Brainiac vs. Darkseid: Who Wins the Fight & How?

DC has its fair share of powerful villains, and today we decided to pit two of the most popular ones, Brainiac and Darkseid. Both seek domination in their own way, and both have powers that go far above what we, as human beings, can imagine. Both are incredibly durable, intelligent, and capable of manifesting powers on a planetary scale, but when it comes to a fight between the two, who wins and how? 

Darkseid wins in a fight against Brainiac. Darkseid is simply more durable and has vastly more potent cosmic abilities than Brainiac. As one of the New Gods, Darkseid can easily rewrite reality, and there’s nothing that Brainiac can do to counter it. However, it would be a challenging fight, as Darkseid still has to think of a way to go around Brainiac’s immortality and stop him from simply uploading himself into a new, more powerful body. The same goes for Brainiac, give enough time, he could surely think of a way to take down Darkseid. 

Now that we’ve given you a brief insight into how the battle would play out, it’s time to analyze both our villains and see why exactly Darkseid would be able to defeat Brainiac. If you’re interested in seeing how their powers, abilities, strength, and weaknesses compare, stay with us and keep reading!

Powers and abilities

Most of Brainiac’s powers and abilities stem from the incredible control of his own mind. Most of his powers are mental and include manipulation on a large scale. Brainiac is capable of manipulating and possessing any piece of technology he stumbles upon. This makes him incredibly dangerous since, in theory, his opponents are disabled from the start if they plan on utilizing more sophisticated technology near him. 

Brainiac is also capable of energy manipulation to some extent, and he has been seen in the past to be able to teleport, time travel, and alter the sizes of entire planets. 

Brainiac is also a skilled mind manipulator. He can easily brainwash an entire army of people quickly and thus disable his opponents. He is naturally completely immune to telepathy-based powers and mind manipulation due to his mental fortitude. 

Darkseid is, on the other hand, New God. This means that he has access to unimaginable powers due to The Source. He is considered among the most powerful beings in the DC universe and the embodiment of evil. But, to see how true all those statements are, we need to analyze what Darkseid is capable of. Buckle up since the list is pretty long. 

One of Darkseid’s most famous powers are Omega Beams, over which he has ultimate control. He gained control of the Omega Beams after the death of the Old Gods. Omega Beams can disintegrate matter on a molecular level. They can melt entire planets apart and even mess with the fabric of space-time as Darkseid can transport people through dimensions with them. 

Darkseid can be extremely precise with his Omega Beams, which means he is capable of large-scale and small-scale destruction. If needed, he can use them to disintegrate planets and other powerful creatures. 

When Darkseid is in his true form, he can access several other potent abilities. He can manipulate darkness, travel through dimensions and multiverses, and summon Boom Tubes using nothing but the power of his own will. 

Most of his abilities stem from manipulating space-time and reality, which allows him to, among others, teleport, manipulate gravity and summon powerful beings from other dimensions to aid him. Most notably, Darkseid can summon Black Racer to aid him. 

It’s clear from these comparisons that Darkseid’s powers are simply on a different level when compared to Brainiac. The point goes to Darkseid. 

Points: Darkseid (1:0) Brainiac

Strength and Stamina 

Brainiac spent an eternity modifying himself with various technological pieces and perfecting every lacking aspect of himself. Due to being practically a machine, his body does not generate fatigue toxins, and thus he is not limited by his stamina expenditure. He also requires no sustenance and oxygen to function. 

His strength is likewise out of the league compared to the average human strength. The greatest feat he managed to do in terms of raw strength is overpowering Superman, which means that Brainiac is easily strong enough to take on Kryptonians. Even though intelligence is Brainiac’s vital attribute, while enhanced with various cybernetic additions, he can be, at times, incredibly strong. 

Darkseid, on the other hand, likewise has incredible reserves of stamina at his disposal. He fought Highfather Izaya for seven days straight, showing minimal signs of fatigue. Darkseid’s physical strength rivals that of Superman. He was capable of holding a portal opened with nothing but his raw strength, which means that his strength is possibly planetary in level. 

Darkseid has more physical strength at his disposal, but Brainiac being half-machine means that he will not get tired as “easily” as Darkseid. Due to that, both get the point.

Points: Darkseid (2:1) Brainiac

Speed

Brainiac has superhuman speed at his disposal as he was consistently shown to be able to keep up with Superman and, in turn, with an average Kryptonian. This makes him faster than most beings in the DC universe. If needed, Brainiac can also teleport when the need arises. Most of Brainiac’s speed feats that we had the opportunity of seeing are related to combat speed. He doesn’t have to rely on his speed to travel since he has far more powerful equipment at his disposal, allowing him to traverse great distances in a relatively small amount of time. 

Darkseid likewise has overwhelming combat speed. Brainiac can be compared to Superman, but Darkseid can be compared to Zeus. Darkseid’s speed is possibly faster-than-light in nature. He was seen on multiple occasions traversing cosmic distances in mere moments. His combat speed is also overwhelming to Superman and Wonder Woman. And just like with Brainiac, Darkseid can teleport if needed and has flying at his disposal. 

Taking everything into account, Darkseid is definitely faster. The point goes to him. 

Points: Darkseid (3:1) Brainiac

Durability

Brainiac is extremely difficult to kill due to his various cybernetic enhancements. He is immortal in every sense, as the machine cannot age. He can also upload himself into another system if he sustains enough damage. He was also seen regenerating completely from a single line of code, meaning that it’s nearly impossible to “erase” him. 

Darkseid is likewise immortal. He sustained the destruction of whole planets, leaving unharmed. If Brainiac is impossible to eliminate, Darkseid is on a new level. Not only is he immune to most forms of energy-based attacks he can also regenerate from severe wounds and even restore whole organs. Even if, by some chance, Darkseid is killed (as it has been seen to happen many times), there is no doubt that he will eventually find a way to return from such a state. 

Brainiac and Darkseid are incredibly durable and functionally immortal, but Darkseid is slightly more durable due to better feats in the past, so this point goes to him. 

Points: Darkseid (4:1) Brainiac

Intelligence

Intelligence is Brainiac’s trademark aspect. Most of his powers stem from it, and being smart, he could take down beings far more powerful than he was. Brainiac is generally considered to be among the, if not the smartest, being in the DC universe. He possesses superhuman calculation abilities, enhanced memory, and an advanced understanding of mechanical engineering, bio-engineering, physics, and other theoretical and applied sciences. All of this allowed him to transform himself into a near-god state. It allowed him to create incredible and inconceivable technologies. 

Darkseid is smart, and in some cases, he is shown to have Cosmic awareness. He is certainly smart enough to outwit most opponents and is capable of complex strategizing. However, his intelligence feats come nowhere near to that of Brainiac. 

Points: Darkseid (4:2) Brainiac

Combat Skills 

Brainiac invested all of his points into intelligence; hence, he never really cared about having advanced combat skills. He can take on most opponents in combat, but he largely relies on his raw strength and tech. 

Darkseid likewise rarely has to use combat skills to achieve his goals, but when he does use them, he is a highly skilled and deadly fighter. He was previously shown to be able to take down whole planets with his combat skills, as well as some of the most powerful beings in the DC universe, like Anti-Monitor, Zeus, and Asmodel. 

Points: Darkseid (5:3) Brainiac

Equipment 

Skull Ship is among the most notable piece of equipment that Brainiac has at his disposal and a great source of his physical powers. It allows him to completely rebuild himself in severe cases and is capable of achieving hyper speeds in a matter of seconds. Technically, Brainiac is made out of his equipment, and everything he does is, in one way or another, related to technology. 

Darkseid is most notable for using Mother Boxes and having access to Boom Tubes. Both forms of technology are extremely powerful and have the capacity to alter the fabric of reality.

Mother Boxes are perhaps slightly more powerful than what Brainiac has at his disposal. Still, the fact stands that Brainiac utilizes technology in more versatile ways, so both get the point here. 

Points: Darkseid (6:4) Brainiac

 Brainiac vs. Darkseid: Who is stronger? 

With everything considered, Darkseid is known as a God of Evil for a very good reason. There are only a few beings in the DC universe that can counter him, and Brainiac is not among them. Darkseid simply has more cosmic powers at his disposal and unrivaled durability and fighting skills to boast. It would not be an easy fight, and given enough time to prepare and plan his moves; I’m sure that Brainiac would be able to think of something to counter Darkside, perhaps even defeat him.