Villain Analysis : Electro - The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

For my first post villain analysis, I'm going to talk about the villain Electro, from the movie "The Amazing Spider-Man 2".


SPOILERS AHEAD!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

The man is not amused

Origins (and Transformation)

In the movie, Electro, just like his comic-book counterpart, was originally called Max Dillon. But the similarities more or less end at the name. Okay, maybe their job is similar as well. In the movie, Max is an electrical engineer working for Oscorp And life isn't great for him. He is ignored by the entire company (he regards himself as a 'nobody'). He designs a power grid that would enable Oscorp to provide clean power to the entire city, but no credit was given to him.

And then he gets saved by Spider-Man, who tells him that he is the eyes and ears for the superhero. This starts a sort of obsession towards the arachnid, as one of the few people (or maybe even the first) person to need him. As a result, he collects all news regarding Spider-Man and clips them to the wall at his home. He even talks to himself, imitating Spidey talking to him, celebrating his birthday with him.

His career as a super-villain starts when he gets sent to fix a power fault in a bioengineering lab. Due to the fact that it was already after office hours, no one was available to shut off the power, making it a very risky procedure. Predictably, he gets electrocuted, and is sent tumbling down into a pool full of modified electric eels.

The result? An electric man.

Powers and abilities

Electro starts out being unable to control his powers properly. His whole body is constantly sending out a stream of electricity, electrocuting anything near him. He also requires electricity to fuel his abilities. But as he becomes more experienced, his powers become more deadly

Electric bolt

The standard attack, Electro is able to send out a stream of focused electricity onto his target. Although at first he is unable to control it, he eventually becomes able to choose between outright frying a person, or sending just enough electricity to stop his heart.

Defibrillator

With the ability to stop a man's heart comes the ability to, well, revive him. Considering that standard defibrillator devices uses a jolt of electricity to jump-start the heart, Electro shows that he is able to do so as well in one scene.

Electric Armor

With his body constantly sending out a stream of electricity, anyone or anything coming into contact with Electro would receive an electric shock. This made the job of fighting him tough on Spider-Man, as the shocks ruined his web shooters.

Pure Electricity/Power

Now, this is what makes Electro truly deadly. As Electro became more desperate, he discovered the ability to transform his body into pure electricity. This means that he is able to disappear and reappear at will, as well as travel along power lines. He can also attack while re-appearing as well, making him a deadly foe

Possible Immortality

Although he is bested in the film, I personally feel that since he has now become pure electricity (or energy), he can never be killed. He might have been dispersed, but as science dictates, energy can never be destroyed. So don't count him out yet.

Motivations

As I mentioned above, Max is an incredibly lonely man, up to the point that anyone paying attention to him is regarded immediately as a friend (or in the case of Spider-Man, an object of obsession). When he first transformed, he wandered into the middle of Times Square, and after causing a disturbance, all of the gigantic electronic screens on the side of buildings were focused on him. For the first time in his life, he was being noticed.

However, due to him being a possible danger to the people, he was attacked by both Spider-Man and the police (although the police started it first). This made the people cheer for Spider-Man instead, and Electro lost the attention he so craved. As a result, a grudge on Spider-Man was born.

Later in the film, Harry Osborn, in a desperate attempt, frees Electro while stating that he needed him. This statement of being needed made Electro spring into action, and help Harry. By the end of the film, he took over the power grid of the city, with the intention of being the subject of the people's attention, and worship, since everyone needs electricity.

Appearance

Fortunately, for this movie, they decided to proceed along with the version from the Ultimate universe Spider-Man. (Actually, the entire Amazing Spider-Man franchise is based on the Ultimate universe of Marvel Comics). As a result, he is a being of pure energy, much like his Ultimate Universe counterpart :

This makes him much easier to take seriously than the Electro from the original Spider-Man comics :

Lord of the Dance!

Overall

All in all, I rather like this villain. His origin and backstory is relatable (no power crazy world rulers here). His powers are also rather intriguing, and leaves space for him to be possibly expanded upon.

Villain rating : 8/10

New Section! Villain Analysis!

Today, I'm starting up a new section in this blog, called 'Villain Analysis'. Now, when watching movies, I've always been more fascinated by the villains than the heroes. Something about them just...attracts me more than most heroes.

Throughout my analysis, I will be touching on their :

* Origins (and transformation if any)
* Powers and abilities
* Motivations
* Appearance

and it would end with a 'Villain Rating'. Hope you guys enjoy :D

What lies within the monster?

The team of heroes panted. The fatigue was getting to them. The trek to the lair entrance wasn't easy. And the master of the lair is no pushover either.

A hulking beast, it had the horns of a rhino, but the strength of a gorilla. Claws as sharp as a lion's, fangs as sharp as a shark's. Skin as tough as stone, unbreakable through normal attacks.

The Lancer was getting tired. His ragtag team of heroes, including the Archer, Magician, Priest and Warrior were being pushed back. The battle was tough, and it didn't seem like it was going to end anytime soon.

The Warrior jumped high into the air, and striked at the Beast from above. Unfortunately, the Beast shrugged off the attack, and instead focused its attention to the Archer, who was pelting it with various enchanted arrows.

It slammed its gigantic fist against the ledge where the Archer stood, and obliterated that part of the ledge. Other parts of the ledge slowly crumbled as well, due to the instability of the land after the strike. The Beast seemingly smirked, as it thought of how the Archer must have been crushed.

However, it soon saw that the Archer was hiding behind the Warrior's greatshield, with a spell circle underneath his feet. The Magician had used a teleportation spell just in time to transport him there. Angry that it had been fooled, the beast let out a thunderous roar.

Right when things were looking bleak, Lancer saw a shadow appearing from the dust cloud that was once the ledge. Moving with agility and grace, the shadow moved across the battlefield, heading towards where his team were. He frowned, as he now had to be cautious of both this shadow and the Beast.

Before he knew it, however, the shadow changed directions, and dashed towards the Beast instead. Startled, the Beast who had been focusing its attention on Lancer's team tried to trample on the shadow. Suddenly, a figure jumped up towards it, skillfully avoiding the Beast's leg.

The moment the Lancer saw the figure, a huge smile appeared on his face. The figure was actually the Hunter! His most trusted member of the team, as well as his life partner, no one could ask for a better backup than her.

Avoiding the leg, she threw something at the Beast. It coiled around its body, attempting to restrict the movement of the Beast. The Hunter jumped up, and threw a few more in different angles, heavily restricting the movement of the Beast. These were the metal chains that she had inherited from her chieftain, the chains that never broke no matter how strong its target.

She signalled towards her husband, Lancer. Understanding that now was the best moment to strike, he glanced towards the Priest, who had been chanting a spell. Seeing that it was ready, Lancer raised his spear up into the sky. With a blinding flash of light, a bolt of lightning struck down onto the Lancer. But instead of striking him, it cackled and reverberated within the spear.

Now that his spear has been enchanted with the power of the Gods themselves, the Lancer rushed forward to strike. He jumped, and landed right on the Warrior's greatshield. With a push using all his might, the Warrior launched the Lancer up into the sky, using his greatshield as a platform.

The lancer, now high up in the sky, was at a prime position to strike. Utilizing all the strength he had left in his body, he struck at the Beast. With his spear, he slashed the beast, from its shoulder all the way down its body. The moment the attack was done, his hand let go of the spear, and he fainted while still in the air. Swiftly, the Hunter caught him and brought him to land.

The Beast moaned loudly, its body in pain. The lightning that was contained within the spear pierced its stone skin, and it suffered a heavy wound. It was about to fall onto the ground.

BUT!

With a loud THUMP, it solidified its footing with its right foot. It stood up straight, broke the chains, and gave out a loud and powerful roar. The ground shook, and the trees waved. The band of heroes were at their wits' end. Fearing the worst, they braced themselves for the imminent attack.

Right when everything looked bleak, a cry to stop could be heard from behind them. Curious, they all turned around, and saw a frail woman running in their direction. However, she became slower and slower, and almost fell. The Magician rushed over to assist her. She knew this woman well. It was her sister-in-law, a songstress.

The Songstress stood back up, and walked towards the Beast. Sensing no threat, the Beast stood there and stared intently at this woman. The Lancer and Hunter tried to stop the Songstress, but was warned not to do so by the Magician.

At that moment, the Songstress began singing. Her voice was gentle and soft, almost like a summer breeze. It gave them all a sense of calm, even the Beast. Slowly but surely, she approached the Beast. As if acknowledging her, it lowered its head towards her. She then hugged its face, and assured it that everything was alright.

"It's not your fault, dear brother."

Hearing this, it jerked back its head, causing the Songstress to lose her footing. The Lancer quickly ran in front and grabbed her back to safety. The Beast roared once again, but this time it was different. It was not a simple roar of beasts. This time, it was full of pain and anguish. The heroes almost could not believe their eyes : tears were flowing down the eyes of the Beast. It then covered its face with its massive hands, almost as if in shame.

The Beast roared a few more times. As it roared, the sound gradually changed into that of a sobbing sound. Its size started to shrink. Its skin started to change from stone-like to something more human. Slowly, gradually, it started to change into another form. The Songstress and the Magician approached the Beast.

Finally, its true form was revealed : a man, nothing more than a man. The Songstress hugged him, and the Magician went in for a kiss. Finally, finally after all this fighting and travelling, she had found her husband who went missing. The man hugged both of them tightly, apologizing repeatedly for everything that has happened.

The man had been possessed, by the demons within him. Gradually, they turned him into something that was less and less human. A month ago, he started verbally abusing his sister and wife. He lost his job, and turned to alcohol. Finally, the last straw came when he hit his sister for nagging at him too much. His sister, being a frail woman from birth, was heavily injured.

Finally coming to his senses, the man realized what he had done. He knew what he had become : a monster. He ran out of the house, and wandered off into a far off land, where the demons eventually took advantage of his guilt and anger, and turned him into the Beast. However, the forgiveness of his sister had broke him free from his curse, and allowed him to walk the earth as a man once more.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, my dear readers. The story has come to an end. Now, it is my firm belief that we all have some form of evil, some demons within us. However, we must always find ways to fight it, to resist its influence, lest we end up like that poor man. Lest we turn into a monster. I myself am still struggling with them, but its a fight that I have no intention of losing. I hope you will join this fight with me, and perhaps, just perhaps, we could make this world a slightly better place.

The Evil Within

BZZZZT!!!

The electric buzzer rang as the heavy metal door was opened for me. I took a deep breath. In front of me, was a corridor, surrounded by the cells of hundreds, if not thousands of the worst criminals in the country. Slowly, I walked into the corridor. Although there were two guards escorting me, I still felt cautious. After all, you never know what could happen in this kind of place.

"So Doc, what brings you to this kind of place? Doesn't exactly look like you're here to visit one of these scumbags."

One of the guards that was escorting me suddenly spoke to me. I turned to look at him. A man whose age have probably surpassed 40, he seems like he's actually excited to be escorting me. I guess that there isn't much going on around this place.

"I'm just here to have some interviews. Our Centre of Psychoanalysis feels that if we can get a grasp of how criminals think, we might be able to help the police in their investigations."

"Wow, that sounds like some incredible stuff, doc! So in the future, we might be able to reduce the amount of crimes?"

"I can't say for sure, but we sure hope to do so. Anyway, where are we heading?"

"Oh, just the Warden's office. You gotta meet up with him first before you can do anything here, y'know".

------------------------------------------------15 minutes later ------------------------------------------

Well, the meeting with the Warden went about as well as water mixes with oil. I guess I can't blame him. He's had to deal with these prisoners his whole life, and it doesn't help that he thinks that their scum that cannot be saved. To him, my visit here is a waste of time and money. No matter, he's not the one that is funding it anyway.

As I sat on the bench outside of the Warden's office, George walked up to me from the corridor. Turns out he volunteered to be my guide throughout the visit. Guess he needs the excitement.

"So, who are you gonna be interviewing?"

I shuffle through my files, and looked at the profile I was given.

"Hmm...one Mr Max Campbell."

"Aaaah good ol' Max. He's over at B-wing. Come on, we have quite some ground to cover."

As we walked, I overheard some of the prisoners talking amongst themselves.

"Hey, have you heard? There's a new guy in town. Real piece of work, that one."

"No, not really. Why? What'd he do?"

I couldn't hear the rest of it, so I asked George about it. He shook his head as he told me,

"They're talking about Mitch Stanson. That man is a monster. Killed 10 innocent people, possibly more. About a quarter of the missing people in the state has his signature written all over it, but we don't have anything on him."

George sighed.

"And they're moving him here now. I guess the other prisons didn't want to take such a dangerous man in. He looks more like a lion than a man."

Right as we were talking, I overheard a commotion coming in from the front. A huge man was being escorted by 5 or 6 guards. They were walking very cautiously, shouting at whoever was in front of them to make way. As our paths was about to cross, I felt a shiver down my spine, and I couldn't move. George tapped me on the shoulder.

"Yeah, he does that to people. Pure intimidation. But you'll get used to it soon enough."

I slowly regained my composure, and continued walking with George. While walking, again I heard people talking about Mitch Stanson. I guess when a guy with that high of a profile comes, tongues start to wag.

"You know which cell he's gonna be in?"

"Surprisingly, not solitary. I heard from one of the guards that he's gonna be in D-4."

"Shit, Max's cell?"

"Yeah...poor guy."

I was intrigued. So the guy I was supposed to be interviewing is gonna be the cellmate of this notorious killer? Things might get rough.

----------------------------------------------------20 minutes later------------------------------------------

I stepped into the room prepared for my interviews. 2 armed guards, closed-circuit cameras, and to top it all off, I'm separated from the prisoner via  a 2-inch reinforced glass. We just have phones and a desk on each side to let us talk.

The man on the other side of the glass seems oddly calm. He greeted me with a smile, and eagerly picked up his phone. I then picked up mine.

"Good morning, doctor."

"Good morning, Mr. Max. I trust you know why I'm here?"

"Yeah, to talk about why I did it, right? I'm afraid it's going to be a rather long story, though. You up for it?"

"At this point, I'm up for anything."

He chuckled, and started telling his story. He told me about how he was always ignored by his peers, even family. No matter what he did, no one paid any attention to him, it was like he was invisible. 

"So, when my supervisor at office just asked me to stay back while he treated the rest of our team to lunch, I couldn't take it anymore. I took the nearest letter opener, and stabbed him with all my strength. It wasn't until moments later that I realized what I had done.

Thinking back, I guess you could say that I was lashing out at the world for ignoring me. Well, they saw me for a while when I was in the news. But now, they've forgotten me again. The only attention I'm getting now is that I'm the cellmate of 'Lion King' Mitch.

I guess things don't change that easily."

Max stared down at the desk with a remorseful look at his face. I felt sorry for the guy. I wanted to say something to make him feel better. But before I could say anything, I remembered what my senior told me before,

"Never get personally involved in any of the cases. That would come back to bite your ass."

I ended our call, and went back to my place. I wanted to avoid thinking about the interview. I went straight to bed.

-----------------------------------------------------1 week later------------------------------------------

It's now been a week since I started on my assignment in Raven Penitentiary. Max has been a...rather unexpected subject. The people at the Centre wanted to start at someone mild, someone who isn't as hardened as the others. Well, Max fits the bill just fine. 

Over the course of our interviews, I found out that he's really quite a nice guy. We even joked and talked about sports, and especially about food. Max said that if he ever got into the kitchen section, he could make food 10 times better than the current ones. I jokingly said that if he ever got into the kitchen, prepare my favorites, bacon and sausages.

He even got along with George. The three of us would sit down and have a nice chat together at the cafeteria from time to time. Max once asked George if it was possible for him to move cells. Apparently Mitch was a bit too much to bear. He would regularly threaten Max, and tell him horror stories of his crimes. George wanted to help, but it just wasn't up to him to decide that.




I continued with the interviews with Max. Eventually, it kind of blurred into informal conversation, and even just chatting between the two of us. He might have commited a murder, but he's someone that I would consider as a friend.

--------------------------------------------------1 week later------------------------------------------

It's finally the end of my term here. George was kinda sad that I had to leave. He's lonely here, he says. No real friends around. All the guards just minds their own business. As a kind of farewell gift, he somehow managed to convince the Warden to have a special meal thrown for the entire prison.

All of the prisoners were to eat ham and eggs for that lunch. It was a real treat for the prisoners, who survived on some rather meager meals during their stay. It was also great publicity for the Warden, whose reputation was starting to take a fall due to reports about poor living conditions for the prisoners.

I saw Max helping out in the kitchen, with a smile on his face. I guess he just wanted a place to belong.All of us lined up to get our food. Mitch half-threatened Max to give him double the portion. Terrified, Max just went along.

When it was my turn, Max surprised me by giving me bacon and sausage instead.

"I snuck these in with the help of some of the kitchen guys," he said with a grin.

I ate with George and the Warden as we talked about my interviews. Strangely, the Warden was eating ham and eggs as well. Guess he wanted to show that he's equal with the prisoners to the reporters. Bunch of bullshit.

"So I was turning back on the driveway right-"

George stopped talking halfway. He clenched his stomach. His face turned pale.

"George! What's going on?!"

He collapsed onto the floor, along with the Warden. I rushed over to his side. He was foaming from the mouth. He convulsed and shook violently. Terrified, I rushed out of the office to look for help. Cold sweat was rushing from my brows.

When I reached the prison cafeteria, what I saw shocked me. The entire cafeteria was filled with prisoners who were convulsing on the floor. I went as quick as I could down the stairs towards them. Never have I cursed my lack of speed when going down stairs before.

All of them had the same symptoms as George and the Warden. I saw Mitch trying to get up, but was having difficulties. I ran over to his side, and tried to help him up, but he knocked my hand away.

"T...he...twerp..."

He pointed towards the main cafeteria doors. Of course! I could get help outside! There has to be SOMEONE that can help. And maybe I can get some reception too. I ignored his warning of a 'twerp', and dashed towards the main door. I flungh them open with all my strength.

Outside, as if waiting for me, stood...Max. He flashed a grin, and spoke calmly.

"Good day, doctor! How was your lunch?"

I went towards him, and grabbed hold of him.

"Max! Max! Things are going crazy in there! People are dying, Max! We have to get help!"

"Help? You want to ask for help?!"

He slapped my hand away.

"Go ahead! Go ask for help! But know this! By the time they arrive, the people in this entire complex will be dead!"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Was this the same man? The remorseful man who secretly gave me bacon and sausages?

Max grinned. His eyes were full of malice. He raised his hands up in the air, and stared into the sky.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? My plan, after all this time of waiting, finally came to fruition! You have no idea how hard I had to beg the guards to bring in some rat poison. It was even harder to convince the kitchen guys to let me in. But when I managed to get in, the rest was easy...so easy."

"But...why am I alive?"

Max shook his head slowly.

"You don't get it, do you? I SPARED you! I purposely gave you different food, so that you wouldn't eat the poison. It was in the ham, if you want to know. Kinda easy to disguise it was some sort of spice."

"But why? Why me?!"

"So that you can spread the word!"

I was taken aback by what he said.

"Yes, spread this across the world! I want the world to know about me. Me! Max Campbell! Me! Mr Nobody! I, not 'Lion King', not anybody else, managed to kill everyone in the prison! Me! Little old me!"

At that point, I finally understood. This was his way of getting what he wanted the most : attention. The world would go crazy over this piece of news. They might even give him some book or movie deals. He would get all the publicity he could ever get in his entire life.

-----------------------------------------------1 month later------------------------------------------

It's been a month since the incident at Raven Penitentiary. I took a long leave after I came back. The police got hold of Max. Well, he wanted them to. As he predicted, by the time help arrived, it was too late for everyone in the prison. Mitch died especially painfully, due to the double dosage of poison. In my report to the Centre, I told them that all the interviews in the world would not help us understand them better.

They asked me why. This is what I said to them :

"No matter how well you think you know someone. No matter how good they appear on the outside. There is no one out there on Earth, nor are there any methods available, that can accurately measure the evil within a person."

Hi

So...hi. I must admit, it's been quite a while since I blogged. I used to have one, but it got lost in the passage of time. So, I'm gonna start a new one here, mostly for ramblings (which might be marginally better than talking to myself), and stories. Yes, stories.

Enjoy your visit :)