Overview
- The Awakening, also sometimes referred to as It's A Big Scary World Out There, is the common mission first encountered by all characters beginning the game. Brainiac has been gathering new heroes and villains in order to harvest their exobyte data. As one of these captives, players break free from containment to find themselves on a Brainiac Harvester Ship, and must fight their way to freedom.
- If the player logs out during the mission, they would be returned to the first chamber.
Background
- Escaping one of the containment pods in a Brainiac Harvester Ship, players must fight their way to safety with the aid of Oracle and Superman (heroes) or The Calculator and Lex Luthor (villains). After destroying some debris blocking the door, follow the long corridor and defeat various Brainiac enemies.
- Superman/Lex Luthor is practically invincible and can take out any enemy in a few hits, so it should be easy as long as you don't go too far ahead on your own. The tutorial would guide you through weapon attacks and abilities. Furthermore, green barrels with a + sign scattered on the ship will restore health and power when destroyed (this would work against you if enemies destroy one, healing them instead). Other than attacking directly, you can press E to pick up a barrel, then left click to smash it or right click to throw it. You can also press 7 to drink a Soder Cola that would instantly restore a large amount of health and power with a 1 minute cooldown.
- Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) and The Flash (heroes) / Sinestro and Professor Zoom (villains) would show up to help, although they would have to leave afterwards to destroy the ship's main gun. Along the way, it is revealed that the ship contains an invasion force awaiting deployment; players must destroy the ship before completing their escape.
- Destroy the central AI core while Wonder Woman and Batman (heroes) or Circe and The Joker (villains) fend off the mobs. Brainiac himself would then appear. Upon defeat, he will teleport away.
- Upon completion, one of these missions would start automatically, depending on origin and morality:
- Panic Attack (Tech hero)
- Party Crashers (Tech villain)
- Gorillas By The Sea (Meta hero)
- Rush Week (Meta villain)
- Heart and Soul (Magic hero)
- Fateful Demise (Magic villain)
Source wiki detail links (21)
Brainiac Harvester Ship · Oracle · Superman · The Calculator · Lex Luthor · Soder Cola · Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) · The Flash · Sinestro · Professor Zoom · Wonder Woman · Batman · Circe · The Joker · Brainiac · Panic Attack · Party Crashers · Gorillas By The Sea · Rush Week · Heart and Soul · Fateful DemiseSummary
- " Fight free of Brainiac's Harvester ship by following { Oracle/ The Calculator}'s instructions."
Objectives
- Escape from Brainiac Harvester Ship; Defeat Guard; Defeat All Guards (0/5); Defeat Overseer; Escape using Transport Tube (505 xp); Get Past Patrols; Escape through Transport Tube; Hack the controls to ambush Brainiac Overseers; Defeat Security (1333 xp); Defeat Overseer patrol (0/5); Enter the Control Room; Destroy Power Couplings (0/4); Defeat the Guardian; Fight alongside {Superman/Lex Luthor}; Speak to {Superman/Lex Luthor}; Exit via Teleporter
Source wiki detail links (1)
Brainiac Harvester ShipNon-Player Characters
- Opponents
- Brainiac Encloser
- Brainiac Overseer
- Brainiac Sentry (Brainiac Harvester Ship)
- Brainiac Ship Guardian
- Brainiac Subjugator
- Allies
- Heroes
- Superman
- Oracle
- Villains
- Lex Luthor
- The Calculator
Source wiki detail links (9)
Brainiac Encloser · Brainiac Overseer · Brainiac Sentry (Brainiac Harvester Ship) · Brainiac Ship Guardian · Brainiac Subjugator · Superman · Oracle · Lex Luthor · The CalculatorRewards
- Mask of the Victor via mail message
- 31 Cash
- Headline: It's a Big, Scary World Out There
Placed Items
- A number of specific items are placed throughout this mission, their location fixed in a way that all will be acquired by a character during the mission's normal completion.
- Laminated Sythium Gauntlets
- Plated Sythium Shirt
- ServitorTech Boots
- Subjugator's Waistguard
- Synthium-Thread Cape
Source wiki detail links (5)
Laminated Sythium Gauntlets · Plated Sythium Shirt · ServitorTech Boots · Subjugator's Waistguard · Synthium-Thread CapeMail Messages
- Upon completion of this mission, players receive a message from Oracle or Calculator, accessible from any Mail Terminal.
- Heroes:
- Villains:
Mail Messages
Edit table| From: Oracle |
|---|
| " Welcome to the good fight! Not everyone makes it out of those ships alive, and we still aren't sure what happens to those who don't. So here's a little memento from me to honor our escape! And definitely check your email often. We can always use a hero with your kind of firepower." |
| Attachment: Mask of the Victor |
Mail Messages
Edit table| From: Calculator |
|---|
| " Well, look who survived! And here I thought you were bot chow. I think this will be a beeyootiful friendship. I've dropped you a little something from one of your less-fortunate fellow kidnapping victims as a hint to check your mail early and often. You just never know who might want a little villainy done." |
| Attachment: Mask of the Victor |
Trivia
- Previously, the player is only guided by Oracle/Calculator through messages and only meet Superman/Lex Luthor near the end. Superman/Lex Luthor's increased involvement and addition of other iconic characters is likely due to their high recognisability to new players.
Gallery
Location research
The source describes this mission but does not establish a reliable objective location or map point. The title-matched video is referenced below; its route and coordinates have not been verified.
Video walkthroughs
- DCUO Book / Chapter 1 Storytelling (Pt. 1) - The Awakening
YouTube's title explicitly names The Awakening. Title and availability checked through YouTube metadata on 2026-10-21. Faction, route, current mechanics and timestamps have not been verified by viewing the full video.
- DCUO Book / Chapter 1 Storytelling (Pt. 2) - The Awakening
YouTube's title explicitly names The Awakening. Title and availability checked through YouTube metadata on 2026-10-21. Faction, route, current mechanics and timestamps have not been verified by viewing the full video.