Warning! Contains spoilers for Superman: House of Brainiac Special #1!

Summary

• The Council of Light is revealed as Brainiac variants, shocking Amanda Waller.
• Brainiac manipulates Waller to achieve absolute power in the DC Universe.
• While the Council of Light originated in Dark Crisis, Brainiac becomes a major threat just in time for the Absolute Power event.

The Justice League has been through a lot lately, especially after disbanding in Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths and then facing numerous villains as individual heroes, including Failsafe, the Sovereign, and more. But one group of mysterious villains has been working behind the scenes of the DC Universe for nearly two years: the Council of Light. Now their identity has just been revealed to the world, and it's a major shock.

In the third chapter of Superman: House of Brainiac Special #1 by Joshua Williamson and Fico Ossio, the identity of the Light is revealed. After Amanda Waller demands to know the identity of the secret council she's been plotting with for the past year, the Light reveals itself as none other than a council of variants of Superman's greatest enemy: Brainiac.

Amanda Waller doesn't take this information well, and immediately cuts Brainiac off, even threatening to find a way to kill him the next time they encounter. This doesn't seem to phase Brainiac at all, as it seems he's already used Amanda Waller to achieve his goal, which is absolute power.

The Council of Light Reveals Itself: They're All Brainiac

Amanda Waller Confronts the Light About Their Identity

It may seem out of character for Brainiac to bother with trying to manipulate Amanda Waller, but that's because he's changing his tactics.

The so-called "Council of Light" is one of the many ideas that originated outside DC's comic books. They first appeared as central antagonists in the animated show Young Justice, where they were made up of some of the show's biggest villains, such as Vandal Savage, Deathstroke, Black Manta, and more. The comic-book version, the "Council of Light," made their mysterious debut in the finale of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths. But unlike the Young Justice version of the villain team, the Light in the comics isn't made up of multiple different villains, but instead multiple versions of the same villain.

The Council of Light made its first DCU appearance in Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 by Joshua Williamson, Rafa Sandoval, Jack Herbert, Daniel Sampere, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cam Smith, Romulo Fajardo Jr., Matt Herms, Alex Guimarães, Alejandro Sánchez, and Tom Napolitano.

It may seem out of character for Brainiac to bother with trying to manipulate Amanda Waller, but that's because he's changing his tactics. While Brainiac is usually concerned with preserving history and knowledge, he's come to believe that knowledge is power, and as long as other people have power, it'll be a problem for him. Because of this, he's going to be a major player in DC's upcoming Absolute Power event by Mark Waid and Dan Mora, which will see power being drained from DC's heroes and villains. Brainiac's ultimate plan is to keep control over all knowledge in the DC Universe, and he manipulates Amanda Waller to achieve it.

Amanda Waller Had Been Working with the Light for Years

This Conflict Has Its Origins in Dark Crisis

Brainiac is one of Superman's most dangerous enemies, and he's finally taken a step to become a major threat to everyone on Earth through the Council of Light. While it's still not exactly clear how the characters in the DC Universe will lose their powers during Absolute Power, it is clear that Amanda Waller, and especially Brainiac, will have a major part in the conflict. Brainiac is currently building the Brainiac Queen, and fans will need to read Absolute Power to see how the Justice League will be able to defeat both Amanda Waller's machinations and Brainiac's lust for knowledge.

Superman: House of Brainiac Special #1 is available now from DC Comics!