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|caption= Cover of ''[[The Amazing Spider-Man]]'' #9 (Feb. 1964), first appearance of Electro. Art by [[Steve Ditko]].
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|alter_ego=Maxwell Dillon
|alter_ego=Maxwell Dillon

Revision as of 15:33, 18 May 2008

Not to be confused with Elektra (comics).

Electro is the name of several fictional characters that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics, including two from Marvel's predecessors, Timely Comics and Atlas Comics. The most prominent Electro is Maxwell Dillon, a supervillain and an enemy of Spider-Man. He was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in The Amazing Spider-Man #9 (Feb. 1964).

Publication history

The first supervillain Electro, in Captain America #78 (Sept. 1954), cover art by John Romita Sr.

Electro (Timely Comics)

The first comics character of this name was the robot hero Electro, a backup-feature star in Marvel Mystery Comics, flagship title of Marvel's Golden Age predecessor, Timely Comics. Created by writer-artist Steve Dahlman, Electro appeared in Marvel Mystery #4—19 (Feb. 1940 — May 1941). His origin story described his invention by Professor Philo Zog, one of a group of twelve known as the Secret Operatives. [1][2]

Marvel Comics announced that Electro would appear in the cast of the comic The Twelve by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Weston, scheduled for publication in 2008.[3] [4]

Electro (Atlas Comics)

Marvel's next Electro was a Communist supervillain created during the unsuccessful attempt by Marvel's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics, to revive superheroes in that decade. This Electro, a Soviet citizen named Ivan Kronov, appeared on the cover and in the six-page story "His Touch is Death" in Captain America #78 (Sept. 1954), penciled and inked by John Romita Sr. and almost certainly if unconfirmably written by the more famous Electro's co-creator, Stan Lee. Many years later, this Electro reappeared in What If? #9 (June 1978), "What If the Avengers had been Formed During the 1950s?"; and, in flashback, in Captain America Annual #13 (1994).

Electro (Marvel Comics)

Fictional character biography

Template:Comics-in-universe

Electro
Cover of The Amazing Spider-Man #9 (Feb. 1964), first appearance of Electro. Art by Steve Ditko.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceThe Amazing Spider-Man #9 (Feb. 1964)
Created byStan Lee
Steve Ditko
In-story information
Alter egoMaxwell Dillon
Team affiliationsSinister Six
Emissaries of Evil
Frightful Four
Exterminators[1]
AbilitiesElectric manipulation

Maxwell Dillon was born to Jonathan and Anita Dillon in Endicott, New York. Jonathan was an accountant, though he had trouble keeping a job. Because of this, Max and his family moved frequently when Max was young and he found it difficult to make friends. His hot-headed father abandoned his family when Max was eight years old. Anita subsequently became overprotective of Max, leading to his single greatest flaw as a super-villain: his inferiority complex. Years later, Max told his mother he wished to become an electrical engineer. Anita, not wanting him to be angry if he failed, convinced him he was not intelligent enough, and Max reluctantly took a job as a lineman for an electric company.

While he was repairing a power line, a freak lightning accident resulted in a mutagenic change in his nervous system, transforming Dillon into a living electrical capacitor. Taking the name Electro, he turned to a life of a professional criminal, his first victim being J. Jonah Jameson. Electro broke into the Daily Bugle Building and stole Jameson's safe right in front of him. Jameson accused Spider-Man of being an alternate identity of Electro, prompting Spider-Man to prove the publisher wrong. During his confrontation with Electro, Spider-Man was nearly killed when he touched the electrically charged supervillain. Spider-Man eventually used a fire hose to short-circuit Electro.[5]

Electro next confronted Daredevil for the first time.[6] Electro later joined the original Sinister Six.[7] Electro attacked the Fantastic Four at the wedding of Sue Storm and Reed Richards, under the control of Doctor Doom.[8] He later recruited the second Emissaries of Evil in a plot of revenge against Daredevil for previous defeats. This group consisted of Gladiator, Stilt-Man, Leap-Frog, and the Matador.[9]

Electro was later hired by J. Jonah Jameson to defeat Spider-Man on national television.[10] He encountered Daredevil again in San Francisco, at which time he temporarily donned a modified costume.[11] He then took control of a Protarian android seeking the destruction of Omega.[12] Electro then teamed with Blizzard against Spider-Man and Daredevil.[13] Electro then attempted to aid a band of criminals escaping the Defenders.[14]

Electro later joined the Frightful Four.[15] As part of the Frightful Four, he used Spider-Man as bait to trap the Fantastic Four.[16] Electro later learned that he can electro-statically disrupt Spider-Man's wall-crawling ability.[17] The Chameleon and Hammerhead then sent the Shocker to try to recruit Electro into their organization.[18] Instead, he later accepted Doctor Octopus's invitation to rejoin the Sinister Six, and battled Spider-Man.[19]

Electro has fought Spider-Man countless times, either on his own or as part of a group such as the Sinister Six. He has also fought such other heroes as Daredevil, Fantastic Four and the New Avengers. Despite his immense power, he has almost always been defeated, usually as a result of his foes outsmarting him or taking advantage of his weakness to water while charged.

As a result of his frequent and often embarrassing defeats, Electro tried to take over New York City's power supply in an attempt at glory and respect. Spider-Man thwarted this plan, however, and convinced Electro to quit his criminal career. When the insane Spider-Man clone Kaine started killing enemies of Spider-Man, Electro began to fear for his life and temporarily joined Mysterio's Sinister Seven, which had been formed to combat Kaine. This group was quickly disbanded, and following Kaine's subsequent disappearance, Electro returned to retirement.

This changed when The Rose agreed to fund an experimental technique that would amplify Electro's abilities, in exchange for Electro's services as an enforcer. Seeing this as a chance to rise above the string of failures that had made up so much of his life, Electro underwent the procedure. After paying off his debt to the Rose by defeating several members of The True Believers (an offshoot of the famous ninja sect The Hand), a group of ninja assassins who had been interfering in the Rose's operations, Electro attempted to demonstrate his newly amplified powers to the world, once again attempting to take control of New York City's power supply. Wearing an insulated suit, Spider-Man stopped him. Electro, in an effort to make a final grand gesture, threw himself into the Hudson River while his body was highly charged, seemingly killing himself in an explosion.

Somehow surviving, Electro resurfaced later as part of the re-formed Sinister Six, formed to kill Senator Stewart Ward and Doctor Octopus (Whom the other members of the Six now hated due to his arrogance). His powers had seemingly reverted to their pre-amplification level, and he wore a new blue-and-white costume. When Venom betrayed his fellow Sinister Six members, attempting to kill them one by one, he attacked Electro and left him for dead. Once again, Electro survived, and when he next appeared had returned to his yellow-and green-costume.

In the mid-2000s, Electro was working with the Vulture (as well as questioning his own sexuality)[20][21] when they were attacked by Spider-Man, who thought they had kidnapped his Aunt May. Electro managed to bring Spider-Man to the edge of defeat, using his powers in more intelligent ways and blowing up a large number of cars, including some with children in them. After a devastating battle, Spider-Man defeated him by fighting him to a gas refinery. The badly wounded Electro recovered fairly quickly, and shortly afterwards joined the Sinister Twelve, assembled by the Green Goblin, though he and the rest of the team was defeated thanks to the intervention of the Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Captain America, Iron Man and Yellowjacket.

Later, separately, he was hired by an unknown figure to free Karl Lykos (also known as Sauron) from The Raft, a maximum-security prison for supervillains. After causing a riot, Electro tried to run away with his waitress girlfriend, but was captured by the New Avengers, subsequently fainting when faced with the prospect of being beaten up by Luke Cage, using Spider-Man's webbing to protect himself from Electro. [22].

During the Civil War storyline, Electro was among the villains in Hammerhead's unnamed villain army when Iron Man and S.H.I.E.L.D. raided the hideout.[23]

Later, Electro joined the Chameleon's "Exterminators[2]", seeking to take advantage of Spider-Man having revealed his identity to the public.

Powers and abilities

An unusually configured magnetic field was created when struck by lightning while Dillon was holding live, high-tension wires and a wound reel of one-inch cable, granting superhuman powers to him. Electro can generate massive quantities of electricity, theoretically up to approximately one million volts. He can employ this electrostatic energy as lightning arcs from his fingertips, and his maximum charge is more than enough to kill a normal human.

When his body is charged to high levels, he becomes superhumanly strong and fast. He can also glide over power lines by using the electricity contained therein for propulsion, and he has on occasion been shown to actually ride on lightning bolts. During a stint in prison, Doctor Octopus gave him the ideas of ionizing metals and sparking the petroleum in the fuel tank of a vehicle as a way to generate explosions. He can charge himself up to make himself more powerful. He can also absorb the energy of electrical equipment such as a power plant to increase his powers further.

In New Avengers, he was shown to fly and manipulate large amounts of electricity and machinery, when he freed all the prisoners at Rikers (although, due to the city-wide blackout preceding the event, he probably absorbed a great deal of energy beforehand).

An experimental procedure heightened his powers, allowing Electro to store and absorb a seemingly limitless amount of electricity. He also seemed to gain the power over magnetism to a certain degree, allowing him to manipulate magnetic fields and move objects in a manner similar to that of Magneto, and could overcome his old weakness to water by using the electromagnetic fields around him to vaporize water before it could touch him. He made Spider-Man beg by stimulating the bioelectric currents in his brain, and was able to defeat Nate Grey by manipulating said currents in Nate's brain to turn his own psionic powers against him.

Electro can override any electrically-powered device and manipulate it according to his mental commands.

By using an external electrical power source to recharge his body's energy reserves, Electro could expend electricity indefinitely without diminishing his personal reserves. When he is fully charged, Electro is extremely sensitive to anything that may "short circuit" him, such as water.

Electro propels himself along magnetic lines of force in objects that have great electrical potential, such as high-tension electrical lines. He can also create electrostatic bridges to traverse upon, at the cost of a great expenditure of energy.

Other versions

Marvel Zombies

Electro appears as one of the undead villains alongside Sandman battling the living Marvel superheroes.

MC2

In the MC2 alternate future, Electro has a daughter, Allison Dillon, who is emotionally troubled over never having had a stable father-figure in her life and becomes the supervillain Aftershock.[24] She had inherited her father's powers, but because Dillon and Allison's electrical auras are different, the slightest touch causes them intense pain. When Dillon discovers his daughter is following in his footsteps, he asks Spider-Man for help. Spider-Man, Spider-Girl and the Avengers help subdue Aftershock, and when Dillon shows up, father and daughter vow to overcome their pain, and Max promises to be a better father.[25]

Spider-Man: Reign

Electro is one of the villains released by Edward to destroy Spider-Man; he is killed by Spider-Man after being knocked into Hydro-Man (who also dies) causing him to short circuit.

Ultimate Electro

Ultimate Electro.

In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Electro has been reimagined with powers as a product of bioengineering. Unlike his mainstream counterpart, Ultimate Electro is bald, wears a black leather outfit, and has some grotesque burn scars. As a result of experimentation by Justin Hammer, Max Dillon is given the power to control and create electricity. He is sold by Hammer to the Kingpin in exchange for a real-estate development contract.[26] Spider-Man defeats him. Electro later escapes from federal custody, murdering several people in the process. The superhero team the Ultimates re-apprehend him and place him S.H.I.E.L.D. custody along with the Sandman, Kraven the Hunter, Doctor Octopus and the Green Goblin. The five supervillains escape and briefly force Spider-Man to join their criminal team, the Ultimate Six.[27] In a battle with the Ultimates on the White House lawn, Thor defeats Electro. He eventually escapes and is hired by Bolivar Trask to gauge Venom's power. Electro leads Venom on a chase throughout Manhattan when Spider-Man appears. Electro knocks Spider-Man out and tries to kill him, but Venom attacks Electro, trying to take Electro's opportunity to kill the fallen hero. Venom defeats Electro by destroying the neon signs that Electro is feeding on. When S.H.I.E.L.D. arrives Venom flees, and Electro is once again brought into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. The Green Goblin later breaks Electro out of the supervillain prison within the Ultimates' headquarters, the Triskelion, in exchange for Electro's alliance when needed.[28] Electro goes to Norman Osborn's penthouse to wait for instructions where he is disturbed by Spider-Man. He attempts to flee and gets involved in a fight both with Spider-Man and Shield agents. He is eventually brought down and is assumed to be back in custody.

In other media

Television

The Marvel Superheroes Show

Electro made a cameo appearance on The Marvel Superheroes episode "Dr. Doom's Day", which was a Sub-Mariner segment.

Spider-Man (1967)

Electro made three appearances in the 1960s Spider-Man animated series.

Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends

Electro was the main villain in the Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends episode Videoman, and made a cameo appearance in Attack of the Arachnoid. He was voiced by Allan Melvin.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series

In the 1990s Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Electro (voiced by Philip Proctor) makes an appearance in season five. Here he is Rheinholt Kragov, instead of Max Dillon. During the course of Six Forgotten Warriors arc in which he appears, it is shown that this version of Electro is the Red Skull's son created as a Doomsday weapon to destroy the Six American Warriors. In this portrayal, Electro is much more powerful than his comic book counterpart (or at least capable of using his powers more intelligently), as he is seen taking over the circuitry of vast machines and essentially brings all of S.H.I.E.L.D. to its knees. He is only defeated when Spider-Man tricks him into connecting himself to a machine made to generate a void in the space-time continuum, which traps him inside a time loop. Electro appears in most of the episode arc in the episodes, "Unclaimed Legacy" and "The Secrets of the Six" before he becomes the villain and as the villain, he only appears in "The Price of Heroism".

Spider-Man Unlimited

In Spider-Man Unlimited, the Counter-Earth version of Electro appears in the episode "Ill-Met By Moonlight" as a Bestial electric eel possessing electrokinetic powers. In the episode, Electro is a guard in the High Evolutionary's main base, Wundagore Castle, and appears to attack to Spider-Man and his Human Revolutionary allies when they invade the castle, looking for a cure for John Jameson's uncontrollable transformations into the Man-Wolf. Electro apparently dies in an explosion during the climax of this fight, after being brutally attacked by the Man-Wolf. Throughout his fight with the Counter-Earth Electro, Spider-Man also references the Earth Electro. [29]

Spider-Man: The New Animated Series

File:Smtv11.jpg
Max Dillon/Electro in Spider-Man: The New Animated Series.

In MTV's Spider-Man: The New Animated Series in 2003, Max Dillon, voiced by Ethan Embry, was a nerdy college friend of Peter Parker. Bullied by members of a fraternity he was pledging, Dillon, after being humiliated at their party, goes out into the rain and gets into a freak accident, transforming into an electrical-powered being after being smudged by an unknown material and struck by lightning. He becomes Electro and plans revenge on the primary bully, Doug Reisman. He kills Doug after revealing to him that he is Max Dillon by electrocuting him and is later defeated by Spider-Man in battle when the hero used grounded power cables, sucking him into the city's electrical system. It was later revealed that Max was still alive at the end of the episode when his voice is heard screaming as if he is dying in a lamppost in the cemetery near Doug Reisman's grave.

However, he returns several episodes later, attempting to make Sally, a girl with whom he became infatuated at the party, go through a similar transformation. Spider-Man defeats him again, this time by trapping Electro in an electric generator box provided by Harry Osborn's OsCorp and tossing it into the river, effectively destroying Electro.

The Spectacular Spider-Man

Electro, voiced by Crispin Freeman, appears in the second episode of The Spectacular Spider-Man, [30]entitled "Interactions".[31]

Originally an electrician and friend of Dr. Curt Connors, Max Dilion is electrocuted in a freak accident when his power drill falls on a faulty wire, throwing him back against experimental tank of electric eels and exposed to the liquid inside. Though Max survived, his body became an unstable living electrical capacitor. Soon after, Dr. Bromwell has Max wear a jumpsuit to contain the electricity to protect himself and others, a variant of the Ultimate costume but in army private green color scheme with wires and tubes connecting his body to his gloves and mask that opens up to reveals his face, now covered in his electric field. Maddened by his physical isolation, combined with Spider-Man harassing him, Max takes on the name of "Electro"--after Spider-Man jokingly called him that during their first fight, along with "Lightning Butt"--and lashes out for a cure by taking Dr. Connors hostage until he is defeated by Spider-Man knocking him into a pool, rendering Electro unconscious. Electro is one of the only villains (besides Lizard) who didn't want to become a villain.

Electro will appear in the episode "Group Therapy", alongside many other previous foes of Spider-Man in the series as a member of the Sinister Six.

Theme parks

Electro is one of the villains on the Universal Orlando Islands of Adventure theme park ride The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man.

Video games

  • Electro appears as a boss in the video game Ultimate Spider-Man, where he is voiced by James Arnold Taylor. Electro is hired by Bolivar Trask to gauge Venom's power. Electro leads Venom on a chase throughout Manhattan when Spider-Man appears. Electro knocks Spider-Man out and tries to kill him, but Venom attacks Electro, trying to take Electro's opportunity to kill the fallen hero. Venom defeats Electro by destroying the neon signs that Electro is feeding on. When S.H.I.E.L.D. arrives Venom flees, and Electro is once again brought into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.
  • In the Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro video game, Hyper-Electro is the combination of Electro with the Bio-Nexus Device (BND) resulting in a being of pure energy, called Hyper-Electro. Capable of launching electrical bolts and even calling down lightning strikes, Hyper-Electro was only defeated when Spider-Man tricked him into burning out the BND. After Spider-Man defeated him, Thor was given credit for his defeat, even though he probably didn't know what happened. Since they didn't happen in the comic books, these events are not canon. Hyper-Electro also appears in the Ultimate Spider-Man game when Electro begins feeding off large electric signs. Being made of pure energy he traveled through power lines and struck with blasts of lightning. He is defeated when you destroy the signs, or throw him at a broken hydrant.
  • In the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC versions of Spider-Man 3 video game, he is referenced to when Spider-Man sees an electric generator and says "This reminds me of my last fight with Electro, only these are smarter". In the Game Boy Advance version of the game, Electro is one of the main bosses, hired by The Kingpin to kidnap a senator.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Guide To Marvel's Golden Age Characters profile for the Timely Comics character, Jess Nevins
  2. ^ International Catalogue of Superheroes profile for the Timely Comics character
  3. ^ Mystery Men's Dozen: Brevoort Talks "The Twelve", July 26, 2007, Comic Book Resources
  4. ^ 12 Days of the Twelve: Elektro, August 8, 2007, Newsarama
  5. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man #9 (Feb. 1964)
  6. ^ Daredevil #2
  7. ^ Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1
  8. ^ Fantastic Four Annual #3
  9. ^ Daredevil Annual #1
  10. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man #82
  11. ^ Daredevil #87
  12. ^ Omega the Unknown #3
  13. ^ Marvel Team-Up #56
  14. ^ Defenders #63
  15. ^ Spectacular Spider-Man #39
  16. ^ Fantastic Four #218
  17. ^ Spectacular Spider-Man #134
  18. ^ Spectacular Spider-Man #157
  19. ^ Amazing Spider-Man #334-339
  20. ^ Gay League: Characters
  21. ^ Marvel Knights Spider-Man #2
  22. ^ New Avengers #4
  23. ^ Civil War: War Crimes #1 (February 2007)
  24. ^ Spider-Girl #51 (Nov. 2002)
  25. ^ Spider-Girl #81 (Feb. 2005)
  26. ^ Ultimate Spider-Man #17 (March 2002)
  27. ^ Miniseries Ultimate Six #1-7 (Nov. 2003 - June 2004)
  28. ^ Ultimate Spider-Man #112 (Oct. 2007)
  29. ^ Larry Brody and Robert Gregory-Browne (writers) (2001-02-17). "Ill-Met By Moonlight". Spider-Man Unlimited. Season 1. Episode 8. Fox Broadcasting Company.
  30. ^ Comics Continuum (Aug. 10, 2007): "The Spectacular Spider-Man's Electro", by Rob Allstetter
  31. ^ http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0708/31/index.htm Comics Continuum (Aug. 31, 2007)

References

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