#brainwave jr.

365 DC Comics Heroes & Villains Paper Cut-Outs

Brainwave

Two individuals have be known as the Brainwave.  The first was Henry Kind Sr. who found at an early age that he possessed inborn psychic powers.  With practice and concentration Henry could manifest entirely convincing illusions of whatever it was that he could dream up.  

Terribly shy and socially isolated, King grew embittered toward the world and chose to use his powers obtain power and dominance.  Under the moniker of the ‘Brainwave’ he went up against the Justice Society and nearly defeated the team of heroes.  It would prove to be the first of many altercation between Brainwave and the Society.  Brainwave’s powers continued to grow and as they did his cranium became jaeger and more elongated. 

His altered appearance further compounded his feelings of alienation and Brainwave chose to join the first iteration of the Injustice Society (a consortium of villains who chose to work together to take on a common for).  This Injustice Society almost succeeded in conquering the world, but were undone by the clever thinking of the Green Lantern (Scott).  

At some point in his life, King managed to find romance, having entered into an unlikely marriage with the heroine known as Merry the Girl of a Thousand Gimmicks.  Merry had been an amateur superhero who often worked alongside The Star Spangled Kid and Stripesy.  How she and Brainwave came to be an item remains unknown but there is no indication that King used mind control nor any of his psychic powers to manipulate her.  

Henry and Mary had a child together, a son whom they named Henry King Jr.  Years later, Henry Jr. discovered that he had inherited the same powers as his father (albeit without any of the physical deformations).  The young Henry wanted to make amends for his father’s past misdeeds and he became a hero, naming himself ‘Brainwave Jr.’ and helping to form the team of young legacy heroes known as Infinity Inc.  

Brainwave Sr. was coaxed out of retirement by the Ultra-Humanite who had formed a new version of the Injustice Society that planned to destroy both the Justice Society as the Justice League.  And yet Brainwave Sr. had a change of heart when he discovered that the Humanite also planned on destroying Infinity Inc.  The one-time villain attacked the Ultra-Humanite, intent on saving his sons life.

Following a tremendous battle, the Ultra-Humanite’s scheme was thwarted, but Brainwave Sr. paid for the victory with his life.  With his dying breaths, Brainwave transferred the bulk of his powers to his son, greatly augmenting Henry Jr.’s psychic abilities.  

Brainwave Jr. continued to operate as a superhero, yet struggled to cope with the enormity of his peers.  It became difficult to filter out all of the foreign thoughts and feelings that constantly bombarded his mind.  His romance with his teammate Jade ended badly and Henry Jr. became socially isolated and unhinged.  He ended up becoming a villain, forming a new version of the Legion of Doom.  

The team were defeated by the Justice League and Henry Jr. was remanded to inpatient psychiatric care.  The treatment Henry Jr. received seemed to work for a time and he was able to live a peaceful civilian life for a short time.  It appeared that Henry Jr. had returned to villainy when he showed up as a an ally of Black Adam in the violent other throwing of the the government of Kahndaq.  Herein Henry Jr. demonstrated a cruelty and malevolence that was very unlike him.  Indeed there was a concern that he may be suffering from some form of brain tumor.  

The heroic Atom shrunk down in size to investigate the matter.  Within the recesses of Henry’s brain the Atom discovered that the former hero had been taken over by the worm-like villain known as Mister Mind.  The Atom defeated Mr. Mind and Henry quickly regained his sanity.  

Although no longer a villain, Henry was reluctant to return to the role of hero and he agreed to stay on as an adjunct part of the Justice Society, a reserve member whom the team could call on if needed.