Brainwave (character)
| Brainwave | |
|---|---|
 Brainwave as depicted in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #3 (May 1985). Art by Jerry Ordway. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | All-Star Squadron #24 (August 1983) |
| Created by | Roy Thomas Jerry Ordway Mike Machlan |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Henry King Jr. |
| Species | Metahuman |
| Team affiliations | Infinity, Inc. Justice League |
| Notable aliases | Brainwave Jr. |
| Abilities | Telepathy
|
Brainwave or Brainwave Jr. (Henry King Jr.) is a character in the DC Comics Universe, who is commonly portrayed as a superhero and son of the supervillain, Brain Wave, along with primarily being a member of the Infinity, Inc.[1]
Henry King Jr.'s version of Brainwave appeared in the first season of the DC Universe / The CW series Stargirl, portrayed by Jake Austin Walker.
Publication history
Brainwave first appeared in All-Star Squadron #24 (1983) and was created by Roy Thomas, Jerry Ordway and Mike Machlan.[1][2]
Fictional character biography
Hank King Jr. is the son of Hank King Sr. and
When Hank's father died, he passed on his mental powers to his son, greatly increasing them and causing him to become somewhat unhinged. He dropped the "Jr." after Infinity Inc. disbanded, and dropped out of the public eye.[3]
He showed up years later, with a group he called the
He resurfaced again as part of
While a member of Black Adam's group, Brainwave acted both maliciously and in a calculating fashion, seemingly being depicted as a supervillain again. His telepathy is also portrayed at being at a high point, as he is able to will the powerful Captain Marvel to turn back into young Billy Batson by forcing him to say "Shazam!"
The source of these actions are found in Hank's brain, where Palmer encounters
Later, Brainwave was recruited by Doctor Fate to save Sand from The Dreaming. In that mental plane, he was able to destroy Sand's brainwashing and return him to the waking realm.[8] He has since given up his heroic identity and is currently in the country of Parador.
Henry Jr., like all his Infinity Inc. counterparts, briefly made an appearance during the DC Convergence crossover. Powerless and trapped on Telos, he had continued his relationship with Jade, although they were estranged due to his alcoholism. After regaining his powers and taking on a Post-Crisis version of Jonah Hex, Henry and all of Infinity Inc. took over for the Justice Society on a seemingly-returned Earth-2.
Henry King Jr. has been portrayed differently over his many appearances, being heroic at first, appearing as a villain secondly, and with a third portrayal as a mixture of the two, but largely heroic.
Powers and abilities
Both King Sr. and Jr. have a variety of mental powers. King Sr. was originally much stronger, but upon his death, he somehow passed his powers on to his son, vastly increasing King Jr.'s power level.
Chief among their powers is telepathy. Both are able to dominate many minds at once and cause people to see illusions, or even have complete control over them. Proximity seems key to the effectiveness of this power, even though it had no defined range. King Jr. mentioned how even strong wills could not resist him when he was right next to them. While many telepaths filter out the thoughts of others, King Jr. allows the millions of minds he constantly comes across to flow freely through his mind.
Lesser-used powers of the Kings include telekinesis, the creation of realistic three-dimensional holograms, and the ability to fire blasts of psionic energy.
Other versions
In September 2011,
In other media
- Brainwave, with elements of Brain Wave, appears in Young Justice: Outsiders as a member of Infinity, Inc.
- Henry King Jr. appears in Cindy Burman. After his father Henry King Sr. is hospitalized, Henry Jr. begins to visit him while he recuperates, during which the latter's powers begin to develop before fully manifesting after Cindy challenges Stargirl. After researching his powers and his father's work, Henry Jr. slowly begins to share his father's views on humanity. Shortly after Stargirl tries to convince him otherwise in her civilian identity, Henry Jr. kills his father's lawyer for trying to have him taken off life support before Henry Sr. wakes up from his coma. Upon discovering Henry Sr. killed his mother to ensure his loyalty to the Injustice Society, Henry Jr. chooses to fight him and gives his life to save Stargirl's Justice Society while encouraging her to keep fighting and making peace with Yolanda.[12][13]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7566-4119-1
- ^ Martin, Michileen (23 September 2020). "The history of DC's Brainwave explained". Looper.com. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ Infinity, Inc., no. 1-53 ((March 1984 through August 1988)). DC Comics.
- ^ Extreme Justice, no. 14-18 ((March through July 1996)). DC Comics.
- ^ Green Lantern/Sentinel: Heart of Darkness, no. 1-2 ((March & April 1998)). DC Comics.
- ^ Green Lantern, vol. 3, no. 152 ((September 2002)). DC Comics.
- ^ "Black Reign" JSA, no. 56-58 (March through April 2004). DC Comics. and Hawkman, vol. 4, no. 23-25 (March through April 2004). DC Comics.
- ^ JSA, no. 63 ((September 2004)). DC Comics.
- ^ Earth 2: World's End #8. DC Comics.
- ^ Earth 2: World's End #10. DC Comics.
- ^ Earth 2: World's End #21-22. DC Comics.
- ^ Lakshana, Palat. "'Stargirl' Episode 9: Brainwave Jr is a lost cause and Courtney should give up trying to recruit him for JSA". meaww.com. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ Drum, Nicole. "DC's Stargirl: SPOILER Dies in "Brainwave, Jr."". TV Shows. Retrieved 29 October 2020.