world.
Brainiac was one of the villains who Lex Luthor recruited for his Legion of Doom. Alongside Sinestro, Cheetah, and Grodd, they worked with Luthor to try and reshape the world and the future into their image. But this Legion -- and Lex -- were betrayed when they were finally able to unleash Perpetua. The dark creator of the Multiverse turned on the Legion, specifically converting Brainiac into her throne for a time and using the other three villains as power batteries for the beginnings of her conquest and reshaping of all creation. Luthor was notably disturbed by this but reluctantly continued working for her until the Batman Who Laughs was able to take his place by her side.
Luthor has spent Dark Nights: Death Metal trying to make up for these mistakes, working with the likes of Lobo and the makeshift Justice League to try and reclaim at least part of the world. He even found a way to save his former allies, with the Justice League helping him unleash the Legion of Doom from captivity. Luthor hired Lobo to travel the remnants of the DC Multiverse and find the Death Metals -- mysterious sources of power that are strong enough to create entire pocket universes. After finally being released from capture, Brainiac teleports to find Lobo and bring him to the Hall of Doom. He reveals that he and Luthor had set up an arrangement where Lobo would turn over the Death Metal to Brainiac if he'd disappeared.
Although Lobo initially resists turning over the Death Metal -- and even threatens to kill Brainiac and keep it for himself -- Brainiac argues that for Lobo to survive, he needs to help the Multiverse survive. Brainiac even apparently knows the key to winning the "inflection point," a moment where all of existence will be decided once and for all, and it's in Lobo's blood. It sets up the Lobo/Brainiac team-up to be of the most important duos in the course of Death Metal, and Lobo even agrees to work with the classic Superman villain if it means winning the day and getting to continue on being Lobo.
Brainiac is one of the DC Universe's most potent and powerful figures, capable of overwriting almost any technology and utilizing it for his gains. The fact that he isn't just released but fully restored bodes well for the future of the DC Universe, especially if he can find a way to work with Lobo to save reality. He even already has a plan, which could bode well for whatever plans the heroes have to enact to try and save the world.