History: The planet Colu was ruled by Computer Tyrants who subjugated the minds and wills of the Coluans. the Tyrants recognized the potential of super0-genius Vril Dox, and allowed him to keep his free will in exchange for being their Chief of Science and technology. His ambition grew, and after attempting to ovethrow the Tyrants they declared him a failure when his transporter tech failed. 

(Adventures of Superman #438) - A teleportation experiment scattered his atoms across the cosmos, but his consciousness remained. He reached out to Earth mentalist Brainiac and made him trust him by portraying himself as a man of science and peace. He took over Brainiac's mind and body and went on a rampage at the circus where he worked. He enjoyed testing his host's innate mental powers, and when Superman arrived he had the hero on the ropes until Brainiac's love Janet cracked him on the head with a bottle. Vril lost control over Brainiac, who went into a near-catatonic state and was taken to the hospital.

(Adventures of Superman #441) - Milton was scheduled for release because they thought Vril Dox was a delusion he made up. He told Janet he wasn't returning to work, and she left him. Afterwards Vril took control and flexed his powers.

(Adventures of Superman #536, Action Comics #723, Superman: The Man of Steel #58, Superman II #114) - Brainiac was placed in the Lovelace Psychiatric Center in an attempt to help Milton Fine's mind regain control over Brainiac. Brainiac fought off Milton's attempts to reemerge as the dominant personality, and escaped from imprisonment. He noted that he needed a new body because Milton Fine's human brain was out of storage capacity for Brainiac's thoughts. He cast an illusion of Lovelace floating over Metropolis that caused panic in the streets. This brought Superman running, and Brainiac put his mind in Superman's body, put Superman's mind in the body of young Lovelane resident Chas Cassidy who believed he was Superman. Brainiac also put Chas' mind in Superman's body because Chas was an expert on Superman, and Brainiac figured he needed him to pull off the impersonation. Brainiac as Superman flew off with his old body, whose mind had returned to Milton Fine. He used Superman's super-senses to collect more data about Earth and created a device that cut off Metropolis from the outside world with a forcefield. As Superman he made a broadcast from GBS and took over the minds of Metropolis' citizens so he could borrow their minds store more information in their brains. Supergirl (Matrix) wanted to know what was happening in Metropolis, and Brainiac as Superman told her Brainiac was responsible, and she flew off to try and find him. Brainiac set up shop in LexCorp Tower, where he kept his old body. Brainiac was so pleased with his Metropolis project that he determined to make a worldwide television broadcast so he could usurp more human minds to store more data in. Superman as Chas confronted him, and Brainiac almost killed him before Chas' personality resurfaced and stayed his hand. Brainiac put Chas' mind back into his original body, but since Chas had knowledge of Brainiac's machinery from sharing a mind with him he disrupted some machines and returned everyone to their correct bodies. Chas then disrupted more machines and revered the flow of data that let Brainiac store information in other people's minds. The massive overload of data fried Brainiac's mind, and Superman took him into custody.

(Adventure Comics III #0) - Lex's control over Brainiac's technology allowed him to use Brainiac to kill his army guards and return the alien to his ship. The revived Brainiac grabbed Lex by his throat, and made it clear he'd only given him rudimentary control over him so he'd be reunited with his bio-shell. Brainiac made it clear they weren't leaving the ship, because they were now working together.

(Adventure Comics II #11) -

(R.E.B.E.L.S. #18-20) - Vril brought Brainiac to Colu as a prisoner, chest-thumping and playing to the media about being the man who brought a monster to justice. On Colu Brainiac was placed in a thought-cell, dampening his intelligence, and Vril enjoyed gloating over him. Brainiac said he never thought much about Vril, not seeing his inferior intellect as a threat, and Vril demanded he acknowledge that he'd been defeated. Lyrl Dox, who'd created Pulsar Stargrave, a Solaris class macroprocessor, attacked Colu, and told them Brainiac 3 was their new master. Brainiac broke from his restraints, said he acknowledged no heirs to share his knowledge or his name. Vril fled from Brainiac while Pulsar Stargrave rained fire down on Colu, and Lyrl demanded the ruling council give him their data-core. Vril told them to destroy the data core, and they despaired at losing 3,000 years of accumulated knowledge, but preferred that to Lyrl continuing his destruction. Brainiac had already taken command of the data-core, an easy enough feat since he'd build it, and shielded it from harm. He set off a nuclear strike that destroyed the ruling council and halted Stargrave. Her intended to delete his "offspring" and Vril and Lyrl agreed to a truce to deal with him. Lyrl held off Brainiac with Stargrave until Brainiac contained the weapon in a forcefield, and Vril went offworld to get his secret weapon. He found Lobo on Raggashoon, and after sharing a drink with him, convinced him to go after the hefty bounty on Brainiac's head. Vril returned to Colu with Lobo in tow, and Brainiac wanted to capture and study the last Czarnian, so he took control of Stargrave to subdue him. Their battle raged, but Solaris couldn't incinerate Lobo enough to subdue him. Lyrl and Vril sent holograms of themselves to the data-core to distract Brainiac, but he saw through their ruse, and entered the neural connection between them and their holograms, draining their brains. Vril's subconscious resisted him, but he pushed through and was overcome by traumatic and hateful emotions, suffering a breakdown. Vril said he shouldn't be surprised, he'd grown up in abject fear of his father while secretly hoping for just one kind word from him, and had buried his emotions deep inside. Brainiac fled the planet with Stargrave, taking the data-core with him, and Lyrl was impressed with his father's novel way of defeating the villain

Comments Created by Otto Binder & Al Plastino

Pre-Crisis Brainiac received a profile in Who's Who: the Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #3. Post-Crisis Brainiac received profiles in Who's Who in the DC Universe #3.

Brainiac had a cameo in R.E.B.E.L.S. #16, 17.

Real Name: None

Class: Android

Occupation: Scientist, conqueror

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: Vril Dox II (son)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Mobile across the universe

First Appearance: Action Comics I #242 (July, 1958)

Powers: Brainiac was an organic computer versed in every known fighting style across the universe, and possesed of superhuman strength and endurance. His greatest asset was his 12th level super-genius. He had access to unlimited computerized technology.

History: (Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #130) - Brainiac used a tele-mento ray that could control humans and robots to put a computer blueprint in Jimmy Olsen's mind. He then used the ray on an electronic store clerk, who disassembled Brainiac and put his computer systems on the shelves. Jimmy used the parts to build an advanced mini-computer he dubbed the J.O. Jimmy used the computer to play chess against an electronic Superman chess-player and to win at the horse races before it instructed him to get to the Fortress of Solitude. Superman took Jimmy to his base before he had to leave for a space mission. Brainiac then used the tele-mento ray to take over one of Superman's robots, who flew to the fortress and feigned death throes, claiming to have been hit by a kryptonite meteor. Jimmy implanted the J.O. inside his ';friend' to save him. The robot, now calling himself Computer-Man pretended to rage at Jimmy for turning him into a freak, and was prepared to destroy Kandor. Brainiac wanted to break Jimmy’s spirit and ruin Superman’s reputation at the same time. Jimmy tried to appeal to him by playing the Kryptonian national anthem, and realized there was something wrong when he didn't recognize it. The Superman Emergency Squad took down Computer-Man and disassembled Brainiac's computer circuits.

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