Brains
Brains is an engineer, and the designer and builder of the Thunderbird craft and rescue vehicles. He lives on Tracy Island and has a laboratory, a “main” bedroom and a “secondary” bedroom closer to the lab. Brains was voiced by actor David Graham, who also voiced Gordon Tracy and Kyrano.
Here is a table of Canon Foundry facts about Brains:
From the TV Series and the Movies (Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbird 6):
| The Canon Fact | The Source |
|---|---|
| Slight in build, Brains needs to wear thick glasses and talks with a stutter (also called stammer). | All episodes and films. |
| Jeff makes it clear that it was Brains who designed and built all the Thunderbird craft and rescue vehicles. | Trapped in the Sky |
| Designed edible transmitters in a variety of flavours for each member of the family. | Day of Disaster |
| Seems rather excitable (freaking out to Lady Penelope that the bridge is going to collapse and also the happy dance and "whoopee!" exclamation). | Day of Disaster |
| Has designed and built a robot named Braman, whom he tests by playing chess with it/him. | Sun Probe |
| Brains is a nickname; although he calls himself Hiram K Hackenbacker in 'Alias Mr Hackenbacker,' his lack of reaction to the name and the fact that the episode is called ALIAS Mr Hackenbacker seem to indicate that it is not his real one. The audio version of this episode, narrated by David Graham as Brains, starts ‘Hallo there. Brains speaking – or should I say Hiram K. Hackenbacker, for that’s the name I used on this occasion. I was in London for talks on the Skythrust…’ | Alias Mr. Hackenbacker |
| Dislikes pop music. | Ricochet |
| Occasionally goes out on rescues. | Lord Parker's 'oliday |
| Has a uniform with a brown sash. | Thunderbird 6 |
| Can fly the Tiger Moth airplane. | Thunderbird 6 |
| Has a temper, though it seems to take a lot for it to appear (when he throws the model of a proposed Thunderbird 6 which Jeff has rejected across the room, breaking it). | Thunderbird 6 |
| Other Sources: | |
| BRAINS - Genius behind International Rescue's machines Age - 25. | Thunderbirds Information Sheet |
| Shy and hesitant in his speech, Brains is a typical egg-head and the genius who created all the Thunderbird machines. | ITC programme notes |
| According to this source, Brains was 18 when Jeff first saw him give a lecture in Paris, and his name was Horatio Hackenbacker. | Fennell, Alan, Editor, Spring Extra, 2066 (1966), TV Century 21. |
| In his late teens, Brains is the mastermind behind all the machines used by International Rescue. | (1966), Thunderbirds Annual. City Magazines Ltd. |
| Very serious minded, he is always trying to improve his designs. | (1966), Thunderbirds Annual. City Magazines Ltd. |
| His hobbies include trigonometry and thermodynamics, and working on his robot Araman (sic). He is also trying to translate Einstein’s theory of relativity into Latin. | (1966), Thunderbirds Annual. City Magazines Ltd. |
| Born in Michigan, Brains was orphaned when a hurricane struck his home, but adopted at age twelve by a Cambridge professor who recognised his genius. | (1966), Thunderbirds Annual. City Magazines Ltd. |
| Brains first met Jeff Tracy while he was delivering a lecture in Paris. Jeff at the time was looking for someone who could turn his dream of International Rescue into reality, and offered him the job. | (1966), Thunderbirds Annual. City Magazines Ltd. |
| Age 25; birthdate 14th November (no year given) | Thunderbird 6 Press facts sheet, 1967 |
| Brains cannot fly a two-seater jet and needs to be piloted by Kyrano. | Theydon, John (1966), Ring of Fire. Titan Books Ltd. p.75 onwards. ISBN 1-85286-160-6 |
| The speed of Brains’ handwriting reveals his capacity for mental activity, while the regular shape of the letters shows a methodical approach to life. | (1967), “Graphology - The Tracys Write Character,” Lady Penelope Annual . Century 21 Publishing Ltd. |
| Brains is the sort of person who tackles every decision logically. | (1967), “Graphology - The Tracys Write Character,” Lady Penelope Annual . Century 21 Publishing Ltd. |
| The small size of the letters shows his minute attention to detail and his force of concentration, while the shapes of the letters show his ingenuity. However his writing can be untidy as he can’t write his thoughts down fast enough to keep up with the speed that the ideas are forming in his brain. | (1967), “Graphology - The Tracys Write Character,” Lady Penelope Annual . Century 21 Publishing Ltd. |
| Brains can find it difficult to communicate with other people and in everyday life can appear scatter-brained – the sort of person who eats his cornflakes with a knife and fork! | (1967), “Graphology - The Tracys Write Character,” Lady Penelope Annual . Century 21 Publishing Ltd. |
| Has a robot named Braiman (sic). | de Klerk, Theo, “Thunderbirds All Series Guide,” Supermarionation is Go #10, Spring 1984. |
| Horatio Hackenbacker was born in the Midwest and grew up in Michigan. A child prodigy, he could speak four languages before his seventh birthday and gained a university degree in mathematics by the time he was ten. By this time he was studying with a Cambridge professor who adopted him when his parents were killed by a tornado. | Peel, John (1988) Supermarionation: the Magical World of Gerry Anderson . Los Angeles, California; Schuster and Schuster |
| Brains was in his late teens when he met Jeff Tracy and found a person who was willing to put his engineering designs into practice. | Peel, John (1988) Supermarionation: the Magical World of Gerry Anderson . Los Angeles, California; Schuster and Schuster |
| A serious person, Brains never jokes and has a nervous disposition. | Peel, John (1988) Supermarionation: the Magical World of Gerry Anderson . Los Angeles, California; Schuster and Schuster |
| A hereditary eye defect that cannot be corrected by modern technology requires him to wear thick glasses. | Peel, John (1988) Supermarionation: the Magical World of Gerry Anderson . Los Angeles, California; Schuster and Schuster |
| He spends his spare time building his robot Aramn (sic), who he is trying to teach to play chess. | Peel, John (1988) Supermarionation: the Magical World of Gerry Anderson . Los Angeles, California; Schuster and Schuster |
| The glum, bespectacled inventor of the TB machines, Brains is self-critical and always trying to improve on his creations. | Marriott, John (1992), Thunderbirds Are Go! . Boxtree Limited. |
| Off-duty, he works on his robot creation Brainman (sic). | Marriott, John (1992), Thunderbirds Are Go! . Boxtree Limited. |
| The timeline in this annual puts Brains’ first meeting with Jeff in 2022. and lists his birthday as 14th November, 2001. | (1992), The Official Thunderbirds Annual . Grandreams, Ltd./ITC Entertainment Group. ISBN 0-86227-953-4. |
| Real name Hiram J. (sic) Hackenbacker. | (1992), The Official Thunderbirds Annual . Grandreams, Ltd./ITC Entertainment Group. ISBN 0-86227-953-4. |
| Brains was orphaned when a hurricane struck his family home in Michigan. | (1992), The Official Thunderbirds Annual . Grandreams, Ltd./ITC Entertainment Group. ISBN 0-86227-953-4. |
| His hobbies include higher mathematics and perfecting his robot Braman. He is also trying to translate Einstein’s theory of relativity into computer-speak. | (1992), The Official Thunderbirds Annual . Grandreams, Ltd./ITC Entertainment Group. ISBN 0-86227-953-4. |
| This source gives Brains real name as Homer Newton III. | Fennell, Alan, "The Complete Thunderbirds Story ” Thunderbirds: The Comic # 55,13-25 November, 1993, Fleetway Editions, Ltd., ITC Entertainment Group, Ltd. |
| Brains was orphaned before he was twelve when his parents were killed by a hurricane that struck his Michigan home. He was adopted by Cambridge professor who had been giving him tuition while visiting the States. | Fennell, Alan, "The Complete Thunderbirds Story ” Thunderbirds: The Comic # 55,13-25 November, 1993, Fleetway Editions, Ltd., ITC Entertainment Group, Ltd. |
| In this account, Jeff met Brains for the first time in 2022 when he presented him with Tracy College’s Supreme Student’s diploma for outstanding abilities in advanced mathematics. John had joined he college the same year, and as the two young men were the same age and had similar interests the became friends. | Fennell, Alan, "The Complete Thunderbirds Story ” Thunderbirds: The Comic # 55,13-25 November, 1993, Fleetway Editions, Ltd., ITC Entertainment Group, Ltd. |
| A year after presenting the young man with his award, Jeff was starting to consider the concept of International Rescue and thought of Brains as a possible candidate. Then Jeff came across an article in a technical journal that said Brains would be giving a lecture in Paris on the subject of thermo-nuclear dynamics in a space environment. After listening to him talk, Jeff knew he had the right man to help him fulfill his dream. | Fennell, Alan, "The Complete Thunderbirds Story ” Thunderbirds: The Comic # 55,13-25 November, 1993, Fleetway Editions, Ltd., ITC Entertainment Group, Ltd. |
| Born 14th November 2040. | Bentley, Chris (2000), The Complete Book of Thunderbirds. Carlton Books, Ltd. ISBN 1-84222-092-6. |
| Parents killed when a hurricane struck their Michigan home, and adopted at the age of twelve by a Cambridge professor. | Bentley, Chris (2000), The Complete Book of Thunderbirds. Carlton Books, Ltd. ISBN 1-84222-092-6. |
| Robot named Braman. | Bentley, Chris (2000), The Complete Book of Thunderbirds. Carlton Books, Ltd. ISBN 1-84222-092-6. |
| To protect his identity, Brains uses the alias Hiram K. Hackenbacker, but his real name is unknown. | Bentley, Chris (2000), The Complete Book of Thunderbirds. Carlton Books, Ltd. ISBN 1-84222-092-6. |
| Born 14th November 2040. | Levene, Lesley, Editor (2000), Thunderbirds Annual 2001 . Carlton Books Ltd. |
| Orphaned at the age of twelve. | Levene, Lesley, Editor (2000), Thunderbirds Annual 2001 . Carlton Books Ltd. |
| Robot named Braman. | Levene, Lesley, Editor (2000), Thunderbirds Annual 2001 . Carlton Books Ltd. |
| Real name unknown, alias Hiram K. Hackenbacker. | Cole, Stephen, (2003), Thunderbirds Fab Annual 2003. Carlton Publishing Group (August 1, 2002). ISBN-10: 1842226754 |
| Quiet, inventive perfectionist. | Cole, Stephen, (2003), Thunderbirds Fab Annual 2003. Carlton Publishing Group (August 1, 2002). ISBN-10: 1842226754 |
| Area of specialization: conception and development of rescue craft and equipment. Mission technical support. | Denham ,Sam (2012) International Rescue Thunderbirds Agents' Technical Manual. ITV Studios Global Entertainment. ISBN 978 0 85733 117 5 |
| Although he might appear absent-minded and forgetful, Brains is an intense and highly focused individual. Despite his diffident and stammering manner, he is also an accomplished marksman and an expert scuba-diver. | Denham ,Sam (2012) International Rescue Thunderbirds Agents' Technical Manual. ITV Studios Global Entertainment. ISBN 978 0 85733 117 5 |
| Genius behind International Rescue's machines. Age 25 | The Thunderbirds Information Sheet. This document provides definitive proof of the official birth order of the Tracy boys. It was mailed directly from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's office to fans who wrote in requesting information about International Rescue. The document we have (see menu to the left, "TB Info Sheet"): a picture of it was sent originally to Peter Singleton on April 4, 1966. It was signed by Una, Gerry Anderson's secretary, on his behalf. Pete Singleton shared it with Stephen La Riviere (TB 1965), who shared it with TICipedia webmistress Jaimi Sorrell on June 10, 2017 (and later publicly as well on the TB 1965 Facebook page). |