Did anyone else think Mr. Braunze from Volume 2 and 4 was a pointless character?
 

I mean sure, Mr. Brauze has psychic powers that he used to make Casey Jones think he was an action hero when they went to rescue Raph from DARPA in Volume 2, then we see him in Volume 4 to erase Jay's memory (Shadow's boyfriend), of seeing Splinter. And I believe he was also in one of the Tales issues.

But overall...he's just so random. I would have completely forgotten he existed if I didn't go through my Volume 2 collection recently.

I mean what's the point of a bald guy who lived in April/Casey's building who has psychic powers? I am pretty happy they never brought his character into the 4kids cartoon.

He always seemed like one of those burdensome characters whenever he appeared. I was like "oh, yeah, that guy again. What is it that I'm supposed to remember about him? And what back issues do I need to go back and read to figure out why he's become a recurring character."

I never really liked the Justice Force beyond their original appearance either.

I have a feeling Peter would have done more with him in Vol. 2 had it not been truncated, but as it is yes, absolutely, he felt pretty much like out of left field. He became the crux of Vol. 2 and yet at no point did we ever either, 1) Know much about him, or more importantly 2) Care about him one iota.

I think all that need be said about him is that I've read all of his in-comic appearances multiple times, he plays a key role in a major story arc, and I still have to think twice about who he is every time I see his name.

I tend to agree with the above posts.

That being said I wouldn't have minded seeing more of him in a well told story of course. His connection to DARPA and the government black ops and MIBs etc could very well exploited. Sadly the Tales vol. 2 story we got didn't really touch on any of that. His appearance in Vol. 4 was okay I suppose.

If he's ever in a movie he has to be played by Terry O'Quinn.

Yes. He's pointless and unnecessary. I still think he's cool though.

Was he the inspiration for Bishop? His clandestine government background and all?

He was also in the Flaming Carrot crossover, too.

Many Mirage-centric characters outside the most important ones tend to be poorly used or forgettable.

The whole Mirage universe was always written as if they didn't know what direction to take it in. Volume 1 going to guest writers, Volume 2 being canceled quickly, Image being canceled quickly...Volume 4 going off on tangents before never ending...

Say what you will about IDW's continuity, but at least they seem to have a coherent vision for their series.

I remember reading through v2 for the first time and kind of getting excited over this character that id never seen before, but obviously had some incredible power. But as almost everyone else has said, he is basically used as a plot device. I had to read your intro before i even remembered the name, and im a huge fan of the comics. -though i cant say i have read the flaming carrot crossover