| The Brow's Son | |
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 | |
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First Appearance: |
January 1st, 1978 (disguised, in silhouette) |
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Real Name: |
Alfred Brau, Jr. |
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Known Aliases: |
"The Hangman" |
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Known Relatives: |
The Brow, Father (Deceased) |
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Known Associates: |
Angeltop Jones (Deceased) |
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Appearance of Death: |
December 10th, 2015 |
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Created By: | |
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Can Be Found: |
Dick Tracy Meets Angeltop |
Alfred Brau Jr., commonly known as The Brow's Son, shared his father's physical traits of a high forehead with heavy brow ridges, and blond hair. Unlike his father, he had ears.
All that is known about his background was that he was an infant when his father died, and had a criminal record for minor offenses, serving two years in Joliet for a gas station holdup.
Alliance with Angeltop
Edit
Alfred Jr. became part of a traveling carnival's Gallery of Villains that featured wax figures of Dillinger, Flattop, Pruneface, Shaky, Al Capone, and his own father. The advertisement for the carnival said '"Meet the Brow's Son, Live!"'. Brow Jr. eventually left the carnival, met Angelica Jones and fell in love with her. He and Angelica (calling herself Angeltop) came to Dick Tracy's city to promote her new book Sins of the Father: My Life as Flattop's Daughter on a TV talk show.
Brow Jr. disguised himself as a television studio crewman and shot Vitamin Flintheart (the next guest on the show), and was pursued and identified by Junior Tracy, whom he injured while escaping. Junior's sketch of the suspect shocked Tracy, who was found it hard to believe that another person could look so much like The Brow. Sam Catchem ran a background check and confirmed Brow Jr's identity.
Unlike Angeltop, Alfred Jr. did not harbor warm feelings for his father. He regarded his father as a murderer and was not obsessed with his father's past. He wanted nothing to do with the memory of his father and simply wanted to marry Angeltop and start a life with her.
Policewoman Lizz (who had killed Angeltop's brother Flattop Jr.) went to question Angeltop at her hotel room, unaware that Brow Jr. was staying with her. He hid and attempted to knock Lizz unconscious, but she fought back and managed to shoot the young Brow in the Shoulder. Tracy and Sam Catchem were waiting downstairs, but Angeltop and the wounded Brow were able to separate them and kidnapped Tracy at gunpoint.
The couple took Tracy to their hideout, the Replica of the Santa Maria where Flattop had hidden (and eventually drowned) years before. They tied Tracy up and threw him into the underwater pilings where he struggled to stay afloat while the Brow rested. Lizz and Sam raided the ship to rescue Tracy, which caused Angeltop to hurl a kerosene lamp, setting the ship afire. Angeltop was severely burned and fell into the water, and the Brow's son was arrested.
The District Attorney had to release Brow Jr. because it was determined that his rights had been violated. He was later seen throwing a wreath of flowers into the water to honor Angeltop, who was presumed dead.
Angeltop's returnEdit
Years later, it was revealed that Angeltop had survived the fire on the ship and had gotten reconstructive surgery from Dr. Will Carver. Brow Jr. was once again at her side, still as in love with her, despite her apparent mental instability resulting from the trauma of her near death burns and many reconstructive surgeries. After Angeltop killed Carver, Brow Jr. helped her in her plan to kill Diet Smith during his Fusion Now tour. Driving to Washington DC, Brow Jr. disguised himself as a reporter and switched Diet Smith's campaign button with an explosive one. Dick Tracy, who was the Police Liaison on the tour, managed to get the explosive off Diet before it blew up. Tracy recognized Brow Jr in the crowd and searched him, but found nothing to tie him to the crime.
Angeltop was furious with her boyfriend at his failure. Angeltop had kidnapped Lizz a few weeks earlier and was keeping her prisoner in the house where they were living. Angeltop changed her plans and planted dynamite in the Church basement on the day of Junior Tracy's Wedding to Sparkle Plenty. Brow Jr. had pangs of conscience, and tried to convince Angeltop to abort her plan, as he did not want to be involved in murdering innocent people.
When his plea to Angeltop failed, the Brow's Son freed Lizz so that she could warn the wedding guests. Lizz returned to apprehend Angeltop. Angeltop was about to kill her, but was herself shot herself by the young Brow.
Following the death of Angeltop, it was revealed that the Brow's Son had learned of the event. He was shown in prison, crying over a photograph of Angeltop and vowing revenge.
The HangmanEdit
Alfred Brau Jr. as "The Hangman"
Alfred Jr. adopted the identity of The Hangman and killed several people associated with the production, including Freddy Capp (the actor playing The Brow). Dick Tracy was substituted for the actor playing "Boss Tracy" on the set in the hopes of preventing further murders. Alfred Jr. and an accomplice hijacked a helicopter and flew to a billboard location where a climactic scene was being filmed.
Alfred Jr. exited the helicopter and menaced Tracy and Forsythe (an actor). Tracy tried to arrest Alfred, but Forsythe interfered, seeking revenge for Capp's death. Alfred shot Forsythe, and was subsequently shot in the shoulder by a police sniper. Alfred grappled with Tracy, and in doing so became entangled in Tracy's safety harness. When Tracy and Alfred fell off the billboard scaffold, the harness wrapped around Alfred's neck and he was killed in the fall (December 10th, 2015).
Tracy survived without injury, and it was implied that Forsythe would recover.
The end of the Brow's Son
Appearances in Other MediaEdit
Dick Tracy - The Secret FilesEdit
The Brow's Son was a character in the short story "Homefront" by Barbara Collins, which appeared in the short story collection Dick Tracy - The Secret Files. In the story, he invades the Tracy's home and holds Tess and Joe Tracy hostage.
