Agents of A.R.G.U.S.: Brainiac 2.0

***Agents of A.R.G.U.S.: Brainiac 2.0*** is a 2016 American superhero film based on the DC Comics organization A.R.G.U.S. (Advanced Research Group Uniting Super-Humans), distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the eighth film in the DC Shared Universe. It is a sequel to 2015's *Agents of A.R.G.U.S.: Anathema - Part 2*. The film was directed by Alan Taylor and written by Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen. It stars Chris Messina, Asia Argento, Kaya Scodelario, Yutaka Takeuchi, Constance Wu, James Marsters, Paula Patton, Zach McGowan, John Cho, and Esai Morales. In *Agents of A.R.G.U.S.: Brainiac 2.0*, the Agents of A.R.G.U.S. find themselves attempting to reunite with Alba while dealing with A.R.G.U.S. coming out to the public and Niles Caulder's AI Brainiac 2.0.

*Agents of A.R.G.U.S.: Brainiac*was released in North America on May 20, 2016. The film was a commercial success, it grossed $974.2 million, becoming the fifth highest grossing film of 2016. The film received critical acclaim, with critics saying the darker tone and the Zeta storyline made the film one of the best in the series.

## Plot

Alba Garcia, former agent of A.R.G.U.S., continues to hunt anti-Descendant group Allseers in Miami. A.R.G.U.S. is also there, having set up a new base there under new Director Kong Kenan. Former Director Theo Austen resigned as director once they began to plan out there public coming up, realizing that he needs to remain dead to the outside world. Senator Amy Rota has been funding the Allseers while trying to bring down A.R.G.U.S. Dr. Niles Caulder, an associate of A.R.G.U.S., has finished building his new "Zeta", an artificial body being controlled by an artifical intelligance. His first Zeta he dubs Brainiac 2.0, having used the leftover remnants of Bruce Wayne's research. Agent Dave Stewart learns of this and agrees to keep this secret from his girlfriend Agent Olivia Phillips.

Garcia and Austen, Agent Althea Rice, and Agent Paul Chang separately search for Miami terrorist Jonah Hex. Finally teaming up, the A.R.G.U.S. team (Austen, Rice, Chang, Stewart, Phillips, Caulder, and Kenan) along with Garcia learn Hex is actually only killing people like child murderers, pedophiles, and rapists. They agree to help Hex from a mystical threat that is trying to reach Earth from Hex's world of cowboys and deserts. Kenan is also revealed to have powers derived from Superman's blood. In the ensuing chaos, Brainiac 2.0, who was brought along by Caulder, is shot and revealed to the others as a Zeta. They manage to keep the body stable, but in doing so, Brainiac reboots itself, giving him thoughts of what humanity is like. Hex travels to his world to keep the threat from finding Earth.

Brainiac replaces Rice with another Zeta. The Rice Zeta is sent in to find a mystical book that can give Brainiac human feelings and thoughts. Caulder is revealed to be helping Brainiac by building a fictional world to trap the A.R.G.U.S. team in. Brainiac finds the book and with the fictional world complete sends the A.R.G.U.S. agents' consciousness into the world, replacing them with Zetas. However, Phillips and Garcia escaped this fate and soon realize their friends are in this other world. The two find a way into this world. Phillips, however, is dead in this world and Garcia is an agent of the D.E.O. which won the war in this world and is dating Walter Jale. Austen is a high school teacher teaching about fearing Descendants, Rice is also an agent of the D.E.O., Stewart is a D.E.O. figurehead dating Brainiac's form in this world, Bryce, while Chang's dead daughter is alive in this world. Brainiac stabs Caulder and puts his consciousness into the fake world.

In this world, Garcia convinces Jale to help her and Phillips get their team. Jale is revealed to be working for A.R.G.U.S. which is hidden from the world. Garcia, Phillips, and Austen are questioned by A.R.G.U.S. and Austen eventually remembers his past life. Garcia goes undercover in A.R.G.U.S. to figure out what Brainiac is planning. Austen, Jale, Phillips, and A.R.G.U.S. director Kenan inflitrate a D.E.O. base to rescue A.R.G.U.S. agent Abraham Twint. However, there Kenan is killed under debris. Rice is revealed to be a traitor and gives Garcia an Empowerement Holder to give her powers. Chang also discovers A.R.G.U.S. and joins.

Garcia breaks Bryce's back and escapes with Rice. Bryce asks Stewart to continue work on Project: Looking Glass, which, using the mystical book, will give Bryce a body in the real world. It is revealed in the real world, Brainiac is using German ally Abram Reinhart's oil rig as a platform to connect the real world to the fake world, where a portal in an oil company can send anyone back to the real world. Phillips accidentally kills Stewart's father, prompting Stewart to use Caulder to find Phillips. Bryce begins his transference into a real body in the real world. Garcia, Austen, and Rice go through the portal. Just as Phillips is about to  she is confronted by Stewart. He prepares to kill her until Caulder shows up and pushes Stewart through. Phillips also jumps in, though Chang stays in this world to stay with his daughter. Bryce, now human, arrives at the oil rig in the real world where Austen, Rice, and Stewart recover and teleports away with the latter.

Austen and Rice arrive at the A.R.G.U.S. base where Singh is injured, having been attacked by Bryce. Bryce is outraged when he learns Stewart loves Phillips over him. Chang's body is saved by Bryce after being convinced by Stewart. Austen, Rice, and Stewart meet up with Phillips, Garcia, and Agent Arani Desai on an A.R.G.U.S. jet. Desai puts herself into the fake world to convince Chang to return. Bryce teams up with Geinhart again to apply the changed reality of the fake world into the real one. A Zeta of Garcia shoots Singh, putting him comatose. Geinhart convinces the United Nations, thinking a Descendant has just shot a major political figure, to use the mystical book to destroy the Descendants. A.R.G.U.S. retrieves the book in time while Desai convinces Chang to return when his daughter disappears after the fake world is deleted by Bryce. Caulder is also deleted, killing his consciousness. Austen uses the book to give himself ultimate superpowers for a short time and kills Bryce. After A.R.G.U.S. is deemed a terrorist organization once again due to the Zetas' actions, the team waits to be arrested, only to be taken by a mysterious group.

In a mid-credits scene, Austen awakens in space and prepares himself for work.

## Cast

* Chris Messina as Agent Theo Austen
* Asia Argento as Agent Althea Rice
* Kaya Scodelario as Agent Alba Garcia/Black Orchid/Jo
* Ed Westwick as Agent Dave Stewart
* Karen Gillan as Agent Olivia Phillips
* Yutaka Takeuchi as Agent Paul Chang
* Constance Wu as Arani Desai/Celsius
* James Marsters as Brainiac 2.0/Bryce
* Henry Cavill as Agent Walter Jale
* Paula Patton as Amy Rota
* Zach McGowan as Abram Reinhart
* John Cho as Kong Kenan
* Esai Morales as Niles Caulder

Jonathan Schaech, Melody Chiu, Sean Patrick Flanery, and Adrien Brody portray new characters Jonah Hex, Ellie Chang, Daniel Stewart, and Secret Agent, respectively. B.J. Britt and Patrick Sabongui reprise their roles as Abraham Twint and David Singh from earlier films. Michael Pitt appears as an Allseer. Adam Driver and Joe Dempsie cameo as two agents of A.R.G.U.S., respectively.

## Reception

### **Box office**

*Agents of A.R.G.U.S.: Brainiac 2.0* earned $311.9 million in North America and $662.3 million in other markets for a worldwide total of $974.2 million.

### **Critical response**

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 92% approval rating with an average rating of 6.7 out of 10 based on 247 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "*Agents of A.R.G.U.S.: Brainiac 2.0* explores darker territory in its sixth film with the thrilling introduction of the Zetas, giving us an action-packed new chapter of DC's edgier mythologies."