Brain Drain was a highly intelligent Nazi scientist who was a just a little on the crazy side. One of his first big accomplishments was creating Master Man. As Werner Schmidt, he was caught in the blast of a crashing 'meteorite.' As it turns out, the 'meteorite' was actually the crashing space ship of four alien adventurers. They reconstructed Werner's body and made him over as the robotic Brain Drain!
The aliens showed Brain Drain their Ring of the Nebulas, which enhanced mechanical devices. Unfortunately, the Star-Gods, as the aliens were called, forgot that Werner was now a mechanical device himself. His brain waves were significantly heightened and he was able to mesmerize the Star-Gods. He renamed them after characters in Richard Wagner's 'Ring' operas [Hitler's personal favorite]; Donar, God of Storms; Froh, God of Lightning; Loga, God of Fire; and finally Brunnhilde, the Valkyrie. Brunnhilde managed to escape however, taking the Ring with her. Brain Drain sent the three males to battle the Invaders, and mentally lured Brunnhilde back to him. She brought Captain America with her, who was stunned when Brain Drain recounted to Brunnhilde her origin. Remembering at last who she truly was, Brunnhilde was furious with Brain Drain (wouldn't you be?). She threw the Ring of the Nebulas into a vat of acid at Brain Drain's secret base and told Brain Drain to join her in the oblivion of death.
Although Brain Drain was ripped apart by the acid, Brunnhilde survived and summoned the other Star-Gods. They joined her in the acid, which by now was having a violent chemical reaction with the Ring. As the Invaders escaped, Brain Drain's base exploded.
Although it would seem Brain Drain was unquestionably deceased, he later turned up alive on a quest to build a giant flying indestructible machine in the shape of a swastika. He enlisted the aid of U-Man, Master Man, and Sky Shark. His flunkies battled the Liberty Legion and managed to defeat them, stealing the parts he needed for his machine. However, to prevent the Nazis from using this device to win World War II and upset the balance of good and evil in the universe, the Watcher sent the Fantastic Four's Thing back to 1942 to aid the Liberty Legion in stopping the Nazi villains. Together, the Liberty Legion and the Thing were able to defeat Brain Drain and his cohorts. However, Brain Drain escaped the battle using a small jetpack built into the base of the tank that contained his brain.
Sometime after this defeat, Brain Drain somehow became trapped in a snow bank (as recounted in Alpha Flight). I received an e-mail from Kirk, who explains further. "Yes, Brain Drain did appear in Alpha Flight. He first appeared in #108 at the First Pan-European Conference on Super-Human Affairs. He recounts that he'd been left trapped in a snow mound for five decades. For half a century, he "contemplated his mistakes, his misguided loyalty to the Nazi cause." Then he managed to take control of a nearby skiier. Then, he sent a subconscious command into the minds of the super-heroes who were video linked to the conference to kill their nation's leaders. The Alphan Aurora/Jeanne-Marie (she's a split personality) managed to escape his control by switching to her Aurora personality and hurling Brain Drain away. That same issue, the Master recovers the now very humble Brain Drain to be the first member of his new Omega Flight. Brain Drain does later show up as a member of Omega Flight complete with a new robotic body. Current whereabouts unkown; I believe he and the rest of Omega Flight are imprisoned." Thanks Kirk!