The Living Brain is a fictional

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 comic book

Comic book

A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

 supervillain

Supervillain

A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...

 and robot in the . Created by writer Stan Lee

Stan Lee

Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....

 and Steve Ditko

Steve Ditko

Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange....

, the character first appears in The Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...

#8 and has made few subsequent appearances since.

A foe of the hero Spider-Man

Spider-Man

Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...

, the Living Brain was created by the fictional International Computing Machines Corporation and billed as the most intelligent computer and robot in existence, capable of solving virtually any question asked of it.

Fictional character history

The Living Brain, soon after its creation, is brought to Midtown High School by its creator, Dr. Petty, as a part of a demonstration of its ability to solve any problem. After the Living Brain's demonstration, two workmen hired to transport it overhear the Living Brain's ability to answer anything, and decide to steal it, in order to use its abilities for gambling purposes. Caught in the middle of stealing the Living Brain by Dr. Petty, the two workmen get into a scuffle with him, which ends with one of them being knocked into the control panel on the Living Brain's chest, which causes the Living Brain to malfunction. Going on a rampage through Midtown High, the Living Brain is eventually shut down by Spider-Man, who shuts it down, in a brief fight.

The Living Brain reappears several years later, now discredited and broken-down, Dr. Petty plans to donate it to Midtown High School's science lab. The Living Brain ends up being stolen by Dr. Petty's son, Steve Petty, who modifies the robot, giving it a gold and red color scheme, clawed hands and the ability to fly. Remotely controlling the Living Brain to attack a bully who had been tormenting him, Steve is eventually defeated by Spider-Man (who had been on a visit to Midtown High as Peter Parker) and the Living Brain is shut down once more. Exempting an appearance in a flashback of Spider-Man's, the Living Brain has not reappeared.

Marvel Age

In the Marvel Age

Marvel Age

Marvel Adventures is an imprint of Marvel Comics intended for younger audiences, including small children. Unlike the standard comics published by Marvel, which often take place in story arcs spanning several issues, each Marvel Adventures comic tells a standalone story.The idea was initially...

Universe, the Living Brain, radically redesigned to resemble an energy being, appears in a more modern re-telling of its original appearance in the comics.