Classic Rock: Brainiac

"The Roy Rogers Show" (1955)

Here's one of those funny faces in the rocks that show up in movies and TV shows from time to time. I doubt anyone will be as amused by it as I am, but I hope you can at least see it. It looks perfect to me: little dark eye, button nose, grim mouth and that massive forehead. It's right in the middle of this screen shot, facing toward the left. This character, which I call Brainiac, appears in "The Scavenger," a 1955 episode of "The Roy Rogers Show." That's Dale Evans riding by.

In case you're having trouble seeing it, I've identified some of the key parts in this version of the photo. Brainiac the rock is actually the north end of a familiar movie rock, which I used to refer to by the unimaginative name "the Log" before I learned that it already had a name: Range Rider Rock.

Another "Brainiac-type" figure

Incidentally, Range Rider Rock — including its north "face," Brainiac — is now located in the Indian Hills Mobile Home Park area of the former Lower Iverson Movie Ranch. These days the rock is hidden behind some mobile homes, and it's no longer possible to grab a photo that looks anything like Brainiac.

Brainiac the supervillain, battling Superman

Another so-called Brainiac in popular culture is the supervillain of the same name in DC Comics, seen fighting with Superman in the action shot above. This Brainiac is no relation to the one on the Iverson Movie Ranch — even though Superman did do stuff at Iverson, and you can read about that by clicking here. Personally, I find this Brainiac's giant brain to be not fully exaggerated enough — even though I understand that for the purposes of fighting people like Superman, a larger brain could get in the way.

This post is part of a series on "Classic Rocks" — sandstone giants located on the former Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif., that became a part of not only America's physical landscape but also its cultural heritage, through featured roles in old movies, cliffhanger serials and early TV shows. Other entries in the series can be seen by clicking here.

Note: Volume 14 of the DVD set "Roy Rogers With Dale Evans" includes the episode "The Scavenger." See Amazon link below.