Superman '78 #[nn]
In "Brainiac Chapter One," Superman faces off against the relentless alien conqueror in a battle that pushes both hero and villain to their limits. After Brainiac’s armor fails and his skull ship explodes, Superman saves Metropolis from collapsing—only to find himself balancing a quiet moment with Lois, a visit to his parents, and the quiet weight of a city that’s still a little smaller than it was. Written by Robert Venditti and illustrated by Wilfredo Torres, with Jordie Bellaire’s colors and Dave Lanphear’s lettering, this 2022 issue captures the emotional core of the Man of Steel amid cosmic chaos. The cover by Wilfredo Torres perfectly frames the moment’s tension and scale.
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Superman's fight with Brainiac overloads the villain's armor. After Superman evacuates the bottled cities, Brainiac transfers his consciousness to a new body just before his skull ship explodes. No longer levitated by Brainiac's ship, Metropolis begins to fall back to Earth, but Superman slows its descent enough to save all its inhabitants. In the aftermath, things return to normal at the Daily Planet, though Clark's lunch with Lois has to wait until he makes a quick visit to see his folks, kept safe, but still shrunken, back in his fortress.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).