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Deep into the future, a species formed by a robot forefather, a villain that could wipe out planets, will have a descendant who will become a great hero. He will join other heroes to form a Legion. They will take inspiration from the forefather’s greatest opponent. Thanks to the descendants amazing intelligence, they will travel through time and meet those ancestors. Who is this? Brainiac 5 of the Legion of Super-Heroes! How did he come to be? How does a robot have family members by genetics? What’s a level 12 intellect?

Querl Dox is the 30th century descendant to the deadly cybernetic entity, Brainiac of the present day. Brainiac would create a son that was a mix of his own cybernetics with the alien species, Coluan. The galactic measurement of intelligence puts the average human being at level 6 intellect, the average Coluan is a level 8 intellect. Querl is a level 12 intellect. He would meet the Legion of Super-Heroes and take up the name Brainiac 5 as his family line rarely ever brought up that they were related to the original Brainiac but Querl hoped to change how people reacted to the name.

Working with the Legion, Querl would revolutionize the technology they would use. He’d help create the famous Legion flight ring that grants the wearer the ability to fly in most atmospheres. The second greatest asset he’d help build for them is their time machine so they could help time-tossed individuals, assist, and learn from past generations. His joining also allowed him to meet and befriend Supergirl from the present day who had found herself in the 30th century joining the team. The two would hit it off and begin an on-again/off-again relationship due to them being from different eras.

Like many of the Legionnaires, Querl’s life would have it’s severe ups and downs. He’d meet a being who claimed to be his father but manipulated Querl into betraying his friends and even framing Ultra Boy for murder. He’d become so inflicted by the manipulation that he’d lose his grip on reality for a time. He’d end up creating reality ending machines while in this state and become a dangerous threat. His teammates had to stop him and the end of one of his machines would cause fellow Legionnaire, Matter-Eater Lad, to lost his grasp on reality too. The both of them would end up in psychiatric care for some time to help them heal.

When he’d recovered, he was not allowed back into the Legion of Super-Heroes but was allowed to lead the Legion of Substitute Heroes. Under his command, the Substitute Heroes were able to stop the Legion of Super Assassins. Querl would have further help with his mental trauma from Saturn Girl and her telepathy. This would help him realize what he could do to help Matter Eater Lad begin his own healing. This became Querl’s new life’s work, helping his friend recover and over time the two would fully recover and be admitted back into the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Darkseid would try to take over the universe once more and Querl would be on the front lines to help stop the Apokalips armies of parademons and their dark lord from succeeding. After the battle was won, he and several other Legionnaires would go on vacation only to get caught up in stopping a coup to take over the galaxy, starting with the planet they were staying on. This is pretty much the third worst way to have to end a vacation.

The Crisis of Infinite Earths meant that by the 3oth century, it was one thousand years since the death of Supergirl which brought much existential dread to Querl. The small blessing to this was when all of reality was rewritten from infinite dimensions into one single dimension, so was his or anyone’s knowledge of  what had happened. An altered future would occur where the Legion would deal with the Magic Wars and then disband and not reunite for five years. This new timeline with it’s changes, such as a Legion with no Supergirl ever on its roster and no young Superman, Superboy, to inspire them, caused Querl to first notice inconsistencies in time anomalies. This was the ripple effect of what would be known as the Zero Hour, it would wipe Querl and the Legion’s history and timeline.

A new 30th century was made with a new Legion of Super-Heroes and a new Querl Dox, who was extremely antisocial and found his teammates beneath him. The rest of the Legion had changed as well, all a bit colder and twisted. Querl was abandoned by his mother, Brainiac 4, was emotionless as well and abandoned her son to be raised by pure machines who kept him isolated. This Legion would have adventures involving getting trapped in the 20th century and going to the year One Million. This would all become undone and rearranged to a new timeline due another cataclysmic event that would change things once more.

Now, Querl was still believing himself superior to others but he was far more ambitious and would attempt to take over the Legion on more than one occasion. He finds himself aggravated with teammate, Dream Girl’s ability to see the future even though there is no scientific means as to how she does so. The two would eventually begin a romantic relationship that existed in his mind, as Dream Girl’s physical body was no more. They would eventually find a way to give her her own body and the two would marry.

The Infinite Crisis would once more shake things up and bring things to being more like they once were before the Crisis of Infinite Earths due to the return of the multiverse. Querl would become a leading figure in helping Superman and the heroes of the 21st century in their dangers that went far beyond their own time and dimensions. He’d help calculate things to the point that when things lead to the Final Crisis, he’d help usher in the New 52 and lead to the Legion being largely unaffected by those changes in their past. In the New 52 he’d assist in stopping his own ancestor, Brainiac 1 on at least one occasion and work with Supergirl before she’d get time-tossed to the 30th century for the first time.

There you have it! Brainiac 5 has been animated many times and has even appeared in live action television. He’s been a key part of the Legion of Super-Heroes since the beginning and the iconic Legion flight ring is partly of his design. Will he ever appear in a film? Time will tell. See you next time!

Suggested Reading
Action Comics #276
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion
Legion

Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net