Brother Power the Geek is a comic book character created in the late 1960s for DC Comics by Joe Simon. He first appeared in Brother Power the Geek #1 (October 1968).
The concept behind Brother Power was derived heavily from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Original appearance
The original series lasted only two issues. Brother Power was originally a mannequin abandoned in an empty tailor's shop. The shop was taken over by hippies Nick Cranston and Paul Cymbalist, who dressed up the dummy in Paul's wet and bloodied "hip threads" to keep them from shrinking, having been attacked by Hound Dawg and other war hawks. Forgotten for months, but eventually struck by lightning, Brother Power was brought to life and endowed with superpowers. His misadventures with the establishment led to finding work and encouraging other hippies to do so, eventually getting hired by the J.P. Acme Corporation just as it was taken over by the wicked Lord Sliderule. Brother Power's ingenuity still made the assembly line run more efficiently. Brother Power was last seen being shot into space on orders from Governor Ronald Reagan, after trying to prevent the sabotage of a rocket launch by Hound Dawg and his gang, knowing it would be blamed on hippies.
While sales of the title were modest, Brother Power was not popular among the staff. Former DC Comics editorial director Carmine Infantino claimed in several interviews following his retirement from comics that Superman editor Mort Weisinger disliked the character and had petitioned DC publisher Jack Liebowitz to shut down the title. According to Infantino, Weisinger harbored an admitted dislike for the hippie subculture of the 1960s, and felt that Joe Simon portrayed them too sympathetically. It did not help that Hound Dawg and his cronies appeared with uniforms and gadgetry evocative of Nazis in the second issue. According to Simon, the third issue was canceled just before the finished artwork was to be set up for print duplication, and Simon would neither discuss the plot of this issue nor release any of the original art.
Despite Weisinger's concerns over the hippie subculture and the level of drug abuse it represented, drug, substance and alcohol intake are not depicted.
Simon was not the artist on the title's two issues. The artwork was by Al Bare,
Later appearances
The character was revived briefly two decades later, first in a short story by Neil Gaiman in Swamp Thing Annual #5 (1989) (reprinted in Neil Gaiman's Midnight Days), and then in a Vertigo one-shot by Rachel Pollack and Mike Allred titled Vertigo Visions - The Geek.
In Gaiman's story, Brother Power is revealed to be an imperfect elemental, similar to Swamp Thing, and he is connected to all human simulacra such as dolls, dummies, statues, etc. He also appeared briefly in Tom Peyer's Totems as a guest at John Constantine's 1999 New Year's Eve party. This issue presents Cindy as having been a doctor at a free clinic, but after some tragedy, having opened a toy store that was burned before the story begins. The story also casts doubt over Brother Power's true origin, as conflicting urban legends are mentioned, some stating that Brother Power is a reanimated dummy and others saying he is an elemental. In addition, it is also established, retroactively, that the original series took place in Gotham City, although they had previously been explicitly set in San Francisco, with "the governor" clearly drawn as Reagan. After awakening in 2009, Brother Power wanders throughout Gotham until he stumbles upon a burning building where several innocent people have been left tied up and gagged inside. Though Batman tries to convince Brother Power to abandon the building and let him take care of the victims, he refuses, remarking that he does not belong in the modern world. The issue ends with the dazed and badly-injured Brother Power staggering through the sewers, where he collapses. In the closing narration, Batman finds comfort in the idea that Brother Power will eventually reawaken in a time when values have prevailed that are closer to his own.
The character played a role in the limited series Inferior Five as a guidance voice in Peacemaker's helmet as a way for him to get more notoriety by a team-up. This plan failed as the series ended on 6 issues which caused him to mope about how his plan could have worked.
Other versions
- Brother Power the Geek appears in the Elseworlds mini-series Conjurors.
- Brother Power the Geek appears in the Tangent Comics title The Joker.
- Brother Power the Geek appears in Kingdom Come.
- Brother Power the Geek appears in Planetary #7.
- Brother Power the Geek appears in Scooby-Doo Team-Up.
In other media
Television
- A Brother Power the Geek comic appears in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Time Out For Vengeance!".
- A Brother Power the Geek comic appears in the Young Justice episode "Away Mission".
Video games
Brother Power the Geek appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.
Miscellaneous
Brother Power the Geek appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold #15.