Fans of the futuristic Brainy have finally seen Supergirl’s interpretation of the character being given a comic-accurate character transformation in the latest Brainiac-centric episode.
Jesse Rath first appeared as Brainiac 5, nicknamed Brainy, during the show’s third season in 2017 as part of the Legion of Superheroes. While the other two members Mon-El and Saturn Girl returned to the 31st Century at the end of that season, Brainy chose to stay behind and take Winn Schott’s place at the D.E.O. and as part of the Superfriends, as Schott replaced Brainy as part of The Legion.
Since Season 4, Rath has been a main character on the show and has been given several huge character-driven stories from learning to compartmentalise his emotions, to falling in love with Nia Nal aka Dreamer and even at one time unintentionally reverting to the personality of one of his colder more ruthless ancestors, Brainiac.
However, while fans have generally warmed to the interpretation of the character, given that this is the first major appearance of the character in live-action, the main criticism given about him is his natural appearance.
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In the comics, Querl Dox resembles the original Brainiac in terms of his green skin and magenta attire with the addition of blonde hair. However, until now, Supergirl’s Querl Dox appears blue-skinned with white hair and a black uniform that seems to be the standard Legion attire for this universe.
Supergirl’s midseason premiere, The Bottle Episode, focused on the Crisis aftermath while centering on Rath’s Brainiac 5. In fact, there were five Brainiac 5’s in this episode. Four of whom were portrayed by Rath and one, a female version, was portrayed by Rath’s sister Meaghan Rath.
While the four newly shown Brainiac 5’s were stranded on Earth-Prime after Crisis wiped out their own worlds, Brainiac 5-Prime was left feeling inadequate as the other Brainiac 5’s seemed to be more in control of themselves.
The reason for this, it is revealed, is because as a child our main Brainiac 5 was forced to wear three personality inhibitors by his father to prevent the young Coluan from going down the same route as the villainous members of his lineage with their desire to bottle and collect Earths.
When it is revealed that one of the Brainiac 5’s, whose planet was bottled, plans to release said world and save his people which in turn would not only destroy his world but also Earth-Prime, Brainy is encouraged to remove his personality inhibitors and by doing so not only is able to stop his misguided doppelganger, but also has his physical appearance transform from blue-skinned and white-haired to the more traditional green-skinned and blonde.
The physical change also seems to have a personality change, as Brainy is given the assimilated essences of the remaining two Brainiac 5’s as they decide to join the Big Brain and be part of the collective.
This seems to set Brainiac 5 on his own mission for the remainder of Season 5 as not only does he break up with Nia but he seemingly aligns himself with Lex Luthor in order to somehow take down the villainous Leviathan, despite previously being told by his female counterpart not to trust him and to stop him.
The fifth season of Supergirl continues on Sunday nights at 9pm on The CW.
Are you happy with the new development for Brainiac 5 on Supergirl?
