"Brains is Dead" is a Thunderbirds comic story. It was first published as an eight-part story in TV21, between issues 162 to 169 in 1968.
In quite a shocking move for the series, Brains is seemingly killed off by the Hood, with the villain following through with threats made in the Thunderbirds novel. In an even greater spectacle, the Hood launches an attack on Tracy Island, and successfully manages to destroy several Thunderbird vehicles.
Brains is Dead would, in 2022, receive an audio adaption for Thunderbirds Versus the Hood, alongside the Lady Penelope story The Vanishing Ray.
Storyline[]
An Evil Plot Begins[]
In New York City, Hiram Blake, a famous eye specialist, and his assistant Miss Wilshaw have finished the whole day's work and are closing down. But then, two ruthless men suddenly appear — and gun them down.
Brains' apparent death
The men seem to be interested in Ms. Wilshaw's book of clients, and immediately find who they are looking for...
Meanwhile on Tracy Island, Brains is due for an appointment in New York with that same particular eye specialist. Scott Tracy takes him in Thunderbird 1, and waits while Brains takes a bus to go the rest of the way to Hiram Blake's centre. When he gets there, however, the two assassins ambush him...
After hearing Brains' shouts for help in Thunderbird 1 with his secret emergency communicator, Scott heads for the centre at once. With weapon drawn, he kicks down the door to the examining room — to see his friend strapped to a chair, with a string of electrodes. When he turns on a light switch, there's a sudden electrical flash — that supposedly kills Brains!
Brains being buried in Space
Later, after Scott relays the sad news to his father, Thunderbirds 2 and 3 arrive in New York; and Brains' corpse is identified in the city morgue. In due course, aboard Thunderbird 5, a solemn ceremony convenes... and the Tracys salute their fallen friend as they bury him in space...
But other eyes are also watching... and reporting to a temple in the Malaysian jungle, where a certain evil mastermind is listening in...
A rocket retrieves Brains' drifting coffin, and it is taken to the temple... where its arrival is eagerly awaited...
Brainwashed[]
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The Hood revealed
And just who is that evil mastermind? None other than International Rescue's greatest enemy: the Hood! And he's overjoyed, by what his machinations thus far have wrought: revealing to his men that Brains is not dead, but only in suspended animation. He then sets to work in bringing Brains back to consciousness, using a special fluid injection — which also brainwashes the IR technician into becoming his captor's slave.
Satisfied that he now has Brains under his control, the Hood anticipates that every secret of International Rescue will — at last — be his...
Attack on Tracy Island[]
Two days later, after the Tracy family have mourned Brains' death — there's a sudden attack on the base, by two seaborne assault craft. Troops arrive to take complete control, and begin their search for all of the IR vehicles.
Virgil goes off to the hangar where Thunderbird 2 is kept — which appears to be the troops' next target. Unfortunately, while Virgil's taking off, the craft is shot at by the troops. Virgil survives, but TB2 is left severely damaged in the ruins of the hanger.
Thunderbird 3 attacked
The troops focus their attention on their next target: Thunderbird 3. Arming themselves with heat blasters, Jeff Tracy and Kyrano prepare themselves for more attacks. As Jeff immediately orders Alan to take off in TB3 before it too is destroyed — while he and Kyrano take out several attackers, to get Alan clear to launch — Scott launches TB1 and attacks the assault craft.
But TB1's missiles are deflected, and Jeff and Kyrano are too late to stop TB3's destruction — just as it takes off from the Round House.
Most of the troops get trapped on the cliff face, while the others retreat to their boats.
As they withdraw, a threatening message from the Hood is etched in the sky: "First round to me, Tracy! Now, prepare for the final blow!"
A Shocking Discovery[]
Jeff and Kyrano put on jet packs, and meet Gordon and Virgil at TB2's hangar, where - after using special machinery - they manage to move the pod containing Thunderbird 4 to the water's edge. The submarine is then launched, and sets off to track down the attackers...
Gordon manages to locate the intruders' base, by an uncharted coral area. The yellow minisub surfaces and the IR aquanaut climbs ashore, knocking out the lone sentry along the way.
The two Brains
Once inside the base, he steps on what turns out to be a pair of large blue-framed spectacles — a type that would've belonged to Brains! Now utterly confused, as Brains was buried in space wearing his spectacles, Gordon continues on his way... and discovers, to his amazement, two Brains — both seated, and waiting for him...
The second Brains is in fact the Hood, in disguise. Gordon recognises him at once, even as he's grabbed by two guards — and hears that Brains has been brainwashed, for the Hood's own evil purposes! And he now has no use for either of them...
The two captives are then locked in a wire cage, that is moved along by rails over a deadly pit of snakes and wooden stakes. Gordon finds a weakened piece of wire on the cage, and breaks out — taking the still-brainwashed Brains with him — just a split second before it falls. With more guards now in pursuit, Gordon leaps off the edge of the cliff into the water — still holding Brains — and swims quickly to TB4...
As all this is occurring, the Hood is looking on. He has good reason to be unconcerned — because in three hours, Tracy Island will cease to exist...
The Final Battle[]
Gordon reaches Tracy Island, where everyone is pleased, and amazed, to see Brains alive! They decide to use electronic shock treatment to restore their friend to normal... as the Tracy Villa is shaken by an earthquake, and everyone realizes that the island itself is slowing starting to sink!
As Scott reports that there's no sign of any attackers, the slowly recovering Brains remembers that the Hood possesses a special cutting machine, intended to slice away the top of the underwater mountain that Tracy Island is resting upon...
The Hood defeated
At long last, the Tracys themselves go on offense, to save their home. Gordon immediately attacks the Hood's underwater vessel, forcing it to surface — where Scott is waiting, and completely destroys it. The villain survives, and reaches the shoreline — and comes face to face with none other than Jeff, who delivers a savage punch that knocks his nemesis cold. He and Brains must now set about erasing all knowledge of their organization from the Hood's mind. Brains relishes the prospect of such poetic justice: "A return brainwashing, eh? That, Mr Tracy, is going to be my pleasure," he asserts... and, following four hours' treatment, it works.
Jeff arranges for the World Government to remove their uninvited guest, for trial elsewhere. "He'll be imprisoned for sure," but Brains frets, nonetheless, that no prison on Earth could hold him for long. "One day soon, he'll break out..." "Let's worry about that when it happens, old friend. Right now, we have work to do," two Thunderbirds to rebuild, "and a whole island to secure...so, let's go..."
Characters[]
(in order of appearance)
- Hiram Blake
- Miss Wilshaw
- The Hood's goons
- Jeff Tracy
- Brains
- Scott Tracy
- Space-Watch 20
- The Hood
- Virgil Tracy
- The Hood's army
- Kyrano
- Gordon Tracy
IR Equipment Used[]
- Thunderbird 1
- Thunderbird 2
- Thunderbird 3
- Thunderbird 4
- Thunderbird 5
- Trolley engine
Reprint History[]
Brains is Dead would be reprinted and translated for a Dutch audience in TV2000, between its issues numbered 25/1968 to 31/1968.
For Thunderbirds: The Comic in 1992, it would be reprinted between issues 17 and 20, where it would first receive the title of Brains is Dead.
Around the same time, it appeared in the Thunderbirds Comic Library book Shock Wave (Ravette Books, 1992). Much later, it would appear again in Thunderbirds: The Comic Collection, published by Egmont Publishing in 2013; and in volume 2 of their series of Thunderbirds comics reprints, from 2014.
Trivia[]
- Although Alan presumably survives the attack on Thunderbird 3, it is not explained how. It would be clarified in the audio version that he was rescued by Parker and Tin-Tin.
- At the end, Jeff implied that the extent of the damage on Thunderbirds 2 and 3 means that both craft will have to be completely rebuilt. However, he may simply mean they need extensive repairs, like how Thunderbird 2 had to be restored in Terror in New York City. Certainly by the time of the following story, The Space Cannon, Thunderbird 2 is already back in service.
Stop Press Tie-Ins[]
Brains is Dead would maintain a regular presence throughout the Stop Press section during its original run in TV21, apart from issue 168, where the entire Stop Press section was omitted.
