Warning: The following feature contains SPOILERS for Stargirl, season 1, episode 8, "Shiv Part Two."
DC Universe's Stargirl season 1, episode 8 confirmed that Henry King Jr. had inherited the same psychic powers possessed by his father, the Injustice Society member known as Brainwave. It remains to be seen, however, if he will follow in his father's footsteps or adopt the name Brainwave Jr. as he did in the comics.
DC Comics is built around legacies and that's particularly true of the heroes making up the Justice Society of America. It's also true of the Injustice Society of America, which saw new incarnations built out of the sons and daughters of its villainous founders. Henry King Jr. was somewhat unique in that he was a product of both organizations, having also been the son of the superheroine Gimmick Girl. He would go on to uphold both his parent's legacies, trying to be a hero while falling prey to the mental instability that came with his psychic powers.
Stargirl's take on Henry King Jr. seems similarly conflicted. While originally introduced as a bully who picked on the unpopular kids and abused his position as a star athlete at Blue Valley High School, Henry did appear to show remorse for sharing the sexy picture that was used to shame Yolanda Montez out of the race for Class President. He also seemed stunned and ashamed by the discovery that his father was a super-villain in "Shiv Part Two," but it is unclear if that will be enough to redeem him or lead him to use his powers for good instead of evil.
Brainwave Jr. In The Comics
Henry King Jr. first appeared in All-Star Squadron # 24 in August 1983. Athletic and attractive, Henry seemed to favor his mother, Merry Pemberton who had fought crime in World War II armed with nothing but a costume full of gadgets and pure grit. Different comics offered different accounts of how Gimmick Girl came to became married to the villain Brainwave, with at least one story suggesting their relationship was not consensual. Whatever the case, Henry King Sr. was not one for settling down and continued to live the life of a supervillain apart from his wife and son. This led Henry Jr. to grow up free from his father's influence and away from the world of superheroes, until he discovered his psychic abilities as a young adult.
Taking the name Brainwave Jr, he sought to undo some of the evil that his father had done by using his powers for good. He was one of the first legacy heroes to be recruited for Infinity Inc., a superhero team made up of the children and proteges of the Justice Society of America, which was organized by his uncle, Sylvester Pemberton, aka The Star-Spangled Kid. It was during one battle with the enemies of the JSA that Brainwave Jr. found himself facing his infamous father. Shockingly, Henry King Sr. seemed to show some remorse for having abandoned his son and acted to save him from his ally, the Ultra-Humanite. In his dying moments, the elder Brainwave psychically transferred his knowledge and power to his son, giving him what he needed to stop the Ultra-Humanite's plans.
Unfortunately, while his father's bequest made Henry King Jr. more powerful, it also drove him insane. He dropped the "Jr." from his name to become the second Brainwave, and founded a villainous group called the Legion of Doom to take on the Justice League. He was later housed in a special insane asylum funded by the first Green Lantern, Alan Scott; partly as a favor to his daughter, Jade (who briefly dated Henry King Jr.) and partly due to his own battles with the original Brainwave. Henry King Jr. later escaped and joined with Black Adam's team of heroes, who fought to liberate the nation of Kahndaq and establish Black Adam as its ruler. However, it was ultimately revealed that he was under the control of the telepathic worm Mr. Mind, who had made himself at home inside Brainwave's brain. The JSA was able to free Henry King Jr. from Mr. Mind's influence, but he retired to the jungles of Parador rather than risk hurting anyone ever again if he lost control of his powers.
Brainwave Jr.'s Powers In The Comics
Like his father, Henry King Jr. was a metahuman who possessed considerable psychic gifts, being both a telepath and a telekinetic. He was able to read the minds of those around him and project his own thoughts into the minds of others, allowing him to have a conversation at a distance. He was also able to control the minds and bodies of other people, fashion complex illusions and even create constructs based on anything he could imagine, like a Green Lantern. His telekinesis allowed him to fly by lifting his own body and create a personal force-field. King also developed a signature attack, the Brain Blast, which could overwhelm a target with a release of psionic energy that combined both telekinetic force and psychic torment.
While he may not be the most powerful psychic on Earth (an honor usually reserved for the Martian Manhunter) Brainwave Jr. may be the most versatile and creative when it comes to using his powers. He was able to knock the Alan Scott Green Lantern unconscious and destroy one of his constructs with a single Brain Blast and noted with some embarrassment that he had been intentionally holding back when he did this. He's held his own against psychics like Maxima and the Ultra-Humanite. His most impressive feat, however, may have been overpowering the Wisdom of Solomon and compelling Shazam to say his magic word, transforming him back into Billy Batson during the invasion of Kahndaq.
Brainwave Jr. in Stargirl
The pilot episode of Stargirl introduced Henry King Jr. as the resident bully of Blue Valley High School. Courtney Whitmore's first act of heroism as Stargirl saw her trying to punish King by letting the air out of the tires of his father's car, while he and his friends were annoying the other patrons at the local drive-in. Unfortunately, the Cosmic Staff had other ideas, and wound up blowing up the car instead. This attracted the attention of the semi-retired Brainwave, who faced Stargirl and STRIPE in their first team-up battle and was knocked into a coma.
The near-loss of his father seemed to awaken something in Henry King Jr., who began hearing voices and suffering from intense headaches. These symptoms came to a head in "Shiv Part Two," when Henry went into his father's study looking for painkillers and found that he could move the pills with his mind after he was paralyzed by one particularly painful seizure. Henry also discovered the secret chamber where his father kept his costume and his correspondence with other members of the Injustice Society. He was horrified to discover that his relationship with his girlfriend, head cheerleader Cindy Burman (aka Shiv), had apparently been arranged by his father, who wanted someone to keep an eye on him while at school to see if he was showing signs of developing powers.
Henry went to Cindy's house to confront her over the letter he had found, only to stumble across a battle between her and Stargirl. Overwhelmed by the situation and the voices of the two teenage girls filling his head, Henry released what appears to have been his first Brain Blast, sending both girls flying and leaving them dazed. More confused than ever and unable to stop himself from reading Stargirl's frantic thoughts about her battle with his father, Henry ran off into the night, unaware that he was being watched by Cindy's father, Dragon King. It seems likely that the battle for Henry King Jr.'s allegiance will be a major part of the continuing battle between the JSA and Injustice Society, as the first season of Stargirl continues.