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Early Years as the Black Fist[]
As a student at Gotham City University, Brennan O'Connor studied things that interested him--such as linguistics--as well as things that did not interest him--such as business, marketing, and economics. His mother, Elizabeth O'Connor, was a professor of literature at Gotham City University, while his father, Patrick O'Connor, was a professor of ancient runes. Elizabeth and Patrick were part of the university's faculty board, who voted to relieve Professor Jonathan Crane from his duties. He sought his revenge by killing the faculty board with their fears, causing Brennan no small amount of grief.
Brennan's long-time friend, Gregory Albright, helped him through his difficult time. Gregory came from a poor family, and Brennan's well-off family often provided Gregory with a home and a warm meal if he'd ever had need of it. Seeking to assist the JLA in ridding crime from Gotham and Metropolis, Brennan and Gregory decided to form a group they called the Fists. As martial arts masters, a gift Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor gave them both at the age of eight in the form of classes, they fought crime together, Brennan wearing black to signify his mourning, Gregory wearing green as it was his favorite color. Both wearing body armor, Brennan donned a black hood and called himself the Black Fist, while Gregory, having been born with shape-shifting and nature-controlling abilities, made his skin reptilian and called himself the Green Fist.
As they fought petty street crime, Brennan began to notice a darkness in Gregory's approach to criminals. He was either too forceful, or he downright killed them. When Brennan tried to bring this up in a friendly manner, Gregory attacked, his mind snapping as his jealousy finally overcame him. Gregory shot Brennan in twice in the stomach, leaving him for dead. Luckily, Oracle had been monitoring their movements, aware of their heroic activities and having plans to recruit them to the Hero cause. She sent the Huntress to help him, and once he was healed, he thanked her for her assistance and decided to quit fighting crime.
Brainiac[]
Unfortunately, his retirement wouldn't last long. One day, while walking around south Gotham, a ship appeared overhead and began bottling buildings. He tried to escape the vicinity of the building that was being bottled, but he wasn't fast enough. He woke up an uncertain length of time later, covered in a lukewarm liquid. He was able to break free of the pod he was held in and received a message from Oracle. With Oracle and Superman, he was able to find a way off the ship before it was destroyed.
To be continued...