Brain Wave (character)

Brain Wave (Henry King Sr.) is a supervillain appearing in the DC Comics Universe. He is a recurring foe of the Justice Society of America, a founding member of the Injustice Society, and the father of the superhero Brainwave.^[1]

Brain Wave appeared in the first season of the DC Universe / The CW series Stargirl, portrayed by Christopher James Baker.

Brain Wave battled the Justice Society of America with his psionic powers in the 1940s, first appearing in All-Star Comics #15 (February/March 1943).^[2] The character made his first appearance in a story titled "The Man Who Created Images" written by Gardner Fox with art by Joe Gallagher.^[3]

In October 1947, Brain Wave was one of the six original members of the Injustice Society, who began battling the Justice Society of America in All Star Comics #37 (October 1947).^{[4] [5]}

Henry King Sr. is born in the early 1910s as a metahuman with vast mental abilities. An introvert, he finds solace in books and develops his powers by creating holograms of characters. As an adult, King uses his abilities to become a criminal.^[6]

In later appearances, Brain Wave joins the Injustice Society and battles the Justice Society of America before Ultra-Humanite betrays and kills him.^[7] Following his death, Brain Wave makes minor appearances in Blackest Night and Hawkman (vol. 5).^[8]

Both King Sr. and Jr. have a variety of mental powers. King Sr. was originally much stronger, but upon his death, he somehow passed his powers on to his son, vastly increasing King Jr.'s power level.

Chief among their powers is telepathy. Both are able to dominate many minds at once and cause people to see illusions, or even have complete control over them.

Lesser-used powers of the Kings include telekinesis, the creation of holograms, and the ability to generate psionic energy.

• Brain Wave appears in the Superman: 50th Anniversary television special, portrayed by Robert Smigel.
• A character inspired by Brain Wave named Molly Griggs appears in the Smallville episode "Delete", portrayed by Missy Peregrym. She is a hacker capable of controlling minds via computer-aided hypnotism who goes by the internet handle "Brainwave".^[9]
• Henry King Sr. / Brainwave appears in Stargirl, portrayed by Christopher James Baker. This version developed psionic powers after experimenting on himself at a young age to prove that the human mind could be artificially evolved through science. When the ISA attacked the Justice Society of America (JSA) ten years prior to the series, Brainwave personally killed Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Johnny Thunder. After discovering that Stargirl obtained Starman's Cosmic Staff and learning her secret identity in the present, Henry Sr. attempts to kill her and take the staff from her, but she defeats him and puts him into a coma. As part of the ISA's plans for Project: New America, Icicle makes preparations to revive Henry Sr., who eventually awakens from his coma and rejoins the ISA. When Stargirl leads a new iteration of the JSA against the ISA, Henry Sr. attempts to manipulate Wildcat by using her memories of his son Henry King Jr. against her, but she sees through his tactics and kills him.^[10][11]