The Psycho Serum Trope In Sci-Fi, Explained
It's almost amazing that mankind hasn't figured out a decent replicable way to give each other superpowers. Science fiction authors have pitched infinite possible options. An old favorite across all mediums of sci-fi is some sort of chemical cocktail that turns the user into a more powerful version of themselves. Unfortunately, some super serum side effects include bloodlust, loss of motor control, and complete mental breakdown.
There's an open moral question hanging over the subject of chemical enhancement. Medicine is one thing, but is there something inherently wrong with performance-enhancing drugs as a concept? Regardless of how they're used, chemicals that give people superpowers invite a lot of new dangers to modern life. Perhaps the most obvious issue is the possibility of catastrophic collateral damage.
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Psycho Serum is the evil twin of the typical super soldier serum. It typically grants all the benefits with some substantial drawbacks. The user may have consented to the dosage, willing to brave the possible risks in exchange for power. They could be tricked into taking it, totally unaware that it could completely ruin them. Or, they could be an unwilling participant in some sort of mad science experiment. Since this trope involves the victim becoming unhinged, the power granted by the serum tends to be fairly straightforward. The user will become extremely strong and durable, but they'll usually lose their self-control in the process. In more extreme cases, the user might suffer some fairly heinous physical changes. In some cases, emotional instability is an intended effect. It's all part of the morally questionable pursuit of power.
This trope obviously has its basis in real interpretations of drug use. There are countless stories about real people and fictional characters becoming powerful through the use of alcohol. Some drugs do offer a level of increased physical strength as part of their mind-altering effects. The Nazis used enough meth to fill all the bunkers in Sweden. It aided them in their punishing offensive campaigns, allowing soldiers to gradually grind themselves into dust without complaint, but the higher-ups were also happily taking "tanker's chocolate." This led to some questionable wartime strategic decisions. It's debatable at best whether the immense quantity of stimulants in the bloodstream of any given fascist corpse in the snow at Stalingrad was at all helpful to the long-term Nazi war machine. Science fiction can go bigger with the good and bad sides of the concept.
The Psycho Serum that inspired most other examples likely came from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella is one of the most frequently adapted pieces of classic literature. Though the potion that split Henry Jekyll's personality was only doing as it was intended, it did grant Hyde a bit of extra strength. Most iterations of the story imagine Hyde being bigger or more attractive, but the original story makes him out to be a cartoon villain. The enhancement is a lack of inhibitions that allows Hyde to commit crimes for his own gain. Over the years, the concept has escalated in both directions.
The world of superhero comics has been a great showcase for this trope. Bane is the classic example. He's powerful, intelligent, and capable by default, but he's addicted to the performance-enhancing drug Venom. Like most examples, Venom grants Bane a massive increase in physical strength, but it also takes all of his eloquence from him. Spider-Man's nemesis the Green Goblin typically gains his power from a hazardous green juice. His unique blend grants him an alternate personality, rather than just corrupting the one he already has. This trope has become even more common in cinematic takes on the material.
A huge chunk of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is dependent on the path of a single Psycho Serum. In the 30s, Dr. Abraham Erskine started work on the Super Soldier Serum. The first notable case of its effect was Johann Schmidt. He was already a Nazi, but the serum only heightened his evil. Years later, Erskine perfected the formula and gave it to Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes with much better results. During the Cold War, when Barnes was a brainwashed Soviet agent, the US gave unstable variants of the material to a group of African American soldiers, killing almost all of them. In 2008's The Incredible Hulk, the same serum was part of Bruce Banner's transformation into the Hulk. The US government then doses Emil Blonsky with a dram of Bruce Banner's irradiated blood. He becomes the Abomination, a monster who manages to be more dangerous than The Hulk. Years later, they would be stolen by Karli Morgenthau. Simply put, the serum amplifies whatever the user has. If they're good, it's Super Soldier Serum. If they're not, it's Psycho Serum.
Psycho Serum is a great way to get a supervillain into a story. It frequently ties the villain's backstory in with the hero's. Even when these scientific enhancements give the world Captain America, there's always the potential for abuse.
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