Electro
Attributes
| Eyes: | Blue |
| Hair: | Red-Brown |
| Height: | 5' 11" |
| Weight: | 165 lbs |
Powers
| Abilities: | Electro can propel himself along accompanying magnetic lines of force in objects that have great electric potential, such as high-tension electrical lines, at speeds of up to 140 miles per hour. He can also create electrostatic bridges to travel upon, at the cost of a great expenditure of energy. Electro can override any electrically-powered device and manipulate it with mental commands. Since his power-up, he has been able to painfully paralyze anyone by overcharging their synapses' bio-eletrical transmissions. |
| Limitations: | By using an external power source to recharge his body's reserves, Electro can expend electricity indefinitely without diminishing his personal reserves. When fully charged, Electro is extremely vulnerable to anything that may "short- circuit" him, such as water. |
| Powers: | Electro can generate electrostatic energy through his body at a rate of about 1,000 volts per minute, and store up to 1,000,000 volts. At ten feet, his maximum charge is more than enough to kill a normal man. Electro can employ this electrostatic energy as lightning arcs from his fingertips at 1,100 feet per second for about 100 feet. |
| Strength Level: | (un enhanced) normal (charged) can lift 10 tons |
Summary
| Citizenship: | U.S. |
| Created By: | |
| Current Groups: | Sinister Six (whenever they band together) |
| Current Occupation: | Professional Criminal |
| Dual Identity: | Known to legal authorities |
| Education: | High School Graduate |
| Former Bases: | New York City |
| Former Groups: | Sinister Six (all incarnations), Emissaries of Evil, Frightful Four, Sinister Seven (Beetle, Hobgoblin IV, Mysterio, Scorpia, Shocker, the Vulture) |
| Former Occupation: | Lineman for Consolidated Edison |
| Known Allies: | Mysterio, Mysterio II, Hobgoblin, Shocker, Scorpia, Beetle, Stilt-Man, Wizard, Trapster; (former)Blizard I(deceased), Doctor Octopus(deceased, now resurrected), Kraven(deceased), the Purple Man(deceased) Sandman, Leapfrog, Matador, Gladiator, Rose (Conover), Delilah |
| Known Relatives: | Unnamed mother (deceased), Father (Jonathan, deceased), Ex-wife (Norma Lynn) all described in Amazing #422-424 |
| Legal Status: | Criminal record in U.S. |
| Major Enemies: | Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Scarlet Spider, Captain America, the Falcon, Kaine, Venom; (former) the Shocker; (on-and-off) Doc Ock, Sandman |
| Marital Status: | Divorced |
| Place of Birth: | Endicott, New York |
| Real Name: | Maxwell "Max" Dillon |
| Usual Bases: | Mobile |
Background
"Origin"
Max Dillon had a rough childhood. One of the classic screwed up ones. His father was abusive and his mother wouldn't let him leave her once his father walked out on them. Max spent many years with her until she died. She'd always been telling Max never to abandon her and in the end Max tells us she was the one to abandon him. Years later, Max married a woman named Norma. Going into the electrical line of work, Norma tried to push Max's career to its full potential. When Max refused, Norma left him and he was abandoned once more.
Then came the fatal day where a selfish Max climbed up an electrical line in order to save a co-worker. He wasn't going to until his boss persuaded him with some cash. As Max lowered the injured worker to the ground, lightning struck! Max was thrown from the wires onto the ground, not only amazed to find that he was alive, but stronger than ever. (Amazing Spider-Man #423) He was fired from his job, as the power company claimed he had been off the clock when he went up and all of his benefits were denied. From that point forward, he decided to start his own "personal restitution program." (Amazing Spider-Man #612)
Immediately, he realized he could use this power for all the money he ever wanted. J. Jonah Jameson became convinced that Electro was really Spider-Man after he was robbed at the Forest Hills bank. He believed this because Electro recognized him and made his escape by crawling up the side of a building. At the same time, May Parker was in the hospital and Peter needed money to pay for an operation that she needed. He asked Jameson for a loan and was quickly thrown out of his office, being told that if he wanted money, then bring proof that Spider-Man was Electro. Peter took it as good advice and went after the criminal but was soon beaten. Electro caused a break out at a prison shortly after he tumbled with Spider-Man, figuring the prisoners would be his goons from then on in. Facing him inside the prison, Spider-Man used rubber gloves and socks to be able to hit Electro without getting shocked. After a huge rumble, Spider-Man used a hose and soaked Electro, short-circuiting him. He was then shocked to learn he had never seen Max before after unmasking him. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #9)
The next time Electro was spotted was in the pages of Daredevil. After Daredevil interrupted his evil-doing, Max managed to hold him off, but the Devil followed him as he made his escape and defeated him in round two. (Daredevil #2)
"The Sinister Six"
The next time Electro and Spider-Man clashed was at a Stark electric plant. Doc Ock had recruited Vulture, Mysterio, Kraven the Hunter and Sandman to create the Sinister Six. Spidey frantically tried to dodge his bolts as his powers were absent. In a stroke of luck, they returned to him. As Electro powered up at a generator, Spider-Man turned it off without him realizing. He then tagged one good punch on Max, laying him out. (Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1)
"The Emissaries of Evil"
Max joined another team, The Emissaries of Evil to again face Daredevil. (Daredevil Annual #1) Max was one of the many super villains to attack Reed and Sue's wedding while under the control of Doctor Doom. (Fantastic Four Annual #3)
"And Then Came Electro"
It wasn't for a very long time until Electro was spotted again. Max was on parole and working at a TV station, where an electrical fire broke out. He managed to throw off a switch at a television studio without being killed, arousing suspicion. Spider-Man was there at the time (he had talked the studio into letting him on a late night talk show to earn money) and heard about what Max had done, but didn't remember the name. Max later made a deal with JJJ to kill Spider-Man on screen in the same studio for five thousand dollars. This time round, Spider-Man pulled Electro's hands and feet together like live wires to short-circuit him. (Amazing Spider-Man #82)
”Double Danger at the Daily Bugle”
Electro briefly teamed with the Iron Man villain known as Blizzard after he inadvertently helped the cold criminal escape from prison. They decided to blackmail the Daily Bugle and The Daily Globe newspapers but were beaten by Daredevil and Spider-Man. (Marvel Team Up #56)
"The Power of Electro"
Jameson sent Peter to get to the bottom of a situation at Indian Point, where SHIELD agents had surrounded a suburban home. As Spider-Man tried to get close, he was rebuffed by Captain America, who demanded that he leave immediately. Spidey eventually left, leaving Cap to continue his search of the area. He soon ended up at a nearby power station, where he found the kidnapped son of movie star Robert Starr. Cap tried to apprehend the man in the trench coat at the scene, but was shocked the moment he touched the figure. Spidey soon arrived but Dillon tried to escape with the kid, until Cap gave him some bad news. The boy had been on his way to New York for special medical treatment after being bitten by a rat and infected with plague. Dillon tossed the kid away and tried to burn his own infection away by absorbing the electricity in the power station. Naturally, he overloaded and the station blew up. (Amazing Spider-Man #187)
"Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death"
Electro joined the Wizard, the Trapster and Sandman after proving himself worthy of an all new Frightful Four. The team went on to battle Spider-Man after Electro impersonated the Human Torch. They drew him to the Statue of Liberty and defeated him. (Spectacular Spider-man (vol. 1) #42)
Trapster impersonated Spider-Man and fooled Torch into letting him inside the Baxter Building. Trapster let the rest of the Frightful Four into the building and they defeated the Fantastic Four one by one. They were beaten by Spider-Man and Mr. Fantastic. (Fantastic Four #218)
Keeping with Spectacular Spider-Man, he came back in issue 66. Spider-Man devised a rubber suit in this issue, made from a rubber air mattress, to protect him from Electro's powers.
"Electro vs Avengers"
He then tangled with the Avengers in another little team up with Moonstone, Rhino, Blackout and the Lava men. Their aim is to take over the Project Pegasus complex. The Avenger's eventually beat the team with the aid of Spider- Man. After an appearance in the Falcon mini, Max next showed up in secret wars two issue 7 against a whole other heap of villains fighting the Beyonder.
"The Wedding"
Max was soon broken out of an armored car by a group of thugs he had hired. After taking refuge in a clothing store and being handed his costume, Electro led the charge against the assembled SWAT team waiting for him. Dillon quickly defeated SWAT but his cronies found themselves webbed up. The battle between Spidey and Electro caused a wall of a building to collapse, nearly crushing a woman and child. It was caught by Spider-Man, who used the brick and mortar to block the electric blasts. Spidey managed to toss a manhole cover at the criminal, which missed him but knocked a fire hydrant loose, covering Dillon with water and shorting him out. He was soon taken away by the police and Spidey made is way to his apartment, where he met with Mary Jane, whom he was about to marry. (Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21)
"Sin Eater Released"
After defeat after defeat while wearing his costume, Dillon decided to try a robbery in civilian clothes, to avoid attracting attention. He held up a jewelry store with an electric gun, He was robbing another store when the use of his electric gun drew the attention of Spider-Man. Spidey had just seen how crippled Stan Carter was after Spider-Man let loose on him, so he went easy on Electro. Dillon managed to defeat Spidey by manipulating the static electricity that Peter uses to adhere to the side of buildings. He left Spider-Man unconscious, wanting him to know that Electro now owned New York. (Spectacular Spider-Man #134)
Carter's lawyer, meanwhile, convinced Stan to appear on a TV talk show to make some money to pay his bills. Peter was enraged at the idea of Carter making money on his murders and confronted him on TV. Electro also saw the show and decided to humiliate him in front of millions of people. Spidey hesitated to fight Dillon, afraid that the studio audience would be hurt. Mary Jane was also in the studio and he feared injuring Max in front of her. Dillon left, mocking Spider-Man that he didn't have the guts to fight him anymore. (Spectacular Spider-Man #135) Feeling brave, Max shut down New York with a blackout. He threatened to start overloading household appliances and life support machines in one hour unless he was paid $10 million. Spidey arrived and regained his courage by letting Max throw his best punches at him. When Electro proved to be less powerful than he, Spider-Man clobbered him. (Spectacular Spider-Man #136)
"Shock Therapy"
Max went back to bank robberies after getting out of prison but he was stopped mid heist by what seemed to be an earthquake. However, the quake only destroyed a small, specific portion of the bank and to Electro's surprise, the bank vault is empty. Spider-Man arrived at that point and Max barely escaped into the sewers. Back at his hideout, Max confronted his partner in crime, a man named Hector. Hector had sold him blueprints to the bank. This was done grudgingly, as Max had incriminating evidence against him. Hector gave him blueprints to another institution and Electro again went out for a robbery. This new caper also drew Spider-Man's attention and also frustrated Max, as that investment firm had already been hit. Max dropped the blueprints as he fled, which were found by Spider-Man. Back at the hideout, Max furiously confronted Hector, who was saved by the timely arrival of the Shocker. Electro eventually beat Shocker but was quickly knocked out by Spider-Man. Hector escaped and reported back to his bosses (Chameleon and Hammerhead) that Electro would not be joining them. Chameleon was disappointed but glad to know that Tombstone had decided to join them. (Spectacular Spider-Man #157)
"Return of the Sinister Six"
Then it was back to the Sinister Six for Max. He joined Ock in the second incarnation (with Jason Macendale replacing the dead Kraven the Hunter) once more after Octavius fooled him into thinking there was a super conductor at a nearby power station to be stolen. Eventually, like the rest of the team, he was betrayed by Octopus and made a break for it when the police arrived in a big scrap with Spider-Man. (Amazing Spider-Man #334 to Amazing #339)
"Revenge of the Sinister Six"
Electro rejoined the Six to get revenge on Octopus, who eventually forced them to work for him again. They traveled to an alien dimension, stole high tech alien weaponry and brought back the creature called Gog to conquer earth. They were beaten by the Hulk, Fantastic Four, Dethlok and Spider-Man. (Spider-Man #18 to Spider-Man #23)
"Invasion of the Spider-Slayers"
Soon after escaping from prison, Dillon joined an impromptu alliance with Alistaire Smythe and his spider-slayer against Spider-Man after the webhead foiled a diamond robbery. The fight moved to a demolition site, where the demolition crew had placed one ton of TNT to level a building. One of Max's electrical blasts set off explosive charge and leveled the vacant building, destroying the spider slayer. (Amazing Spider-Man #369)
"Light the Night"
Max took a stab at leaving crime for good and ended up joining a traveling circus. He used his electrical powers to become an attraction in a freak show, where he performed stunts like surviving an electric chair. However, he still had low self esteem, which wasn't helped by his boss, named Steuben. Steuben would put a light bulb in Max's mouth as a joke to the crowd, which Max found humiliating. Enraged at how he was treated like a nobody, Max went back to New York to pull a stunt that would impress everyone. (Spider-Man #38) At the "Top of New York" hotel, Electro plugged himself into the electrical grid and began to draw all of the city's energy into himself. He knew it was possible that doing so could kill him but he said that if he died, he'd die big. (Spider-Man #39)
Dillon began to develop a god complex with all of that power coursing through him, easily swatting Spider-Man aside and threatening to do the same to the people on the street below him. His feeling of superiority quickly faded when he realized that he couldn't discharge the electricity and was in fact, trapped in his own electrical cocoon. Spidey, feigning bravery, talked Max through letting the electricity flow black through the power cord and back into the city. Max gave up without a fight, more than willing to go back to prison compared to what he had just gone through. He even thanked the web head. (Spider-Man #40)
"Funeral for an Octopus"
Soon after, Doctor Octopus was killed by the Spider-Man clone called Kaine. Octavius's former Sinister Six co-horts attempted to steal his tentacles to use as their own weapons but they were defeated by Spider-Man, Kaine and the Scarlet Spider. (Spider-Man Funeral for an Octopus #1 - #3)
"The Sinister Seven"
He later joined the Sinister Seven (Jason Macendale, Vulture, Mysterio, Shocker, Scorpia and Beetle) to kill Kaine, who was systematically hunting Spider-Man's enemies. They worked poorly together as a team, spending much of their time bickering with each other. They were all quickly pummeled by Kaine (Electro was knocked out early) but were saved by Spider-Man. (Spider-Man Unlimited #9)
"Exposed Wiring"
A few months later, Max went to the Rose (Jacob Conover) for help to increase his powers. He was strapped into an electric chair (the irony that he had done the same thing at the Steuben circus was not lost on him) and used it to greatly increase his electrical charge. The switch was thrown by Delilah, a henchwoman for the Rose and she introduced the new and improved Electro to her boss. (Amazing Spider-Man #422)
In return, Electro was sent to deal with the ninjas employed by the Black Tarantula, a rival gangster to the Rose. When Electro caught up with the ninjas, he also encountered Meiko Yin, the second Dragonfly. Yin was sent by Madame Qwa (herself a henchwoman to the Black Tarantula) to kill Joe Robertson and to frame the Rose for the assassination. Dragonfly attacked Electro after he defeated her allies but was quickly beaten herself. Spider-Man arrived and was quickly defeated by Electro, after the crook disrupted the electrical impulses in his brain. To make things worse, he forced Spider-Man to beg for his life. (Amazing Spider-Man #423)
After leaving Spider-Man, Electro rejoined with Delilah and bungled an armored car heist. He used too much power and blew up the car, destroying the money. Delilah was furious and Max admitted that he was still adjusting to his new power level. The Rose chided him for the failure and demanded that he be more careful in the future. Max resented his boss's attitude, and it reminded him of his parents disdain for him, as well as his ex wife leaving him. His fury erupted and he decided that everyone would remember the name "Electro" by the time he was finished. He attacked the Con Edison building and paralyzed all of the workers inside. He figured that they would regain consciousness in time to evacuate with the rest of the city, after he set the central switching generator to explode. Spider-Man arrived with Nate Grey (X-Man), who tried to shut down Max's ability to access his power.
The fight moved to the street where Nate was stunned by the electrical feedback. Electro had Spider-Man (even the insulated webbing didn't work) on the run until the webhead threw a rock and it knocked Max on the head. Spidey taunted Max as he slapped him around, which only fueled his anger. Max broke free and planned to start a chain reaction at the electrical generator that would destroy the entire city. While in mid air, Max got punched by Spidey, causing both of them to drop from the sky only to be carried away by X-Man. He flew them over the harbor, where Max dangled from a webline. He refused to face the humiliation of going back to prison and fell into the harbor, causing a huge electrical explosion. (Amazing Spider-Man #425)
"Sinister Six vs Dr. Octopus"
Electro survived the fall and explosion and was soon recruited by the Sandman to kill Doctor Octopus. Max was initially resistant to the idea but agreed to the promise of revenge and money. The rest of the Sinister Six consisted of Kraven the Hunter (Alyosha Kravinoff), Mysterio (Daniel Berkhart) and the Vulture. The group descended on Octavius as he was meeting with Senator Ward, who was working with Octopus against Arthur Stacy. Spider-Man showed up and prevented the senator from being taken by the Six, but was surprised by the sudden appearance of Venom. (Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2, #12)
The arrival of Venom took the Six's plans off course as he demanded that they go after the escaping Spider-Man. Senator Ward was still their target and the disagreement led to a brief skirmish between Venom and Sandman. Mysterio talked the group into letting Venom join but then taunted the symbiotic lunatic, causing him to mark all of them for death. (Peter Parker: Spider-Man vol 2, #12) Sandman was the first to be targeted, and his injuries caused him to begin to fall apart. (Peter Parker: Spider-Man vol 2. #16) Convinced that he was dying, Sandman was determined that Mysterio would die too. However, after Sandman found Berkhart at a warehouse, he was allied with Electro. The scene was of a post-apocalyptic New York, meaning that Mysterio was working his illusions. Knowing that it was all fake, Spider-Man pulled down the warehouse's ceiling before Electro could kill him and Sandman. (Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2, #17) Later, Mysterio and Electro agreed that Venom needed to be their next target but before Max could act, he was attacked by the psychopath himself and left for dead on a rooftop. (Peter Parker: Spider-Man vol. 2, #17)
"Ray of Light"
Somehow Electro survived the beating by Venom and was soon battling Spider-Man again. The fight was witnessed by two young boys in their home after the two costumed men slammed through their living room wall. Max was about to shock Spidey for good, until the youngest boy, Kasey, threw his toy at Max. Turning his anger to the boys, Electro was distracted long enough to be beaten by Spider-Man. (Spider-Mans Tangled Web #10)
"Marvel Knights"
The next time Spider-Man and Electro met was during Spider-Man's search for Aunt May. The Owl was the head mob boss in New York at that time and Spider-Man went to him for answers regarding May Parker. Owl claimed that his informants believed that May had been taken by Electro and Vulture. Meanwhile,Max and Adrian were at a brothel meeting some ladies when Spider-Man caught up with them. The $20 million that Max and Adrian had taken was lost in the following clash and Electro took it out on Spider-Man. While in prison, Octavius had taught Max that his electrical powers could also be used to magnetize metallic objects, a newfound ability Max used to hurl things at the webhead. He also didn't hesitate to blow up cars full of people to get under Spider-Man's skin. Max was eventually beaten by Spidey but never arrived at the hospital. Instead, he was taken by the Owl's thugs and tortured for stealing his money. (Marvel Knights Spider-Man #4) The Green Goblin then recruited Electro into the Sinister Twelve where Max managed to zap Black Cat hard before being rounded up by an assortment of heroes. (Marvel Knights Spider-Man #11)
"Breakout"
Soon, Max was hired by a mysterious figure to break a certain inmate out of The Raft, a floating prison. He arrived and released all of the inmates, except for Robert Reynolds. (New Avengers #1) Electro flew away with his target, leaving Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Luke Cage and Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) to handle the scores of escaped inmates. (New Avengers #2) After all of the prisoners were returned to their cells, the Avengers looked over security cameras and noticed Electro's distinctive costume on the footage. Checking Dillon's bank account, they found that a large amount of cash had been wired to him in Boston. Arriving in Boston, the Avengers arrested Dillon by putting him in an electric proof bubble. He then passed out after Luke Cage threatened him. (New Avengers #4)
He managed to use Spider-Man's sticking ability against him in a battle. Peter couldn't take his hands off anything, meaning he had to take slabs of pavement and a poodle he fell on top of home with him. Spider-Man caught Electro a bit later in a battle with The Thing and the Human Torch. Peter knocked Max out by planting The Thing on him. (Spider-Man Unlimited vol. 3, #9)
He next showed up at a bar and watched a live, televised fight between Spider-Man and the Hulk. The other bar patrons bet money that the Hulk would win, while Dillon put money on Spider-Man. Not only did Dillon win the bet, but he was even able to guess how Spider-Man would move next during the fight. He then went out for a robbery...and was caught by Spider-Man. (Spider-Man Unlimited vol. 3 #11)
"The Lethal Foes of Peter Parker"
Max briefly worked with the Chameleon after Peter revealed his identity during the Superhuman Registration Act. Chameleon coerced the Molten Man to join the gathered enemies (Swarm, Scarecrow and Will O the Wisp being the others) by using Max to threaten to kill Normie Osborn. (Sensational Spider-Man vol. 2, #29) Soon after Molten Man joined Chameleon's team, Spider-Man found Electro at The Whitney Museum of Art and several priceless paintings were destroyed in the battle. Peter was wearing the Iron Spider costume, invented by Tony Stark, at the time so he was able to use its tech to siphon the electricity off of Dillon and then blast him with feedback. (Sensational Spider-Man vol. 2 #30)
"The Gauntlet"
Max was getting older and his ability to control his powers was deteriorating. He could send out surges of energy at random, without meaning to. He went to the Mad Thinker for an operation to get control of himself but he couldn't afford the million dollar price tag. All of his (dis)honest savings had been given over to the wealthy after the economic stimulus. Dexter Bennett, the owner of the Daily Bugle at that time, was one of the large businesses to get federal bailout money. Electro, giving a rant at the New York Stock Exchange, persuaded many New Yorkers that he was on their side. When Spider-Man arrived, the mob turned on him after he was accused of working with the Bugle. (His picture was always in the paper, after all.) (Amazing Spider-Man #612)
Electro escaped and confronted Bennett at his penthouse as he took a bath. He demanded money to keep him from turning the angry taxpayers on Bennett. After all the press had put him through, Dexter Bennett was as good a target as anyone. Once the money was paid, Mad Thinker began the process to stabilize Dillon's powers with bacteriophages that attached to his atoms to enhance his battery capacity. After Max left Thinker's hideout and defeated Spider-Man, he posted a video online telling New Yorkers to turn off all of their electrical appliances, so he could have all of New York's power to use against the Bugle. (Amazing Spider-Man #613)
Electro emerged from a computer screen at the Bugle, looking for Bennett. Spider-Man soon arrived, after having Mayor Jameson turn off all of the power to the city block that the Bugle was located. Spidey told Max that he was cut off from his power source and was only wasting electricity by fighting him. Max was eventually defeated after being contained in a new batch of webbing and falling forty stories down the crumbling Bugle Building. After he was taken to prison, Max was met by the Chameleon and Sasha Kravinoff. (Amazing Spider-Man #614)
Electro became Sasha's errand boy and broke the red Vulture (James Natale) out of Ryker's Island. Natale became the latest super villain that Kravinoff used to wear down Spider-Man. (Amazing Spider-Man #623) He also took part in the sacrifice of Mattie Franklin, Spider-Woman, to resurrect the Grim Hunter, Vladimir Kravinoff. Max was reluctant to partake in the ceremony because of his belief in God but consented that he and Sasha had made a deal. (Still seems like an odd time to suddenly have a conscience.) The resurrection was only partly successful, and Vladimir returned as a man-lion. (Amazing Spider-Man #634)
"One More Day"
Unbeknown to him, Max had a significant impact on Spider-Man's life. Thanks to Mephisto's tampering with the past, Peter and Mary Jane were never married, and it's all because of the foiled escape from the armored car that Dillon attempted shortly before the nuptials. Mephisto caused one of Electro's thugs to escape from the police, who later went nuts and caused Peter to be late to the wedding. (Amazing Spider-Man #638)
"Origin of the Species"
Max was soon working for Doctor Octopus, who wanted the newborn baby of Norman Osborn and Lily Hollister for testing to find a cure for Ock's withered body. Electro was waiting at a hospital as the web swinger tried to deliver the infant into a doctor's care. He demanded the infant, or else he would have turned the hospital into a war zone. Spidey escaped with little Stanley by letting Max accidentally electrocute Sandman and turn him to fulgurite. Flying shards of the substance also injured Max. (Amazing Spider-Man #643)
"Ends of the Earth"
While Spider-Man escaped with the baby, Max returned to the Sinister Six. Octavius was still dying and planning one last scheme to conquer the world. The Six (Rhino, Sandman, Chameleon, Mysterio and Ock) first were tasked with attacking the Intelligencia, another group of super criminals (Mad Thinker, Klaw, M.O.D.O.K., Wizard and the Red Ghost.) The Intelligencia had created a device that harnessed the power of the earth's magnetic field to blast a spot on the planet into space. This was a threat to Octavius's plan and the Six ended it. The Mad Thinker temporarily removed Max's electrical powers, but Max defeated him by kicking him in the crotch. (Amazing Spider-Man #676)
The next time Max was seen, he was taking on the Avengers after they followed the Chameleon to the Sinister Six. While he managed to short out the Avengers jet and delay Hawkeye and Spider-Woman, he was absorbed by Thor's hammer and blasted into the stratosphere. (Amazing Spider-Man #683) Max returned several months later with a mad on against Thor. He got the aid of A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics) to give him the power to kill the God of Thunder. Dillon's energy signature was picked up by Spider-Man (Octavius), who warned Thor of Electro's desire for revenge. Thor laughed off Spider-Man's warning, until Max attacked him at an Irish pub. The A.I.M. scientists changed Electro into living dark matter, which could have created an explosion big enough to wipe out New York State if Electro's protons collided with Thor's electrons. Max was beaten when Octavius allowed Thor to blast him and the resulting energy was redirected into space by the A.I.M. generator. Max was sent to Octo-Spidey's laboratory for containment, next to the Sandman. (Avenging Spider-Man #18)
"The Superior Six"
When Octavius was ready to use Electro again, he was re-christened as a member of the Superior Six. He and the other members (Chameleon, Sandman, Vulture and Mysterion) had undergone a treatment to bend them to Otto's will. The Superior Six were now a team of vigilantes and their first case led them to protect Liz Allan and her company, Alchemax. The Wrecking Crew was attempting to rob the company of a particle engine and were beaten by the Six. (Superior Spider-Man Team Up #5)
Electro and the rest of the Six were later sent to deal with Whirlwind, but it was a trap and they were ambushed by the Masters of Evil (Titania, Absorbing Man, Blackout, Mister Hyde and Wrecking Ball). Spider-Man realized that the Masters were a diversion and that the particle engine that the Wrecking Crew had attempted to steal was the real target. He was correct and the device was being taken from Parker Industries by Lightmaster. The Masters of Evil were eventually beaten after the vigilante known as Sun Girl activated it and caused an explosion. However, the device erased the mind control over the Six and expanded Sandman into huge proportions. (Superior Spider-Man Team Up #6)
Elctro took part in the torture of Lightmaster to make him tell how the device worked, but after he was unable to talk (he was in mourning, thinking that Sun Girl, his daughter, had died in the explosion) he was dropped from a height by Vulture. He decided to activate the device himself, reasoning that if Sun Girl could activate it with her energy, then he could do the same. Spider-Man warned him that electricity would power the engine to a far greater degree than Sun Girl's light would do, making a far worse explosion. That was just what Dillon wanted to hear. Enraged by the mind control used by Spider-Man on the Six, Dillon wanted the engine to destroy Manhattan as punishment. He was stopped after Sun Girl freed Spider-Man. (Superior Spider-Man Team Up #7)
"Original Sin"
Max was soon at a tavern popular with super criminals and was getting a lot of guff from the other patrons for his recent failures. He decided to prove them wrong by breaking out the inmates in the Upstate New York Jail. His powers, however, overloaded from the long flight from New York and his destroyed the building. Many of the inmates were killed, except for Felicia Hardy, who used the chaos to escape. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #1)
None of the other criminals were willing to let him lay low with them, so he hid with a super villain groupie named Francine. He explained to her that he had not really become a super hero when he was in the "Superior Six," but had been under the mind control of Spider-Man. He warned her that his powers had been malfunctioning since that time and he accidentally killed her when she kissed him. He went on a rampage, which of course drew the attention of Spider-Man but also the attention of the Black Cat. Max eventually fled the battle but Cat decided to keep an eye on him. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #2)
He tried to get some sleep in an abandoned building but accidentally caused a fire while having a nightmare. Max fled the building, blaming Spider-Man for his inability to even get some sleep. As he lamented his lack of control over his powers in an alleyway, he was approached by the Black Cat, who was also looking for revenge on Spider-Man. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #3)
Max was soon working with Felicia and taking out a rival criminal called the Eel. Eel had been planning to meet up with Mister Negative and the Hobgoblin (Phil Urich) but with him gone, Black Cat took his place. Black Cat had also kidnapped one of Parker Industries scientists, Dr. Sajani Jaffrey, and Electro watched her while Cat attended to Hobgoblin and Negative. While with Jaffrey, he learned that Parker Industries was trying to capture and cure him. Later, while Peter was on live TV explaining how Parker Industries was going to change super villain containment, the studio was attacked by Electro and Black Cat. Spidey's new ally, Silk, helped him but Spidey was soon hit by electricity and unable to stop Black Cat from trying to take his mask off on TV. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #5)
Spidey was saved as J. Jonah Jameson was standing in the way of the camera as Peter was unmasked, as he proudly claimed to be the one to present his secret identity. Silk webbed Peter's face and carried him off. Felicia sent him to keep tabs on Dr. Jaffrey while she went to get reinforcements against Spidey and Silk. Electro demanded Sajani tell him if the Parker Industries device could really cure him of his powers, and she was fairly certain that it would. Felicia then told Max to leave her and Sajani, who told Cat how to destroy the machine that could cure Electro.
Cat and Electro showed up at a demonstration of the machine, and Black Cat hoped to use the machine to amp up his power instead of removing it. Spider-Man and Silk arrived, covered with insulated webbing, which saved Spidey from Electro's bolts. Black Cat changed tactics and used the machine to overload Max, planning to blow him up and the machine in an electrical explosion. As Max began to lose control, Spidey shielded him with his own insulated body and carried him to the machine long enough for it to depower him. They were both saved from the overload by Silk, who covered them in an insulated web-pod before the machine blew up. The powerless Max Dillon was then taken into police custody. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #6)
"Dead No More"
Despite being powerless, Max was broken out of prison by the Rhino. He was brought to a man in a red suit, who was accompanied by the Lizard. Max whined that he was no good to anyone and the mysterious man told him that he can do miracles and was here to help him. (Amazing Spider-Man #10 vol 4)
Max was soon wired to a machine created by Dr. Connors, and under the watchful eye of the Jackal. Dillon was uncomfortable being zapped "with something Lizard-brain here built!" Jackal reassured him that his powers would be back and sweetened the pot by revealing that Francine was alive again. (She had been the super villain groupie Electro accidentally killed when he kissed her.) Max eagerly agreed to become Electro again. (Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 4) #16)
Jackal ordered Max to be repowered but while the electricity was charged in his suit, it failed to transfer to him. Max was disappointed but still relieved that Francine was alive again. He hoped that she considered them to be even and she told him to stay away from her. As he passed by her, sparks of electricity passed from him to Francine, Jackal realized that some of Max's charged saliva had passed to her when they kissed. They had taken a tissue sample from her charred cheek to grow her as a clone and some of Max's DNA had mixed with hers. Francine kissed Max again and took even more electricity from him. Soon he was a smoldering husk and she was walking away hoping he could be brought back...but not too upset. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 4) #17)
”Sinister War”
Octavius’s Sinister Six (Lizard, Mysterio, Kraven’s clone, Sandman, Electro) caught up to Spidey in a graveyard after he had already been battered by Taskmaster, Black Ant, Chance, Jack O’Lantern, the Foreigner and Slyde. Octopus’s team was disguised as Spider-Man’s friends by Mysterio but the Lizard attacked Spider-Man before the others were ready. Spider-Man was tangled in Octopus’s tentacles and the rest of the team argued over who got to finish him off. Electro reminded them that if they didn’t kill Spider-Man, then Kindred would send them all to Hell. Octavius declared that he would do it but he was interrupted by the Savage Six (Vulture, Rhino, Scorpion, Tarantula, Stegron and King Cobra.) The situation got even more complicated after another group appeared on orders from Kindred: led by Boomerang, it was Hydro-Man, Shocker, Speed Demon and Overdrive. An all female Sinister Six showed up, made up of the Beetle (Janice Lincoln), White Rabbit, Electro (Francine Frye), Trapster, Ana Kravinoff and Doctor Octopus (Carolyn Trainer.) Boomerang helped Spider-Man escape but he was stopped by another group of bad guys: Sin Eater, Juggernaut, Whirlwind, Living Laser, Grey Gargoyle and Morlun. All of them fought each other more than Spider-Man. (Sinister War #3)
The entire mob of criminals was defeated by Dr. Octopus. Kindred had left supernatural centipedes in the ears of the bad guys to control them and Ock found a way to short out the centipedes connection to Kindred. Everyone was knocked out by the feedback. (Sinister War #4)
”Beyond”
He was sent to the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane and put under the treatment of Ashley Kafka. Dr. Kafka observed Max in his cell and learned that his electricity transmits neurological signals. She and an assistant heard Francine’s voice in the device he was attached to before the machine exploded. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #75)
”Sinister Adaptoid”
Max and the rest of the Sinister Six were kidnapped by the Living Brain, to use as templates for the Sinister Adaptoid. After Spider-Man fled the amalgamation, he found the room where the Six were being held. Max and Vulture promised to kill him if he released them but Otto talked them out of it. The seven of them defeated the creature and immediately turned on Spider-Man. They beat him and Otto and Max were about to kill him when Kraven’s clone stopped them. He gave Spider-Man the chance to escape, if he went against his moral code and killed the Brain. Spidey of course refused and the Brain’s avatar was touched by it. It imprisoned the Six in a force field and sent them away in a UFO. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #6)
”Maxed Out”
Max met with a former coworker named Rudy at a bar, where Rudy was surprised Max agreed to meet. Rudy had been installing safes for high end customers that ran on an electrical grid, something Electro could easily shut down. Rudy asked to split the money 50/50 and after getting a dirty look, suggested 70/30. Max agreed and then electrocuted him with a handshake. He walked away with Rudy’s plans, saying that he always gave and gets 100 percent. In an underground tunnel, Electro said the plan was simple but effective. He’d get flowers for Rudy’s grave if he could remember his last name. He found the electrical box and shorted it out, knocking out the grid for miles. Above ground, two electrical workers were shoved away from falling power lines by Spider-Man, who was shocked himself. (Spider-Man (vol. 4) #8)
Electro was stunned by amount of gold bars and cash that the vault held and then realized that he should have brought some guys to help him move it. He committed another robbery and this time had backup, which was quickly webbed up by the webhead. Spider’s spider sense was still tingling hard enough to be a year’s worth of migraines (he’d amped up his spider sense to feel the danger of other people) so he was soon taken out by Electro. (Spider-Man (vol. 4) #9)
Electro knocked Spidey through the pavement and onto the street, annoyed that bystanders didn’t know who he was. Electro said that he was after Spider-Man but his aim needed work. Despite the pain of his over powered spider sense, Spidey tried to dodge the bolts. Electro was confused that his enemy seemed to be in pain from bolts that missed him, saying that people already thought that theirs fights were faked and he didn’t want to be compared to pro wrestling. He was kicked aside by Spider-Boy. Spider-Man recognized him from the Spider-Verse incident but said he was supposed to be in his own reality. Spider-Boy insisted that they were partners but used everyone’s confusion to surprise Electro and twist his mask around. Spider-Man went to save bystanders and Spider-Boy focused on Electro. Electro had Spider-Boy on the ground when he got hit by water from a fire truck. The shock was going to kill Electro and Spidey jumped in to save him. Electro, of course, wasn’t grateful and used to opportunity to zap him again. Spider-Boy jumped onto his back and bit him with spider like teeth. He had injected Electro with paralyzing venom, leaving him on the ground. Electro was taken away by the police. (Spider-Man (vol. 4) #10)
The Sinister Six had gathered again but without the Sandman. They bickered over whether they needed him or not but Electro volunteered to break him out of Ravencroft Asylum. He absorbed power from the backup generator but was immediately webbed by Spider-Man. The insulated webs were ineffective, since Ock had taught Electro to overload the motor neurons in his muscles. He broke free and Jackpot (Mary Jane) tried to subdue him with tentacles similar to Ock’s but he electrified them and escaped. Electro found Sandman in his cell and was annoyed by his insistence that he wasn’t a criminal anymore. He was hit over the head with a flower pot by Anna Watson, telling him to get away from her friend. He was about to fry her when he was stopped by Hippo, Human Fly and Whirlwind. Jackpot arrived and hit him with a pink bowling ball. He was beaten when Spidey knocked Hippo onto him.
Electro was on his way to being sent to the Raft when he was freed from the transport truck by Sandman. At Ock’s hideout, Sandman said that Electro had been no help and he had needed to act alone. Electro claimed he had provided a diversion and Ock started to explain his plan. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #46)
"Strange Love"
At The Bar With No Name, Max watched a fight between Spider-Man, Silk and Francine on TV. He was indignant that she ran from two spiders and was using his name. He decided to teach her that he was the only Electro. (Spectacular Spider-Men (vol. 1) #8)
Returning to the bar, he ran into Francine. He told her to stop using his name and she refused. The bartender, Deke, stopped them from fighting and they were impressed by his guts. He said he needed the job and they had just rebuilt the bar. (Spectacular Spider-Men (vol. 1) #9)
Image Gallery
Appearances
Thanks To
This profile was completed with information used with permission from the Appendix of Marvel Universe website, mantained by Jeff Christiansen (Snood). If you want to find out about that odd-ball character you've only seen once, or even about that character you haven't ever seen, that's the site you're looking for. An impressive amount of obscure characters await you there!
The assistance of the Marvel Chronology Project is gratefully acknowledged.
Some of the above information is extracted from the various versions of the Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe and the more recent Marvel Encyclopaedias.