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Electro
Official Electro No Way Home Poster
Name: Maxwell Dillon
Alias(es): Electro
Dillon
Sparkles
Max
Affiliation: Harry Osborn/Green Goblin
Oscorp (formerly)
Rank: Villain
Mother: Mrs. Dillon
Portrayed by: Jamie Foxx
First appeared: The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Last appeared: Spider-Man: No Way Home
Appears in: 2 Films
"So, everyone in the city is gonna know how it feels to live in my world, a world without power... a world without mercy... a world without Spider-Man. And everyone will be able to see me for who I truly am."
"And who are you?"
"Don't you know? I'm Electro.
"
―Electro and Dr. Kafka[src]

Electro (Maxwell "Max" Dillon) is a former electrical engineer at Oscorp who had idolized Spider-Man, but is transformed into an extremely powerful living electric capacitor after a freak accident. A subsequent incident with Spider-Man leads to the voices in his head to manipulate him into believing that Spider-Man used and deceived him. Enraged, Electro turns on his former idol and becomes bent on killing him. He grows more power hungry and arrogant in his quest for revenge. However, he is eventually killed by Spider-Man and the latter's girlfriend Gwen Stacy, both of whom overload him with electricity, leading to him violently exploding.

A decade later, a past version of him was transported to an alternate universe seconds before his death, where at first, he was reluctantly convinced by that universes Spider-Man to cure him so he would not meet his intended death after being sent back to his universe. However, another alternate universes' Green Goblin, persuaded him to side with him and take control of the world. Eventually, he was cured of his abilities, and he subsequently made peace with his Spider-Man. After all the villains were cured, they were all was sent back to their universes, where he would have a second chance at life in a branched/alternate timeline.

He was portrayed by Jamie Foxx in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2[]

"I wish I was like him, the Amazing Spider-Man!"
―Max before becoming evil[src]

Taking place during the year 2014, Maxwell Dillon lived a very lonely and unfulfilling life. One day while in the Manhattan area of New York City he, by chance, meets Spider-Man. The hero told him, "You're my guy. You're my ears and eyes on the street." Dillon couldn't believe that such a well known personality had graced him with such kind and encouraging words.

Dillon took the words perhaps a bit too literally and began to see himself as some sort of de-facto accomplice or sidekick to Spider-Man. He goes into a state of obsessively idolizing Spider-Man and making attempts to try and "help" the hero in any way he could.

After his birthday was forgotten by everyone, Max is repairing some electric cables in a shaft and he gets zapped, sending him falling into a vat below, filled with electric eels. The wires he was working on fall inside too. He subsequently emerges walking through smoke, with the outer char breaking off his skin. The mixture of electricity and chemicals causes Max's skin to become blue, and electricity to flow beneath it after a small stage of metamorphosis. He gains the power to manipulate electricity and then proceeds to seek vengeance on the society that shunned him.

He staggered through Manhattan with his new powers an enigma to him and made his way to the strongest electricity source; Time Square. There, he hooks himself up to a power cable and absorbs energy. A police officer approaches him and Electro takes this as a threat. He attacks the policeman before Spider-Man arrives. Electro sees his image all over the screens of the square and is awestruck the he is now seen as somebody. However, he is soon disappointed when Spider-Man couldn't remember his name, though Spider claims to remember him after Electro reminds him of who he is. Spider-Man orders the cops not to shoot him and seems to convince him to speak with him somewhere else. However, as he steps back, a police officer shoots him, which angers him and causes him to retaliate. Spider-Man tries to stop him, but is blasted by Electro. As a furious Electro stands humiliated while being mocked by the public, the voices in his head manipulate him into believing that Spider-Man ied him to him, leading to him feeling betrayed and used. Giving in to the voices and his built up rage, Electro lashes out on Spider-Man and violently attacks him.

Electro uses the absorbed power against Spider-Man, the police and onlookers. His electrical attacks destroys one of Spider-Man's web shooters resulting in a much harder fight for the web crawler. After seemingly defeating Spider-Man, the voices in his head manipulate him into believing that the world lied to him and turned their backs on him, making him feel more used, which makes him more enraged. Giving into the voices and his rage again, Electro attacks the public. Eventually, Spider-Man subdues him and Electro is taken away.

His existence was covered up as much as possible by Donald Menken and he was put into the Ravencroft Institute and was tested upon by Dr. Ashley Kafka. After his stay in Ravencroft, Electro was visited by a desperate Harry Osborn. Osborn proposed a teaming and, after determining that Harry needed him, Electro helps Harry infiltrate Oscorp Tower in exchange for being able to use Oscorp's main power grid.

Electro sucks up virtually all the power in New York, prompting Spider-Man to venture to the grid to confront him. Before leaving, Gwen Stacy shows Spider-Man a way to magnetize his Web shooters so he can better engage Electro. In the ensuing fight Electro gets the upper hand and was about to finish Spider-Man off when he was hit by a police car driven by Gwen.

While Spider-Man drew Electro's attention, Gwen reached the grid overload station to try and use Electro's own power against him. Spider-Man connected some web string between the power cables and Electro used some lightning bolts on him. As he did so Gwen used the override switch causing a massive overload in power which reflected against Electro, causing him to explode.

Spider-Man: No Way Home[]

During the year 2024 in an alternate universe (MCU universe), Doctor Strange tried to cast a spell to make everyone forget his Peter Parker was Spider-Man. However, when the spell failed, it connected to every reality in the Multiverse and brought people who were aware of Parker's true identity, one of them being an alternate version of Dillon, who was brought seconds before exploding.

Dillon was found by the MCU Spider-Man when he was absorbing energy from some power cables in New York. Dillon attacked the MCU Spider-Man, who was aided at the last second by Flint Marko (from the Raimi universe, which is another alternate universe), who had also been transported to this universe. Sandman helped Spider-Man fight Electro by surrounding him with sand while Parker destroyed the utility poles that were feeding him energy, returning him to his normal appearance, albeit slightly different, due to the difference in energy between his universe and the new one.

Parker explained to him that he was responsible for them being there, then used his gauntlet to send Dillon and Marko to the holding cells in the New York Sanctum. Shortly after being imprisoned, Dillion recognized the Lizard, who was really his former Oscorp colleague, Doctor Curt Connors. He explained how Connors turned himself into a Lizard and then tried to turn everyone in the city into lizards, leading to the MCU Spider-Man's friend, Ned realizing and acknowledging that Dillon and Lizard were from the same universe. (Webb universe) Dillon along with Norman Osborn and Doctor Octopus (the latter two being from the Raimiverse, like Sandman), soon realized they had originally died fighting their universes' Spider-Man, but had been spared by Strange's spell, with Dillon realizing he was about to die when he could not fully remember his last memory before ending up in this universe. When Strange intended to send Dillon and the others back to their universes, Dillon was against this because he didn't want to meet his tragic fate upon returning. However, after Peter trapped and contained Strange so that Dillon, Oborn and Octopus wouldn't be set back to die, Parker freed them in a bid to save them from their intended fate.

Peter Parker's solution to Dillon's condition was to build an energy siphon based on Tony Stark's Arc Reactor technology, which would absorb Dillon's electrical powers and keep him in his normal, physical human state instead of turning back into electricity, but Dillon was drawn to the energy given off by the Arc Reactor. Dillon came to enjoy this new universe, believing he could be more there than he was back home, and with prodding by Green Goblin (Osborn's evil alter ego), decided he doesn't want to lose his powers and escaped, taking the arc reactor to enhance his powers.

The MCU Peter Parker, along with Electro's universes' Spiderman and the Raimiverse Spider-Man, lured the villains to a final battle at the Statue of Liberty. During the fight, Dillon's enhanced powers allowed him to battle all three Spider-Men at once.

Otto Octavius intervened in the final battle, deceiving Dillon into thinking he was once again Doctor Octopus, only to use his arms to remove the arc reactor and attach Dillon's cure to him, restoring him to normal. Once returned to normal, he lets go of his hostility towards his Spider-Man. When Spider-Man approaches him, a sad Dillon tells him he is back to being a nobody. His Spider-Man claims he was never a nobody, but Dillon says he is. He then praises Spider-Man by acknowledging that he has helped a lot of people. Their conversation seems to have encouraged Dillon. Dillon and his Parker are later sent back to their universe after Doctor Strange cast a spell that erased everyone in MCU's knowledge of Spider-Man's identity.

Fate[]

This alternate version of Dillon is returned seconds before his death in a branched/alternate timeline in the webb universe, but should survive and have a second chance, unlike his original counterpart in the original timeline. A cured alternate Max may want to redeem himself by helping his Peter and Gwen stop Harry. He, however, would likely need to go into hiding, as his crimes are known.

Personality[]

At the beginning, Max was an awkward and lonely man who longed to be acknowledged and appreciated by people. He is constantly pushed around by those around him, with his superiors stealing his plans for the new power grid, leaving him to constantly feel powerless. These experiences led to Max repressing a great deal of anger, one instance in which he imagines violently berating his boss for not believing that the power grid’s designs were his and jokingly claiming to be Spider-Man. After Spider-Man saves Max’s life, along with giving him a pep talk to boost his confidence, Max, finally feeling as though someone acknowledges him, begins to idolize him to an almost obsessive level having a shrine dedicated to him in his room.

After his transformation into Electro, Max was initially scared and confused, not understanding what was happening to him. Once entering the city, he is mesmerized with the sight of his face broadcasted all over city, believing that now people finally “see” him. This is short lived as Spider-Man unintentionally steals the spotlight and the police shoot him, both of which severely angering him as a result. The voices in his head then manipulate him into believing Spider-Man and the world deceived him, both of which caused all the resentment and rage inside Max to boil over and attack his former idol and the public. At this point, Max has fully accepted his transformation into Electro, and is no longer the meek man he once was, now boasting a much cockier and more arrogant attitude. He vows to get back at the world who took so much from him, and to show them what life will be like with only him and no Spider-Man.

Upon regaining his human body after being transported to an alternate universe, Max becomes more stable and calm. However, he begins to crave the energy of the universe he's in. This, along with the urging of the Green Goblin, makes him shake off Peter's idea of a cure for him and fights back. Upon being cured by Doctor Octavius and the Spider-Men, Max becomes saddened by the fact that he has become a nobody again. However, his spirits were lifted by his universe's Spider-Man, to whom he exchanged a good conversation with.

Gallery[]

Promotional Photos, Official Artwork[]

The Amazing Spider-Man[]

Spider-Man: No Way Home[]

Screenshots[]

The Amazing Spider-Man[]

Spider-Man: No Way Home[]


Trivia[]

  • In a Twitter post, Jamie Foxx teased that he "dressed up as Electro for Halloween" and that the "costume fit well".[1]
    • Foxx also stated that his costume would not be green and yellow, like it is in mainstream comics. Instead, it would have been a sleek black, similar to the "Ultimate Marvel" comics.[2]
  • His appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is based off of his Ultimate comics incarnation. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, the advanced electricity grids of Earth-199999 and the Arc Reactor propel him to a new design that resembles his classic comic book look: yellow electricity and his trademark mask, represented by flashing sparkles on his face.

References[]


Webb Film Series
Films: The Amazing Spider-Man | The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Characters: Peter Parker/Spider-Man | Gwen Stacy | Harry Osborn | Mary Jane Watson | Uncle Ben | Aunt May | George Stacy | Flash Thompson | Norman Osborn | Ashley Kafka | Rajit Ratha | Donald Menken | Felicia Hardy | Alistair Smythe | Richard Parker | Mary Parker | Kari
Enemies: The Lizard | Electro | The Green Goblin | Rhino | The Black Cat | Ultimate Goblin | Gustav Fiers | Cash Register Thief
Locations: The Daily Bugle | Oscorp Industries | Oscorp Tower | Midtown Science High School | Beloit Psychiatric Hospital | Ravencroft Institute
Video Games: The Amazing Spider-Man | The Amazing Spider-Man 2


Marvel Cinematic Universe
Films: Captain America: Civil War | Spider-Man: Homecoming | Avengers: Infinity War | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Far From Home | Spider-Man: No Way Home
Characters: Spider-Man | Captain America | Iron Man | Winter Soldier | Falcon | Happy Hogan | Pepper Potts | Aunt May | Ned Leeds | Liz Toomes | Flash Thompson | Aaron Davis | Michelle Jones | Doctor Octopus
Enemies: Vulture | Shocker | Jackson Brice | Tinkerer | Mysterio |Green Goblin | Electro | Lizard | Sandman
Locations: Avengers Facility | Avengers Tower | Midtown School of Science and Technology
Video Games:
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