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Lex Luthor
In more recent years, the mad scientist as a lone
investigator of the forbidden unknown has tended to be
replaced by mad corporate executives who plan to profit
from defying the laws of nature and humanity regardless
of who suffers; these people hire a salaried scientific
staff to pursue their twisted dreams.
Lex Luthor Returns
This shift is
typified by the revised history of Superman's archenemy, Lex Luthor: originally conceived in the 1930s as a
typically solitary mad scientist, a major retcon of the
character's origins in 1986 made Lex Luthor the head of
a megacorporation who also plays a leading role in his R
& D department.
Bob Page, the master villain in the
computer game Deus Ex, is another example. Still, the
pose has been used whimsically by popular science
writers to attract readers.
The techniques of mad science also changed after
Hiroshima. Electricity was replaced by radiation as the
new tool to create, enlarge, or deform life (e.g.,
Godzilla).
As audiences became more savvy, quantum
mechanics, genetic engineering, and artificial
intelligence have taken the spotlight (e.g., Blade
Runner).
Mad scientist - Index
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