10 Darkest Endings In The DC Animated Universe

4. Braniac Reveals His Master Plan - Justice League Unlimited

Justice League Unlimited's Cadmus arc is one of the all-time great superhero stories. I don't just mean that in terms of animation either - the entire thing rivals some of the best Justice League stories ever told.

Building upon previous episodes and themes from Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League, the arc delved deep into the ethical questions surrounding the relationship between superheroes, everyday people and the government, and injected a healthy dose of moral ambiguity and political tension into the series.

It also happens to feature one of the most horrifying images ever conceived in DC's history. So uhh, it has that going for it too.

Dwayne McDuffie made sure the arc had it all, and so revealed in its penultimate episode that Lex Luthor had really been a vessel for Braniac the entire time, making a huge throwback to Season 2 of Superman by revealing the Kryptonian AI had installed a version of itself in Luthor's DNA in their last encounter.

Said reveal comes as Braniac rips Luthor's flesh apart to unveil a metallic face hidden in his stomach. Lovely.