Brainiac Arrives In New Injustice 2 Story Trailer

He's coming, and he is not happy.

In the latest entry in its series of "Shattered Alliance" videos, NetherRealm Studios unveiled the main villain in Injustice 2, the 12th-level artificial intelligence and classic Superman villain named Brainiac. In the upcoming superhero-versus-superhero fighting game, Brainiac (who destroyed Superman's birth planet, Krypton) travels to Earth to finish what he started, and he seems set on decimating Kal-El's adopted home world along the way.

With an army of super strong robots and deadly spacecraft threatening to destroy Earth, the former despot Superman and the rogue terrorist Batman must put their differences aside and work together to save their shared home. That's easier said than done, of course. In the trailer, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Swamp Thing all fall victim to Brainiac's technological weapons, while Wonder Woman is pushed to her limits.

Injustice 2 marks NetherRealm's return to the twisted take on the DC Comics continuity that began in 2013's Injustice: Gods Among Us and continued in a series of digital-first comic books. In Injustice, Superman takes over the world after Lois Lane dies at the hands of the Joker, forcing Batman to lead a resistance movement against his one-time ally.

Like NetherRealm's other big franchise, Mortal Kombat, the Injustice games are one-on-one brawlers featuring fast-paced combat and a variety of brutal super-powered attacks. Injustice 2 comes out on May 16 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Injustice 2 isn't actually Brainiac's first appearance in the series. In the first game, Brainiac's head can be found in Lex Luthor's lab, and it can be used as a projectile weapon or to shoot lasers at opponents. Although Brainiac is one of Superman's most recognizable and beloved foes, he's never appeared on movie screens, although it's not for a lack of trying: in at least two unmade Superman flicks, Brainiac helped orchestrate the Man of Steel's demise.