10 Essential DC Villains Not Yet Used In The DCEU

2. Brainiac

Brainiac Comic Vine
DC Comics

Despite only having one solo movie to his name, Henry Cavill’s Superman has already battled three of the Man of Tomorrow’s greatest villains – Lex Luthor, General Zod, and Doomsday – and so Brainiac seems like one of the few genuine threats who could surface to battle Cavill’s Big Blue Boy Scout down the line.

The closest audiences have got to seeing Brainiac brought to big-screen life was with a few choice nods to the character in 2013’s Man of Steel. Previously, there was talk of having the genius alien android appear as far back as 1983’s Superman III, yet several attempts to incorporate the character into a Superman movie have ultimately all been shelved.

Right now, the future of Henry Cavill as Superman is a little up in the air – much like the DC Extended Universe itself – but whether it’s Cavill’s Supes or A.N. Other taking over the cape, Brainiac is a must-have villain for any future Superman outing. Where his abilities come into it, Brainiac is untouchable on every possible front - whether that’s controlling technology, the weaponry at his literal fingertips, his telepathic powers, or going back to basics in a fist fight.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.