Brotherhood of Evil

BROTHERHOOD OF EVIL

Membership: Brain, Garguax, Gemini, General Immortus, Houngan, Madame Rouge, Monsieur Mallah, Phobia, Plasmus, Warp

Base of Operations: L'Ecole des Filles, Paris, France

First Appearance: Doom Patrol I #86 (March, 1964)

History: (Doom Patrol I #86, 87) - An unnamed scientist captured and experimented on the mind of a captured ape, giving him genius-level intelligence. The scientist was dying, and needed his simian prodigy Monsieur Mallah to transplant his brain into a sophisticated tank connected to a computer network that would keep it functioning. The scientist, now calling himself the Brain, set himself on the task on conquering the world. To this end he and Mallah organized the Brotherhood of Evil. Brain corrupted Laura DeMille, making her Madame Rouge, and using her Parisian girls school as headquarters. Mr. Morden sought membership in the Brotherhood, and showed off his giant robot Rog, but when Brain sent Rog and Mallah to steal the Statue of Liberty they were foiled by the Doom patrol, and Morden was not heard from again. Brain put together a daring scheme to rob a federal reserve bank with enlarged toy tanks, but he was once again defeated by the Doom Patrol.

(Doom Patrol I #90) - Brain and Mallah used an experimental procedure to give Madame Rouge super-powers, bringing out the schizophrenic woman's fully evil side. They sent her out to infiltrate and destroy the Doom Patrol, but she failed.

(Doom Patrol I #93) - The Brotherhood tricked Robotman into believing that he could have his brain put into a cloned body. Instead, they put his brain in the Brain's glass jar and put the Brain inside Robotman's body. In this form it was easy enough for the Brain to surprise the rest of the Doom Patrol, and temporarily put Elasti-Girl and Negative Man out of commission. The Brain then challenged the Chief to a showdown, but by this time the entire Doom Patrol was back in action. The battle swung in the Doom Patrol's favor, so the Brotherhood fled.

(Doom Patrol I #96, 97) -

(Doom Patrol I #104) - Brain had Madame Rouge disguise herself as Mento, and sent her to attack the DP. Brain hoped the resulting discord between the DP and the real Mento would make them easy targets for the Brotherhood, but his team was beaten back.

(Doom Patrol I #115, 117) - When the Chief learned that Madame Rouge had been forced into the Brotherhood of Evil by Brain twisting her mind patterns, he invented a psycho-ray to undo the damage. The ray reached all the way to Paris, and began to awaken Rouge's good side. Mallah and the Brain suspected something amiss in his compatriot, and began a booster treatment to keep her on the side of evil, reminding her that they had given her salvation by showing her a post-moral world. Rouge felt her mind unraveling, and her body coped by splitting into two entities, one good, one evil. After debating which was the true Rouge they battled, and the evil Rouge fell omn a knife and died, leaving only her good side alive. Chief rescued her from the Brotherhood's clutches. Mallah was perturbed to find that Rouge had defected, but brain assured him that the evil he nurtured in her would not sleep long.

Mallah and the Brain were actually in hiding, spending years recruiting a new Brotherhood of Evil. This new organization proved no more successful than the last, facing defeat at the hands of the Teen Titans.

(Batgirl I #60-62) -Penguin moved to Bludhaven to get away from Batman, and contacted Brain and the Brotherhood of Evil to help him smuggle illegal arms into the city, even though Penguin never entirely trusted Brain. Gemini killed customs agent Parker and disguised herself as him to get the shipment cleared. Batgirl’s informant Marquis told her about the arms shipment and she visited Parker’s houseboat on Island Point. She discovered Parker’s corpse and was ambushed by Brain, Monsieur Mallah and Gemini. They beat her severely, and during the fight a fire started on the houseboat. The houseboat exploded, and Batgirl survived only to find herself drowning in the harbor. The Brotherhood assure Penguin that Batgirl was dead, and hen was ready to complete the arms deal, meeting with Society members Lex Luthor, Deathstroke and Calculator. Deathstroke was skeptical that Batgirl was dead, knowing how dangerous she was, and his instincts were correct. Batgirl survived and studied tape of the Brotherhood fighting the Justice League of America and the titans on her Batcomputer to learn their strengths and weaknesses. Batgirl felt for Gemini when she learned her mother was Madame Royuge, because Batgirl’s father was the assassin David Cain, who tried to mold her into his own image. Batgirl put the kibosh on the arms deal, defeating the Brotherhood and handing them over to Bludhaven PD, but Penguin had been tipped off that she was alive and flew away from his meeting with the Brotherhood, angered that his plan was a bust but relieved that he wouldn’t be going to jail.

Comments: Created by Arnold Drake & Bruno Premiani

The Brotherhood of Evil received a profile in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #3.

The Brotherhood of Evil had cameos in Beast Boy #3, Teen Titans III #32 and Titans II #22.