Brain Wave
Created by Gardner Fox & Joe Gallagher
+ History
Henry King was a sickly and lonely boy who spent his youth in daydreams, until he discovered that he was a mutant capable of projecting realistic illusions from his subconscious. As he grew up e continued to hone his powers until he had mastered them. King became greedy, and used his thought images to aid in committing robberies. Once he was wealthy he named himself the Brain Wave and set his sights on world domination. He viewed the Justice Society of America as the only impediment in his plan, and tried many times to destroy them. To further this scheme he formed his own dark reflection of the JSA, the Injustice Society of the World.
After World War II, and under unrevealed circumstances, Henry retired from being a super-villain and married the super-heroine Merry, Girl of a 1000 Gimmicks. They had a son, Henry, Jr., who was also gifted with mutant abilities. But sometime after that, Brain Wave returned to a life of crime, and his wife left him and her son; they believed she was dead. His son would later blame him for Merry's disappearance, and they were not on speaking terms for years.
The Brain Wave teamed frequently with other super-villains against the JSA (All-Star #58-59, Showcase #99), and later joined the Ultra-Humanite's assembly of the Secret Society of Super-Villains and fought the JSA and JLA. (JLofA #195-197) They were banished to a "null dimension" called Limbo, from which Ultra escaped to menace a second generation of the Justice Society: Infinity, Inc.
One of Infinity's number was none other thatn Henry's son, who took the name Brainwave, Jr. Brain Wave Sr. ultimately sacrificed his life to save his son from the Ultra-Humanite. In dying gesture, he transferred the bulk of his mental powers to his son, which helped Hank defeat the Ultra-Humanite. (Infinity, Inc. #10)
Thanks to Tom Tomorrow
+ Powers
Brain Wave possessed mutant mental abilities; he could hypnotize people effortlessly, project realistic three-dimensional images, and project powerful beams of pure mental energy from his forehead with the intensity of a laser. Brain Wave was very frail, and avoided physical combat at all costs.
Appearances + References
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All-Star
Comics #15, 17, 30, 37, 58, 59, 63, 66