"SUPERMAN: BRAINIAC ATTACKS" - Does it Connect to "Superman: the Animated Series"? | Will It Canon? 

Aaaand, I’ve already figured out what the constantly-posted comment is gonna be this time around: “What if the movie is in a parallel universe to the DCAU? Then it’s canon!” So here’s my canned response that I will now cease replying with: While this is certainly possible, if we consider the Multiverse Theory of there being literally infinite possible parallel worlds, some with such minor changes you could search for thousands of years and never find them, it essentially erases the ability to categorize something as “canon” or “not canon.” We’re referring strictly to the DCAU as it is presented to us from the start of BTAS to the end of JLU, hence this movie does not fit. Additionally, each parallel universe in the DCAU is presented as somewhat drastically different-an action or event causes character(s) to take on very different lives from what we see in the main DCAU timeline. “Brainiac Attacks” presents us with what appears to be a version of STAS where someone watched the first episode and then said “Ok, yeah, I think I got the idea.” Sure, it could be an alternate DCAU, but that’s not the discussion in this video, and with that logic I’d say we could go on for days about “JL/JLU is an alternate universe because Batman wears a different costume” or even “Divided We Fall is in an alternate universe because Brainiac fires a yellow beam at Luthor in the flashback instead of a blue beam like in the actual episode.” Because of this, we’ve chosen to stick to whether or not an item fits into the “DCAU proper.”

Anyone else have a visceral reaction to seeing Bruce Timm style Luthor without Clancey Brown's voice? It just feels... wrong. Like Flash in Luthor's body.

5:18 “It’s got to be a continuation of that show… right?” You missed the perfect opportunity to insert Lex Luthor’s, “WRONG!!!”, line from Superman Returns.

huh didnt know Superman never used Freeze breath in the DCAU is this a mandella effect?

I'd like to consider this taking place in the Justice lords timeline, and its actually more different then we originally thought

Here's a theory. What if this is a VR Simulation Movie created by Booster Gold. SUPERMAN: BRAINIAC ATTACKS is a fan fiction film that takes place in the DCAU long after the events of the old DCAU. It's all in Booster Gold's head.

Another thing about the Fortress of Solitude's destruction. If all the animals are dead from the explosion, that means we'd have no Starro to eventually possess Superman and the future Justice League in Batman Beyond.

green lantern the animated series will it canon ?

Just blame Chronos form "The Once and Future Thing." He messed up the timeline.

When I first saw this movie, I completely expected a twist to occur that revealed that Grodd was controlling Lex the whole time for some nefarious purpose. Needless to say, I came away disappointed.

Don't ever stop making videos, guys.

It’s a shame, the animation is gorgeous and it would’ve been nice for STAS to have gotten a movie in the DCAU

I always found it bizzare they didn't style it after the Chris Reeve movies outright, much like the recent animated Adam West films. Sure, Chris wasn't with us, but they could have used as much of the Returns cast as they needed to as replacements.

If Dini didn't help write it or wasn't involved in some way I usually don't consider it canon, that's how I personally feel. I personally think he's the brains behind the dcau while Tim was the artist . Sure he helped out, but Dini made it what it was

Wait... would this new show cover the like "Adventures in the DC Universe" and the Justice League Unlimited books?! This is what I've been asking for for months!!! SO excited!!!

This is a fantastic idea for a series on this channel. The DCAU timeline an canon never ceases to interest me

Meanwhile still waiting for A video about what happened to Lex Luther and Darkseid at the ending of Justice league Unlimited

The only explanation for the continuity errors with the rest of the DCAU if this movie could still be canon, is Perry White mentions Mxy at the end. Maybe Mxy warped reality.

This movie is literally a DCAMU movie in DCAU's clothing.

i really appreciate the style of the newer videos, you're not taking yourself too seriously and i like that a lot

I've really been enjoying your videos during the COVID-19 quarantine. The timeline stuff is a little over my head, but I love that you made a channel devoted to the DCAU. It still baffles me that there are so many people against Batman and Harley Quinn being canon. I wanted it to be part of the DCAU for Nightwing's role alone. My only real gripe of TNBA is the lack of actual Nightwing screentime (Over the Edge doesn't count because he's a hallucination and Chemistry he doesn't suit up if I remember right). At the very least Batman and Harley Quinn gave us more Loren Lester Nightwing.

I love how you can hear Luthor's other voice even in the silent footage. You have to admit they did a good job at the terrible thing they were doing.

I like this. MORE! DO MORE!

This movie feels like an alternate sequel to Reeve's first Superman movie, where instead of Zod, Brainiac is the villain. Luthor is acting more like the Gene Hackman version instead of, you know, the Clancy Brown one.

I liked this video!! The timeline stuff, works better when it have a purpose bigger than just" where this takes place at"... keep up the good work!

I actually rewatched The Animated Series after viewing this There are Multiple Occasions where Brainiac smiles, even for extended periods of time, heck, he even cracks a Joke once or twice & does have witty banter with Superman. So It isn't wrong that Brainiac is Smiling in this Film.

I really like this. Do more of it

Crazy how "official" guides are so low on the canon tiers

Watchtower Database The Brainiac Attacks, Brainiac could be Brainiac 2 (Brainiac's son) who sometimes looks identical to the original

Alternate Universes _are_ canon (Justice Lords, Justice Guild, Gods and Monsters) in the DCAU, which means all of these animated films could indeed be canon without necessarily fitting into mainstream continuity. Indeed, DC gives the DCAU its own official alternate Universe in their comic continuity. Who's to say that we aren't seeing, say, the _Justice Lords_ version of Superman and his history here?

4:50 it actually didn't met with mixed reactions from critics, it was VERY positive reaction in fact. It was just boring, and overly kind, and fell short in zeitgeist. You see ,( -Ivan- ), after people were exposed to what Batman was CREATED to be (i.e. dark figure) by Tim Burton, Bruce Timm and C. "Bravo" Nolan, there was a same desire for Superman (who was created as badass and ultimate immigrant, kinda-ousider-but-not-really character) which was only met in comics of those days and Timm cartoons. This is why Man of Steel made way more money than Returns, despite *actually* mixed response from critics, but positive from audience and people like Bruce Timm and Dan Jurgens themeselves.

Great that Tim Daly returned as Superman along with most of the same voice cast and the same animation after being unavailable for the Justice League cartoon. Biggest drawback for me was Clancy Brown not returning as Lex Luthor and Lex Luthor being rewritten as a goof. Dead curious as to why that was.

I was having kinda a bad day but this definitely helped. I was laughing so hard at the end! 😂😂😂 Thank you

_"Which Donald Trumps the other"_ Please tell Me you just made that up on the fly?😂😂😂

Looking for to more stuff like this 'cause it's awesome! Heck, even just more live-action skits would be awesome too. Also, I saw the GLTAS at 5:34. I'm excited to see that be put through this 'cause; 1. I really liked the series when it was airing. 2. I personally only picked up one reference to DCAU in it. 3. I kind of made my own assumption that it took place in the same world as Beware the Batman. ('Cause of the animation style and what not.) So, yeah. Lovin' the direction you guys are going and it is a welcomed addition to the amazing content you guys put out. :D

What if something corrupted Brainiac's memory? I mean look at the lil guy, he's a chunk on a table. Some of his vast data could be corrupted. So for Lex it's time #2, and for Brainiac it's time #1 because he's got a few missing sectors and doesn't currently remember time #1.

You guys do great videos. Keep up the good work.

9:55 Time passes more slowly in the phantom zone, so if you look into it from the outside things might seem to stay in place. Because Supergirl was trapped in the phantom zone she's Superman's older cousin while looking younger. It's very similar to (what I call) 'Flash vision', when the Flash runs everything else seems to stop moving. (Also, look at X-Men - Days of Future Past/Apocalypse's Quicksilver scenes.)

This film is obviously not in canon which is a shame because it could have been a pretty great addition had it tried to be. I don't even think Powers Boothe would make a bad Lex -- his role in Agents of SHIELD as a top Hydra member was pretty great. Even Brainiac's voice is pretty cool and sounds almost MCU-Ultronesque. While Brainiac is... mostly fine for me, Lex is just played way too wrong. I would LOVE a fan edit that cuts out Lex's involvement, turns the film into like a 20 minute, 30 minute adventure about fighting Brainiac and Superman finally revealing his secret identity to Lois. In the film, that fake "revelation" happens kind of at the end of the second act but if someone cut out the part where we find out he was in the Phantom Zone the whole time, and made it so Lois actually finds out -- I think it'd be great. Basically: * Cut Lex out of the film entirely * Keep most of Brainiac's scenes except those in which he's working with or fighting Lex (his first appearance at the LexCorp site is fine as long as Lex is cut out) * Cut the revelation that Superman was in the Phantom Zone the entire time after realizing Lois is acting fishy -- in this hypothetical edit, the point would be for Lois to ACTUALLY learn the truth; so the scene in which she finds out the truth would instead be moved to the end. * Keep Brainiac destroying the cure at the end and Superman's glowing tears reviving Lois. It has a Richard Donner feel to it that actually works with STAS Superman imo compared to using Donner-esque Luthor characterizations does not. * When the tear starts to heal Lois, use the scene of her waking up from earlier in the film instead of the actual/original scene. Again, this way, she actually learns the truth about Superman/Clark. * Cut Jimmy's side story with Mercy but keep most of the ending scene with him, Lois, and Perry in the hospital * Keep the ending with Lois asking Perry about Clark and the whole ending. While originally, this implied that she still didn't know the truth, recontextualizing it makes it seem as if she's keeping his cover. * And of course, your mileage may vary but obviously short lines or scenes such as how the Krypton orb talks about the Phantom Zone can be trimmed or cut entirely to avoid those things. As for a different LexCorp aesthetic... meh. I think we can chalk that up to the same thing as "are the JLU Batsuit and TNBA Batsuit the same?" Considering we have precedence for things simply changing for seemingly no reason, I personally don't put too much weight on the building discrepancy since it's seemingly the same one inside. Same with Fortress aesthetic stuff. The destruction of the Fortress I think I wanted to cut out entirely as well. I know that's a lot to cut, edit, and rearrange but one of the things I was always bummed about was that Lois never found out the truth and considering the 90s was when Lois and Clark finally married (and she learned the truth) in both the comics and in Lois & Clark, the show, and they remained married all the way up to 2011 and then once again in 2016 for Rebirth, I'm bummed we never got to see that in the DCAU. It still wouldn't be officially canon but it would at least turn it canon-friendly and could be used in a similar way as the Legacies of the DCAU comic or my own BTAS/TNBA short comic. Oh, another note -- Brainiac's fascination with the orb -- can that not simply be chalked up to the fact that he would want that data again after Kal-El "stole" it from him? I watched the film semi-recently for the purpose of making notes on how to make a DCAU-compatible edit and I recall going back and forth on cutting out Brainiac's fascination with the orb and retaining it just so that the hypothetical editor has less of a headache when editing. It may be a little weird but I recall, maybe erroneously, that it could work if you just assume he wants to reclaim what he once had. Anyway, this edit would not only bring the tone of the film more in line with STAS and the DCAU in general, even if it wouldn't be particularly amazing, it would also alleviate most of the timeline issues by simply taking Lex, Kryptonite, Brainiac's lack of knowledge of Brainiac, etc. out of the question. I think it would work placed before JLU. It could come before Twilight of JL/the Static-JL crossover or even afterward, maybe possibly. JLU establishes that Lois and *Superman* are at least dating and there's a scene in JLU where she's with Clark, completely alone, but doesn't seem to know the truth? That, to me, can be explained as her just being careful but that's also because I would really like for her to know the truth by that point.

Might want to slap a superhero sticker or iron-on atop the starbucks logo, just for fun. Or maybe the channel logo?

I like how the final test to see if a particular piece of content is canon to a franchise, is seeing if it fits in a bucket.

I will always respect this movie for getting rid of Jimmy’s mullet. It works for Nightwing, hell I didn’t think it looked that bad on Superman, but Jimmy just cannot pull it off in any way shape or form. I’d even go as far as to say that it was the only thing keeping STAS from feeling like a timeless world like BTAS.

"Except for the whole Brainiac debut thing, I'd like to see you try..." Challenge accepted! Brainiac was freaking pulverized by Superman earlier in the movie... maybe some of his memory was gone too...

Wishlist videos from this channel Superman beyond video (including what happens to lois lane in the beyond era) What happens to darkside and lex after JLU do they return? More orgins stories of DCAU heroes and villians "A whatever happened to " video speculation to what happens various characters in the dcau after JLU And review of dcau comics (batman adventures or superman or JLU) Would greatly appreciate the vid And greatly appreciate you guys and your hard works from previous vid)

James Strecker: The Real Burger King.

How much can Canon be canned if Canon could be canned? The answer is not much... This Luther is one loose screw away from stealing 40 cakes. It would have been interesting if this Lex was a bizaro clone in process of breaking down. And Instead of Braniac this should have been Hank henshaw (pre cyborg Superman) utilizing Braniac's leftover tech. I would buy this movie again if they added a few extra minutes and retconned it into being DCAU Canon. The other stuff like the fortress, mayor and Jimmy's new Nick name could just indicate they are further down the timeline.This movie'ssaving grace wasthat it was real nice to see Clark and Lois make some progress in thier relationship.

I don't take continuity errors that serious either :) BUT I love watching you break them all down & go into all the details! Whst about Green Lantern "First Flight" & Green Lantern "Emerald Knights"? I wonder if theres some fun continuity errors to break down with everything those add.

I love you'll channel guys ,I like the movie and I personally don't care if its cannon or not ,not everything has to be connected.

Thanks for this video. When I first saw Brainiac Attacks around a decade ago, I was able to pick out some of the inconsistencies you pointed out in this video like the differences in the personalities this movie's versions of Lex Luthor and Brainiac compared to their DCAU counterparts. Also, I have a question for you. You made a video in the past that dealt with the subject if the Teen Titans cartoon was in the DCAU. Are you going to redo it as an episode of "Will it Canon?" or are you going to leave it as it is?

lex and Brainiac's personality traits can be contributed to the merger they shared and seeing the antilife equation and source wall escape ,the building could have been remodeled after the darkside attack ,brainiacs memory could have been damaged

That ending 😂😂😂

Now that I'm full of knowledge, time to get full of nuggets.

5:11 im happy that it has its movies

Ah, nothing better then finding a channel with hundreds of videos and you want to watch all of them. Bye society, I’ll be busy for a bit

the fact that Lex isn't voiced by Clancy hurts. Also how he's weird.. he's not the same sinister Lex

Justice Lord's alternate timeline, problem solved 😁

could it be that this movie actually takes place in an early point of the justice lords universe

So much effort and no views. You should be a bigger RU-vid channel

Its nice to finally see a Superman video

I like to think that Superman Brainiac Attacks takes place in the Justice Lords universe before Superman became all corrupted

I always thought the events of this movie was another parallel universe like the ones seen in "Brave New Metropolis" and "A Better World" where Lex has a much higher sugar intake and Brainiac tried to beat the Y2K bug to the punch. Okay, kidding on the last parts, but since the DCAU has its own Multiverse it's not that big a stretch for the different continuities to parallel universes, the classic Ben 10 continuity being a good example of this.

Kind of like a reimagining of the original intent for the Superman 3 removing a lot of the creepier elements like Superman and Supergirl being a couple and supergirl and Brainiac having some sort of weird daughter/romantic other thing going on. It also took out time travel which quite frankly seemed unnecessary and weird (and given how weird Superman 3 was in its final form, that's saying something) and left us with something way more akin to Superman Doomsday.

And PS More DCAU timeline videos (and yes im serious...)

I'll watch this video later. I remember not really liking this film and I always knew that it wasn't part of the DCAU.

You know something folks maybe get a DCAU mini-series or film where our cape-clad hero, Clark, spills the beans to Lois Lane about his Superman alter ego? Imagine siphoning inspiration and intriguing elements from the edge-of-revelation story in Justice League Unlimited's "Divided We Fall" ending - the stuff of Timmverse legends! Imagine a plot laden with twists and turns, promising an intriguing and uproarious premise. One can't help but wonder about the odds, a whimsical hope that someday, the Timmverse might stage a comeback, not just to fix a few animated missteps but to attend to the unfinished superheroic business, weaving a tale that's equal parts and revitalized charm.

Yessss!!!!!!!! A new video!!! Aww love you guys!!!!

Whoa this has opened a part of my brain I forgot was there...I feel like I’ve seen this movie but it’s a foggy memory...

It is a probability it could be from a slightly different timeline

Yes!, another awesome vid

Could it take place in Justice Lords world. That Lex did seem gittier before SuperLord killed him.

*This question has already been solved.* In the time travel episode where of JLU batman says he has no memory of time traveling to the future. This means that there atleast two near identical timelines. One where that adventure happend. And the other cannon thats slightley different. This is Where you can fit all the non cannon movies as the Uni's are similar with slight deviations.

Hope You All Are Well. Great video, the details & the levity were well balanced. As You pointed out a lot of this dose not pan out at all, though I'm thinking the hole Brainiac meeting Lex issue could possible be a time displacement-ish thing, similar to how Dr Who meets River & she acts like She knows Him until She realizes He is on a different point in their timeline, so Lex has met Brainiac before, hence His boasting & familiarity towards Brainiac but the Brainiac from the movie Brainiac Attacks is from a point on their timeline before they " 1st met ". Probably completely wrong but it's a possibility.

keep up the good work!

So nobody is good by to mention the marching stick, probably a CorpsMaster, that he used to kill that DVD case? Why a marching snare stick if I may ask?

Do you know the reason they recast Harley for Batman & Harley Quinn?

Intro immediately flashed me back to Will It Blend episodes. That was brilliant.

What if it takes place in the justice lords universe or in the brave new metropolis universe ?

I know this is a stretch but could we down the road could we get a video of the complete DCAU timeline with every spin-off tie in included?

I'd Love to see one of these for The Legion of Superheroes animated series. The way I looked at it, it could actually work as canon, If we consider the first time Clark meets the legion in Smallville, it's an older legion and chameleon boy is part of the team, plus they're chasing brainiac, but we know that Saturn girl wiped his mind of that meeting and gave him his glasses. So when he meets a younger Legion later that Chameleon boy doesn't seem to be a part of yet he has the glasses and it makes sense he wouldn't know them. Time travel. Then the first season of LoS happens, they send Clark back, STAS and at least the Start of JL happen, then they bring him back in season 2 (he references the league and Batman in that season), at this point Chameleon boy has joined the team and the season ends with Brainiac 5 becoming fully organic and the Legion encountering OG Brainiac. So that'd be why Brainy doesn't have his robot powers in Far From Home and how the Legion met Brainiac before they chase he back in New Kids in Town. That's kind of a messy way of saying this. Superman's Perspective: NKiT - LoS S1 - STAS - JL S1 - LoS S2 - JL S2 Onward Legion Perspective: LoS S1 - LoS S2 - Offscreen Events - NKiT - FFH We never find out if Clark ever found out who the Legion was again after NKiT, and he likely wouldn't tell anyone so not to risk his friends and their team not existing if he did. And it would add to the reason why its Superman who suggests forming the League.

Honestly a part of me wants to see you guys do a version or "Will it canon" for the Justice Lords universe. Like see if canon that isn't canon to the DCAU would be canon for the Justice Lord's universe. Considering how messed up that universe is, it makes perfect sense why this movie and "Batman Nd Harley Quinn would fit in that world's lore so well." :D

I was curious if you all could do a video/videos on how Batman: Vengance and Rise of Sin Tzu fit into the DCAU timeline? That would be so cool.

Maybe this is the superman from the Justice Lords Universe...

Who gets nuggets from burger king? Normi

this video has edumacated me

I think I might be alone on this but I really dig the voice of Brainiac in Brainiac Attacks, but then again I’m not deeply attached to that voice, but I am for Clancy Brown he is my definitive Lex Luthor.

So it's like the animated Green Lantern movies, like Emerald Knights. They have the same animation style, and similar if not the same voice cast, but they cannot be canon to each other due to too many contradictions.

While I don't really like Luthor's voice for this film...I actually didn't hate Lance in the role of Brainiac, sure you can argue it sounds a bit too...human(?) but I think that makes it more uncanny

Just I thought what if the Brainiac in Brainiac attacks is actually Brainiac 2?

My theory is that Superman: Brainiac Attacks and Superman: Doomsday take place in the same universe.

“All these tiers, do you think they will save you?”

Now I really want some nuggets.

You should do an episode for Batman and Harley Quinn. I know that it is definitely cannon but it would put all the deliberation to rest

Holyshit this movie is atrocious. The only good thing about it is a 17 minute video from these guys.

I gotta agree it's not great but not god awful movie either, being out of canon means the DCAU is preserved where something bad in actual DCAU continuity is more harmful.

Why not have it as a splinter timeline, where the style, voices, and other elements are similar/connected, but isn't canon to the main DCAU timeline.

I never got this. We're already making one movie. Let's make another one while we're at it

6:47 both good

I saw the video I click

Video games are above official guides? That really speaks volumes.

What about Superman: Doomsday? Superman used freeze breath in that. Although if it isn't part of the DCAU then nevermind