By all rights, a story predicated on humanizing the most inhuman of Superman villains, Brainiac, should be a colossal failure. Instead, Superman #23.2 manages to pull it off. Tony Bedard and Pascal Alixe's revamped Brainiac origin proves to be one of the strongest Villains Month issues so far. Who knew?

Fans of Grant Morrison's Action Comics run or Bedard's own work on the criminally under-appreciated R.E.B.E.L.S. will find plenty to enjoy here. Bedard pulls elements from both books as he works to provide a more cohesive and unified look at Brainiac in his many forms. As Bedard establishes, The Collector, Brainwyrm, Vril Dox -- they're all facets of the same core intelligence.Bedard also draws new connections between Brainiac and Superman and even several key Superman rogues. Similar to how Dan Slott cast the new Hobgoblin as a dark inversion of Peter Parker, we see here how Brainiac was once just like Jor-El, a scientist driven to save his doomed world. But he proves to be a victim of his own cold intelligence and crushing lack of empathy. That's why this more human take on the villain still works. Bedard provides a satisfying and succinct look at his origins while also laying the groundwork for some very interesting material in the future.This issue also has the benefit of some very striking artwork from Alixe. The best I can say for his work is that the first page made me think, "Wait, did DC manage to lure Jerome Opena away from Marvel?" Alixe's pages offer a similar emphasis on intricate detail, gritty textures, and sweeping sci-fi worlds. The page construction could use some sprucing up, but this is easily some of Alixe's best work so far.The main question after finishing this issue, apart from "Where will Brainiac turn up next?", is "Why isn't Tony Bedard writing a Superman comic?". The franchise could certainly use more stories of this caliber.

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