Brain (DC)
The Brain is a male comic book cyborg supervillain who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
The Brain was a mysterious scientist who found his brain to be placed within a mechanical shell. Originally, he was a peer of Niles Caulder who he became jealous of his accomplishment in the field of evolution of animals that he sought to destroy him. Thus, Caulder engineered an explosion in the scientist’s laboratory thus destroying his body. However, Niles came to salvage the brain of the scientist who he intended to place within a mechanical body of Robotman. However, before that could happen, he was rescued by the mentally uplifted Monsieur Mallah. Thus, he came to take the identity of the Brain and swore revenge on the Chief where he intended to destroy him along with his creations. (Teen Titans v3 #37)
At some point, the Brain learnt of an accident that resulted in actress Laura de Mille being turned into a schizophrenic divided between a positive and negative personality. The Brain dispatched Monsieur Mallah disguised as a doctor to meet the young woman and offer her a cure claiming to remove the bad persona. However, this was a trick as instead they eliminated the good personality thus allowing the evil one to become dominant who was offered a place in the Brotherhood of Evil which she accepted as she became Madame Rouge. (Doom Patrol v1 #112)
The Brotherhood was later approached by an American named Mr. Morden who had commandeered the mighty robot Rog and had fought the Doom Patrol to a standstill. This was all part of an effort to impress them and showcase his membership into the Brotherhood. The Brain noted the efforts of Morden and tasked Monsieur Mallah to accompany him in Rog for a second confrontation with the Doom Patrol in order to destroy his hated foes. (Doom Patrol v1 #86)
Brain and Mallah used an experimental procedure to give Madame Rouge super-powers. They sent her out to infiltrate and destroy the Doom Patrol, but she failed. (Doom Patrol v1 #90)
The Brotherhood tricked Robotman into believing that he could have his brain put into a cloned body. Instead, they put his brain in the Brain's glass jar and put the Brain inside Robotman's body. In this form it was easy enough for the Brain to surprise the rest of the Doom Patrol, and temporarily put Elasti-Girl and Negative Man out of commission. The Brain then challenged the Chief to a showdown, but by this time the entire Doom Patrol was back in action. The battle swung in the Doom Patrol's favor, so the Brotherhood fled. (Doom Patrol v1 #93)
Brain had Madame Rouge disguise herself as Mento, and sent her to attack the Doom Patrol. Brain hoped the resulting discord between the Doom Patrol and the real Mento would make them easy targets for the Brotherhood, but his team was beaten back. (Doom Patrol v1 #104)
In his new body, the Brain confesses to Mallah he is in love with him. When Mallah reveals he feels the same way, the two kiss. However, Robotman's body, having developed sentience and vowed never to be enslaved by a brain again, triggers a self-destruct mechanism and explodes as they kiss. (Doom Patrol v2 #34)
The Brotherhood go against the newly formed Justice League, with the Brain using a genetic splicer to take the Flash's legs, Green Lantern's ring, Black Canary's vocal chords, and the Martian Manhunter's eyes. (JLA: Year One v1 #5) The Brain is defeated by the League and the Doom Patrol, the League using cybernetic implants created by Niles Caulder to compensate for their lost powers. Aquaman is thrown to the Brain, overpowers his control of the ring, and separates the Brain from his makeshift body. (JLA: Year One v1 #6)
Around this time, Mallah and the Brain began a massive trafficking business that sole weapons to various nations on a global level. Their activities attracted the attention of the Outsiders who aided in shutting their operation down thus leading to their capture. (Outsiders v3 #4)
After one battle with Beast Boy, Mallah came to have the young heroes blood on him with both him and the Brain deciding to collect genetic samples of Metahuman superheroes. Thus, over the years, they collected a wide variety of samples and began creating clones for use who had their Metagene triggered to activate them. The two of them began to work in secret with Doctor Sivana who suggested that they sell the cloned heroes as living weapons with this being a lucrative business. Thus, they began to sell the clones to dictators and earned quite a profit but the main purpose of these experiments was to create a clone body for the Brain. However, the clones suffered from degeneration and never lasted long enough to be of use. (Outsiders v3 #40) One of these was a clone of Jay Garrick who was discovered by the Outsiders that wanted to stop these continued experiments. (Outsiders v3 #37) The heroes were largely captured by Mallah and the Brain but Katana along with a portion of Metamorpho had escaped where they managed to free their comrades. (Outsiders v3 #40)
Mallah proposed to Grodd that as fellow Gorillas that they were the natural kings of the jungle and should naturally team up. Thus, they should surely through their combined might being able to rule the entire place by themselves. Grodd, however, laughed at Mallah for considering himself, an 'absurd science experiment', comparable to 'a proud child of Gorilla City'. Mallah struck at Grodd and called him a beast, causing Grodd to fly into a rage and try to kill him. Although Mallah also had a gun, and shot Grodd several times, Grodd still has the upper-hand, and was about to kill Mallah when Brian interjects, pleading for Mallah's life. Thinking better of it, Grodd picking Brain up, and beat Mallah to death with Brain, smashing Brain's protective hull in the process, and killing him as well. Before eeking out his last breath, Mallah said he died happy, taking solace in that he and Brain will finally be able to be together forever. (Salvation Run v1 #4)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. According to one account, Ernst was originally a scientist from New England who experimented on a gorilla named Mallah to increase his intellect. He treated Mallah like a friend and an assistant. When an explosion occurred in his lab, Ernst was badly burned and Mallah saved his life by preserving his brain. (Red Hood: Outlaw v1 #44) The two started attacking humans whom they held responsible for their plight. Without any other organ however, Brain could only perceive objects in a numerical fashion. They decided to attack a LexCorp facility in Metropolis in order to retrieve a cybernetic optic nerve that could allow him to see everything again. During a standoff with the Special Crimes Unit, Captain Maggie Sawyer tried to resolve that peacefully and stated she wanted to help. Mallah trusted her due to her not showing fear, despite Brain telling him to kill her and told how the two came to be the way they are and what they're after. Maggie agreed to help them in exchange for their surrender. (Young Monsters in Love v1 #1) Mallah and Brain banded under Grodd in Central City after the Rot took over the world. Buddy Baker, Black Orchid, John Constantine and Beast Boy were paralyzed by the mental attack of Grodd but Steel remained unaffected. (Animal Man v2 #14) Mallah shot Steel on Brain's orders, allowing the Gorillas to overpower him. Baker was however able to break free of Grodd's mind attack because of The Red and knocked him out. Frankenstein's army soon arrived to rescue the others and stabbed Brain with a sword. (Animal Man v2 #15) The Parliament of Decay allowed Baker and Swamp Thing to follow Anton Arcane back in time and they were able to change the future. (Animal Man v2 #18)
From Mallah, he came to learn of an internet troll named Metatroll98 who created a parody website about villains with one article on the Brain. The Brain was not bothered by this development but decided to embark on an experiment to showcase the meaning of the word ‘supervillain’. This caused him to use a Cortical Grapnel to take over the mind of the internet troll bringing him into conflict with the Teen Titans with the Brain wanting to show that the young heroes were just as bad as the villains. Ultimately, he was thwarted leading to an argument with Monsieur Mallah who did not want to embark on this venture whereupon the pair were sent into the dimension of Azarath as punishment for their actions. (Teen Titans v5 #21) Brain also took control of Wonder Girl and had her attack Red Robin as part of his experiment to prove that there's no good or evil and had Mallah follow them when they crash landed in the zoo, despite his unease in such environments. Bunker and Beast Boy freed Wonder Girl from his control, while Brain had to flee after being confronted by Power Girl and Raven. Brain brought every zoo visitor and animal under his control, but his plans were spoilt by Raven. After being attacked by Wonder Girl, his thrusters stopped working but he was saved by Mallah who grew sick of him not treating respectfully while attacking the Teen Titans who brought out the best in each other. Raven teleported them to Dread Azarath, but promised to bring them back before it drove them crazy. (Teen Titans v4 #21)
Overview
Personality and attributes
He was considered the most notorious human of all time. (Doom Patrol v1 #86)
He came to be weary of life and tired of his existence as a brain in a jar with him wanting to die. (Outsider v3 #37)
Powers and abilities
A piece of equipment within his casing included the ability to activate psionic shielding to protect him from telepaths. (Teen Titans v5 #21)
Another one of his creations was the Cortical Grapnel that allowed him to take control over a person’s. This mind control tool was a spherical device that attached itself to the back of the head and hooked into the spine. Once attached, it made the person an extension of the Brain allowing him to control their actions with it capable of functioning on even super-powered beings. (Teen Titans v5 #21)
Through the mass production of a new designer drug called Bliss, The Brain had found a means of expanding his own intellect beyond the super human norm by drawing upon the remaining percentage space of the human brain that regularly goes unused. Through which, Brain can magnify his neural range and form a human cloud with those who use it to broaden his intellectual range via using them as a mass informational storage space his psyche can tap. (Titans v3 #22)
At one point, he came to inhabit the body of Robotman. (Doom Patrol v2 #34)
Notes
- The Brain was created by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani where he made his first appearance in Doom Patrol v1 #86 (May, 1964).
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
- In Teen Titans, the Brain features as the main antagonist of the fifth season of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Glenn Shadix. His appearance resembled closer to a Dalek from Doctor Who and he spoke in a digitized computer altered voice but was similarly a brain in a robotic jar. Typically, he was not shown being able to fight but instead relied on his intellect to direct his subordinates to do so though on rare occasion he seemingly possessed limited telekinetic and telepathic abilities. The Brain was shown as the leader of the Brotherhood of Evil where he was shown as a foe of Mento and the Doom Patrol. When Beast Boy brought the Teen Titans to aid the Patrol, the act earned the enmity of the Brain who began targeting the young superheroes. In the episode "Calling All Titans", he used a stolen Titans communicator in order to track down honorary Teen Titans and dispatched a suitable villain to capture them. However, he was shown to underestimate some of his foes which can lead to his carefully made plans failing as numerous of the villains he dispatched were instead defeated by their targets and failing to adapt to changes in his strategy. The episode "Titans Together" the remaining freed heroes infiltrate his fortress where they free their comrades leading to a massive battle with the Brotherhood of Evil. With his forces facing defeat, the Brain prepared for his escape by having Mallah detached the brain jar to be escorted to safety whilst the base was primed with a fusion device to act as a bomb. However, his attempt at escaping was thwarted by Beast Boy who knocks him off a scaffold only to be captured by Robin whereupon the heroes stop the bomb from exploding.
- In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, the character made an appearance where he was voiced by Dee Bradley Baker and spoke in a French accent. Unlike in Teen Titans, this version of the Brain was shown as feeling more emotions and used a number of weapons within the robotic form housing him as well as having psychic powers. The episode "Journey to the Center of the Bat!", he was shown to be responsible for controlling Chemo and sending him to attack a Bialyan city. After Chemo consumes a nuclear missiles, the Brain makes his demands for the people to surrender but after Chemo's defeat a sick Batman managed to defeat the supervillain who was hiding within an offshore submarine. Batman was later saved from his sickness by the Atom and Aquaman at which point the Brain had recovered but was defeated by the Dark Knight. In "Deep Cover for Batman!", an alternate world version of the Brain was shown as a hero who battled the Injustice Syndicate. Afterwards, the normal world's version of the Brain joined Owlman alongside other villains where he fought against an alternate universe version of Batman who had psychic powers with the two engaging in a psionic duel. In the episode "The Last Patrol!", he along with Monsieur Mallah targeted the Chief where his enmity with Caulder was highlighted but he was defeated by Batman. The Brain later joined other Doom Patrol villains onboard General Zahl's ship though they were ultimately defeated.
- In Young Justice, the character made an appearance where he was first voiced by Nolan North and later by Corey Burton with both using a French accent. He was later revealed as being a member of the Light and was designated as L-6 on the Cadmus Board of Directors. The Brain along with Monsieur Mallah were shown to be operating a base in the Indian jungle where they used mind control collars on the animals of the region which were enhanced into larger more powerful specimens through the use of Kobra Venom. At the time, the Team along with Captain Marvel investigated activity in the region but Marvel was captured where the Brain sought to surgically remove his brain in order to see the effect of the wisdom of Solomon. However, the Team entered into the base where they thwarted the plan though the Brain and monsieur Mallah managed to escape. The episode "Revelation" showed him as being a member of the Light. In "Misplaced", he was part of the discussion with Klarion the Witch Boy where they talked about the plan that separated the world's adults from its children which afforded them a suitable distraction for Riddler and Sportsmaster to steal a piece of Starro from S.T.A.R. Labs. In the episode "Insecurity", the Brain was with his Light compatriots who were accompanied by the freed Professor Ivo where they performed experimentation on the Starro sample to create Starrotech. Their base was discovered by Artemis though Klarion cast a spell that teleported the villains away leaving behind only ice replicas. The episode "Auld Acquaintance" showed the Brain accompanied by Monsieur Mallah alongside his fellow Light members Ra's al Ghul, Lex Luthor, Queen Bee and Ocean Master raiding Cadmus after their Starrotech plan failed. There, they cleared any trace of evidence to their actins and removed all the clones for later use. In "Summit, the Brain and Monsieur Mallah with the Light met with their Reach allies in the caves of Santa Prisca. Hostilities with their alien allies had heightened and a three way battled ensued when the Team were shown to had infiltrated the Light's ranks. During the battle, Impulse managed to defeat the Brain by using his superspeed to disarm him of all his weapons.
- In Teen Titans Go!, the Brain appeared in the setting of the 2013 animated television series where he was voiced by actor Scott Menville. This version goes through several robot bodies, such as Project B.R.I.A.N. (Brain's Robotic Indestructible Armor Nexus), a four-armed spider-like body, and a giant stone mech.
- In Justice League Action, the Brain appeared in the setting of the animated television series in the episode "The Brain Buster" where he was voiced by actor Jim Ward.
- In Doom Patrol, the Brain appeared in the setting of the live-action television series set in the DC Universe where he was voiced by actor Riley Shanahan. This version had several encounters with the Doom Patrol, with one seeing him using his Ultimax form before Steve Dayton claimed his robotic body, though the Brain escaped. In the present, the Brain tasked Madame Rouge with attacking the Doom Patrol and stealing Robotman's body for him as her initiation into the Brotherhood of Evil. After taking control of the body however, Monsieur Mallah leaves him before Robotman gains control of Brain's brain jar and discarded giant robot and defeated him. After salvaging Robotman's body, Rita Farr came to kill the Brain.
- In My Adventures with Superman, the Brain appeared in the setting of the animated television series in the episode "My Adventures with Mad Science" where he was voiced by actor Jessie Inocalla. This version was a kind-hearted but short-tempered German scientist who originally worked for Project Cadmus. After refusing to develop weapons, Task Force X raided the Brain's base, which resulted in the latter's body being destroyed, though his namesake and heart were saved. In the present, he lives with Monsieur Mallah in Cadmus' ruins while building a portal to another world where they will be accepted.
Video games
- In DC Universe Online, the character made minor appearances in the game where he was voiced by Leif Anders.
- In Injustice: Gods Among Us, the character made a cameo appearance where he was seen in the Insurgency Level and was placed next to Lex Luthor's battlesuit.
Appearances
- Doom Patrol v1: (1964)
- Outsiders v3:
- Teen Titans v3:
- Titans:
External Links
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