Karl Keller (Earth-One)

Annihilator
Mainstream Universe‎, 1950s-1986
Gallery
Real Name	Karl Keller
Main Alias	Annihilator
Other Aliases	Carl Keller
Relatives	Annihilator Jr. (adopted son)
Status
Alignment	Bad
Identity	Secret Identity
Occupation	Scientist
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Hair	Red
Origin
Universe	Earth-One
Creators	Leo Dorfman · Wayne Boring
First Appearance	Action Comics #355 (October, 1967)
Last Appearance	Action Comics #357 (December, 1967)

The Annihilator was an enemy of Superman.

History

Karl Keller was a Nobel-winning scientist. He was put in prison for speaking against the dictator of his Iron Curtain country. He spent his days in the mines and his nights in the laboratory creating chemical weapons for his captors. Keller blamed Superman for his being a protector of the weak but letting him languish in prison.

While mining, Keller discovered a crashed rocket ship and learned that it had originally come from the now-dead planet Krypton. Still intact within the rocket were several vials of Kryptonian explosives, and Keller, by now desperate to escape from his jailers deduced their nature and drank them. The chemicals reacted with his body chemistry to give him amazing super-powers, and Keller used these to escape. He then put together a costume for himself and, calling himself the Annihilator, went on a destructive rampage. He also issued a stern warning to Superman and the world: that if anyone tried to stop him, the entire planet would be destroyed. Superman quickly learned that Keller had the power to back up this threat.

Meanwhile, Keller was busy trying to hide his double life by finding a job. He noticed a teenage purse snatcher called Pocketbook Pete being arrested by police and thought he could use the youngster as part of his cover story. He helped the boy escape and offered to adopt him. The boy, tempted by the idea of being the son of a supervillain, accepted. Keller's affection for the boy appears to have been genuine, and the two became inseparable.

Keller's powers began weakening as his body built a resistance to the chemicals. Peter, however, had found the secret cache of Kryptonian chemicals and drank the remainder of them himself, and had thus become just as powerful as Keller had been. Dubbing himself Annihilator Jr. he went on his own rampage.

Seeing the swath of destruction caused by the boy, Keller at last felt the pangs of remorse, and agreed to help Superman trick the teen. Annihilator posed as Superman and exposed Pete to an explosive material that combined with the Kryptonian chemicals. The ruse worked, and the chemical combination transformed Pete into a baby.

With the threat posed by the two Annihilators gone, Superman agreed to give Keller a second chance at a new life, and allowed him to go free. Keller took his newly infant son with him, vowing to raise him to be a law-abiding citizen.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Superhuman Strength
• Energy Projection

Abilities

• Science

Notes

• This version of Annihilator, including all history and corresponding appearances, was erased from existence following the collapse of the original Multiverse in the 1985–86 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and later restored following the rebirth of the infinite Multiverse during the Dark Crisis of 2022-2023. Even though other versions of the character may have appeared, this information does not apply to those versions.

Related

• 3 Appearances of Karl Keller (Earth-One)
• 1 Images featuring Karl Keller (Earth-One)
• Quotations by or about Karl Keller (Earth-One)
• Character Gallery: Karl Keller (Earth-One)

Footnotes

Superman Villain(s) This character has been primarily an enemy of Superman in any of his various incarnations, or members of the Superman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Superman Villains category."