Superman/Batman #36

Overview

The final chapter of the Metal Men's return! Will Superman and Batman be able to stop Brainiac with Magnus' robots on his side? And what does Bruce have hidden away that's so vital?

Will Magnus is able to track down his Metal Men. He is horrified to find the security guards dead. Hoping that they weren't responsible, he discovers that it was, in fact, Brainiac in an OMAC body.

At the hospital, Bruce is recovering. Clark asks him why did he hold onto the Brother Eye and OMAC technology. His answers is basically for the same reason he keeps a giant penny or old costumes in the Batcave. He says orphans are collectors, they have a hard time giving things up. Lucius arrives to tell Bruce that Magnus has gone missing. Bruce tells Lucius to get a prototype device from R & D and to give it to Clark. It is a device that will track the OMAC prototype.

Superman is able to easily track the prototype with the device. Inside, Magnus is still talking to Brainiac. It seems he wants to use the OMAC virus to infect everyone in order to control them. He needs to test his virus on a human test subject. He turns to Magnus' assistant, Helen, and Will insists Brainiac use him instead. Brainiac says he may need Magnus in the future. Superman arrives and gets their attention. He soon begins fighting the Metal Men.

Back at the hospital, Bruce barely manages to crawl out of bed. He tells himself that he will clean up this mess, even if it kills him.

The Metal Men do not want to hurt Superman but they have no choice. They are able to defeat him when Tin reveals that he has a piece of Kryptonite that Brainiac took from Metallo. Brainiac doesn't want Superman dead at this point. His plans are to eventually create a variant of the OMAC virus that could infect a Kryptonian. Superman refuses to give up fighting. Brainiac then asks who would like the honor of killing him. Magnus' assistant, just transformed into an OMAC herself, volunteers.

Outside, Batman arrives and talks to Will. They are discussing a way to shut down Brainiac. As Helen/OMAC fights Superman, Batman jumps in and tells the Metal Men to fight Brainiac's programming. He tells them to prove that they want acceptance in the world. Struggling, they managed to get their will back. They turn to Brainiac and begin fighting him. Will comes in with a very large gun. He shoots Helen in the neck with a dart that is to give her control over herself. Helen starts fighting Brainiac too. Finally, with the power of an OMAC and the Metal Men, Brainiac is defeated. Brainiac has managed to escape with his consciousness out of the OMAC body.

Superman melts down the OMAC exoskeletons. He asks Bruce if he has any other prototypes hidden anywhere. Bruce says no. Bruce says it's the best thing to do. Clark asks then why didn't he destroy it months ago. Bruce says it's because of the penny thing. What it comes down to, he wanted there to be something that could protect the world if the metahumans ever went out of control. Clark then asks why would he let him destroy it. Bruce asks Clark, when has he known him to just have one contingency plan.