Brainiac (Injustice 2)

File:3B1CE9ED-157F-4737-9B9E-DF41991553E7.jpeg

DC's answer to Onslaught. Do not underestimate his intellect.

Brainiac is the main antagonist of Injustice 2. He is the main enemy of Chapter 12, fought in the Spaceship and overall the final boss in both the Story Mode and the Arcade Mode of the game.

While a great villain and character as a whole, the same cannot be said for his portrayal in this game, most notably the fight against him.

Why He Sucks

1. Cheap block-crazy AI, made worse by chaining his quick attacks like it's breathing.
2. More HP than the entire cast due to his status as a boss.
3. Despite having few moves and even less pizzazz to them (Tendrils and summoning robots at best), their nigh-unavoidability combined with high damage makes up for it:
   1. Sprouting tentacles from his back to stab you, at times an unexpected guard-breaker.
   2. Summoning a giant tendril from the ceiling to throw you.
   3. Spawning a giant purple energy laser from the sky. Guess what? If you happen to avoid it, it follows you for some time.
   4. Sending robot alien minions to hold you hostage, then fires a towering laser from his ship in the sky.
4. Despite being the main antagonist and the final boss, Brainiac himself shamefully gets little screen time in the Story Mode, though this is worse in some way knowing that Superman (particularly the evil version serving as the main antagonist of the predecessor Injustice: Gods Among Us) was built up for the entirety of the game. Due to this, he's badly-put in an out-of-nowhere fashion, giving him no time to be proven to be a threat.
5. In Story Mode, just when you think you won after defeating him as Superman, a pathetic cutscene plays (Batman "saving" a table-restraint Supergirl by firing a device in Brainiac's head to deactivate a robot about to kill the heroine). Superman then tries to stop the ship, but with Brainiac still active and a rematch as Batman, and you're screwed if he's not your cup of tea.

Redeeming Qualities

1. Brainiac’s design is decent.
2. While not as good as Superman's, Brainiac does have an interesting origin and backstory.
3. Brainiac does have a decent variety of attacks, even if they aren't particularly amazing.
4. Once you complete Story Mode, he's yours to command, and quite fun to play as due to his move set.
5. Once you get used to his fighting patterns and move set, he can be a breeze to fight.