u/EnvironmentalLeg1775

Theory: Midas doesn't control his curse physically. He controls it linguistically.

Hear me out.

Everyone assumes Midas turns things into gold through physical contact.

But that clearly isn't how it works.

Otherwise every button he presses, every steering wheel he grabs, every weapon he uses, and every device he touches would instantly become gold.

Instead, I think his power operates on a much higher level:

Semantics.

The curse doesn't care about contact.

It cares about what Midas believes he's doing.

Example:

Midas sees an apple.

If he thinks:

"I'm going to touch this apple."

Boom. Gold apple.

But if he thinks:

"I'm going to pick up this apple."

Nothing happens.

Same physical action.

Different verb.

Different result.

This also explains how he functions in daily life.

He doesn't touch buttons. He presses them.

He doesn't touch doors. He opens them.

He doesn't touch a car. He drives it.

He doesn't touch a keyboard. He types on it.

The power isn't checking where his hands are.

It's checking the intent attached to the action.

Which means Midas' greatest enemy isn't some supervillain.

It's intrusive thoughts.

Imagine he's about to press an elevator button and his brain suddenly goes:

"I'm gonna touch this button real quick."

Congratulations.

The button is now solid gold.

Elevator's out of service.

Everybody's taking the stairs.

After years of training, Midas probably developed an entire vocabulary specifically to avoid the word "touch."

Normal person:

"I'll touch the handle."

Midas:

"I shall engage the door-opening apparatus."

Normal person:

"I'll touch my phone."

Midas:

"I will utilize my portable communication device."

Normal person:

"Can you touch this for a second?"

Midas:

"ABSOLUTELY NOT."

So in conclusion:

Midas doesn't have the Golden Touch.

He has the Golden Definition of Touch.

The curse isn't activated by skin contact.

It's activated by grammar.