Brains

Context

The Gang are minor Supergirl enemies. They appeared during her 1982 The Daring New Adventures Of Supergirl series.

They are convenient as small villain-ish team. And they’re a sort of more ruthless, more powerful version of the “oddball street kids” archetype Jack Kirby so loved.

The Gang are *literally* four-colourSomething goofy from over-the-top early comic books. comic book characters, with a Golden AgeSuper-hero comics from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. vibe despite appearing during the 1980s. So I guess the two main choices are :

Background

Powers and Abilities

Brains has not evidenced any superhuman ability. But she is smart, eloquent, well-read and a capable leader.

Brains keeps most of her Hero PointsDC Heroes RPG concept expressing narrative importance/immunity. to bolster the Gang through Leadership. This makes her team more dangerous than it should be.

History

The Gang was a tight group of four children, living in a particularly bad neighbourhood in the South Side of Chicago.

While constantly mocked as freaks they stuck together. They all avoided both drug addiction and common crime.

(Given the South Side’s vigorously Black demographics, there may be an implication that the all-White Gang shares a specific minority European heritage. Such as being Polish Highlanders  , or Ashkenaz Jews).

They craved a way out – and wealth. But they were aware that common methods would fail them.

Instead, they develop their knacks – which looked more like super-powers. Brains clad everyone in colour-coded uniforms, called them the Gang, and found employers such as the villainous Council (no relation).

Hail, Hail, The Gang’s All Here

In their first public mission, they invaded an aerospace show. Then walked away with an invaluable satellite.

Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) attempted to stop them. She didn’t find them to be much of a threat… until Ms. Mesmer froze her. Mesmer cleverly hypnotized her, following instructions from Brains.

The gang then went after one of Linda Danvers’ neighbours, Johnny Ostrander (no relation   ?). This fumbling amateur courier had been unknowingly hired to deliver their pay – but had neglected to do so.

Better have my money

During the fight, Supergirl had to retreat due to Ms. Mesmer’s previous hypnotic suggestion. This left the Gang free to interrogate Ostrander.

The courier had forgotten his package at an audition. But things went wrong there. A cop shot Ms. Mesmer in the shoulder, and Supergirl finally overcame her mesmerism-induced fear of the Gang.

Kara punched Bulldozer out, then forced Kong and Ms. Mesmer to surrender. They had to agree to remove the hypnotic suggestion so Ms. Mesmer would be taken to an hospital.

Only Brains escaped, stealing a powerboat and fleeing across Lake Michigan.

Are you thinking what I’m thinking ?

Although she escaped from Supergirl, Brains was forcibly taken to the Council bunker on the floor of Lake Michigan.

While there, she came across the powerful robot Matrix-Prime. It had just returned from a fight with Supergirl.

Brain used an electronic tiara to take direct control of Matrix-Prime. From there, she succeeded in having Matrix-Prime deliver a telling blow to Supergirl.

However, Supergirl then used her full power against Matrix-Prime, taking it out. Cyber-feedback sent Brains into a coma.

Yet this feedback also created a permanent telepathic link with Matrix-Prime.

See the Matrix-Prime writeup for more detail and Brains’s subsequent history.

Post-Crisis

A post-Crisis version of the Gang might have existed. If so, they would likely have fought Power Girl.

In 1999, three persons who might have been Brain (in a smaller robotic body), Bulldozer (with a different costume) and Kong were slain by the fifth-dimensional imp Lkz. They had been about to murder the fallen hero Triumph (William McIntyre).

In 2011, a few months before the Flashpoint crisis, Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) was glimpsed arresting the Gang. Everyone was alive, they all had their 1980s costumes, and Brains was in her meat body. So heh, who knows.

Description

Brains’ hair behave weirdly. It usually looks more like a silky tail swaying on its own than human hair.

It remains in a single mass, and often billows as if it was blown by strong winds.

It wasn’t rare for Infantino to draw hair in this style back then. But it seems more marked here.

Personality

Brains is articulate and polite. She’s the initiative of the Gang, coming up with plans and countermeasures within seconds.

She’s keen about their “no killing” rule. Brain will therefore order the men to back down from deadly violence whenever necessary.

Brains is terrible at following rules set by an outside authority. This is even worse than with the other Gang members, as she’s routinely clearly smarter than people trying to tell her how she should behave.

Quotes

“May I have your attention, ladies and gentlemen ! I realize you all have business to conduct here at the Aerospace Technologies Show, so we shan’t take up much of your valuable time. All we ask is that you remain calm where you are, and no one will be hurt.”

“I suggest you cease these antics, my friends. Enjoyable though they may be, we did not allow for them on our timetable !”

“Farewell then friends. I apologize for any inconvenience… but then, perhaps you’ll consider yourselves privileged to have witnessed the première outing of The Gang ! Till we meet again… parting is such sweet sorrow   !”

By Sébastien Andrivet.

Source of Character: Daring New Adventures of Supergirl (DNAOS) comics.

Helper(s): Roy Cowan, Darci.