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1970s team-up comic in which Superman nonchalantly kills a sentient brain?

Science Fiction & Fantasy Asked by JCCyC on January 30, 2021

Pre-Crisis, late 70s. (Or maybe early 70s since, in Brazil, translated comics from the USA tended to be released with a big delay.) The main antagonist of the story was Sinestro. He was more powerful than usual because he was using a extradimensional power source: the augmented brain of a villain who was, previously, housed in a gorilla body. Not Grodd of Ultra-Humanite, he went by the name of ‘Gorilla’ (Surname). I don’t remember the surname. It was a reasonably common English surname.

Thing is, I was taken aback by the wanton way Superman fries the aforementioned brain when he manages to find that hidden dimension. Even the mental screams of the dying guy are depicted. It gets worse: at the very end, we see Batman in the Batcave, with a small container labeled "Brain of ‘Gorilla’ (Surname)." (Apparently, the previous appearance of that character was as a Batman antagonist.) And all of that is deemed a-OK by the story writer.

This was with 99.99% certainty a team-up title. The Brave and the Bold? World’s Finest? I don’t actually remember who Superman was teaming up with. It may have been Batman himself. I’m almost certain Green Lantern didn’t appear.

comicsdcepisode identificationsuperman

One Answer

This is George Dyke (AKA 'Gorilla Boss'). Sinestro blew his brain up to the size of a planet in World's Finest #251 - "Invasion of the Deathless Brain" and Superman and Batman teamed up to defeat him (and Sinestro) in World's Finest #254 - "Whom Gods Would Destroy".

The Gorilla Boss of Gotham City fought Batman twice. Later, the alien villain Sinestro stole the Boss' cerebellum, expanded it to planet-size, and used it as a power source. This unnatural abomination was destroyed by Superman.

Sinestro looks up at Superman who is flying away into the sky, he says "The Mighty Marvel of Metropolis... abandoning his city... fleeing! I've won! I've won!", We then see a shot of Superman flying through space and passed planets, in the distance is a massive planet sized brain, he thinks to himself "The Batman said I'd find-- Great Krypton! There it is! Boss Dyke's brain... The source of Sinestro's amazing escalated will power!"

You'll be pleased to hear that Superman didn't destroy his brain, he used his X-Ray vision to shrink it.

Superman fires his vision at the brain, he says aloud "It being Boss Dyke's cerebellum... with such a powerful criminal personality... only increased that strength! Well, surgeons use x-rays to shrink malignant growths...", The next panel shows a close up of him flying into the brain and continuing to say "...so I'll... do... the same..." The last panel shows a close up of his head firing the x-ray vision at the brain causing a bright light, he thinks "Boss Dyke's unnatural consciousness... screaming in its "death" throes!"

Batman stores it on a shelf in his Batcave.

Batman looks at a green jar with a red lid on a shelf labelled "Brain of Gorilla Boss Duke"; he thinks to himself "Willard's a raving madman, safe in Arkham Asylum -- But Dyke's Brain's been destroyed... but not before those few cells from it clinging inside my own skull sparked the final vision of its whereabouts! Funny, Superman and I had out mutual hands full on this amazing adventure... but we never even met!"

And while Batman seems to be under the impression that Dyke's brain is "destroyed", he makes a return a few decades later, having somehow escaped Batman's cave.

Answered by Valorum on January 30, 2021

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