The Braniac Trilogy Part 1
The Superman series still have connected continuity, but they split off to tell their own stories for the next three months. This is most apparent in Action Comics, which begins an epic Braniac Trilogy.
Superman takes Jimmy Olsen from S.T.A.R. Labs to Cadmus where Dubbilex hopes to find a cure for his spontaneous stretching abilities. Wrapped in Superman's cape on the way there, Jimmy has a hallucination of the aliens he encountered in the Middle East back in Adventures of Superman #443. At Cadmus, the young clones of the Newsboy Legion don't want to wait for their next scheduled outing from the facility, and they recruit Jimmy to help them break out. They want Jimmy to drive the Whiz Wagon because he has a drivers license, even though the vehicle is entirely mentally controlled. The Whiz Wagon takes them through the Zoomway into the Wild Area, and we get a passing reference to other Jack Kirby creations that also originally appeared in Kirby's run of Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, like the Hairies and the Mountain of Judgment. Unfortunately, the Whiz Wagon's programming won't let it go beyond the Wild Area, so it turns back where Superman finds it and takes them back to Cadmus. Superman offers to take Jimmy home but he refuses, and Superman wonders how to fix this rift in their relationship.
In between all this, Lois officially calls it off with Jose Delgado. After the break-up, Jose finds himself held hostage in a bank robbery and attempts to stop it himself, feeling a need to prove something to himself. Fortunately, Superman is able to save the hostages.
A pair of scientists in Antarctica investigate unknown seismic activity coming from the fissure where Superman left the Eradicator. Like out of a horror movie, two mechanical tentacles surface from the hole and pull the scientists down into the darkness. After an eerie silence, two Kryptonian robots emerge from down below.
In Metropolis, Newtime Magazine publisher Collin Thornton (the future Lord Satanus in his first appearance) comes to the Daily Planet looking for Clark Kent to try to make him his new editor. Clark Kent had to leave, however, after getting a headache and seeing a vision of the Eradicator. Superman flies back to Antarctica to make sure the Eradicator is destroyed. Along the way, he saves a humpback whale from some poachers. In Antarctica, he discovers a giant tower has emerged out of the ice and flies down the fissure to find Kryptonian robots building a fortress alongside the scientists, now under mind control. Superman tries to communicate with the Eradicator again, and sees another flashback of Krypton's history. This time he learns one of his ancestors had created the device to keep Kryptonians from being able to leave the planet (the genetic defect we previously learned Jor El had to fix) and also to keep outsiders off of Krypton. The artifact's grand design is to eradicate all life save Kryptonian life. The Eradicator appears to subdue the last Kryptonian in its fortress, but back in Metropolis Clark Kent strangely returns back to the Daily Planet as if nothing had happened.
This is actually the first Braniac story in Action Comics since the Man of Steel reboot. Braniac and Luthor have had an ongoing story line together since Invasion, but they haven't crossed directly with Superman again until now. Waking from a nightmare, Superman starts to realize memories he suppressed from when he was sleepwalking as Gangbuster. Now convinced that Braniac is still alive and at large, he follows Lex Luthor to a robotics facility in Houston to confront him. All of Lexcorp's computer systems malfunction at the same time, and Superman has to save Lex and his employees from out of control robots. True to form, Luthor never denies the allegation that he's holding Braniac, he just responds that Superman can't prove it. Back at the lab, Braniac is successfully taking over Lexcorp with the help of his new partner in crime, Metallo.
Superman #37
In between all this, Lois officially calls it off with Jose Delgado. After the break-up, Jose finds himself held hostage in a bank robbery and attempts to stop it himself, feeling a need to prove something to himself. Fortunately, Superman is able to save the hostages.
Adventures of Superman #460
A pair of scientists in Antarctica investigate unknown seismic activity coming from the fissure where Superman left the Eradicator. Like out of a horror movie, two mechanical tentacles surface from the hole and pull the scientists down into the darkness. After an eerie silence, two Kryptonian robots emerge from down below.In Metropolis, Newtime Magazine publisher Collin Thornton (the future Lord Satanus in his first appearance) comes to the Daily Planet looking for Clark Kent to try to make him his new editor. Clark Kent had to leave, however, after getting a headache and seeing a vision of the Eradicator. Superman flies back to Antarctica to make sure the Eradicator is destroyed. Along the way, he saves a humpback whale from some poachers. In Antarctica, he discovers a giant tower has emerged out of the ice and flies down the fissure to find Kryptonian robots building a fortress alongside the scientists, now under mind control. Superman tries to communicate with the Eradicator again, and sees another flashback of Krypton's history. This time he learns one of his ancestors had created the device to keep Kryptonians from being able to leave the planet (the genetic defect we previously learned Jor El had to fix) and also to keep outsiders off of Krypton. The artifact's grand design is to eradicate all life save Kryptonian life. The Eradicator appears to subdue the last Kryptonian in its fortress, but back in Metropolis Clark Kent strangely returns back to the Daily Planet as if nothing had happened.
Action Comics #647
This is actually the first Braniac story in Action Comics since the Man of Steel reboot. Braniac and Luthor have had an ongoing story line together since Invasion, but they haven't crossed directly with Superman again until now. Waking from a nightmare, Superman starts to realize memories he suppressed from when he was sleepwalking as Gangbuster. Now convinced that Braniac is still alive and at large, he follows Lex Luthor to a robotics facility in Houston to confront him. All of Lexcorp's computer systems malfunction at the same time, and Superman has to save Lex and his employees from out of control robots. True to form, Luthor never denies the allegation that he's holding Braniac, he just responds that Superman can't prove it. Back at the lab, Braniac is successfully taking over Lexcorp with the help of his new partner in crime, Metallo.
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