WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Injustice 2 #65 by Tom Taylor, Xermanico, J. Nanjan and Wes Abbott, on sale now.
With the Injustice 2 video game centered around Brainiac's invasion of Earth, it was only a matter of time before he made his presence felt in the comics. In the previous issue, the Collector of Worlds arrived and his army (a repurposed hybrid of the Manhunters the Guardians once marshaled) began attacking everyone around Oa, from the Red to the Green Lanterns.
But come Issue #65, we gain deeper insight into Brainiac's real purpose in the Injustice sequel and exactly why he targeted Earth. In the game, it seemed he just wanted our planet as a trophy, but as the comic goes deeper, it's revealed it has a lot to do with his god complex.
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In fact, his main motivation is his pride, and his monumental ego is what has driven him across the far reaches of space for the planet which recently went through one of DC's biggest civil wars to date.
As Brainiac's army interjects in the bloody war engulfing Oa, Superboy and Wonder Girl lose their oxygen masks and are suffocating in space. However, Brainiac's ship speaks to them, offering to save their lives. They reluctantly accept but as expected, it's a trap. Brainiac ends up torturing Superboy, disgusted at what he sees as an anomaly, while discarding Wonder Girl back into space.
His focus is the Kryptonian-hybrid, or "corruption," as he calls the youngster. But more so, he's angry -- the Superman emblem (the Kryptonian symbol for hope) confirms there is indeed a last son of Krypton alive, something Brainiac thought was all rumor.
The villain goes into his exposition about how he attacked Krypton and that the bottled city of Kandor should be the final remnant of its existence, not Superman. The last drone he sent to Earth was lost so now Brainiac gets a brand new reason to invade, but sadly, this means the reformed Titans is what puts him on this new path. He quickly begins prepping to head over as he's no longer interested in Oa, instead salivating at what lies ahead.
"Nothing is supposed to have continued beyond what my intellect has consumed," he says to Superboy, a statement of intent for this new mission. He reminds the Titan Krypton should have ended with Kandor and the fact Superman exists is a blow to his ego he intends to fix. Brainiac's main motivation is firmly about ending Kryptonian culture, all because he wants to exist as the lone gatekeeper for it.
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Most importantly, an irate Brainiac now wants to take Earth, too, not because he thinks it belongs in his collection, but because it gives him another chance to spite Superman. Brainiac is on a power-trip, simply wanting to have all say on when a planet gets to live and when it ought to die. Ergo, his new crusade is a win-win, as he gets to play Kryptonian god once more, and take a new prize into his collection.
In short, it's less about a personal vendetta and more about business, although just like the comics, Injustice's Brainiac does take a lot of satisfaction from being this megalomaniacal genius who roams the universe, collecting knowledge to increase his intellectual and scientific prowess. And so, with Superman now firmly in his sight, he's off to establish his superiority and finish what he started when he captured Kandor, Krypton’s greatest city.
Little does Brainiac know, though, but Jor-El's brother Zor-El sent his daughter to Earth as well. With Supergirl there as well being mentored by Wonder Woman, it'll be two Kryptonians for the villain to take, but this also means if Kal and Kara ally, he's going to be facing twice as much trouble.
This is definitely a big problem because with the cousins poised to get the chance to avenge their destroyed homeworld, Brainiac may indeed be biting off more than he can chew.
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