BrainDrain-herocostBRAIN DRAIN

Real Name: Werner Schmidt

Identity/Class: Human (German) mutate technology user (World War II, 1959 and modern era)

Occupation: Super-hero;
    former employee of the Master, former Nazi
scientist

Group Membership: None;
    formerly Justice Pals (Captain Crimehater/Koi Boi, the Hunter/Kraven the Hunter, Lady Crimepocalypse/Squirrel Girl, Nautical Nancy/Nancy Whitehead, Super-Powers Woman/Mary Mahajan, Zorro 2: Better Than Zorro/Chipmunk Hunk);
    formerly Omega Flight (Bile, Miss Mass, Sinew, Strongarm, Tech-Noir);
    formerly Icon (Axis Annie, Baron Blood, Count von Blitzkrieg, DoctOrangutan, Fräulein Fatale, Geist, Hollow Men, Fritz Krone and his robots, Leopard Woman, Madame Mauser, Penny Panzer, Planner, Dieter Skul, Spider-Queen, Vunderknight, others);
    formerly unidentified Axis team (Master Man, Skyshark, Slicer, U-Man);
    formerly the Nazi
party;

Affiliations: Courtney Alaska, Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Black Widow (Natasha Romanova), G'illian Blax'zthor, Captain America (Sam Wilson), Chipmunk Hunk (Tomas Lara-Perez), Michael Corson, Deadpool (Jack/"Wade Wilson"), Galactus (Galan), Allene Green, Dorian Green, Maureen Green, Hippo, Howard the Duck, Iron Man (Tony Stark), Koi Boi (Ken Shiga), Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Kravinoff), Loki, Mary Mahajan, Mew, Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), Ratatoskr, Skrull refugees, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Squirrel Girl (Doreen Green), Thor (Jane Foster), Thor (Odinson), Tippy-Toe, Nancy Whitehead;
    indirectly Old Lady Squirrel Girl of Earth-19542;
   formerly worked for Adolf Hitler and the Master;
   former Nazi scientist (helped create Master Man), worked above several scientists including Colonel Krieghund (Wilhelm von Strohm);
   former enslaver of Star-Gods (Brunnhilde, Donar, Froh, Loga);
   former employer of Übermädchen (Madame Mauzer, Vichy Vixen, Axis Annie, Fräulein Fatale, Penny Panzer)

Enemies: Baron Mordo (Karl Mordo), Dormammu, Doctor Doom (Victor von Doom), Enigmo, Fin Fang Foom, Iron Ring (Melissa Morbeck), Kang the Conqueror, Larry, the Leader (Samuel Sterns), M.O.D.O.K. (George Tarleton), Mojo II, Octopals (Dark Ock, Doctor Cyberock, Doctopus, Pre-Doc Ock), Red Skull (Johann Shmidt), Taskmaster (Tony Masters), Whiplash (Anton Vanko);
    formerly Agent Twelve, Alpha Flight (Aurora, Feedback, Guardian/Heather Hudson, Guardian/James Hudson, Northstar, Sasquatch, Shaman, Weapon Omega/Wild Child, Wyre), Avengers Initiative (Blonde Phantom/Louise Mason, Dominic Fortune, Nick Fury, Kraven/Sergei Kravinoff, Powell McTeague, Namora, Sabretooth/Victor Creed), Beta/Gamma Flight (Laura Dean, Goblyn, Manikin, Persuasion, Windshear, Witchfire), Invaders (Bucky/James Barnes, Captain America/Steve Rogers, Human Torch/Jim Hammond, Sub-Mariner/Namor McKenzie, Toro/Thomas Raymond), Liberty Legion (Blue Diamond, Jack Frost, Miss America, Patriot, Red Raven, Thin Man, Whizzer), Micromax, Omerta, Peregrine, Prodigy, Shamrock, Talisman (Elizabeth Twoyoungman), Thing (Ben Grimm)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Brian Drayne, Dr. Musclefists/the Man Whose Muscles Have Their Own Fists, the Dark Night of the Soul, Operative A.1416

Base of Operations: Manhattan, New York;
    formerly unrevealed base(s) of the Master;
   formerly castle in German Alps;
   mountain crater in Germany

First Appearance:  (Mentioned) Giant-Size Invaders#1 (June, 1975);
    (seen) Invaders I#2 (October, 1975)

human form

Powers/Abilities: Brain Drain is a human brain and two eyes in a jar; presumably he could not survive outside the life-sustaining jar, but this is not certain. His intellect was vastly heightened by exposure to alien Axi-Tun technology, the likes of which he extensively studied. He is able to speak/communicate with squirrels.

    Brain Drain regularly upgraded his own robot body, which possessed super-strength and durability, and its fists can fire from his body to punch at a distance. He can twirl his wrist sockets at super-speed, and his fingers can act as a scanner and a welder.

    Brain Drain is also equipped with facial recognition software.

    He briefly had his brain attached to a scorpion tank robot, with super-blasters and powerful legs, but his tech was hijacked by Melissa Morbeck, who used the alien tech to enhance other robots.

    For many years, Brain Drain's personality was trapped in stasis by the alien technology, focused on the theologies of “Seeing Red: the Red Skull’s Guide to Hydra Philosophy,” until a point when Squirrel Girl and Nancy Whitehead reprogrammed him and placed him on a new robot body. Brain Drain thereafter grew obsessed with philosophy, nihilism, and existentialism, consistently looking for meaning in the world around me.

    Brain Drain will occasionally upload new protocols to his personality, such as the time he tried being a "cool dude."

    Brain Drain formerly demonstrated hypnotic powers capable of mesmerizing multiple super-humans simultaneously, forcing them to do whatever he desires. This hypnosis was generally a close range phenomena, but with preparation and proper equipment it can be conducted electronically at planetary distances.

History:
(Alpha Flight I#108 (fb) ) - Werner Schmidt was a scientist for the Nazi party; his work involved test tubes in some capacity.

(Invaders I#2 (fb) / Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#1 (fb) – BTS) - Werner Schmidt stood on a German mountainside, reading the book Seeing Red: the Red Skull’s Guide to Hydra Philosophy, when a huge meteorite crashed into it, creating an enormous cave/crater.

(Invaders I#2 (fb)) - Schmidt was nearly killed by the meteorite-caused explosion, but aliens traveling within the ship saved his brain and eyes, placing them within a floating bubble which they then attached to a humanoid robotic body.

(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#1 (fb) – BTS) - The Seeing Red book ended up imprinted in his brain by the aliens.

(Invaders I#2 (fb)) - Hoping Schmidt could help them repair their ship (within the meteorite), they exposed him to a powerful "ring of the nebulas" which immensely heightened his mental and mechanical powers. Schmidt seized the ring and placed the aliens under his control, renaming them after German mythological figures: Brunnhilde, Donar, Froh, Loga. However, one (Brunnhilde) resisted and fled, amnesiac, taking the ring with her. The Nazis built a base within the crater to study the ship, and Schmidt (now called A.1416, or Brain Drain) was placed in control of the operation.

(Marvel Premiere I#30 - BTS) - Brain Drain developed a space-warping device for the German government; the Red Skull later adapted this device to his own ends and used it as an entrapping energy funnel against the Invaders. One of Brain Drain's scientists was named Krieghund.

(Invaders I#17 (fb) - BTS) - At some point Brain Drain invented a special belt-apparatus that translated the user's speech into any other language and translated everything he heard into his own language...an universal translator. He built it for Adolf Hitler himself.

(Giant-Size Invaders#1 - BTS) - With the help of Brain Drain, German scientists (including Krieghund) built a secret underground base beneath a Virginia farm; there they were creating their own German super-soldier, Master Man. Using a mind-draining device (the Psyphon) developed by Brain Drain, they learned everything American scientists Dr. Anderson (a scientist on the super-soldier project) knew of Dr. Erskine's super-soldier work. With this, they completed Master Man, though the in-the-process-of-forming Invaders attacked and destroyed the project (rescuing Dr. Anderson, who told them of Brain Drain's existence); Master Man's enhancements proved only temporary.

(Invaders I#1 - BTS) - While looking for information on Brain Drain, the Invaders coincidentally (?) found Brunnhilde (still amnesiac and now calling herself Hilda). She recognized the name Brain Drain, and was able to point the Invaders toward the mountain where the German crater base was. The Invaders flew there, but their ship was knocked out of the air by Donar, Froh, and Loga.

mechanical nazi body

(Invaders I#2) - At the crater base, Brain Drain pursued research channels when the Invaders entered the area. Hilda and Captain America were captured; she recovered her memories in facing Brain Drain but he reclaimed the ring from her and began draining the life forces of all four aliens. Rather than serve in shame, she threw the ring into a mysterious pool of alien liquids, starting an atomic reaction, and jumped in after (calling her fellow aliens to join her). As a last act, she mind-controlled Brain Drain into jumping in after her -- this act destroyed his robotic body, but not his brain capsule. The Invaders fled, and a few minutes later the entire mountain was destroyed in an atomic blast.

(Invaders I#2 - BTS) - Brain Drain survived the explosion through undetermined means.

(Marvel Two-in-One I#20 - BTS) - American bundists (Nazi sympathizers) found a time-lost half-canister of Vibranium which made its way to Brain Drain. Using secrets harvested from that Vibranium to perfect its stabilization, Brain Drain built a new Nazi super-weapon: a jet-powered flying swastika which spun at high speeds, and which should prove capable of destructively spinning through buildings with no harm to itself. It was piloted by Brain Drain himself. To enhance his own mental abilities, he recruited Skyshark to steal an American super-gyroscope from New York City for him.

(Marvel Two-in-One Annual#1) - Skyshark, U-Man and Master Man were sent out into the greater New York area to commit similar thefts (Skyshark's task being to locate an American super-gyroscope for Brain Drain) but none of the three succeeded as the Liberty Legion stopped them all. The flying swastika attacked New York, cutting through a skyscraper like butter as it did so. The time-traveling Thing (Ben Grimm), used a flagpole as a catapult to launch himself at the swastika.

flying swastika

(Marvel Two-in-One I#20) - Leaping onto the swastika, the Thing encountered Brain Drain (its pilot), and Brain Drain quickly hypnotized the Thing and had him reveal his backstory. However, the Thing broke free and began destroying the ship; Brain Drain quickly returned to an offshore carrier platform where his allies U-Man, Master Man, and Skyshark could attack the Thing. The Liberty Legion quickly followed and the Nazis were defeated. The Thing reclaimed the Vibranium and destroyed the flying swastika, but Brain Drain's head capsule had been outfitted with jet capabilities of its own; he separated from the swastika and flew away to freedom (Skyshark also escaped, though the other Nazis were captured).

(Miss America Comics 70th Anniversary Special#1 - BTS) - Miss America, Whizzer, and Blue Diamond were told by Captain America that American Agent 12 had been inside Brain Drain's new hideout. They rescued Agent 12 from a barn of mind-controlled German agents, and he reported that Brain Drain had an agent in American shipyards, and was targeting a new attack-transport ship (the Destiny class U.S.S. Markham). Miss America went undercover in the shipyards and eventually ended up fighting the Ubermadchen (Madame Mauzer, Vichy Vixen, Axis Annie, Fräulein Fatale, Penny Panzer), but protected the ship and claimed the device Mauzer had been using to mind-control shipyard-workers. With the device, she traveled to a castle in the German Alps and there took control of the mind-controllees who were fighting Blue Diamond and Whizzer, ordering them to capture Brain Drain. However, Brain Drain apparently had some further threat in the "dark dungeon" below the castle.

(Avengers 1959#2 (fb) - BTS) - After the war around 1959 Brain Drain joined Geoffrey Sydenham's secret US intelligence organization Icon.

(Avengers 1959#2) - (Avengers 1959#2) - Baron Blood and Brain Drain were stationed on a ship in the South Pacific near China. Following a lead the Avengers were teleported on to the ship by Powell McTeague and fought the former Nazi agents.

(Avengers 1959#3) - While fighting Sabretooth Brain Drain was teleported to Washington DC by Sydenham, who was aided in this feat by his master Dormammu. Meeting their leader, Sydenham, in person for the first time Baron Blood and Brain Drain, chained in mystic chains, listened as Sydenham asked him to earn the freedom he had granted him.

(Avengers 1959#5) - Brain Drain joined Sydenham in Washington DC alongside Baron Blood, Geist, Spider Queen and some Hollow Men. They fought the Avengers, who attempted to take down Icon. Brain Drain's dome was destroyed by one of Dominic Fortune's bullets.

(Avengers 1959#5 - BTS) - Brain Drain survived and escaped.Brain Drain

(Alpha Flight I#108 (fb)) - An experiment gone awry left Brain Drain trapped in a snow mound for five decades, during which time he came to regret his loyalty to the Nazi cause. Eventually he managed to take control of the mind of a lone hiker who passed nearby, and had himself dug out and freed.

(Alpha Flight I#108) - Prior to the first Pan-European Conference on Super-Human Affairs (held in Geneva, Switzerland), Brain Drain had his capsule hidden within an ice sculpture. He placed hypnotic commands into the minds of Peregrine, Micromax, Omerta, Prodigy, and Shamrock, ordering each to kill their country's (respectively France, Great Britain, Italy, Poland, Ireland) leaders with the intent of destroying European unity. Alpha Flight's Aurora seized his canister and threw it far across the Alps while the rest of Alpha Flight saved the various leaders. The Master soon recovered Brain Drain's canister.

braindrain5

(Alpha Flight I#110 - BTS) - Between the Master and Brain Drain, the pair created a new purple-costumed robotic body for Brain Drain, this one capable of passing for a large human (well, excepting the brain-and-two-eyes-in-a-jar for a head!).

(Alpha Flight I#111 - BTS (fb)) - Fearing the powers of the alien Magus, the Master designed a plan to release the alien Ska'r into Canada, with the goal of sacrificing Canada to the Ska'r to save Earth from the Magus. He sent Omega Flight (including Brain Drain) to free the Ska'r using the powers of Talisman (Elizabeth Twoyoungman).

(Alpha Flight I#110) - At a mall in Toronto, the new Omega Flight (Brain Drain, Bile, Miss Mass, Sinew, Strongarm, Tech-Noir) attacked Talisman. Easily taking her down, Brain Drain then took control of Talisman's mind, forcing her to do what they wanted. The team then abandoned Talisman and left.

(Alpha Flight I#111) - While Toronto's residents slowly went violently insane under the influence of the Ska'r, Brain Drain and Omega Flight confronted Gamma Flight (who were attempting to stop the Ska'r) in Toronto's streets.

(Alpha Flight I#112) - Persuasion turned Bile against the rest of Alpha Flight, and given the Ska'r influence as well, Brain Drain was unable to control Bile (or apparently any others). Brain Drain and most of Omega Flight fled.

(Alpha Flight I#129) - At the Master's behest, Omega Flight returned to confront Alpha Flight.

(Alpha Flight I#130) - When Omega Flight and Alpha Flight fought, Brain Drain briefly took down Feedback and Wyre, but both recovered before the battle was done. The Master was defeated when his "Antiguard" (James McDonald Hudson, a former Alpha Flight member) regained himself and turned on the Master.

(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#1 (fb) – BTS) – Brain Drain woke up in the Canadian tundra after years and found himself stuck in the past, his mind unable to expand past his machinery and the programming of the aliens. He eventually made it to New York City, where the Hippo told him about Squirrel Girl’s willingness to help. Brain Drain snuck into Squirrel Girl’s apartment and waited to be discovered.

(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#1) – Brain Drain grabbed Tippy-Toe the squirrel and Mew the cat and went up to the roof, ranting about existentialism and the destruction of the world. Squirrel Girl attacked, with Nancy Whitehead behind her, as they assumed Brain Drain was a villain. As Brain Drain grabbed Maureen Green, Tippy-Toe bit through some wires, disabling him.

    Realizing Brain Drain’s programming was stuck in the 1940s era, Nancy and Squirrel Girl reprogrammed Brain Drain, using cell phone technology while bringing his components up to date, and after they rebooted him, Brain Drain thanked them, feeling in control of his own destiny for the first time in decades. Doreen and Nancy convinced Brain Drain to put on a rudimentary disguise, and to audit classes at Empire State University. Maureen Green helped convinced the school authorities to allow him in classes.


(Deadpool & the Mercs for Money I#3) - Brain Drain attended a convention for super-villains where Deadpool was selling a Recorder device.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#12 (fb) – BTS) – Brain Drain, as he attended college classes using the name Brian Drayne, decided to focus on being a hero and he developed a rudimentary costume for himself.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#38 (fb) – BTS) – At some point, Doreen taught Brain Drain how to speak to squirrels.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#47 (fb) – BTS) – Brain Drain established a comfortable routine for himself, which included spending time with his friends, sometimes helping Tippy-Toe bury nuts.

    He danced at Plato’s Dance Cave, looked at statues at Ozymandias Statue Park, and did an aquafit class at the NYC Indoor Pool. Brain Drain spent a lot of time at the Applied Existentialism Dept, where he spent nights in a cleaning closet, which he felt opened up insight to him.

    Brain Drain recorded an outgoing voice mail, which cut him off in the middle, to state “Hello, you have reached the voicemail of Brian Drayne, regular human. Society dictates I must now request you leave a message at ‘the beep’, as if voicemail were somehow novel, somehow not just another dreary fact of modern life, known by all, treasured by none. This shared humiliation robs and belittles us both, yet in exchange offers up no deeper meaning, no redemption, for at its core we find only the madness of conformity and the chaos of complici—“.

    At times, Brain Drain enjoyed dressing like a bat to fight crime, calling himself the Dark Knight of the Soul.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#12) – Brain Drain put on a cape and mask and stopped bank robbers, including Larry, as Squirrel Girl and Nancy supervised. Squirrel Girl left the city, asking Brain Drain to keep the place safe. Brian Drain stopped Enigmo from stealing a laptop, then a cop who looked just like Enigmo took the criminal away, confusing Brain Drain. Brain Drain soon picked up an identical criminal, and was baffled when Enigmo split into two different beings. Later, Brain Drain heard Enigmo announce publicly that he was planning on taking over North America.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#13) – Brain Drain realized he needed help, and he identified that he would need Ant-Man to be more efficient, so he headed to Miami to find Ant-Man. There, he found a container of Pym Particles along with a shrunken down experimental jet, created by James Jetman, and Brain Drain stole the jet to go to Canada to find Squirrel Girl, taking Ant-Man with him, though he accidentally crashed the jet when he arrived. Ant-Man yelled at Brain Drain, but the heroes soon regrouped, enlarging Ant-Man’s van and driving back to civilization, with Maureen Green, Nancy Whitehead, and Tippy-Toe with them. Clones of Enigma pulled them over, and the heroes were soon overwhelmed, so they shrank down and hid as their van exploded. They made plans to defeat Enigmo.
BrainDrain-herocost-doreen
(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#14 (fb)) – A rogue Enigmo revealed his existence/nature to the others, revealing some of his host’s weaknesses, and they made a plan to lure Enigmo to Toronto. However, the plan failed, and the heroes were overwhelmed by an army of Enigmos.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#14) – The Enigmo army battled Squirrel Girl, Tippy, and Brain Drain as Nancy and Maureen watched. In time, Nancy and Ant-Man conceived of a plan to defeat Enigmo by growing him to giant-size, which would break his own ankle (as she had reasoned that his powers would not allow his body to support its weight in giant form), then the good Enigmo merged back into his main form, convincing the Enigmos to give up their world domination plans. Maureen made Brain Drain a new costume, and he went back to fighting crime.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#21 (fb) – BTS) – Brain Drain added facial recognition and Internet search capabilities to his processing unit so he couldn’t be fooled by Enigmo again. He also upgraded his fists so that he could fire them off his body on chains to punch criminals.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#21) – Brain Drain used his new facial recognition technology to identify Michael Corson at a party that She-Hulk and Howard the Duck attended.

(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#16) – Doreen greeted her friends at her birthday party, including Iron Man, Nancy, Thor (Jane Foster), Chipmunk Hunk, Koi Boi, Brain Drain, Dor and Maureen Green, Loki, Thor (Odinson), Black Widow, Captain America (Sam Wilson), and Spider-Man (Peter Parker). When the Red Skull attacked, Doreen easily defeated him.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#17) – Squirrel Girl and Brain Drain saw Nancy’s new drawings on Cat Thor before attending an ethics class (with Tomas, Mary, and Ken) hosted by guest lecturer Melissa Morbeck.

(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#21) – With Mary visiting her family, and Nancy and Doreen going on vacation to the Negative Zone, Tomas and Ken were asked to feed Mew, to watch over Brain Drain, and to protect the city from crime. Brain Drain initiated new ‘cool dude’ protocols in his brain in an attempt to fit in with Ken and Tomas, but when he tried to "coolly" lie down on a table, he ended up breaking the table instead.

    Later, when Tomas and Ken were studying at the Sidekick Coffee shop, Brian did some of Ken’s homework for him, resulting in Ken getting in trouble with Professor Bravo. When the Octopals (Dark Ock, Doctopus, Doctor Cyberock, Pre-Doc Ock) committed crimes, Koi Boi and Chipmunk Hunk stopped three of them, but Brain Drain inadvertently allowed Cyberock to escape. Tomas and Ken asked for some space from Brain Drain, who removed his costume and walked away, and the other Octopals escaped.

    Later, Brain Drain returned to help Ken and Tomas, who needed his new facial recognition tech to help them identify bad guys who were posing as super-villains and heroes. They successfully apprehended criminals dressed as Titania, Kitty Pryde, Rogue, Spider-Man, Shocker, Bullseye, and Daredevil before taking down the Octo-Pals. They fought crime all night and got home in time to see Doreen and Nancy make it back.

(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#25) – Doreen and Nancy told Brain Drain, Ken, and Tomas about their adventures in the Savage Land, where they fought Ultron.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#26 – BTS) – To help with a fundraiser, Brain Drain drew a three-page comic book about how humans could feel better, starring himself.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#31) – At the mall, Koi Boi, Chipmunk Hunk, Brain Drain, Nancy Whitehead, and Squirrel Girl stopped EpicCrimez during a jewelry store robbery that the villain was live-streaming. After he was apprehended, he hit Squirrel Girl and Nancy with an alien ray gun that sped them up into hyper-time. Over the following two days, Squirrel Girl and Nancy aged decades, able only to communicate with their friends through notes. Tomas, Brian, and Ken did their best to aid their friends, given the time shifts, over the following days, until Doreen and Nancy were finally able to return to the present as their younger selves.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#32) – Hanging out in a closet and thinking about existence, Brain Drain was invited by Nancy and Doreen to join them in an escape room. At the facility, they saw Howard the Duck leaving, then they met the owner of the facility, who had each of them choose a super-hero name. Brain Drain chose Dr. Musclefists, the Man Whose Muscles Have Their Own Fists. Calling their team the Justice Pals, the group worked together to get out of the room, but they soon discovered the walls were closing in on them.
BrainDrain-dressshirt

(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#33) – Squirrel Girl helped the others escape the trap by using her super-strong jaws, then they all took time to recount their individual skills. Brain Drain recounted his Titanium body and rocket punches. In one room, Brain Drain’s super-rotating hands helped them solve a puzzle. Soon, Mojo II was exposed as their captor, and Chipmunk Hunk used a secret sonic scream to defeat him. Outside, Kraven was tackled by the police. Squirrel Girl tried standing up for him, but ended up getting them all arrested.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#34) – During their time in jail, Brain Drain rose to Kraven’s defense, helping Squirrel Girl realize that even a villain with a complex history could still be a hero. After time in their cell, the group was taken to court, represented by She-Hulk, while Courtney Alaska prosecuted them. In the end, Squirrel Girl and her friends were found innocent, but Kraven was found guilty, and he broke out of custody and ran for it.


 (Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#35) – Haskel the squirrel guided Nancy, Mary, Tomas, Ken, and Brain Drain toward a battle where Squirrel Girl was defending Kraven against Spider-Man. Brain Drain tried convincing Spider-Man that his worst enemy was himself. Kraven bid his friends farewell, promising to return as their ally another day.

(Marvel Rising: Squirrel Girl/Ms. Marvel I#1) - Squirrel Girl introduced Ms. Marvel to her friends, including Brain Drain.
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(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#37) – After someone posing as Squirrel Girl faked her death, a funeral was held, and Doreen’s friends attended the fake funeral, with Doreen and Nancy in disguise. They saw many heroes and villains give testimonials of the impact Squirrel Girl had on their lives, then they showed footage of “Squirrel Girl” dying in a battle alongside the Avengers against the Octobliterator. Back at home, Nancy, Doreen, Tippy, Ken, Mary, Brian, and Tomas discussed options and they determined the imposter was likely a Skrull.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#38) – Doreen, Brian, Tomas, Ken, Mary, Tippy, and Nancy used personal questions to determine that they weren’t Skrulls. The next day, when Iron Man called to check in, they caught him in a lie and realized he was a Skrull.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#39) – Nancy, Doreen, Mary, Tippy, Ken, Tomas, and Brian met for coffee and discussed how to detect Skrulls. The allies searched the city (with Brain Drain focusing on water parks) before they found Tony Stark being held captive by a Skrull, G'illian Blax'zthor.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#40) - Brain Drain and the others befriended G'illian, and helped her find a home on Earth.

    Months later, Squirrel Girl and her friends (including Brain Drain) welcomed a group of Skrull refugees to Earth.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#42) – Squirrel Girl went on patrol with Brain Drain and Nancy, discovering that Kang the Conqueror had rigged a building to be destroyed in 40 years (secretly part of his plot to finish off Old Lady Squirrel Girl of Earth-19542) , so they undid the damage with Brain Drain using a scanner finger and a welder finger to do it), but then Kang himself attacked. Kang caused a satellite to crash down on them, then snapped his fingers to destroy the building, but found that it had been tampered with in the past by a 10 year old Squirrel Girl (during an adventure that included her time-traveling modern day counterpart and Old Lady Squirrel Girl-19542


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#43) – Squirrel Girl took Tippy-Toe, Brain Drain, Nancy, Koi Boi, Chipmunk Hunk, and Mary Mahajan to the Negative Zone to visit Allene Green, then Squirrel Girl disappeared, being magically transported back to Earth by Ratatoskr to aid against Frost Giants during the War of the Realms.
BrainDrain-scorptank
(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#46) – Brain Drain, Nancy, Mary, Tippy, Ken, and Tomas returned from the Negative Zone to see Doreen and Ratatoskr had defeated an invasion of Frost Giants. Loki came to arrest Ratatoskr, but Nancy and Doreen argued she should remain free.

(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#47 (fb) – BTS) – Brain Drain made plans to bury nuts with Tippy, but he was kidnapped by Melissa Morbeck. In captivity and being monitored, he sent a series of coded messages to his friends so they could find him.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#48 (fb) – BTS) – Morbeck upgraded Brain Drain into a super-strong enhanced scorpion tank form, while she duplicated his alien tech to allow her to control machinery better.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#48) – Morbeck debuted Brain Drain’s new armor to her super-villain allies, including M.O.D.O.K., Dormammu, Dr. Doom, Whiplash, the Leader, Baron Mordo, Fin Fang Foom, and Taskmaster. Morbeck stole Iron Man’s armor and began calling herself Iron Ring, then she attacked Squirrel Girl, Nancy Whitehead, Tippy-Toe, Chipmunk Hunk, Koi Boi, Mary Mahajan, and Iron Man with her new super-villain allies. Brain Drain, still in control of his mind but not of his body, was forced to attack his friends.


(Unbeatable Squirel Girl II#49) – Morbeck forced Brain Drain to pin Squirrel Girl, Koi Boi, and Chipmunk Hunk, but Tippy soon covered him in squirrels in an effort to block his sensors. Tippy managed to disconnect Brain Drain’s brain from the scorpion tank body, then Chipmunk Hunk tossed the brain high up into the air to keep it safe.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#50) – After Galactus arrived to clean up the mess and send the villains to jail, Brain Drain landed and Squirrel Girl caught him.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#50 – BTS) – Brain Drain had his head reattached to his usual body, then he began helping Tippy-Toe bury nuts, an activity in which he found pleasure, much like he enjoyed painting and assembling miniature fantasy figurines.


(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#50) – Brain Drain joined Squirrel Girl and her friends in celebrating Squirrel Girl’s heroism.

Comments: Created by Roy Thomas, Frank Robbins, and Vince Colletta (inker)

   Given that Brain Drain revealed jet packs built into the bottom of his canister in Marvel Two-in-One#20, it seems highly likely that those are how he survived the end of Invaders I#2 -- he flew away from the mountain before the nuclear explosion destroyed it (clearly he had plenty of time as the Invaders also had time to get to their ship and fly away in that same time interval).

   Brain Drain's modern-era resurrection in Alpha Flight I#108 references (in pictures but not in words) his defeat in Invaders I#2, and ignores his subsequent World War II appearances. Some people debate whether or not the Marvel Two-in-One appearances took place in the 616 universe or in an alternate universe (as some time-travel events have diverged alternate universes); in either case, the "accident" which left Brain Drain entombed for 50 years is vague enough to be just about anything; by the by, the Marvel Two-in-One adventure is subsequently referenced within the pages of the Invaders, and Marvel's Official Handbooks have since confirmed that the Liberty Legion's battle with Brain Drain did indeed take place in Earth-616's World War II. For more information on this "controversy," see the Appendix entry for Slicer.

   Though his eyes are connected to his brain by two nerve strands, they are free-floating as well and not physically fixed to the brain. Since most frontal images (as above) make it look like they're attached to the brain, I wanted to make that clear; there have been side images which have shown them floating separately.

   Brunnhilde, Donar, Froh, and Loga are revealed as aliens in Invaders I#2, but their race was not identified at that time. The Axi-Tun race entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#15 is where their race is revealed.

   Brain Drain never actually appears in Miss America Comics 70th Anniversary Special #1, but is referenced so many times that we're assuming above that he was really behind the scenes there.

   Though we know Brain Drain had a big part in Master Man's creation, we don't know what other Nazi projects he had his (metaphorical) hands in -- with his brain power and access to alien technologies, there could have been many; presumably he should have been one of the Nazis' greatest sources of weapons/powers! I'd also note that if anyone ever took any of the Axi-Tun technology out of that cavern (highly likely) then it could have been floating around out there from the 1940s to present day.

   Thanks to John McDonogh for pointing out Brain Drain's mention in Marvel Premiere#30 by way of the Red Skull OHOTMU Deluxe Edition entry.

A "brain drain" is an emigration of trained and talented individuals to other nations or jurisdictions, due to conflicts, lack of opportunity, health hazards where they are living, discrimination or other reasons.
--John Kaminski

Timely Comics created 3 disembodied brains 2 of them pre-date Donovan's Brain (1943)---Professor Donaire (Marvel Mystery Comics#15 (January, 1941; Angel foe) and the Eternal Brain. Tiger Duncan called the Murder Brain in the title (Captain America Comics#41 (August, 1944; Captain America story). The Atlas Age has at least one disembodied brain called the Brain seen on the cover of Marvel Tales#99 (February, 1951). Plus Timely Comics has 2 unofficial disembodied brain characters---Killer Kole (Captain America Comics#17 (August, 1942; Captain America story---Human brain in large gorilla body) and Olaf Olsen (Captain America Comics#29 (August, 1943); Captain America story--Human brain in Iguanodon body).
--Gammatotem

Profile by SQUEAK, with updates (Squirrel Girl and on) by Chadman.

CLARIFICATIONS:
BRAIN DRAIN has no known connections to and should not be confused with




James Jetman

(Unbeatable Squiirel Girl II#13 (fb) – BTS) – James Jetman hired Ant-Man Security Solutions to watch over his experimental jet, which was then shrunk down and kept in Ant-Man’s apartment. Brian Drain later stole it.

(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#14 – BTS) – Ant-Man made enough money to pay back the jet, over two billion dollars.

--Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#13 (13 (fb) - BTS, 14 - BTS


BrainDrain-larryLarry

(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl I#3) – Larry and his friends robbed a bank, but Squirrel Girl stopped them.

(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#12) – Larry and his friends robbed another bank and were speeding away when Brain Drain stopped them, and Squirrel Girl, with Nancy Whitehead, were there to yell at him as he was taken off to jail.

--Unbeatable Squirrel Girl I#3, II#12


BrainDrain-ozyOzymandias Statue Park

(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#47 (fb) - BTS) - Brain Drain frequently went to Ozymandias Statue Park.

(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#47) - Brain Drain's friends looked for him at Ozymandias Statue Park.

--Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#47 (47 (fb) - BTS, 47


BrainDrain-platoPlato's Dance Cave

(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#47 (fb) - BTS) - Brain Drain frequently danced at Plato's Dance Cave.

(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#47) - Brain Drain's friends looked for him at Plato's Dance Cave.

--Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#47 (47 (fb) - BTS, 47


“Seeing Red: the Red Skull’s Guide to Hydra Philosophy”

(Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#1 (fb) – BTS) – The Red Skull wrote a book called “Seeing Red: the Red Skull’s Guide to Hydra Philosophy”, once read by Brain Drain, and the book ended up reprogramming Brain Drain’s mind.

--Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#1 (1 (fb) - BTS


images: (without ads)
Alpha Flight I#108, p6, pan1 (main image)
Invaders I#2, p8, pan5 (human form, before explosion)
Invaders I#2, p10, pan1 (original Nazi mechanical body)
Marvel Two-in-One I#20, p2, pan2&4 (flying swastika)
Alpha Flight I#129, next-to-last page, pan1 (current body)
Alpha Flight I#108, cover (hiya kids)
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#12, p2, pan1 (super hero costume)

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#14, p22, pan4 (new costume by Maureen Green)

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#35, p13, pan1 (in suit)

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#39, p11, pan1 (in ‘Human League’ shirt)

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#48, p20, pan3 (enhanced robot form)
- dress shirt
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#12, p2, pan1 (Larry)

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#47, p6, pan3 (Plato’s Dance Cave)

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#47, p6, pan5 (Ozymandias Statue Park)


Appearances:
Giant-Size Invaders#1 (June, 1975) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), Frank Robbins (penciler), Vince Colletta (inker)
Invaders I#1-2 (August-October, 1975) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), Frank Robbins (penciler), Vince Colletta (inker)
Marvel Premiere I#30 (June, 1976) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), Don Heck (penciler), Vince Colletta (inker)
Marvel Two-in-One Annual#1 (1976) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), Sal Buscema (penciler), Sam Grainger, Tartag, & George Roussos (inker)
Marvel Two-in-One I#20 (October, 1976) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), Sal Buscema (penciler), Sam Grainger (inker)
Invaders I#17 (June, 1977) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), Frank Robbins (pencils), Frank Springer (inks)
Alpha Flight I#108 (May, 1992) - Scott Lobdell (writer), Tom Morgan (penciler/inker), Rob Tokar (editor)
Alpha Flight I#110 (July, 1992) - Simon Furman (writer), Pat Broderick (penciler), Chris Ivy & Bruce Patterson (inkers), Rob Tokar (editor)
Alpha Flight I#111-112 (August-September, 1992) - Simon Furman (writer), Pat Broderick (penciler), Bruce Patterson (inker), Rob Tokar (editor)
Alpha Flight I#129-130 (February-March, 1994) - Simon Furman (writer), Dario Carrasco Jr (penciler), Bruce Patterson (inker), Rob Tokar (editor)
Miss America Comics 70th Anniversary Special#1 (August, 2004) - Jen Van Meter (writer), Andy Macdonald (artist), Stephen Wacker (editor)
Avengers 1959#2-3 (December, 2011 - January, 2012) - Howard Chaykin (writer/artist), Lauren Sankovitch (editor)
Avengers 1959#5 (March, 2012) - Howard Chaykin (writer/artist), Lauren Sankovitch (editor)
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#1 (December, 2015) - Ryan North (writer), Erica Henderson (artist), Wil Moss (editor)

Deadpool and the Mercs for Money I#3 (June, 2016) - Cullen Bunn (writer), Salvador Espin (artist), Jordan White (editor)

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#12-15 (November, 2016-February, 2017) - Ryan North (writer), Erica Henderson (artist), Wil Moss (editor)

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#16 (March, 2017) - Ryan North, Will Murray (writers), Erica Henderson, Steve Ditko (artists), Wil Moss (editor)

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#17, 21, 25 (April, August, December, 2017) - Ryan North (writer), Erica Henderson (artist), Wil Moss (editor)

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#31 (June, 2018) - Ryan North (writer), Erica Henderson (artist), Wil Moss (editor)

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#32 -35 (July-October, 2018) - Ryan North (writer), Derek Charm (artist), Wil Moss (editor)

Marvel Rising: Squirrel Girl/Ms. Marvel I#1 (September, 2018) - Ryan North, G. Willow Wilson, Devin Grayson (writers), Irene Strychalski, Ramon Bachs (artists), Heather Antos (editor)

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#37-40 (December, 2018-April, 2019) - Ryan North (writer), Derek Charm (artist), Wil Moss (editor)

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#42 (May, 2019) - Ryan North (writer), Erica Henderson, Derek Charm, Naomi Franquiz (artists), Wil Moss (editor)

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#43, 46 (June, September, 2019) - Ryan North (writer), Derek Charm (artist), Wil Moss (editor)

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#48 (November, 2019) - Ryan North (writer), Derek Charm, Michael Cho, Evan Shaner (artists), Wil Moss (editor)

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#49-50 (December, 2019-January, 2020) - Ryan North (writer), Derek Charm (artist), Wil Moss (editor)


First Posted: 07/24/2007
Last updated: 03/12/2022

hiya kids

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at:
http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

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