Locke & Key: Breaking down what the keys are and what they do

Identity Key

The Identity Key was created for the Netflix series and is an amalgamation of two keys from the comics—the Gender Key (allowing the user to change their gender) and the Skin Key (allowing the user to change their skin color and race). Those two keys seem to have been deemed inappropriate, fortunately, and changed to the Identity Key, which is much more sensitive to marginalized communities.

In the Locke & Key show, the Identity Key allows the user to take on different forms—though it is not made clear whether the user can simply conjure up any kind of person they want or whether it has to be a person they have already seen.

We don’t know whether Dodge or Gabe (Griffin Gluck) were ever real people—Lucas may have conjured them from his imagination. Interestingly, the Identity Key doesn’t only change the body of the person, but also their clothes, making it a very versatile tool.

Matchstick Key

One of the keys created exclusively for the Netflix show, the Matchstick Key sets anything it comes into contact with on fire. Unlike most of the other keys, it doesn’t have to be used on a door or a person—the Matchstick Key can be used on any object to set it alight.