Brainiac (Crossover)

"Brainiac" is the second annual DC Shared Universe crossover event, crossing over episodes of the DC Shared Universe television series Iron Man, Green Lantern, and Superman on CBS. The crossover began on May 13 with Iron Man, continued on Green Lantern on May 14, then concluded on Superman on May 15. Each of the latter three episodes were titled "Brainiac". "Brainiac" sees the Justice League fight Brainiac, an artificial intelligence obsessed with causing human extinction.

Development for a second crossover between the three series began in August 2013. By the next March, the scripts for each episode had been written, with filming occurring shortly after, in April 2013. The episode titles were also revealed that month, while to keep the exact plot hidden, each premise was only released the morning of the day the episode would air, just as the previous crossover did. "Brainiac" sees the main protagonist and then a few other main cast members from the series appear.

The crossover as a whole received generally positive reviews, with critics pointing out the effects and humor specifically as amazing and hilarious, while the overstuffed cast and storylines received flak. Ratings for the episodes were exceptional, with each episode for their series receiving much more ratings than their season average once again.

Plot
In the South American country of Durubia, the Justice League – Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Hal Jordan, Barry Allen, Dinah Lance, and Oliver Queen – raid a D.E.O. facility commanded by Director Sarge Steel, who has been experimenting on humans using the ring previously wielded by Sinestro. They encounter two of Steel's test subjects – married couple Ronnie Raymond, who can ignite his body into fire, and Caitlin Snow-Raymond, who can emit snow and ice – and apprehend Steel, while Wayne retrieves Sinestro's ring. Wane and Allen discover an artificial intelligence within the ring's energy, and secretly use it to complete Wayne's "Brainiac" global defense program. The unexpectedly sentient Brainiac, believing he must eradicate humanity to save Earth, eliminates Wayne's A.I. A.L.F.R.E.D. and attacks the Justice League at their headquarters. Escaping with the ring, Brainiac uses the resources in Steel's Durubia base to upgrade his rudimentary body and build an army of robot drones. Having killed Steel, he recruits the Raymonds, who hold Wayne responsible for their kids' deaths by his weapons, and go to the base of arms dealer David Hyde to obtain Atlantean inertron. The Justice League attack Brainiac and the Raymonds, but Caitlin subdues them with a frost coma, giving them visions, causing the Flash (Allen) to rampage until Wayne stops him with his anti-meta armor.

A worldwide backlash over the resulting destruction, and the fears Caitlin's hallucinations incited, send the team into hiding at a safehouse. Hal departs to consult with Carl Ferris on the meaning of the apocalyptic future he saw in his hallucination, while Lance and Allen plan to flee together after realizing a mutual attraction. However, Amanda Waller arrives and encourages the team to form a plan to stop Brainiac. In Westchester, Brainiac forces the team's friend Dr. Susan Dibny to use her synthetic-tissue technology, together with inertron and the ring's energy, to perfect a new body for him. As Brainiac uploads himself into the body, Caitlin uses her newfoud powers given to her by Brainiac to read his mind; discovering his plan for human extinction, the Raymonds turn against Brainiac. Kent, Lance, and Queen find Brainiac and retrieve the synthetic body, but Brainiac captures Lance.

The Justice League fight amongst themselves when Wayne secretly uploads A.L.F.R.E.D. – who is still operational after hiding from Brainiac inside the Internet – into the synthetic body. Hal returns to help activate the body, explaining that the ring on its brow – harnessing one of the six Lantern Batteries, the most powerful objects in existence – was part of his vision. The body, nicknamed Red Tornado due to his appearance and abilities and the Raymonds accompany the Justice League to Durubia, where Brainiac has used the remaining inertron to build a machine to lift a large part of the capital city skyward, intending to crash it into the ground to cause global extinction. Allen rescues Lance, who awakens the Flash for the battle. The Justice League fight Brainiac's army while Waller arrives in an Eagle with Steve Trevor, Tim Drake, and A.R.G.U.S. agents to evacuate civilians. Ronnie dies when he shields Queen from gunfire, and a vengeful Caitlin abandons her post to destroy Brainiac's primary body, which allows one of his drones to activate the machine. The city plummets, but Wayne and Hal overload the machine and shatter the landmass. In the aftermath, the Flash, unwilling to endanger Lance by being with her, departs in a Javelin, while the Red Tornado confronts Brainiac's last remaining body. Later, with the Justice League having established a new base run by Waller, Trevor, Dibny, and Ferris, Hal returns to Oa to learn more about the forces he suspects have manipulated recent events. As Wayne leaves and Queen retires, Kent and Lance prepare to train new Justice Leaguers: Drake, Red Tornado, Carter Hall, and Caitlin. In a closing scene, Darkseid, dissatisfied by the failures of his pawns, dons armor and vows to retrieve the Lantern Batteries himself.

Iron Man
"Brainiac" received overwhelmingly positive reviews. The episode achieved 92% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 32 reviews. Metacritic awarded the episode a 76 out of 100 based on 41 reviews. In an IGN review, Jesse Schedeen gave the episode an 7.6 out of 10, while The A.V. Club gave the episode an A+.

Green Lantern
"Brainiac" received generally positive reviews. The episode achieved 78% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 30 reviews. Metacritic awarded the episode a 63 out of 100 based on 35 reviews. In an IGN review, Schedeen gave the episode an 7 out of 10, while The A.V. Club gave the episode an B+.

Superman
"Brainiac" received critical acclaim. The episode achieved 99% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 28 reviews. Metacritic awarded the episode a 73 out of 100 based on 32 reviews. In an IGN review, Schedeen gave the episode a 9.4 out of 10, while The A.V. Club gave the episode an B.