| The Key | |
|---|---|
The Key, with Batman art by Brian Bolland |
|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | (I)All Star Comics #57, 1951 (II) Justice League of America #41 (December 1965) |
| Created by |
(I) John Broome (script), Frank Giacoia (art) |
| In-story information | |
| Team affiliations | Injustice League Intergang Society |
| Abilities | (II) Increased Number of Senses, Psycho-Chemicals |
The Key is the name of two fictional supervillains in the DC Comics universe.
Contents |
The Golden Age Key's sole appearance is in 1951's All Star Comics #57, which features the last Golden Age appearance of the Justice Society of America. In this story, the Key is the head of a major crime syndicate, and uses various agents around the world in his misdeeds. While escaping from the Justice Society in a cable car moving over a gorge, the Key leaps out to avoid capture by the JSA, presumably falling to his death (as this version of the Key hasn't been seen since).
The second Key debuted in Justice League of America (volume 1) #41 (December 1965). Originally a chemist with Intergang, the man who would be known as the Key develops mind-expanding "psycho-chemicals" that activate his ten senses and help him plan crimes mere humans can never hope to understand. Armed with these plans, a series of henchmen known as the "Key-Men", and a "key blaster", the Key has several failed run-ins with the JLA.
The Key returns in JLA #8 (August 1997), after spending years in hibernation. The psycho-chemicals he has been ingesting have altered his appearance into a pale, cadaverous form, and heightened his mental abilities. He manages to infiltrate the JLA headquarters, and traps the team in fantasy realms of their own creation- ranging from Kal-El as the Green Lantern of Sector 2813, a now-retired Bruce Wayne going back into action when Tim Drake and his son face the Joker as he dies of cancer, and a powerless Wonder Woman facing Nazi archaeologists unleashing demons-, intending to siphon off the energies of their inevitable victory in order to increase his power. He almost succeeds if not for the intervention of Connor Hawke, who beams up to the JLA headquarters while the Key is present due to a pre-arranged meeting to discuss him becoming a member of the League. He eventually returns to fight Batman in Arkham Asylum after infecting the asylum with an airborne toxin to heighten aggression, attempting to provoke the Dark Knight into murdering him so he could escape life itself, but the plan proves unsuccessful.
In the aftermath of the "World without a Justice League" storyline (JLA, #120-#125) when the Justice League is disassembled, the Key, now with telepathic powers thanks to a cybernetic implant, tries to destroy the League. After a long battle with Batman, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Manitou Dawn, he is beaten and sent to "the dream realm", a place for telepaths, where he can think in peace. He somehow escapes, as he is later seen fighting in the Battle of Metropolis.
After this, he appeared in Justice League of America (volume 2) #17, as leader of a group of villains seeking to avoid being sent to the prison planet. The story suggests that the other villains are looking to the Key to facilitate their escape from JLA holding cells when they see fit to do so, but the League has prepared for this and ensured that the power dampeners in the cells prevent his enhanced intelligence from working as well as the more physical abilities of the other villains. Later, in issue #37, he is shown acting as a middle man between Roulette and an unseen master. In Final Crisis, he is part of Libra's Secret Society of Super Villains.
Originally The Key carries a blaster in the shape of a key.
The Key’s psycho-chemicals have allowed him to access the 90% of the human brain that is untapped. This has vastly increased his intelligence and expanded his range of senses. He has created a programmable psycho-virus that initiates a dream-like flu. The flu takes over the central nervous system and allows the Key to produce structured hallucinations; he is then able to steal the energy from the mind of the infected person.
The Key has several robot servants that he uses to perform tasks for him. The androids have some resistance to physical attack, and also have offensive capabilities.