Karadox

"It's nice to meet you in real life."

- Brainy.

Karadox is the het ship between Kara Zor-El and Querl Dox from the Supergirl fandom.

Season 3
THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES

Kara wakes up in her loft, hearing a knock at the door. She opens it to reveal Querl standing there, talking nervously about meeting her. Kara is very confused by his comments until he calls her Supergirl. She immediately pulls him into the loft telling him to be quiet. He officially introduces himself as Brainiac 5, otherwise known as Querl Dox, but that the Legionnaires just call him Brainy. He informs Kara about what's going on. Specifically that she's been in a coma after being nearly killed by Reign, and that he's here to help her wake up. She becomes panicked and tries to open the loft door repeatedly, becoming more frustrated with each try. Brainy suggests that she relaxes, but she ignores him.

Brainy looks around the loft while Kara sits on the couch. She asks why he's looking around, and he explains that he's checking for brain damage, which would manifest itself as damage in the loft. He needs to check to make sure she's ready for reality re-entry. Kara asks if that means she is ready to wake up, Brainy confirming so. She asks what she needs to do to get out of the coma, Brainy coming to the conclusion that opening the loft door is the most likely exit. She tries the door but it doesn't open. Brainy then tries the door, but it doesn't open for him either. This confuses him, since she should be fine.

Kara continues trying to open the door, as Brainy makes tea in the kitchen. He comes to the conclusion that Kara not being able to wake from her coma is a mental problem and not a physical one. Kara punches the door, while Brainy asks if there would be any reason as to why her subconscious wouldn't want her to leave, suggesting self-preservation. Kara doesn't believe so, but Brainy reminds her that she was badly beaten, and that fear would be a logical response. She then uses her heat vision on the door, Brainy staring at her, as she destroys the room around her.

Kara starts cleaning the loft, Brainy asking why, since it's not real. Kara doesn't know, only that she like putting things back in order. Kara realizes that she chose everything in the loft and that there's probably something in there that her subconscious wants her to see. Brainy says that it isn't a bad idea and wonders why he didn't think of it. Kara then begins to search through her stuff.

Kara eventually finds a picture of herself and a black cat. Brainy asks if that was her pet, Kara says yes, but quickly wonders why her subconscious would want her to remember her cat. Brainy says it could be a random neuron firing and asks the name of the cat. Kara named him Streaky and that he had been a stray like her. Brainy asks if she had felt an emotional connection with the cat. Kara says yes, she and Streaky were friends. Streaky suddenly appears in her loft. As she walks over to him, she explains how she used to feed him every night, but was so scared to touch him due to her super-strength. She had practiced being gentle until she was confident that she wouldn't hurt him. She then pets him, and he purred, the act making her feel human, instead of like an alien.

Brainy accidentally talks about the battle against Reign while in Kara's head. He tries to brush it off, wanting her to keep talking to keep his mind off the battle. Kara says that he should be entirely focused on the battle. Brainy says he's capable of doing both, but shows his strain when he stops mid-sentence to tell Mon-El to evade one of Reigns attacks. Kara tells him to go help the legion instead of her. As he's about to leave, he says that it looked like Supergirl had a great life. Kara says that the stuff in the loft weren't Supergirls, but Kara Danvers'. Brainy tells her how Alex said something similar. Specifically that Kara Danvers was her favorite person. He leaves to join the battle, Kara thinking over his words. She then wakes up and fights Reign alongside the Legion and J'onn.

After she checks on Mon-El and Imra, Brainy walks through the DEO in her direction. Kara sees him and says hi, then asks if he's shorter in reality. He then asks if she's suggesting that he changed his height while in her head so that she would see him as someone more stable and trustworthy, thereby making her more likely to want to work with him to help her. Kara confusingly answers yeah, and Brainy confirms that she's correct. She laughs, and he says that it's nice to meet her in real life. As he walks away she smiles at him.

OF TWO MINDS

Kara goes up to Brainy, worried about Alex and Winn, and asks if they've found anything on Pestilence. Brainy says that he looked through the security footage but was unable to track them during their time at City Hall. She asks if he looked on social media, which confuses him since they don't have that in the future. They check and suspect a doctor who was there. Brainy pulls up her information and J'onn, Mon-El and Kara head out.

TRINITY

Team Supergirl discovers that a way to get to Sam, but they would have to go into a different dimension to do so. Kara thinks of a way to get there, and goes to Brainy, hoping he'll use the same tech he used to get into her head to get into the other dimension. He thinks it'll be fun and leads them to the Legion ship. There Brainy tells her that taking Lena and Alex with her into the dimension will weaken her and there's not much he can do. They get ready to go as Brainy explains as the process works. Once he's done Kara tells them to get started and he sends them into the other dimension.

Season 4
AMERICAN ALIEN

Brainy and Alex are having a disagreement when there is an alert that Kara is in trouble. Alex is about to send in a strike team, but Brainy says that there is no time and flies off to her. Brainy arrives, to find Kara's legs cuffed and unable to fly. He asks if she needs some backup, followed by telling her she's freed. Kara is confused, but the cuffs then fall off her immediately. Brainy explains that he was hacking while talking to her. She stands up and smiles at him before flying away. He sarcastically says "You're welcome." once she's gone.

Kara gets a call from Brainy while at CatCo. He quickly complains about Alex "grounding" him before telling her how he found out who attacked the facility, and was able to narrow it down to Mercy and Otis Graves. She asks for an address but he can't find one, only an ex-employer who could help- Lillian Luthor.

Kara is finishing up a meeting when Brainy calls. He tells her that the info she got from Lillian, helped him pinpoint a location, an abandoned warehouse. She flies out to find no one there, but Brainy tells her that there were heat signatures earlier, and hacks into the computers. Kara looks at the computers, filled with hate messages for aliens. Kara is horrified but is able to ask Brainy what he found out. He found Blue Prints of Camp David, meaning that the Graves are going to attack the president.

BUNKER HILL Alex and Brainy are discussing the agents of liberty unwavering loyalty to their leader, Brainy referencing the film Spartacus. Kara asks about him watching the classics, he responds that he is, and if she wants to discuss auteur theory and how it applies to Ed Wood's works. She enthusiastically says yes. Alex pulls them out, and asks if Kara has any leads. Kara stares at a picture of Agent Liberty on the screen, which Brainy takes note that she's doing, and asks why. Kara says that Nia saw it and freaked out, that it reminded her of a nightmare. Brainy starts to question Kara about it, Alex eventually asking what he means. Brainy says that he can't say, since it will impact the timeline. Kara and Alex question what he means, but all he can tell them is that Nia might be able to lead them to Agent Liberty, and they all should go to her. Kara says that Nia is still freaked out so she'll talk to her first. Brainy agrees and they go to see Nia. Kara meets Nia at her apartment, who confesses that she is an alien and can see the future with her dreams. She doesn't know how to control them, but Kara knows someone who could help her. She calls to Brainy, and he walks in. He sits down and instructs Nia on entering her dream again. As Nia gets better at piecing it together, Kara and Brainy whisper about how quickly she's getting a grasp on it. She comes out of the dream and tells them that they need to go to Collinwood to find a woman who is going to be shot. The three arrive, and head to the school, since the woman seemed to work there. They don't find anything, discussing what to do as they walk. Kara takes note of the people seeming to have a hostile attitude towards them, Brainy telling her that the area had a lot of anti-alien activity. Kara asks to talk to Brainy alone, and Nia walks off a bit. She tells him that the people behind them have been watching them. He looks around before seeing them and pointing them out. She quickly turns him around, and tells him that she thinks they're Children of Liberty, taking note of how when she x-rayed them they had weapons and metal masks. Brainy thinks that's a problem, but Kara sees it as a way to find Agent Liberty. Brainy agrees and says he'll distract Nia while Kara gets "captured" by the Children of Liberty. He's only able to distract her for a short while and all three of them end up captured. They're locked up in a factory, Kara and Brainy completely calm as they wait for the right time to break out. One of the members shoots at Nia, but she avoids it and the bullet hits some equipment, which causes smoke to fill the room. Kara and Brainy escape, taking out the Children of Liberty under the smoke. Kara notices a sign that says Lockwood Family Steel, and questions whether or not it means Ben Lockwood. Brainy asks for her phone and quickly finds that it does. She then leaves to call the DEO for help.

As Supergirl, Kara is able to catch Ben and stop Manchester Black. Brainy asks her if she believes it's all over. Kara says that it's a start, people will see who Lockwood really is. Nia asks if either Supergirl or Brainy have seen Kara, they both mumble trying to come up with an excuse, but are interrupted by reporters who ask Lockwood questions.

STAND AND DELIVER Brainy walks into J'onn's office where Nia and Kara are. Kara greets him as J'onn joins them, unable to find Hat. Brainy asks about his ring, but it was with Manchester when the sun eater vaporized him. Brainy thinks about it for a moment before turning his attention to the news reports on the protests. He asks if they're going to join the march, and Kara says they'll be there which Brainy is excited about, till Kara says it's just too patrol. Brainy tells her that it would probably mean a lot if Supergirl marched with the other aliens, but Kara thinks it's more important for her to patrol in case anything gets bad. Brainy says that it won't, and that he's the one who organized the march, shocking Kara. Brainy tells her that losing his ring made him realize how much of his strength and confidence came from it, that it made him a hero. But not having it made him realize how his strength came from fighting alongside everyone else, and making earth better. He believes that change isn't going to come from someone in a cape or a ring, but from the people who take the call on their own. They're stronger together and just because they're superheroes, doesn't mean they can forget who they are. Kara apologizes, but she still stands by what she needs to do. The risk is too great. He reminds her that Supergirl isn't just a symbol, she's also a citizen of earth like everyone else. Kara watches as he leaves. At the protest, Kara realizes that she should join and flies down. Brainy greets her as Supergirl, but she says that she is Kara Zor-El, citizen of earth. She takes J'onn's hand and holds hers out to Brainy, as Nia joins them. He takes their hands and thank them both. They all then continue to march into Lockwood's rally. Once inside, one of Lockwood's supporters throws something at the protestors. Brainy tells them all to remain peaceful and takes Kara's hand again. Kara tells them not to stoop to their level, but suddenly Manchester shows up and disrupts everything. Kara tells Brainy, Nia and J'onn to find Manchester. Once split up, Hat finds Brainy, and they fight. Hat seems to get the upper hand, when Kara shows up and knocks him from behind. She cuffs Hat and tells Brainy nice work. She tells him to get Hat to the DEO and get as many people to safety as he can before flying off.

ALL ABOUT EVE

Kara and Brainy walk together, Kara telling him that Nia is trying to find Lex. Brainy says that they'll keep communicating with her. As she's about to leave she pulls out the Legion Ring, and tells him that J'onn wanted her to give it back to him. He takes it and stares at it for a moment, telling her that he can't tell her how much it means to have it back. He thanks her, and she tells it to keep it close in case he needs it. She flies away as he looks on.

Season 5
EVENT HORIZON

Kara asks if the stolen Kryptonian pod could be used to make a bomb, and Brainy tells her that it can. It could destroy life across three solar systems. But he decides that they have a bigger problem and grabs Kara's cape, showing that it had been ripped to shreds. He decides to repair it himself.

At the Pulitzer awards, Brainy pulls Kara aside and tells her that he brought her a gift. She is excited, but then confused when he opens his palm and there's nothing there. He explains that it is a device that is too small to be seen but contains her new suit. Kara is shocked since she thought that he was just fixing the cape, which he was, but he couldn't help himself. He asks if he could place it on her glasses, which she allows. He explains that when she whips off her glasses now, her suit will appear and disappear as needed.

Season 3
Fort Rozz
 * Brainy remarks on how brave Supergirl is given how unreliable the technology of the time is
 * Brainy becomes stressed at the idea of being known as the person who let Supergirl die

Of Two Minds
 * Kara seems confused and impressed by Brainy's image inducer
 * Kara explains to Brainy that Winn is tricking him with his description of Pestilence
 * When Imra gets some of Pestilence's blood, Kara asks if its enough for Brainy to use

Trinity
 * Brainy realizes that Kara is starting to falter from the mental strain and goes to take her out of the dimension
 * Brainy wakes up Kara first

Shelter from the Storm
 * Brainy tells Mon-El that he grew fond of Kara and her team
 * He then says that he believes in her
 * Kara says that she's grateful for Brainy's calculations

Battles Lost and Won
 * Kara expresses shock when she realizes that none of them had shown Brainy Star Wars

Season 4
American Alien
 * Kara mentions to J'onn that Brainy is taking care of the investigation
 * Brainy tells Alex that he found assisting Kara highly rewarding
 * Kara is surprised that Alex is annoyed by Brainy, and defends him
 * Kara compliments Brainy on him bringing back the power to everything

Ahimsa
 * With Kara in Lena's techsuit being treated for Kryptonite poisoning, Brainy leans in towards her mask and says "If you're in your mind palace, tell Streaky I said 'hi'" in an uncharacteristic sentiment from Brainy.
 * Brainy expresses frustration over Kara's situation by knocking a device to the floor and cries in frustration that she might never be able to leave the suit.

Bunker Hill
 * Brainy falls over when he leans on the counter, and Kara yells oh loudly before he confirms that he's fine
 * Brainy is about to tell Nia his usual spiel, but Kara interrupts him and just says that he's really smart
 * When Nia asks if Brainy called her Nura, Brainy denies is and turns to Kara to ask if she called Nia Nura
 * Kara comments on how nice Collingwood is and Brainy says what could go wrong
 * Brainy remarks on some knowledge about The Purge, Kara saying that she thought he was only watching the classics. Brainy pauses before just saying "and"
 * Brainy takes note of their surroundings, telling Kara that it's a textbook bad guy lair
 * Brainy watches as Kara talks to the President

Elseworlds
 * When Cisco says that Kara is his favorite Kryptonian, Brainy tells him it was a good choice.

Suspicious Minds
 * Brainy defends Kara's actions to Haley.
 * Brainy looks between Kara and Haley.
 * Brainy asks J'onn to help Supergirl.
 * Alex and Brainy hold a meeting with other agents on keeping Kara's identity a secret.
 * Brainy tells Alex that he's doing everything he can to keep Supergirl safe.
 * Brainy thinks that Kara needs more support in the field.
 * Brainy is interrogated about Supergirl's identity, but he already locked away the information.
 * Brainy laughs at the idea of Kara being Supergirl before getting his memory back.
 * Brainy talks to Nia about joining Supergirl's team.
 * Brainy says that if the plan goes bad, there's always Plan "S".
 * Alex and Brainy inform Kara and J'onn about the truth seeker.
 * Brainy tells Kara that if Alex's mind isn't wiped, Haley will find out she's Supergirl.

Stand and Deliver
 * Brainy sees the note from Supergirl and smiles.
 * Kara smiles at Brainy as he gives his speech.
 * Kara smiles after Brainy thanks her.
 * Brainy and Kara march next to each other as they enter Lockwood's rally.
 * Kara see's Brainy among the chaos.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?
 * Brainy asks Kara what happened to James.
 * Kara and Brainy visit James after surgery.
 * Kara tells J'onn that he should give the Legion ring back to Brainy.

All About Eve
 * Brainy smiles at Kara as she arrives at the DEO.
 * Brainy and Kara share a look and silently agree with Alex.
 * Kara warns Brainy not to open the box of Kryptonite.
 * Brainy watches the President's speech on "Supergirl's" betrayal.

Crime and Punishment
 * Brainy compliments Alex on keeping Supergirl away from the DEO.

Red Dawn
 * Brainy tells Lena that she should have led with the Supergirl clone reveal.
 * Brainy walks in on Kara crying and notices her bloody arm.
 * Kara asks Brainy where Alex is and he tells her that she's looking for Red Daughter.

The Quest For Peace
 * Kara asks Brainy to recover the CatCo files on Lex.
 * Kara and Brainy read Nia's message.
 * Brainy tells Kara that the satellite is aimed at Argo city.
 * Kara tells Brainy to destroy the Claymorre satellite while they look for the others.
 * Kara and Alex plan to take down Brainy on game night.

Season 5
Event Horizon
 * Kara watches Brainy and Nia awkwardly say goodbye.
 * Brainy tells Kara that the alien was a shape-shifter.
 * Kara and Brainy discuss the cape, with Brainy deep in finding a solution.
 * Brainy thinks it's fun to watch J'onn pretend to be Kara.
 * Kara tells Brainy not to break her glasses.
 * Kara asks Brainy if a solar flare would close the black hole, and it would, but he pulls out DEO handcuffs and thinks they should do things the easy way.
 * Brainy warns Kara against going into the black hole.
 * Brainy looks relieved when Kara gets out of the black hole.

Quotes
"Now you're talking to me. Supergirl is talking to me."

- Brainy meets Kara.

"Out of all the 4,237,642 versions of our first meeting that I envisioned, you calling it "torture" wasn't one of them."

- Brainy

"This is the technology that backs up Supergirl when she goes into battle? She is so much braver than I ever knew."

- Brainy, on 21st-century technology.

"I'm back, having assisted Supergirl, which was highly rewarding."

- Brainy, to Alex.

"I told Supergirl to go the wrong way. She could have gotten caught."

- Brainy

"You should give that ring back to Brainy. He'll be happy to see it."

- Kara to J'onn; O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Fanon
Those who were fans of the pairing in the comics were quick to ship them in the tv series, given the canon status of the pairing in the comics. Although it would be considered a rare pair in the fandom. This is most likely due to most shippers already having a preferred pairing by the time Brainy is introduced, as well as their limited interactions since their first episode together.

After his introduction, Supercorp shippers didn't express concern when it came to the possibility of Karadox becoming canon whereas Karamel shippers did. Shippers tended to either love or hate Brainy as well as his interactions with Kara, and it became very apparent that only the non-karamel shippers accepted the pair.

Fans of the pairing were hoping for more interactions between the two, but the first half of the season seemed to keep their interactions to a minimum and the fans ate up whatever they could get. Shippers became excited with the episode Bunker Hill, where they had many major interactions. Shippers continued to see chemistry between the two and loved their "dorkier" personalities bouncing off each other. The season continued with more minimal interactions, but emphasized Brainy being protective of Kara and keeping her identity a secret from Haley. "Stand and Deliver" instantly became loved among Karadox shippers. It highlighter Brainy's support for Kara, but also had Brainy help Kara realize what she needed to do. The close up on the two taking each other's hands at the march gave hope for Karadox shippers that the two might become canon within the series.

On AO3, Karadox is the most written ship for Brainy, and the eleventh most written for Kara. It is also the twenty-third most written ship in the Supergirl (TV 2015) tag.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Kara/Querl tag on FanFiction.net
 * Kara/Querl tag on FanFiction.net
 * Kara/Querl tag on FanFiction.net

DEVIANT ART

FORUMS
 * Karadox @FanForum

TUMBLR

TWITTER

Trivia

 * Kara Zor-El and Querl Dox met for the first time in Action Comics #276 (May, 1961). Since then Brainiac 5 has been the most prominent love interest of all major incarnations of Supergirl.
 * Kara and Querl have a daughter in the Kingdom Come Elseworlds story, called Brainiac's Daughter.
 * In the Justice League Unlimited episode, Far From Home, the legionnaires bring several Justice League members into the 31st Century, including Supergirl. She and Querl meet and fall in love. She decides to stay with him in the future instead of returning to the 21st century.
 * Querl's design in Supergirl is more based on his design from this episode instead of the design from the comics where he's green.
 * For season 4 of Supergirl, Kara and Brainy were featured together in several CW promos.

Gallery

 * Karadox/Gallery

Variations

 * Superdreamdox refers to the ship between Nia Nal, Kara and Brainy