SPOILERS AHEAD!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
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| 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 :
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| 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
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