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mygif

That characterization is so great I would consider dating that Brainiac 5.

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Flidget Jerome said on March 10th, 2008 at 11:39 am

Okay, you win. You win. You totally need to write the LoSH.

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mygif

I think you’re reading too much into the base10/10 finger phenomenon. Alcoholics Anonymous and the like are 12-step programs, even though we only have 10 fingers. It’s not a stretch to think that some of our descriptions of phenomena might accurately track the phenomenon w/out letting some cultural framework distort it. Especially if it’s a 12th level intelligence doing the describing.

I enjoyed the rest though. These posts have got me a lot more interested in the Legion.

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mygif

Who says that the intelligence scale stops at 12? Tyg has a reference to a Weisinger-era Superman villain who was, IIRC, a fifteenth-level intellect.

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mygif

The Coluans say it stops at 10 (IE: Coluan) normally, with everything else being, like, super-theoretical intelligence for the most part which wouldn’t be practical for non-energy godlike beings (which don’t exist yet anyway, in Coluan estimation).

It’s like – say you invented a material that’s harder than diamond. That would have to create a brand new level on the Mohs scale of hardness, which would suddenly have to go to eleven or be readjusted so the new material was a 10. The Coluans are willing to admit that in exceptional hypothetical circumstances, there are individuals that could feasibly be smarter than Coluans – they just won’t admit that any such exist beyond their own self-created Brainiacs.

(Brainy himself of course wouldn’t have any such problem admitting the existence of 15th or 32nd or 67th-level intellects, because he’s arrogant, but he’s not stupid about being so.)

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mygif

Also, counterexample to the title thing: Napoleon III, and a couple dozen Kaisers and Tsars. I liked the notion that “Brainiac” was the translation of what was effectively a Coluan noble title; it said something about the society. (As a smart kid, and Heinleinite, the notion of ennobling smart people resonated.)

I also liked the notion that Coluan natural lifespan was five or ten times as long as Terran lifespan, and that there were literally only four Coluan generations between C20 and C30. Among other things, Brainy’s an adolescent, and will continue to be one while his humanoid teammates become adults.

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mygif

Finally, Oa. It is somewhat unreasonable to assume that the Coluans aren’t familiar with the Oans, or don’t become so. Admittedly, you can absolutely say that the pre-space intelligence scale put Coluans at 10. But callouts to Coluan egotism are unavailing; science doesn’t work according to societal prejudices. (Individual scientists do, but science collectively does not.) Knowledge/acceptance that Brainy is not alone above the top end of the intellect scale will be widespread among Coluans who pay attention to that sort of thing.

(Crisis-era and post-Crisis Oans have been, of course, routinely idiotic; but let’s pretend that they’re treated the way they should be treated.)

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mygif

You’re confusing knowledge base with raw intellect: my point is that in terms of ability to process information (IE, the organic equivalent of computer processing), the Coluans think (probably correctly) that they are king shits. The Oans know more, because they’re immortal and have been around for fucking ever, but Coluans learn faster, and the Coluans naturally devised a system of “intelligence” which rewards the trait at which they happen to excel.

It’s the whole “look, if we’d been around for the extra billions of years, we’d have invented Green Lanterns too” philosophy.

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Tom Galloway said on March 10th, 2008 at 3:56 pm

That would be Grax, a 20th level intellect, who first showed up in Action #342. Later, in Action #417, he encounters Brainiac and refers to him as a “twelth-level moron”.

In non-DC continuity, he’s most notable for being the villian in a Super Friends comic story that both brought in the Wonder Twins as replacements for Wendy and Marvin and introduced the later put in regular continuity Global Guardians.

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mygif

Okay, I think someone needs a hug…

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mygif

This is a good post that I think generally meshes well with the Legion, but I think Greg M.’s got some good points to be addressed. Some of his concerns coincided with mine, but your writing is strong enough that they could be accommodated.

It could be that “Brainiac” was meant to be inherited as a “title of nobility,” but everyone bearing the title has gone insane. The Coluans may be so far ahead of our culture that they maintain a sense of collective optimism via their titles. Rather than demonize names & titles, they view each potential 12th-level intelligence in the line almost in a Messianic way – “This will be the Brainiac that is beneficial to society.” Only the twist on the more simplistic notion of human messiahs is that the Coluan society will be the factor that sets the Brainiac on the “straight and narrow.” It’s not a “Chosen One,” it’s the one that arises when Coluan society is rational enough to save their most intelligent member from insanity. It’s more like modern Reformed Judaism and the “Messiah” being an era & society of peace – when Coluans have mastered their reality enough that the birth of a 12th-level intelligence in a family with a dark history produces benefits instead of war, this will testify to their achievements as a scientific, rational community.

You still have your seclusion of Brainy and cloaked exile that leads him to the Legion, but that’s because the Coluans felt past efforts to utilize the 12th-level intelligences given to them have failed and they have to try a new route to show their lateral & rational thinking. To us, their actions look heartless, and maybe they are, intentionally so. But it’s so they can accept this 12th-level intelligence without just euthanizing him – he will be the one that redeems the inherited Brainiac title, ushering in an era where 12th-level Coluan intellects are profitable to society and fulfilling for the individuals that bear them. And he will show that the Coluans can overcome any problem.

…but I’m also a sucker for Lovecraftian twists where human expectations for cultural evolution and morality are upended.

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mygif

C.C.: it’s an interesting idea there to say the least, but my problem with it is that Brainy really, really needs a reason, and preferably deep-seated psychological issues, to be in the Legion as currently written (and I don’t want to toss out all the stories and do a “just because” here – he’s the most important character in the book, after all).

As some have complained: in v5, his actions are borderline supervillain at times. I want there to be a valid and sympathetic reason for them.

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mygif

“(Individual scientists do, but science collectively does not.)”

Hardly. The scientific community has accepted so many crazy ideas throughout human history. Phrenology, or that there was some sort of hierarchy of races, Earth being flat/being the center of the solar system and universe, etc.

And homeopaths will insist that homeopathy is legit science, even though it’s no more valid and less adherent to the scientific method than the idea that Africans are inherently disposed towards laziness and crime.

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mygif

Given that Vril Dox II and Lyrl Dox are being acknowledged as continuity, wouldn’t it be just as likely Brainiac 5 joined the Legion because his soul is now indebtted to Neron (or presumably whomever is in charge of Hell now.)

Yes it’s another supervillainish reason to be in the Legion, but damn it, it would be worth it just to have Querl complaining about owing the concept of a soul to a spiritual entity.

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mygif

Ok, so I’m not well versed in DC history (or continuity), but what happens to Brainiac in the future?
Is he still around? I don’t know Brainiac 5’s history well, but it seems to me if someone named..oh I don’t know, Hitler jr… was in the public eye and Hitler (of germany and the Nazis) was still kicking around causing trouble, Jr. would have a much harder time of things living down his name sake.
(I realize Brainiac 5 got the title for a different reason, but come on. What races would actually know this or care? The name would be enough to judge and condemn him.)

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mygif

It depends who’s more well-remembered. Brainiac 1 was an unrepentant asshole, but Brainiac 2 founded an interplanetary police force that helped to hold things together after the Green Lantern Corps were destroyed. While being an unrepentant asshole.

In Reboot continuity L.E.G.I.O.N. was well-remembered, but I’m not sure what’s happened to them now. They made an appearance in Infinite Crisis, but Element Lad had no idea who they were in the future. As it stands, what we know of Brainiac 3 and 4 (Sims’ ideas aside) is relatively a mystery. Again in the Reboot continuity, Brainiac 4 was Querl’s mother who founded the Dark Circle because killing people needlessly was the only thing she found fun. Seriously.

Aaaaanyway, to answer your question, it depends what Brainiac 3 & 4 did with their lives, but across the galaxy I’d expect Brainiac 2 to be more well remembered than Brainiac 1, assuming L.E.G.I.O.N. didn’t try to brainwash the galaxy into obeying them or something. Again.

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mygif

“(Individual scientists do, but science collectively does not.)”

Hardly. The scientific community has accepted so many crazy ideas throughout human history. Phrenology, or that there was some sort of hierarchy of races, Earth being flat/being the center of the solar system and universe, etc.

And homeopaths will insist that homeopathy is legit science, even though it’s no more valid and less adherent to the scientific method than the idea that Africans are inherently disposed towards laziness and crime.

BUT if they EVER attempted to prove that SCIENTIFICALLY then the scientific method would laugh at them.

The stuff you talk about are individual scientists grouped together, not science itself.

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Katzedecimal said on March 11th, 2008 at 9:56 pm

Interesting… I like exploring the very same fear/family issues in my Brainy!fics. But then, that’s why Emby introduced me to your work – similar feelings about the green guy ^_^

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mygif

The Babylonians used base 60.

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mygif

Loved it, MGK. You’re hitting these out of the park.

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mygif

Just one question: How can you have a non-hereditary genetic disease, when genes are units of heredity? If it’s not hereditary, it can’t be passed on, and if it can’t be passed on, future generations wouldn’t have it. The phrase is essentially gibberish.

Perhaps it’s a complex genetic disease, one which involves having several different recessive genes all expressed at once. It’d be very rare for someone to hit the genetic “Russian Roulette”, because even a single dominant gene would prevent you from getting the effects, but not unheard of.

Just a bit of pedantry (word to the wise: Never get me started on Grant Morrison’s “extinction gene”. I foam at the mouth.)

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mygif

Im pretty sure regular Coluans have a tenth level intellegence and B5 is just that much smarter than them.

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mygif

I just stumbled on your site today–how have I missed it?–and oh my, I love this series SO, SO MUCH. I love the idea of this Braniac falling in love with the Supergirl you describe–I would love to read those comics.

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mygif

Awesome. I’ve been slowly reading my way through these, and this is by far the best one so far (which is pretty amazing considering how good the other ones are).

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Thelastavenger said on February 4th, 2010 at 5:13 am

Early in the Reboot Legion, When Brainiac 5 meet the Legion Invisible Kid pointed out the whole named after a galactic supervillian thing.

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little kon-el said on June 26th, 2015 at 11:23 pm

This makes sense that B5 would fall in love with Supergirl and Laurel Gand. These are the most powerful and strong-willed women in the universe. If he was to go bad, these women could take him down.

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