| Living Brain | |
|---|---|
 The Living Brain's original appearance inThe Amazing Spider-Man #8. Art by Steve Ditko. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Amazing Spider-Man #8 (Jan. 1964) |
| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Steve Ditko (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Team affiliations | Sinister Six Parker Industries |
| Supporting character of | Spider-Man Doctor Octopus |
| Abilities | Superhuman strength and speed Flight Clawed hands Limbs that can rotate at nearly 360 degrees Ability to analyze any situation and determine how best to achieve its goals, process and collate large amounts of information and find any weaknesses in a being or structure Originally: External controls on its thorax |
TheLiving Brain is the name of twosupervillains appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Created by writerStan Lee and artistSteve Ditko, the original Living Brain first appears inThe Amazing Spider-Man #8 and has made few subsequent appearances since.[1]
Afoe of thesuperheroSpider-Man, the original Living Brain was created by the fictional International Computing Machines Corporation and billed as the most intelligent computer and robot in existence, capable of solving virtually any question asked. In more recent times, theSuperior Spider-Man reprogrammed it to serve as a laboratory assistant at Parker Industries, with it remaining in that role after Peter Parker returned.
Created byStan Lee andSteve Ditko, the original Living Brain's first appearance was inThe Amazing Spider-Man #8 (Jan. 1964).[2][3]
The second Living Brain appears inAmazing Spider-Man Vol. 5 #6.
The Living Brain, soon after its creation, is brought toMidtown High School by its creator Dr. Petty as a part of a demonstration of its renowned ability to solve any problem. The students agreed to ask the machine what is Spider-Man's secret identity, and a nervous Peter Parker, the volunteer for the demonstration, fed it all of the given known information from the students concerning the wall-crawler, relievingly finding the answer to be in a mathematical code for Peter to decode overnight. During the Living Brain's demonstration, the two workmen hired to transport it overhear how the Living Brain has the ability to answer anything and they decide to steal it to use this ability for gambling purposes. Caught in the middle of their stealing it by Petty, one of the workmen quickly knocks him out, but by doing so bumps the other one into the Living Brain's control panel on its chest, causing the Living Brain to malfunction. Going on a rampage through Midtown High, the Living Brain is confronted by Spider-Man, who eventually shuts it down.[3]
The Living Brain reappears several years later, now discredited and broken-down. Petty plans to donate it to Midtown High School's science lab. The Living Brain ends up being stolen by Petty's son Steve Petty who modifies the robot, giving it a gold and red color scheme, clawed hands, and the ability to fly. Remotely controlling the Living Brain to attack a bully who had been tormenting him, Steve is eventually defeated by Spider-Man and the Living Brain is shut down once more.[4] The Living Brain, restored to its pre-upgrade appearance, was then acquired by a group of criminals, who used it to commit robberies. The robot and its controllers were apprehended by Spider-Man.[5]
TheBeyond Corporation created duplicates of Living Brain and unleashed them uponNextwave when they invaded the Beyond Corporation's State 51 base. Nextwave managed to make short work of the duplicates.[6]
InMarvel Now!, Living Brain appears as a member ofBoomerang's incarnation of theSinister Six. TheSuperior Spider-Man (Otto Octavius' mind in Peter Parker's body) defeats the Sinister Six, captures the Living Brain, and reprograms it to serve him. After Peter returns to his body, the Living Brain remains as an assistant atParker Industries.[7][8][9]
A new Living Brain appears in the Bar with No Name. It is a Chinese knockoff of the Living Brain, which theAnswer unconvincingly denies when introducing it.[10]
The Living Brain has the ability to analyze any situation and determine how best to achieve its goals. Like any computer, the Living Brain can process and collate large amounts of information, detecting weaknesses and determining the best situation to overcome obstacles. The Living Brain has a dense metal exoskeleton and possesses super-strength and speed. It can also fly and has clawed limbs that can rotate nearly 360 degrees.
The Living Brain appears inSpider-Man, voiced byScott Menville.[13] This version was created by Horizon High's students to serve as a housing unit for the school's Neuro Cortex device.
The Brain is an early Mobile Computer prototype built by I.C.M. in Midtown High School, where Peter Parker attended, it was deemed obsolete after Spidey's first encounter with it but it came back again.
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