Advertisement

Locksmith (Earth-616)

Locksmith_(Earth-616)_from_Spider-Woman_Vol_1_50_0001

Nothing is known about the identity of the Locksmith. He boasted that as a young man, locks fascinated him. As his prowess in escaping from restraints developed, he became a highly adept and successful escape artist, but he was soon being overshadowed by the deeds of superheroes. People stopped paying to see him perform incredible deeds that they could see for free in public. He lashed out by purchasing a building and converting it into a prison especially equipped to imprison superhumans.

He and a psychic he hired named Ticktock then began following San Francisco’s resident super-hero, Spider-Woman, around since her arrival in the city, and began capturing and detaining the superhumans that she encountered. Among the individuals they seized and captured were Tigra, Poltergeist, Angar the Screamer, Flying Tiger, Killer Shrike, the Needle, Tatterdemalion, the Werewolf by Night, Daddy Long Legs, Nekra, The Enforcer, Hangman, the Shroud, and Dansen Macabre.

Eventually, the Locksmith and Ticktock captured Spider-Woman herself and brought her into their prison. Prohibited from using her powers, she managed to cause a jailbreak by having Tigra insult Poltergeist to the point that his psychokinetic power shut down her restraints. Spider-Woman then had Gypsy Moth use her power to switch costumes with her. Once in Gypsy Moth’s specially designed cell in tune to only her psychokinetic power, Spider-Woman escaped and freed all of the Locksmith’s other prisoners. Watching everyone escape, the Locksmith then had a nervous breakdown while Gypsy Moth restrained him and Ticktock long enough for the authorities to collect them.

History

The man later known as the Locksmith had a fascination with bolts, grips and latches that only grew as the years went by. As an adult, he became a professional escape artist and stage magician, and his show was the most popular in its field on the American West Coast during its time. However, after several years in the spotlight, his popularity waned.[1] The Locksmith concluded that this was due to the increasingly common feats performed by superpowered individuals, which overshadowed in the public eye the achievements that mere humans could achieve,[1][5][3][2] and found it especially unfair.[1] Driven mad,[2][6][7] developed a fanatical hatred[1][3][8][9] toward superhumans,[1][6][7] whom he branded as freaks and deviants, and decided to take action against them.[1]

The Locksmith decided to kidnap and imprison superhumans [1][5] in a private prison, [1][3] using cells and devices specifically designed to nullify their powers[1][5] individually.[1] He believed that by removing superhumans from society, the achievements of humans would once again be a cause for respect.[1] He bought a building with his savings that he converted into a prison,[1][2] with specialized mechanisms developed by himself (In almost all cases, the prisoner was kept handcuffed with a body lock that allowed little mobility, of variable material depending on the strength of the subject, and each cell had a lock or control designed for the power of the victim)[1] and decided to capture as many superhumans as he could,[2] focusing his activity on the Los Angeles[10][11][2] area.[4] The Locksmith recruited an assistant: Ticktock[1][4][8][9][3] a precognitive superhuman[1][3][2] who perceived the Locksmith as a focused and passionate man[1] when the latter had become a criminal,[1][4] anti-superhuman vigilante.[1][4][6][7] Ticktock took turns walking between the cells and focusing his power to prevent unforeseen events.[1] For three years, the Locksmith hunted and imprisoned[1] various superhumans, heroic or criminal, as well as costumed adventurers,[1][3] including several who had met the West Coast-based superhuman adventurer Spider-Woman: The Locksmith followed Spider-Woman's trail for months, because she led him to several other superhumans.[1]

Thus, the Locksmith captured several supervillains that Spider-Woman had faced, including:[1][12]

  • Angar the Screamer, an international criminal wanted in Halwan, who had sonic powers and whom Spider-Woman had arrested in Los Angeles and delivered to the police.[13] The Locksmith held him[1][2] by preventing him from using his powers; thou it is unclear how he captured Angar exactly.[1]
  • The Enforcer, who had blackmailed Spider-Woman into cooperating with him by threatening the life of her partner; the Enforcer had eventually been arrested in Los Angeles.[14] The Locksmith kept the Enforcer in a very dark cell so that the shadows from both the walls and the bars caused him severe paranoia. Again, the specifics of the Enforcer’s capture have not been revealed.[1]
  • Flying Tiger, a hitman who had seriously injured Spider-Woman upon their first encounter, but had later been captured by her[15] and turned over to the police,[1] only to escape the authorities and be captured by the Locksmith.[6][7] The Locksmith kept the Flying Tiger locked up in a small cell, with so little space that it caused him claustrophobia, as well as preventing him from using his strength and flight powers.[1]
  • The Hangman, an especially violent and lethal vigilante[16][1][10][11] who bucked contemporary moral influences by drawing on a background of traditional roles[16] based on the films of her childhood,[17] had clashed with Spider-Woman[16][10][11] and the Werewolf by Night. Having escaped from the police, the Hangman was captured by the Locksmith,[10][11] who gave him tranquilizing drugs and made him watch constant, banal, simplistic children's television shows to keep his mind occupied.[1][10][11]
  • The Needle, a demented elderly man who, after being attacked by young people in Los Angeles, began attacking all the young people, injuring them and using the powers he had discovered.[18] Through means unknown, the Locksmith captured and kept the Needle imprisoned.[1][19] The Needle's power was focused through his gaze, so the Locksmith blindfolded him.[1]
  • Nekra, a manipulative villain whose strength depended on the hatred she [20] In a previous fight against Spider-Woman, Nekra was beaten into a coma.[8][9][20] While she was recovering, she was kidnapped by the Locksmith and Ticktock.[8][9] It is not known what specific mechanisms the Locksmith used to keep her in his cell.[1]
  • The Shroud, blind but with mystic perceptions,[21] had initially confronted Spider-Woman[22] but they later became allies.[21] He was captured by the Locksmith[23][24] and subjected to through speakers to a constant grating sound that prevented him from concentrating or using his powers. The Shroud spent at least several weeks locked away.[1]

The Locksmith captured other superhumans who had not had contact with Spider-Woman, including:[1]

  • Dansen Macabre, a member of the Cult of Kali[4] whom the Shroud and Spider-Woman had fought together.[21] The Shroud had had previous contact with Dansen Macabre, but Spider-Woman had not.[4][23][24] The Locksmith captured Dansen Macabre and, knowing that Dansen Macabre's power required her to dance, he filled the floor of her cell with pellets so that she could not even stand.[1]
  • Killer Shrike, a former soldier outfitted by the Brand Corporation and became a mercenary after the public disbandment of Brand.[25][26] He was captured by the Locksmith;[27][25][26] it is unclear what exact mechanism was holding him.[1]
  • Tatterdemalion was captured by the Locksmith;[28] it is unclear what exact mechanism was holding him.[1]

Loathing Spider-Woman and her ways, the Locksmith sought to humiliate her before capturing her, and so prepared illusionist supplies that would allow him to abduct superhumans in her sight.[1] The first of these was Daddy Long Legs, a would-be dancer who had been mutated into an absurdly long-limbed creature by a stolen mutagenic formula. Spider-Woman defeated Daddy Long Legs in the parking lot outside a theater and tied him up; While she was contemplating whether to seek psychiatric or scientific help for him, she became distracted for a moment and was kidnapped by the Locksmith.[29] The Locksmith held Daddy Long Legs in a space too small to allow him to stretch out, which only exacerbated Daddy Long Legs' self-hatred over his new form.[1]

Soon afterward, the Gypsy Moth began a hedonistic cult around her own person[30][3] in Bel Air.[30] Spider-Woman defeated the Moth, but was momentarily distracted[30][3] to check on her friend Lindsay McCabe who was okay,[30] and the Locksmith took the opportunity to kidnap the Moth.[30][3] Her cultists, under the effects of drugs, they saw nothing.[3] Moth's cell and bindings were customized for her superpowers, which did not include superstrength or require a lot of concentration.[1]

Spider-Woman visited her friend Jack Russell, the Werewolf, who was preparing to spend the full moon in a cell at his home in Colden House.[30] Russell was inside the cell when she arrived, transformed into the Werewolf, and disappeared instantly; Spider-Woman realized that someone was manipulating her.[31] The Locksmith kept the Werewolf in a cell so that blood pooled in his head and he could not turn back into a human, thus he was forced to remain a werewolf even by day.[1]

In her secret identity of private investigator Jessica Drew, Spider-Woman was hired[31] to find runaway mutant teenager Mickey Silk, nicknamed Poltergeist, who found protection from superheroine Tigra.[31][12] At a meeting in a clock tower, Drew saw Poltergeist's out-of-control powers and agreed not to turn him in,[31] but then Poltergeist and Tigra were captured by the Locksmith[31][32][12] while Spider-Woman distracted the police.[31] The Locksmith isolated Tigra from the outside, nullifying his senses; but he did not understand what Poltergeist's powers were. Deducing that they had to do with his brain patterns, the Locksmith put a headband on him that rendered Poltergeist catatonic by sending mild electric pulses through his brain.[1]

The Locksmith then kidnapped Spider-Woman in her home, 1 Yarbro Court, while she was getting ready for breakfast with her roommate Lindsay McCabe; Spider-Woman was saying that people she knew had a strange tendency to disappear, and McCabe claimed she was exaggerating. When Spider-Woman entered the shower, the Locksmith captured her, leaving a horrified and tearful McCabe behind. The Locksmith and Ticktock flew Spider-Woman to his lair, where the Locksmith had her dress, put her in a cage, and attached specialized restraints. The Locksmith explained his motivations to Spider-Woman and showed her the prison he was going to lock her in. Spider-Woman's cell had a bioelectric drainer that weakened Spider-Woman, affecting her bioelectric powers. The Locksmith then met with Ticktock to discuss their next attack the next day capturing the Viper,[1] then in Illinois;[1][33] the Locksmith intended to set traps to capture her.[1]

As Ticktock made his rounds through the cells, Tigra considered attacking him, but Ticktock's powers alerted her; and she also failed to convince Ticktock to betray the Locksmith. Spider-Woman then called the Shroud, interrupting the repetitive rhythm and giving him minimal consciousness; he attempted to smash the headphones by headbutting them against the bars of his cell, but the headphones resisted. Tigra wanted to collaborate with Spider-Woman, proposing to unleash Poltergeist's uncontrolled powers by bullying Poltergeist. Poltergeist's powers opened Spider-Woman and the Gypsy Moth's cells, but not their handcuffs.[1]

Spider-Woman attempted to collaborate with her enemy the Moth, asking the latter to use her power to affect the restraints. The Moth explained that her powers were no match for metal, and the escape attempts triggered defenses in the cells that filled them with narcotic gas and alerted the Locksmith and Ticktock. With little time, Spider-Woman produced a plan that the Moth implemented: The Moth's powers would allow her to affect the fabric of their clothes, to switch them, so that the captors would confuse each with the other and locked each in the other's cell. Sure enough, the Locksmith and Ticktock arrived with breathing masks to respectively put Spider-Woman in the Moth's cell, and vice versa; they even went to the trouble of putting new handcuffs on them because theirs were damaged. After a few hours, Spider-Woman broke the Moth's cuffs, which could not withstand Spider-Woman's super strength, and destroyed the bars of the Moth's cell with her venom blasts. Immediately, Spider-Woman freed the Moth, who was heavily drugged by the intense gas, then Tigra,[1] and later leading a mass escape[6][7][2] with the Moth.[8][9][3] This set off several alarms, and the Locksmith rushed to the jail, though Ticktock prophesied that this would be a bad idea. By the time the Locksmith arrived, Spider-Woman had also freed the Shroud, Poltergeist, and the Werewolf, who were waiting in anticipation. Unable to defeat them, the Locksmith broke down, and the Moth used her powers[1] to bind him[1][3] with his own clothes.[1] Tigra cheered Poltergeist up, explaining that he had been a great help and that she was sorry she had to harass him.[1]

The Locksmith, defeated[1][12][8][2] was turned over to the police[1] and sent to prison.[2] Spider-Woman decided to let some prisoners who were not criminals go free,[12] while the more dangerous ones, like the Hangman, were turned over to the authorities[10][11] to go to jail.[2] She invited Daddy Long Legs, Poltergeist, Tigra, the Shroud, the Werewolf, and Gypsy Moth,[1] whom she wanted to give a chance to become a moral person,[3] to a party at her house.[1][3] There Daddy Long Legs empathized with the Locksmith, since, like him, he was an artist overwhelmed by his frustrations, while the Werewolf, in his human form as Russell, doubted that a prison could hold a man like the Locksmith.[1]

During the party, Spider-Woman was found apparently dead due to magical causes, and a spell made all living people forget her,[1][12] which baffled Daddy Long Legs and Gypsy Moth who, suddenly not knowing what they were doing there, left. The Shroud then found Spider-Woman's body and broke the spell.[32] Tigra called upon the superheroes Avengers,[32][12][23][24] who worked with the Shroud to save Spider-Woman's life.[12]

After that, the Shroud, a crimefighting vigilante who pretended to be a criminal himself,[3][2] saw an opportunity in the contacts made among the Locksmith's other prisoners, and recruited several of them,[3][2] including the Gypsy Moth and Ticktock himself[3] (as well as Dansen Macabre, the Needle, Tatterdemalion and the Werewolf)[23][24] to create a Los Angeles-based so-called criminal gang[3] called the Night Shift that opposed other criminals and protected innocents,[3][2] even if its members believed to be mercenaries working for money,[3] while the Shroud himself remained Spider-Woman's ally.[23][24]

Some of the criminals that had been captured by the Locksmith, including Killer Shrike,[28] the Needle[34] and Tatterdemalion, held a great grudge against the Locksmith and considered him a personal nemesis.[35] Others, such as the Flying Tiger, simply returned to their previous activities.[6][7]

Attributes

Powers

Locksmith (Earth-616), Tick Tock (Earth-616) from Spider-Woman Vol 1 50 001
The Locksmith was a master escape artist.
The Locksmith had no superhuman powers.[1]

Abilities

The Locksmith was a master escape artist, able to free himself from bonds and chains in a matter of a few seconds, as well as being able to escape from almost any prison. He was also a successful showman, impressive on stage, yet with the ability to remain unnoticed.[1]

The Locksmith was a wealthy man, able to afford large buildings with a significant outlay on technology and energy. He also had a significant network of contacts and informants, and was able to convince Ticktock to assist him on a day-to-day basis.[1]

The Locksmith did not simply build mechanisms and gadgets to help him capture superhumans unnoticed: The custom technology the Locksmith used to hold his prisoners was developed by the Locksmith himself, demonstrating significant scientific and engineering talent, as well as the ability to understand the nature of his victims' superhuman powers.[1]

Weaknesses

Although Ticktock believed that the Locksmith merely a bit of a monomaniac,[1] the Locksmith was objectively an insane,[1][2][6][7] anti-superhuman[8][9] fanatic[3][8][9] who suffered a mental breakdown when his plans were foiled.[1]

For someone as observant as an illusionist is expected to be, the Locksmith failed to notice when Spider-Woman and the Gypsy Moth changed clothes, even if those clothes did not hide their hair and each woman had a different hair color and style.[1]

Paraphernalia

Equipment

The Locksmith carried a big keyring with old keys on his belt. Those are possibly just a prop from his old days, as he used high-technology airtight cells that could not possibly use those keys.[1]

He had a breathing mask ready in case he had to check on his prisoners after narcotic gas was automatically released.[1]

Transportation

The Locksmith had his own private airplane.[1]

Notes

Trivia

  • Although the Locksmith was in a crusade against superhumans, he had no qualm about using Ticktock, who had superhuman precognition powers, as his assistant (Still, he did reprimand Ticktock, demanding that the latter was useful, lest he would "stop being useful", suggesting some consequences for this). He also imprisoned the Enforcer, the Flying Tiger and the Hangman who had no natural superhuman powers;[1] the Locksmith is believed to have captured them, or at least the Hangman, because they were costumed adventurers.[10]
  • The Killer Shrike spent little time in the Locksmith's cells,[25] while the Shroud spent weeks there.[1]
  • After capturing Spider-Woman, the Locksmith had twenty-five cells (either as a total or free at that point) and wanted to occupy all of them in one year, hopefully living to see his dream.[1] The Locksmith was not a young man, but there was no reason to believe he would die in a matter of months; he was not ill for what is known. He may have meant that his vigilante activities could be dangerous and a superhuman attacking him could kill him at any time.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 1.38 1.39 1.40 1.41 1.42 1.43 1.44 1.45 1.46 1.47 1.48 1.49 1.50 1.51 1.52 1.53 1.54 1.55 1.56 1.57 1.58 1.59 1.60 1.61 1.62 1.63 1.64 1.65 1.66 1.67 1.68 1.69 1.70 1.71 1.72 1.73 1.74 1.75 Spider-Woman #50
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update #2 ; Night Shift
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #10 ; Skein
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89 #5 ; Night Shift
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #7 ; Appendix: Locksmith
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z: Update #2 ; Flying Tiger
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #4 ; Flying Tiger
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #8 ; Nekra
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #8 ; Nekra
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (Vol. 2) #17 ; Hangman
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 Gamer's Handbook of the Marvel Universe #2 ; Hangman
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #11 ; Spider-Woman (Drew)
  13. ↑ Spider-Woman #35
  14. ↑ Spider-Woman #29
  15. ↑ Spider-Woman #40
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Spider-Woman #4
  17. ↑ Spider-Woman #5
  18. ↑ Spider-Woman #9
  19. ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition #7 ; Hangman
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Spider-Woman #16
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Spider-Woman #15
  22. ↑ Spider-Woman #13
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z: Update #4 ; Shroud
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #10 ; Shroud
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z: Update #3 ; Killer Shrike
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Marvel Encyclopedia #Spider-Man ; Killer Shrike
  27. ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition #15 ; Killer Shrike’s profile
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition #15 ; Killer Shrike
  29. ↑ Spider-Woman #47
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 30.4 30.5 Spider-Woman #48
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 31.4 31.5 Spider-Woman #49
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 Avengers #240
  33. ↑ Captain America #281
  34. ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition #27 ; Needle
  35. ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition #16 ; Tatterdemalion

More Information

More Fandoms
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
  NODES
Community 6
games 5
games 5
HOME 2
Idea 1
idea 1
Intern 1
mac 6
Note 4
OOP 1
os 37