Brainiac 5.1
Context
Brainiac 5 is traditionally an important member of DC Comics’ Legion of Super-Heroes. And FWIW, the slang term is derived from the comics book character (albeit the previous Brainiac, a Superman enemy) rate than the other way around.
This here version of Brainiac is the one from the rebooted Legion of Super-Heroes continuity that appeared in 1994. Thus, it’s not about the original Brainiac 5, who appeared in 1961. Furthermore, this profile was done but a few years into the new continuity.
Background
- Real Name: Querl Dox.
- Known Relatives: Vril Dox (Ancestor), Vril Dox II (Ancestor), Lyrl Dox (Ancestor), Brainiac 4 (Mother).
- Base Of Operations: Metropolis, Earth.
- Group Affiliation: LSH.
- Home Planet: Colu.
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Powers and Abilities
Brainiac 5 has a level 12 intellect. That makes him one of (if not the) smartest beings in the universe. He has extensive skills, and can learn new skills almost instantly
His force-field implants generate a nearly impenetrable field, which he can use to bludgeon an enemy.
History
Querl Dox is the most brilliant Coluan alive. So brilliant, in fact, that he almost got himself arrested before his Legion career started.
The descendant of the 20th-century Coluan hero Vril Dox II, Querl was blessed with a 11th-level intellect. This is above average even for Coluans, who are, as a race, extraordinarily intelligent. His research methods, though, were in conflict with the comforts of the government of Colu. Thus, the government gave him away to R.J. Brande for a while.
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After several lab-destroying disasters, Brande couldn’t afford to keep bankrolling him. So, knowing of his personal interest in time-research (driven by the desire to see his mother, who abandoned him as an infant then disappeared), Brande set Dox up with an internship on the planetoid Talus. There, he was able to work with the noted time-science prodigy Rond Vidar.
He became so wrapped up in his experiments that he completely ignored his draft notice to become Colu’s Legion of Super-Heroes representative. This mistake could have gotten him imprisoned, had he not agreed to come as soon as someone noticed he was missing.
Legionnaire
As Brainiac 5, Querl proved instrumental in many Legion cases. These most notably included the construction of the mini-stargate that saved Earth from the White Triangle Daxamites.
His battleground abilities are nearly zero. Thus, his laboratory is where he made his greatest contributions to the Legion…including:
- His unraveling the nature of Mano’s powers.
- His healing of Triad from her beating.
- His curing of Andromeda from her lead poisoning.
- His accidental creation of the substance of which the Legion’s flight rings are made.
But his most outstanding feat was his conversion of Andromeda to the ways of interracial tolerance. This act awakened a love inside him that has tormented him since her apparent death.
Since that time, he buried himself in chronophysics research, his first love. This has helped the Legion save the life of Valor. But it also briefly cost him his freedom, as time-travel research is illegal in the United Planets.
Crises in the future, crises in the past
He was released from prison to help the Legion in their battle against the Fatal Five. Following the revelation that President Chu was behind the Five, Brainiac’s freedom was made permanent by new President R.J. Brande, who also legalized time travel.
He was flung back to the 20th century when the Emerald Eye responded to a command to turn back time. Then, Brainiac 5 spent all of his time trying to turn 20th-century technology into a device that would enable himself and the other time-lost Legionnaires to go home.
He finally succeeding through C.O.M.P.U.T.O.. But the machine turned into a murderous monster due to Brainiac 5’s greatest failing… his inability to properly analyze and understand emotional reactions.
Following his return from the 20th century, Brainiac 5 went on a mission to examine an anomaly in space. Some time later, he emerged from it with a much more friendly attitude toward other living beings. Furthermore, his force-field equipment somehow bonded to his body fully understood.
He took the name “Brainiac 5.1,” and was extremely (irritatingly) upbeat. But when it was revealed that the Dark Circle leader was his mother, Brainiac 4, and she tried to kill him, Brainiac 5 entered a deep depression.
During this time, he reconciled his old, rude personality with his new, perky personality and adapted a personality that combined the two.
Description
Brainy has blond hair and green skin. He wears a purple and black outfit, and the circular force-field implants in his forehead form a triangle.
Personality
Brainiac 5 originally was obsessed with his research, and treated others of lesser intellect like ants. After his “upgrade,” Brainy was intensely positive. He has recently reconciled the two halves into one, and now is slightly aloof, but not rudely so.
Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG
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Brainiac 5
| Dex: 04 | Str: 03 | Bod: 04 | Motivation: Responsibility of Power |
| Int: 16 | Wil: 14 | Min: 13 | Occupation: Legionnaire/Researcher |
| Inf: 06 | Aur: 05 | Spi: 06 | Resources {or Wealth}: 008 |
| Init: 026 | HP: 070 |
Powers:
Recall: 15, Split: 12, Force Manipulation: 20, Force Field: 20, Sealed Systems: 16
Bonuses and Limitations:
- Force Field may be Projected, losing 1 AP for every AP projected.
- Force Field loses 1 AP for each AP of Force Manipulation is use.
- Force Manipulation may only create a simply shaped object with Body equal to APs of power within 0 APs of Brainy or divide APs between the AV and EV of a Physical Attack.
- Sealed Systems may only be used within the Force Field.
- Split only works on Mental attributes (in Brainy’s mind) and does not reduce them. Should one be knocked unconscious (Current Mind reduced to 0), any of the others may control his body. If any take killing damage and are reduced below 0 APs of Current Mind, they all take the “Slow Death” damage as killing damage, even if their Current Mind is above 0. When they reintegrate, Brainy takes Mental damage equal to the highest damage taken to any of his Splits.
Skills:
Detective: 11, Gadgetry: 20, Medicine: 14, Occultist (Ritual Magic): 08, Scientist: 20
Advantages:
Scholar (Temporal Physics, Robotics, Computers), Sharp Eye, Miscellaneous: Brainy reduces the Unskilled penalty for any Mental or Mystical skill to -1 CS (if it says it may not be used unskilled, he may still use it but at the normal -2 CS penalty).
Connections:
Brande Industries (High), Time Institute (Low), Colu (Low), Impulse (High), LSH (High).
Drawbacks:
SIH (Magic), CIA (Strong, Blonde Superheroines), SIA (Research).
Equipment:
- LEGION FLIGHT RING [BODY 05, Flight: 08, Radio Communication: 08].
- TELEPATHIC EARPLUGS [BODY 02, Telepathy: 08, R#2].
- TRANSUIT [BODY 04, Sealed Systems: 20, R#2].
- Omnicom [BODY 03, INT 03, Split: 03, Recall: 15, Radio Communication: 08, Remote Sensing: 14, R#3. Bonuses and Limitations: Remote Sensing is Sight Only; Split may be used to run separate programs].
Previous Stats
Brainiac 5 before his upgrade did not have the Sealed Systems or Force Field Power. Instead, he had a Force Field Belt with the following stats: FORCE FIELD BELT [Body 05, Force Field 20, Sealed Systems 16, R#2, Limitation: Sealed Systems is only usable within Force Field.].
Brainy’s SIA to Research was Catastrophic, he had SIA (Seeing Mother’s Face), he did not have the Colu connection and had Involuntary Exile (Colu).
Helper(s): Phil Dixon, Chris Gordon, Sean MacDonald.
Source of Character: Legion of Super-Heroes (DCU).