Batman/Superman: World’s Most interesting has lastly up to date a long-forgotten villain origin to be extra scientifically sound by trendy requirements.
The Joker often is the extra distinguished member of his newest (or previous) team-up, however the Key just isn’t somebody to underestimate both. An extended-time enemy of the Justice League, the Key has gotten the very best of the world’s best heroes greater than as soon as along with his insidious genius and use of chemical weaponry. Nonetheless, Batman/Superman: World’s Most interesting #10 (by Mark Waid, Dan Mora, Tamra Bonvillain, Steve Wands) truly did the Key a favor by altering the precise origins of his skills.
Whereas interrogating Boy Thunder, the Key spoke on how he believed he may faucet into new skills by experimenting with the “10 p.c of the mind” fable. Sadly for him, he realized pretty early on that the notion of there being untapped components of the human mind is just rooted in folklore and never precise science. As such, the origins of his skills have modified each to make them barely extra plausible, and likewise to replicate a extra educated world.
The Origin of the Key’s Powers
When the Key first debuted in Justice League of America #41 (by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky), the origins of his powers have been pretty easy. Utilizing psychotropic medicine, he managed to faucet into the ninety p.c of the mind that people didn’t use in on a regular basis life. This enormously expanded his intelligence in addition to his senses. Within the current day, most individuals now perceive that the thought of there being unused components of the mind is nothing greater than a fable. For therefore lengthy although, the Key’s origins didn’t replicate this accepted truth, and as time handed it ran the chance of spreading false data.
Because of this, his origins have modified. Whereas making an attempt to experiment with the parable remains to be part of his story, he confirms that he wasted his time making an attempt to unlock a portion of his mind that was already in use. To that finish, the Key determined that slightly than unleash the latent humanity inside him, he would transcend it fully. Psychotropic medicine nonetheless issue into his beginnings, however they’re now the rationale the Key’s a lot extra clever than the typical individual. He has now enhanced himself previous his humanity to fulfill his starvation for fewer limitations. After all, this new origin additionally makes the Key extra harmful than ever earlier than.
The Key’s New Origins Imply He Will By no means Be Happy
Because the Key said, the tragedy of his genius is that it hungers. Although he has succeeded in reaching a brand new top of intelligence that most individuals could not hope to succeed in naturally, this is not sufficient for him. It is why he is keen to accomplice with somebody as harmful because the Joker: The Key needs a number of the medicine the Joker makes use of in his personal chemical weapons, hoping they may broaden his thoughts and energy additional.
Even Boy Thunder was not excluded from the Key’s makes an attempt to fulfill his ambitions. Upon studying that the younger hero was from one other universe, the Key was dumbfounded to have found a brand new horizon to cross. It reveals simply how far-reaching his needs are, to wish to department out into different universes, maybe in search of new methods to extend his intelligence. In the end, the Key’s new energy set, whereas it displays trendy science, turns him into an extremely egocentric particular person who will do absolutely anything, irrespective of how heinous, to get what he needs.