365 Marvel Villain paper cut-outs - one villain, every day, all year.
October 5th - Brain-Drain
Werner Schmidt was a scientist living in Germany around the onset of the Second World War. While hiking in a field, Schmidt was struck by a meteorite that turned out to be a miniature space ship piloted by extra terrestrial beings. These aliens felt guilty over destroying the human’s body and set about attempting to repair it. Knowing very little about human physiology, they recreated Schmidt as a brain incased in a jar operating an android body. They also set his circuitry to evil and, as such, he was recruited into the nazi party and ultimately became a member of Hydra. Brain-Drain matched wits against The Invaders and assisted in the creation of the nazi super soldier, Master Man. Following the war, Brain-Drain had subsequent altercations with Alpha Flight. Some time later he encountered The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. Squirrel Girl and her pal Nancy Whitehead modernized Brain Drain’s antiquated android body and set his circuitry back to neutral. The former villain experienced a profound existential crisis, ultimately embracing a benevolent sense of nihilism: seeing existence as meaningless, but in that we’re all stuck in it together we might as well be good to one another. Brain Drain has gone on to attempt to become a hero and continues as a regularly appearing member of the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl cast. He first appeared in Invaders Vol. 1 #2.
