Scatterbrain (comics)

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Scatterbrain

Scatterbrain, from Dynamo 5 #1. Art by Mahmud A. Asrar.

Publisher	Image Comics
First appearance	Dynamo 5 #1 March 2007
Created by	Jay Faerber Mahmud A. Asrar

Characteristics
Alter ego	Gage Reinhart
Species	Superhuman
Affiliations	Dynamo 5
Abilities	Telepathy

Scatterbrain (real name Gage Reinhart) is a fictional comic book superhero, a member of the superhero team Dynamo 5, which appears in the monthly series of the same name from Image Comics. Created by writer Jay Faerber and artist Mahmud A. Asrar, Scatterbrain first appeared in Dynamo 5 #1 (January 2007).

1 Character background
2 Powers
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Character background

Following the assassination of Captain Dynamo, the much-beloved superhero protector of Tower City, his widow, former government agent posing as a now-retired investigative reporter Maddie Warner, discovered from his personal effects that he had been unfaithful to her countless times. Despite her devastation at this discovery, Warner realized that without a full-time protector, Tower City would be vulnerable to Captain Dynamo’s legion of super-villain enemies. She used her skills and the information she discovered to track down five people who could be Dynamo’s illegitimate children.

Gage Reinhart was the fifth of Captain Dynamo’s children Warner contacted. Gage is a 17-year-old Eastbridge, Texas high school football star who led his division in tackles for the entire season, and is the darling of both his female schoolmates and college scouts. Faerber has described Scatterbrain as “a popular, arrogant jock who never gave a damn about what anyone thought - until he can literally hear those thoughts. And he may not like what he hears.” ^[1] Scatterbrain’s name may also be a reference to his obtuseness or absentmindedness, as he made a pass at Scrap during their first meeting, requiring her to remind him that they were half-siblings.^[2] Gathering all five of the children together, Warner exposed them to the same unidentified radiation that gave Captain Dynamo his powers forty years earlier, unlocking their powers. Gage inherited his father’s telepathy. Donning a costume with the same color design as his father’s, Gage took the codename Scatterbrain, and works to protect Tower City with his newly discovered brothers and sisters, whom he is still getting to know.

In their first published mission one month after gaining his abilities, Scatterbrain and his siblings fought the paramilitary organization known as The Veil. Although he and the team acquitted themselves well against that foe, Visionary was kidnapped during the fracas, and brought to The Veil’s base. It fell upon Scatterbrain to use his telepathy to track Visionary via his brainwave pattern, which led to Visionary’s rescue.^[3]

[edit] Powers

Scatterbrain is a telepath who can read other people’s minds. His power is both voluntary and passive; While he can use his power to deliberately read someone's mind, he can also involuntarily pick up the thoughts of those around him. He can also use his telepathy to remotely track people he is acquainted with, by sifting through the brainwave patterns he can sense, which are apparently unique to each individual, and recognizing the one of the target. Unlike other comic book telepaths like Professor X, he cannot use his telepathy as an offensive weapon. He cannot use it to fire psionic energy bolts, or otherwise cause pain. He cannot control other people’s thoughts or actions. He can also not read someone’s mind if they are unconscious.^[4]