R.E.B.E.L.S. writer Tony Bedard talks his current Brainacs’ arc:
Bedard further admitted to wanting to take a crack at a Brainiac-related character for some time. The writer first discovered the super-smart super villain as a child while watching the 1960s Filmation Superman cartoon – back when the character looked for knowledge but should have quested for a much-needed pair of pants. “This was the old-school, bare-legged Brainiac, and it freaked me out when Superman couldn’t punch through his invisible force field. But the current update of Brainiac is the best version yet,” he said. “He’s a villain of the first order – the worst mass-murderer in the history of the Milky Way. He’s on a quest for knowledge, but once he acquires it he kills whoever he stole it from because he won’t share with anyone. He’s freaking scary.”
Conversely, the villain’s son Vril Dox seems much more stable, despite his own megalomania. And like many children, Vril certainly doesn’t want to grow up and become his dad. “Vril Dox, a.k.a. Brainiac 2, is on a personal quest to counterbalance all the harm his father has done. He’s less concerned with doing what’s right than he is with erasing the stain of Brainiac from his family name,” explained Bedard. “But he’s also a crappy father, so his son Lyrl, aka Brainiac 3, has his own vendetta against Vril. Lyrl is kind of tragic because he was born with his 12th-Level Intelligence in full effect. He never had the chance to develop the judgment and personal character that tempers our actions, so that terrible intellect led Lyrl to take over L.E.G.I.O.N. and attempt to kill his father. All this when he was still in diapers. With a start like that, Lyrl is pretty much destined for trouble.”
Source: CBR
