Episode 1.09: Brain Drain

Update Sunday night: added torrent links and the last three reviews at the bottom.

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A neat little episode. I liked Brainy going nuts. "I feel like dancing!" Ha!

Intrepid reader Brad Parnell noticed something:

When Brainy's going nutso he says: "I alone am Brainiac 5!" I instantly recognized it as coming from the Super Starlag of Space. A quick reference verified trhat it was from Adventure 344 page 10. And I'm probably not the first Legion geek to notify you either.

Actually, I wouldn't have caught that if Brad hadn't brought it to my attention.

Next week: the Legion of Super-Villains Light Speed Vanguard! And from the preview, it looks like we'll see Colossal Boy and Triplicate Girl, and the guy previously identified as Ronn-Karr appears to be a shapeshifter. There's an extended preview at the KidsWB site, and the regular preview on another page there.

It would really be nice if they ran these in the proper order, or at least put something in the closing credits to say which episodes they are. We've got reviews and torrents giving different episode numbers based on either air date (in which case this is 1.07) or "official" production number (which would make this 1.09). We saw in this one that it's definitely out of order, as Superman refers to an encounter with a magician that we haven't seen yet. That event takes place in "Child's Play", production 1.07/airdate 1.10 on Feb. 24th.

Torrent links: Hi-def and regular.

Review roundup:

• ToonZone forum talkback:
  

  I'm glad to see they have Clark being stupid occassionally. He needs to learn responsibility at seeking out his potential, yet he's been satisified with what he's done so far, and that is why Brainy needs to continue withholding information.
  
  I'm also glad Timber Wolf finally got some screen time. He's basically been non-exsistant since they rescued him. It's about time he got to strut some of his stuff.

  
  
• Rokk at the Comic Book Revolution:
  

  I like how the writers are handling the relationship between Superman and the descendant of one of Superman’s greatest enemies in Brainiac 5. Brainy has the benefit of knowing all about Superman’s future battles with Brainiac and it certainly puts out green hero in an uncomfortable position. I like that the writers have made Superman so close to Brainy while still giving the viewer the uneasy feeling that Brainy isn’t being totally truthful with Superman.

  
  
• LegionWorld forum talkback:
  

  Basically, Brainy let Superman know that he won't be able to tell him the details about his life (like the fact that his powers won't work unless he's under a red sun), that he needs to find things out on his own. Imagine what that must feel like, to know someone who knows your future, but won't tell you. That'd surely be a reason to keep one's distance, just because of the aggravation. IMO.

  
  
• Duke Harrington at Blog 9 From Outer Space:
  

  "Brain Drain" does have a few lapses of logic along the way, but that's to be expected, I guess, in an episode that focuses on Brainic 5's sometimes tenuous grasp on reality. Overall, the sheer fun of insane Brainy, coupled with the gosh-wow visual delights of Timber Wolf in action, make up for any shortcomings this episode may have.

  
  
• Matthew E at the Legion Abstract:
  

  If there's one thing about this show that's turned some people off, it's the portrayal of Brainy as a robot. And I can't say I was nuts about it either. But with this episode, and the plot point about it at the end of the nightmares episode, it's clear that at least the writers are getting some use out of his robotic form. It wasn't done just for the sake of making change; it actually serves a purpose.
  
  (Which is not true of the whole Rahl/Zuun legerdemain when it comes to Timber Wolf's origins. I mean, it's not important, and I don't care, but the writers implied in interviews that there was some kind of reason why the Legion met Timber Wolf on Rahl instead of Zuun. Well, if the reason was this episode, they didn't have to do it that way. It's fine that they did, but they could have switched the names of the two planets easily and it would have worked just as well.)

  
  
• Jeffrey Bridges at Superman Homepage:
  

  I think the Superman moments were what saved this episode for me, though, as without them it would have seemed like just another throwaway episode. But the Superman moments were there, and some of Brainy's dementia actually made me chuckle and so I've got no real complaints... so long as we don't have to wait ten weeks for the next new episode.