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The Brain

The Brain

37 appearances Β· Silver Age Β· 1964–2025 Β· 5 key issues
Who is The Brain?

A disembodied human brain kept alive in a specially designed robotic container, the Brain is a French criminal mastermind who co-founded the Brotherhood of Evil alongside his partner Monsieur Mallah, becoming one of the Doom Patrol's most persistent enemies.

Few villains in DC's Silver Age rogues' gallery carry quite the eerie mystique of The Brain, who first crawled into readers' imaginations in The Doom Patrol #86 back in 1964, courtesy of Howard Purcell. Over six decades of DC history, this disembodied mastermind has proven remarkably durable β€” turning up across The New Teen Titans, Batgirl, and even the delightfully irreverent Tiny Titans, racking up five key-issue appearances along the way. The company The Brain keeps is telling: sharing pages with the likes of Monsieur Mallah, Robin, Green Lantern, The Flash, and Wonder Girl speaks to a villain who moves through DC's broader universe with genuine weight. For collectors and fans alike, 61 years of continuous menace is reason enough to take notice.

Identity

Real name. Unknown

Affiliations. Brotherhood of Evil, Injustice League Unlimited, Secret Society of Super-Villains

β˜… First appearance
The Doom Patrol #86
Mar 1964

Top series

Covers through the years β€” 1964–2023

The Doom Patrol #86 β˜… 1964
The Doom Patrol #86
The New Teen Titans #14 1981
The New Teen Titans #14
Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #3 β˜… 1985
Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #3
The New Teen Titans #27 β˜… 1987
The New Teen Titans #27
Doom Patrol #13 2002
Doom Patrol #13
Infinite Crisis #4 β˜… 2006
Infinite Crisis #4
The Infinite Crisis Omnibus #[nn] 2012
The Infinite Crisis Omnibus #[nn]
Absolute Infinite Crisis #[nn] 2017
Absolute Infinite Crisis #[nn]
Unstoppable Doom Patrol #1 2023
Unstoppable Doom Patrol #1

Appearances

The Doom Patrol (1964)
Five-Score Comic Monthly (1961)
#74
The Brave and the Bold (1955)
#65
The New Teen Titans (1980)
Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe (1985)
Secret Origins Annual (1987)
#1
Tales of the Teen Titans (1984)
Doom Patrol (2001)
#13
Batgirl (2000)
Infinite Crisis (2005)
#4
Teen Titans (2003)
#37
Outsiders (2003)
#38
Superman (2006)
The All New Atom (2006)
#5
Tiny Titans (2008)
The Infinite Crisis Omnibus (2012)
Teen Titans by Geoff Johns Omnibus (2013)
Absolute Infinite Crisis (2017)
Young Monsters in Love (2018)
#1
Titans (2016)
#20
Unstoppable Doom Patrol (2023)
#1
DC Pride: Love and Justice (2024)
Swamp Thing by Rick Veitch (2024)
#1
DC Finest: The Doom Patrol: The World's Strangest Heroes (2025)