He is voiced by Adam Wylie in Legion of Super Heroes (2006) and portrayed by James Marsters and Jesse Rath in Smallville and the Arrowverse respectively.

Brainiac 5's ingenuity led to the invention of, amongst other things, the Legion flight ring (perfecting an invention of the original Invisible Kid based on a metal discovered by Mon-El), the anti-lead serum that allowed Mon-El to leave the Phantom Zone and the force field belt which became the signature device of the character.

Another of Brainiac 5's creations had less beneficial effects: the super computer Computo, which attempted to take over the world, killing one of Triplicate Girl's three selves in the process.

Another experiment, performed in conjunction with honorary Legionnaire Rond Vidar, led to the transformation of fellow scientist Professor Jaxon Rugarth into the psychotic, all-powerful Infinite Man.

Brainiac 5 enters a state of deep melancholy upon the thousand-year anniversary of Supergirl's death at the hands of the Anti-Monitor during Crisis on Infinite Earths.

The Infinite Man and Time Trapper seemingly destroy each other, but Brainiac 5 quits the Legion after being accused of murdering Professor Rugarth.

4) began, Brainiac 5 was dedicated to finding a cure to the Validus Plague, a virulent disease that had afflicted an entire planet and crippled the former Lightning Lad, Garth Ranzz.

The reassembled Legion repels a Khund invasion fleet and confronts Darkseid, but shortly thereafter, is swept into the war against the corrupt Earthgov and the Dominators.

[8] Not long after the destruction of Earth, Brainiac 5 discovers the timestream is unstable and that the Legion's history is in a state of constant flux.

Having created a method of traveling back to the 20th century, leading to the Legion's rescue of Valor, Brainiac 5 was arrested for unauthorized time-travel.

He finally produced a computer capable of doing this, utilizing a 30th Century Omnicom, a New Gods Mother Box loaned to him by Metron and the responsometer of Veridium of the Metal Men.

Querl learned his mother, Brainiac 4, was the leader of the Dark Circle, having found that mass destruction was the only thing capable of making her feel emotions.

During this time, he felt a great amount of stress, as his teammates all believed he could devise a way of getting them home in addition to all the other responsibilities forced upon him by the circumstances of their situation.

[17] Eventually, using his teammate Shikari's tracking skills and an interdimensional doorway they'd earlier found, but been forced to leave, he did get them home.

As with all members of his race, he combines super-intelligence with an ephemeral, intangible state; Brainiac 417 appears to be a shimmering green brain inside a transparent humanoid body.

Brainiac 417 is not the leader of the Justice Legion L (that duty fell to Cosmicbot), but is one of the most valuable members, and is shown to have integrated his technologies to the point where he can jump back a thousand years to recruit an earlier version of Superboy for the purposes of saving the day.

In a botched experiment to restore her to life, he however manages to store her consciousness in his own subconscious mind, enabling the girl to interact with him in his dreams, and keep using her precognition in his behalf.

Successful in his attempt, that, despite Nura's previsions, even restored her lost sight, Brainiac 5 happily extends to all the legionnaires his invitation to their marriage, holding hands with his resurrected soon-to-be bride [21] Unbeknownst to Brainiac 5, the dark side of his mind, the avatar of his repressed urges and dark feelings, was granted a physical body by Princess Projectra.

[20] The events of the Infinite Crisis miniseries have apparently restored a close analogue of the Pre-Crisis Legion to continuity, as seen in "The Lightning Saga" story arc in Justice League of America and Justice Society of America, and in the "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" story arc in Action Comics.

At the end of the storyline, Brainiac 5 is seen holding one of the lightning rods the Legionnaires used on 21st century Earth, and told his teammates that the Legion had gotten what it came for.

In this follow-up story to the Lightning Saga (taking place in Action Comics #858-863), Brainiac 5 masquerades as a tyrannical dictator to delay Colu, which is the strategical beachhead of a United Planets attack on Earth.

In this Final Crisis tie-in, Brainiac 5 is driven to the breaking point after being banished by Colu and facing continued xenophobia.

When Superboy-Prime attacks Takron-Galtos and frees the Legion of Super-Villains, Brainiac 5 informs his fellow Legionnaires of his plan to recruit their Post-Zero Hour and "Threeboot" selves to help.

This plan, which involved the resurrections of Superboy-Prime foes Bart Allen/Kid Flash (whose essence was in the lightning rod) and Superboy, was devised long ago when Brainiac 5 was forewarned of Prime's arrival by one of Dream Girl's prophesies.

After analyzing the Timeless technology with specialized contacts, he lends Cyborg his prototype flight bracelet, marked with the Brainiac sigil, so the League member can reach the weapon.

[30][10] Brainiac 5 is also a skilled inventor who created the Legion's flight rings as well as a force field belt, the supercomputer Computo, and a Time Bubble.