In July 1958, Action Comics No. 242 expanded Superman’s rogue gallery with one of its most famous names: Brainiac. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino — the same team that a year later would introduce Supergirl — Brainiac was from the start a cool counterpoint to Superman’s humanity.
The collector of worlds
Brainiac is an alien super-intellect with an eerie hobby: he travels the universe and, with special technology, shrinks entire cities to preserve them under glass in his collection. In his debut a city on Earth falls victim as well — and with that begins his first great conflict with Superman.
The Bottle City of Kandor
Closely tied to Brainiac’s debut is one of the Superman mythos’ most important concepts: the Bottle City of Kandor. Later stories reveal that before Krypton’s destruction Brainiac had already stolen and miniaturized the Kryptonian capital Kandor. For Superman that is a revelation: with Kandor, a last living piece of his homeworld survives — complete with living Kryptonians. The shrunken city under glass became one of the series’ most emotional symbols.
Why Brainiac still matters
Where Lex Luthor stands for human hubris, Brainiac embodies cold, disembodied intellect — a threat that cannot be solved with fists alone. Over the decades the character has been reinvented again and again: from the green-skinned android with the iconic headgear to the cosmic force of modern comics. His name is long part of pop culture and appears in films, series and games around Superman.
Action Comics No. 242 is further proof of how many lasting characters were born in this one title in the late 1950s. For context on all the major issues, see our issues overview; the origin of the whole saga is at the Action Comics No. 1 reprint.