Brainwave (DC)

Brainwave is a pseudonym used by two supervillain in the DC Universe. The original was Henry King, Sr., a villain of the Justice Society of America and the second is the Earth 2 version of Henry King, Jr.

Biography[]

Henry King, Sr.[]

Henry King, Sr. is a supervillain who used his psionic powers to battle the Justice Society of America in the 1940s, he was a member of the Injustice Society. Henry King died protecting his son from the Ultra-Humanite. As a redemption, Henry transferred all his mental powers to his son. In Blackest Night crossover, Henry has been identified as one of the deceased entombed below the Hall of Justice. Henry's corpse is reanimated as part of the Black Lantern Corps. He first appeared in All-Star Comics #15 (February, 1943) and was created by Gardner Fox and Joe Gallagher.

Henry King, Jr.[]

Originally born on Earth 2, Henry King, Jr. was imprisoned at Arkham Base alongside Jonni Thunder, Todd Rice and Jeremy Karn. They were released by John Constantine (Prime Earth) in order to help him return to his Earth. He first appeared in Earth 2: World's End #8 (January, 2015) and was created by Roy Thomas, Daniel H. Wilson, Marguerite Bennett and Mike Johnson.

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.

In other media[]

TV appearances[]

Brainwave appeared in the 1988 television special Superman: 50th Anniversary portrayed by Robert Smigel.
A character similar in some ways to Brainwave named Ray Thompson appeared in the Justice League episode "Legends" voiced by Neil Patrick Harris. On the DVD commentary for Part II, Bruce Timm explained that the name "Ray Thompson" is an homage to 2 different writers: Roy Thomas, a DC writer who worked on 1940s and 1950s-style DC Comics such as All-Star Squadron and Secret Origins (and a tremendous fan of the Justice Society of America) and Ray Bradbury, a famous science-fiction writer who often dealt with the theme of nostalgia.shness of the present. The original script of Legends had Ray calling himself Brainwave.
A female version of Brainwave named Molly Griggs appeared in the Smallville episode "Delete", portrayed by Missy Peregrym.
Brainwave appears in DC's Stargirl, portrayed by Christopher James Baker. His son, Henry Jr., who is played by Jake Austin Walker, appears as well and has been revealed to have inherited his father's telecinetic powers.

Videogame appearances[]

Brainwave is mentioned in Batman: The Brave and the Bold – The Videogame.

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Brainwave (DC)

Contents

Biography[]

Henry King, Sr.[]

Henry King, Jr.[]

Powers and abilities[]

In other media[]

TV appearances[]

Videogame appearances[]

Navigation[]

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