Justice League Unlimited's Biggest Conspiracy

Start speaking a new language in 3 weeks with Babbel 🎉. Get 60% OFF your subscription during their Black Friday sale➡Here: bit.ly/47FCVbZ

Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor is THE definitive Lex Luthor of all time. And now he's General Kregg for Invincible

I didn't dwell much on it, but I assumed it was just Brainiac's foot prints in Luthor's memory. But not being able to see him in destroyer doesn't make much sense with that.

"Brainiac, I'm coming!" has got to be the best line in the DCAU

Luthor going through a Flowers for Algernon trauma makes the most sense to me. He reached the apex of everything he ever wanted only to have it all ripped away from him. Seems reasonable even he would have a bit of brain damage after that; trauma only cured when he accidentally reawakened Darkseid in his pursuit of Brainiac, which forced him to reevaluate his priorities.

Cadmus conspiracy arc made The Question my favourite character in the show. The writing was phenomenal which allowed lesser known heroes to shine

One thing we can confirm is Luthor is comming for Brainiac

Maybe there's Brainiac in all of us. Because he's real in our hearts...

I don't like the idea of Grodd using his psychic abilities to make Brainiac appear to Luthor. I like the idea he either went crazy, or he was real and pushing Lex to revive him but regardless Darkseid was brought back instead and gained power from whatever remnants of brainiac he was revived with. As for if Brainiac is fully gone? Nah, there's some "back up plan" of his that lead to the future brainiacs.

It's safe to say we all came for Lex coming for Brainiac

One alternate explanation I could see, given what we know of these characters, is that Lex IS being manipulated with visions... but not by Grodd. After all, I could be wrong, but I don't recall Grodd being able to cause hallucinations to this extent. It's been a long time since I saw JLU, so if I'm wrong, please let me know. But even if he could, if Grodd wanted to mentally control Lex, he could just... control him. Manipulating him in such a roundabout way just seems impractical to me. However, consider this: Braniac has learned from experience that combining with another life form, as he did with Lex, is a good idea. Sure, the last time he did, he failed, but this is something he'd never tried before. Like you said, it was LEX who suggested it. So maybe Braniac decided the problem wasn't the combining in and of itself, but rather the one he combined with. As he himself put it, he had doubts about Lex prior to them becoming one. But now that he knows that the idea has merit... he just needs a better partner. And what better partner... than a God? Braniac knew how powerful Darkseid was, and that both he and Darkseid desires knowledge, even if it is for different reasons. Combining with Darkseid would serve both their purposes, more than reuniting with Lex ever could. And it just so happens that Darkseid died in Braniacs old base. His evaporated remains are mingled with those of Braniac. All he needs is for someone to put them together again. See, one thing that's fundamental to know about Braniac is... he learns. That is literally all he does, all that motivates him. So what did he learn by combining with Luthor? Manipulation. Cunning. Strategy. And now, with some small part, even if it's severely weakened, inside Lex, maybe he pushes him to use his intellect to make this happen, using Lex's own desire to reunite as the motivator. It'd explain why ghost-braniac is so friendly with Lex, urging him on and on about how "we can be together". Now, why not tell him right away where the rest of the pieces are, and get it out of the way? Well, maybe he is trusting Lex himself to work it out, to reach the conclusion himself. Telling him too much, too quickly, would perhaps make Luthor too cautious. Why is this a bad thing? Because Braniac being brought back to normal isn't what he wants. Combining with Lex doesn't serve his purpose. So what's to say, if Braniac is interconnected to all parts of himself, that he didn't deliberately prevent Luthors experiments from succeeding? Braniac has a goal, and to accomplish that, he needs Lex to fail. He needs him to keep looking for alternative solutions. He needs Lex well and truly desperate... because a desperate man makes mistakes. For Braniac's plan to succeed, he needs Lex blinded by his desire. But then, Lex betrayed Tala and strapped her into the machine, leading to her, in her dying moments, using her magic to turn Lex's plan on its head. This was an X-factor Braniac didn't expect. Sure, he knows full well how Luthor thinks and operates, thanks to being part of him. But he's not telepathic. He can only go by the data he has. Braniac knows technology. He is an expert on machinery, both technological and biomechanical. But he knows nothing about magic, and what it can do. It's an unquantifiable factor, by its very definition. And the result So instead of a reconstituted Braniac, augmented with the powers of the New Gods... they got Darkseid, augmented by Braniac. Or, which is also possible, he just underestimated Darkseids willpower and was outright overpowered by him. Combining with a willing host of unusually high intellect is one thing. Combining with one of the New Gods, powered by the Omega Force, a being who's willpower is THAT STRONG... that's a different matter entirely. Yes, their goals do align on the face of it, but Darkseid isn't a team player. There is no "our goal" in Darkseids world. And this is something Braniac did not, could not prepare for. Now, is this what really happened? I have no idea. Like your video said, the creators were deliberately vague about it. But I think it does hold up to scrutiny, and we have just about as much evidence for this as any other explanation.

"You know something Bruce, Your not always right" that was absolute gold!

Honestly even as a kid i assumed it was all a hallucination, It just made the most sense in the end.

I always wondered what Clark's reaction was when he learned that a future reincarnation of one of his worst enemies hooked up with his cousin. Without a doubt a damage that not even all the kryptonite in the universe could match. 😅

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, Not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become real." "Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit. "Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. - The Velveteen Rabbit

1) Luthor is just insane in the membrane. (Insane in the brain!) 2) If we see a live action Brainiac, I want it to be in the Batman Beyond future. I think that he'd make a great villain in that setting and tie it further together with rest of the DC universe. You could even use the current Beyond comics run as basis, and just make that the twist for the screen. Whadda ya think?

I would want to Brainiac to be given the DCAU origin, being the ultimate cause for the planet not being able to survive. I think having him and Superman being the last sons of krypton would be interesting in that sense, seeing as one is the savior of a new planet while the other was the destroyer of its home. As for the theories, I’d like to believe that it’s Grodd messing with Lex, but his confusion at the beginning of the season when Lex is talking to Brainiac is the only think making me skeptical of it. I do think the idea of Lex just going crazy makes the most sense.

Okay, that Kalibak bit at the end was a goddamn masterclass in closing out the running gag, good job.

Tbh, I have always loved the continuities that stablish Brainiac as someone responsible for the extinction of Kryptonians. It makes his rivalry with Superman much more epic and personal, similar to the one Goku and Frieza share

Completely agree with you about the Flash running round the world while ripping Brainiac out of Lex is the coolest scene in the DCAU. Hell I think it's one of the coolest scenes of any cartoon.