Warning! Contains spoilers for Superman #15!
Summary
It’s hard to imagine how the yellow sun could ever be a negative forSuperman, considering just how strong it makes him. Despite that strength, Brainiac has made one of the darkest possible threats that could turn Superman’s greatest strength into a terrifying future.
InSuperman#15 by Joshua Williamson and Rafa Sandoval,Brainiac has just finished construction of the Brainiac Queen, and now she needs to feed. The Brainiac Queen is absurdly powerful, quickly tearing apart several Czarnians and even fighting the entire Super-Family with ease, but she still requires more power.
As the tide begins to turn against Brainiac, he makes a chilling threat against Superman.Brainiac promises to tie Superman to a rock orbiting the sun, essentially transforming Superman into a batterythat the Brainiac Queen can continually feed on over and over. It’s a horrifying thought and possibly the darkest version of Superman’s power being turned on him.
Superman’s Powers Originally Didn’t Come from the Sun, But Something Much Weirder
Superman’s powers come from the yellow sun, but that wasn’t always the case. Originally, Superman’s powers came from somewhere weirder.
Action Comics#1065 Variant Cover by Mark Spears
Most villains want to remove Superman’s powersto defeat him, butBrainiac is smart enough to look at things from a different perspective. Instead of simply removing Superman’s powers and killing him, Brainiac intends to mind control Superman and turn him into a living battery. It’s a terrifying thought, and would likely result in the Brainiac Queen becoming one of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe. While this dark future thankfully didn’t come to pass for the Man of Steel, it’s not the first time the yellow sun has beem turned on him in the history of DC’s comics.
Brainiac Queen is playing a large role in 2024’s major DC event,Absolute Power.Absolute Power#1 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora is available now from DC Comics.
Creators often experiment withSuperman’s relationship with the sun. There’s the obvious history Superman has with different colored suns, such as red and blue suns, but other creators have gone a step further. Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, for example, explore the idea of the sun ultimately being Superman’s undoing inAll-Star Superman, whereSuperman ends up getting cancer from his exposure to the yellow sun.While that was certainly a shocking twist, it pales in comparison to the pure sadism of forcing Superman to orbit the sun forever, all to act as a battery for someone else.
The Sun Is Superman’s Greatest Strength (and Possibly His Greatest Weakness)
The Sun Could Be Superman’s Undoing
Superman needs the sun in order to have his incredible powers, but that over-reliance might one day prove to be his undoing. If he gets exposed to the sun too much, he might end up dying, as Morrison and Quitely explore in their iconic story. If one of Superman’s energy-draining foes, like Parasite, ever gets the means and the resources, thenSuperman’sdependency on the sun might also just become his darkest prison. So far, at least, no villain has managed to act on the chilling idea suggested by Brainiac.
SUPERMAN #15 (2024)
Superman
The icon who launched the entire world of superheroes, the last son of Krypton escaped his dying world to crash land on Earth and be raised as Clark Kent. The world knows him better as Superman, the Man of Steel, the leader of the Justice League, and the most well-known hero in the DC Comics Universe. Blessed with the powers of a demigod, Kal-El of Krypton fights enemies both small and cosmic in his endless pursuit of truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.
