10 Words Popularised By Comics

10. Brainiac

Since 1958, Superman has had countless run-ins with the nefarious Brainiac, an alien who proclaims to be the smartest being in the universe. To enhance his knowledge to maximum capacity, the extra-terrestrial travels to worlds, carves out and shrinks cities for study before destroying each planet.

As formidable as the diode-skulled Coluan is, some people take issue with his name. "Brainiac" means "Know-it-all". What kind of name is that for a supervillain? That's like calling him "Really Brainy" or "Super Smart".

But that wasn't always the case. According to the character's creators, Otto Binder and Al Plastino, Brainiac's name is a fusion of "Brain" and "Maniac". These words were chosen to highlight the fact that he's been driven mad by his intelligence.

However, the writers didn't realise until later that a computer kit created three years earlier was also called Brainiac. The kit's name is a portmanteau of "Brain" and "ENIAC", which refers to the first ever computer.

Binder and Plastino may not have coined "Brainiac", but the popularity of the green-skinned supervillain helped the word become synonymous with anyone of vast intelligence.