Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Long Live the Legion! Brainiac 5's lineage

Over at comicboards someone asked about Brainiac 5's lineage and about how many people were in between the original Brainiac and Brainiac 5. They wanted to know if Virl II and Lyrl counted as Brainiacs 2 and 3.
I speculated that this is not so. We know from the prison issue that the Brainiac line wandered for a few centuries before resettling on Colu.
We know that Coluans have a lifespan "three times the gallactic average". However we don't know what the gallactic average is.
I heard that pre-boot there were at least 2 names for ancestors of Brainiac 5 that have not yet been mentioned postboot. I heard that in one pre-boot incarnation it was Querl's father who was Brainiac 4. I think they said his father was cold and unfeeling-- possibly even cruel. Another one said that Querl was genetically engineered.
We know postboot Querl's mother is the Brainiac, but we don't know about his father. Was it some artifical insemination from genetically engineered sperm? Or did she mate to see if that could evoke some emotions? I presume that if Querl has a father that the father would not want to take blame for being the father. Assuming the father is even alive.
I also wonder just how much of Stealth's DNA Querl inherited. If he was injected with the same chemicals that made Stealth and Lyrl melt, would he melt too?
Anyone know what species Stealth was?
It would be interesting to see some of Stealth's traits manifest in Querl. Like the ability to make the fingers turn to claws or whatever it was she did that that looked funky.
I personally like to think that Stealth's genetic influence made Querl more flexible and resilient. I sort of assume that Coluans are stiff and not as flexible but that Querl is more flexible than most.
I always wanted to see them acknowledge Querl's link to Stealth in the Legion comics. I wonder if any of the Legion members would be surprised that he is not full Coluan or if they would be surprised at how Lyrl was conceived.
I wonder if, while the Brainiac line was drifting, any other species were added to the mix. I think it would be interesting to find out. Maybe Querl might have some weaknesses or even strengths from other species.
luv,
-Su

As I recall ...
Preboot:
-Vril was definitely Querl's ancestor.
-Vril was definitely Brainiac 2.
-Querl's father was shown as having been alive for at least part of Querl's childhood, but his name was not given, nor was he identified as "Brainiac 4" (based on what we saw of him, my opinion is that Querl's father was not a Brainiac (he certainly was not depicted as unemotional; he nearly lost his temper when Querl tried to talk to him about Querl's troubles socializing with other Coluan children)).

Postboot:
-We know that Querl's mother is Brainiac 4, but we do not know when or why the Coluans first started using "Brainiac" as a title.
-There is no evidence (one way or the other) as to whether Querl is related to Lyrl. Vril was alive and well when last seen, so he could have other children someday.

Either pre- or post- :
-The name of Stealth's species has not been revealed; and, as far as we know, they have not appeared outside the L.E.G.I.O.N./R.E.B.E.L.S. titles.

I think maintaining the tie to the original Brainiac, as in the Superman villain, is essential.

Brainiac 4 has a ton of potential as a recurring villainess (something the Legion needs desperately, since the reboot Empress is a big ol' turd).

Anything in between's up for grabs, storywise.

I personally would *not* want to see Stealth codified as part of Brainy's lineage. The internalized forcefield is enough of a change for Colu's favorite son. Stealth-powers (I don't remember her planet's name...) would defintely lessen my fondness for this character-- and dilute his individuality somehow.

A time-travel trip to somewhen in-between the 21st and 31st centuries would be a fun way to examine this. We *never* get to see those interim years explored. Preboot, there was the excellent 'Sojer' story, but not much else.

I'm also very curious as to the nature and identity of Brainy's father.

TN

I read somewhere that preboot there were some relatives named like Kajz Dox (who was his father) and Pran Dox (grandfather). I can't remember where I found this info though.
Yeah, I don't doubt that Querl is descended from Lyrl but I was wondering if Lyrl will ever reproduce.
I don't think it would cheapen Querl to have some of Stealth's DNA. It wouldn't have to manifest itself in any powers though. It could just be some physical qualities. I don't see how it would dilute his individuality. I would think it would make him more unique because he could be mixed breed. For some reason I get the feeling that Coluans don't mix with other races much... His mixed blood might make him even more of an outcast.
I wonder what species is considered the second most intelligent...
luv,
-Su

I guess I just wasn't all that fond of Stealth and L.E.G.I.O.N in general-- at least in terms of contributing to the 31st c. Legion. There were some great stories featuring the 20thc. heroes and some fun characters-- I just never liked the linkage. Sorry

I think you're right about the Coluans keeping to themselves, though.

From what we've seen so far, who else'd want them? Except for our boy, Brainy, that is.

Your question about who the second most intelligent race is verrrry interesting. The Dominators? Titanians? Naltorese? Athramites?

Actually, that could be a good background premise for a Brainiac 4 return. She'd pick the 'second best' as stage from which to plot...

TN

I didn't really see much about Stealth, but I think with good writing she could be developed into something likeable. I personally would like to see how Querl would react to finding out that Stealth raped Vril. And I wanted to see how he would react to being around Stealth-- who would be the next closest thing to a mother figure.
Since I'm in a pondering mood I also wonder how Querl's encounter with his mother affects his perception of females who remind him of her. Would he be turned off by them now? Or would he still have a crush on Andromeda?
I didn't see any of the comics immediately after Querl was hurt by his mother but I figured he might become a bit haphephobic.
luv,
-Su

I am reminded of the very clever letter that appeared in the L.E.G.I.O.N. letters page, when they were entertaining suggestions as to the baby's name: combining part of each parent's name with a characteristic frequently found in hybrids to get "STERIL" Dox!

Back on the old DCMBs, someone (Shadowplay?) suggested that, for Stealth's race, her powers only passed to the female line; any male offspring took the look and characteristics of the father. Wouldn't mean that there wouldn't be any Stealth-race DNA in Brainiac 5, if indeed Lyrl is his ancestor. As B.R.M. pointed out, the whole lineage thing is unclear.

The numbers alone don't compute for a direct Brainiac 2-3-4-5 descendance through Lyrl unless he (#3) and Nutso Mom (#4) lived to be about 500 years old.

Maybe there's some Stealth in Brainiac 4; Stealth could go pretty wacko and violent. Combine that with Coluan coldness (a general cultural trait? but especially pronounced in the Brainiac line) and you get some, uh, interesting possiblities. Certainly B4 would make a great villainess and, as I've stated before, I don't see why she hasn't broken out of the psych ward yet. Must be under heavy sedation.

All the bad femmes should get together and break her out. We need a Legion of Super-Villainesses!

I think it depends in large part if Lyrl ever regained his intelligence. Was he just booted down to where he would ordinarily be, or was he condemned to have a below-Coluian-average IQ for his whole life? IF he didn't, even if he is a direct ancestor of B5, there's no way he could have been given the Brainiac title.

Personally, I tend to think that Vril IS B5's great-grandfather, but Lyrl ISN'T his grandfather - a later child of Vril is. And given the lifespans of Coluians, its hardly inconcievable that they could be fertile for long periods of time.

[Although, how old is Brainy at this point? Given Coluian lifespans, surely if he's a teenager in Earth years, he should practically still be an infant in Coluian terms.]

And finally, if Vril WASN'T B2, then surely the B1 of Querl's line wouldn't be the Braniac who bothered Supes...

Oops. I made a typo.. I meant I don't doubt that VRIL was an ancestor of Querl, but I didn't know if Lyrl was.
My take on Lyrl's supposed dumbing down was that Vril either added a neural blocker to dull his mind for awhile, OR convinced Lyrl to pretend to be that dumb. I'm leaning toward the latter. I think that Vril probably could've talked some sense into Lyrl about his behavior. However, if Lyrl really is dumbed down, it's possible that Vril and Stealth will later have another child-- even though Stealth scoffed at the idea since the birth was pretty unpleasant.
I think that if B4 broke out of the psyche ward, Querl would piss his pants. She is definetly a scary villain.
Yeah, I figured Querl is probably still much like a baby in the eyes of Coluans-- in terms of their lifespan. Which may be why he wasn't arrested and imprisoned for the incident with his unauthorized experiment when he was 11. I figured he was 13 or 14 (probably 14) when he was drafted into the legion. I think two years have passed in their time so he's probably 16 now. I wonder if Coluans celebrate birthdays. It would be interesting to see someoen throw Querl a birthday party. Although at least before his "upgrade" he probably wouldn't have seen his birth as something to celebrate considering he was abandoned and such.
Speaking of which, in which issue and under what circumstances did Querl admit to someone (I think Spark) that he'd been abandoned at birth?
luv,
-Su

This is a very intriguing thread BTW. However, there is one aspect of the post-boot Brainiac lineage that confuses the sprock out of me...the original Brainiac upgrading himself to Brainiac 2.0 and then as if that wasn't confusing enough...along comes Brainac 12...sigh...how does that affect the Brainiac lineage? Is the original Brainiac upgrading himself to 2.0 considered the REAL and TRUE 2.0, or is it Vril Dox II (from L.E.G.I.O.N.). There is sooooo much potential here for stories...hopefully one day (I'm crossing my fingers that it'll be soon) it will all be sorted out.

Vril I/B1 "upgraded" himself to 2.5, not 2 (presumably to avoid further confusion with Vril Dox II/B2), and Braniac 13 was from the future (further down the line than Legiontime).

And I think we should count Vril I's "upgrade" path seperately from the main lineage.

I hope that Querl isn't the last organic Brainiac. IIRC B13 was a robot? I have to read that issue again I think...
It would be sad to think that his actual family line would die off with him. But then, I think just about every other generation in his line is nutso so it might be scary.
luv,
-Su