Electro (Marvel Comics)

He is a founding member of the Sinister Six, and the leader of the original incarnation of the Emissaries of Evil, the first supervillain teams to oppose Spider-Man and Daredevil, respectively.

Electro's superpowers revolve around controlling electricity, which he can absorb to "charge" himself and become more powerful, gaining additional abilities such as flight and enhanced physical attributes.

Since his conception, the character has undergone several design changes, from his original green and yellow costume, to his modern look with blue skin and a bald head.

[7] He is also the first major Marvel villain to be written in publication history as battling Daredevil,[8][9] even being the founder and leader of the supervillain team that oppose him, the Emissaries of Evil.

Electro, in an effort to make a final grand gesture, throws himself into the Hudson River while his body is highly charged, seemingly killing himself in an explosion.

Somehow surviving, Electro resurfaces 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 hate due to his arrogance).

Electro manages 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.

[30] The badly wounded Electro recovers and shortly afterwards joins the Sinister Twelve, assembled by the Green Goblin, though he and the rest of the team is defeated thanks to the intervention of the Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Captain America, Iron Man and Yellowjacket.

The revamp was explained by writer Mark Waid, stating that artist Paul Azaceta "tweaked the design a bit, adding some burn scars to reflect Electro's current situation.

Depressed and angry at the world because of this, Electro begins gathering other outcasts and misfits into a group known as "Power To The People", which targets right-wing newspaper baron Dexter Bennett and the New York Stock Exchange in the wake of the 2008 Financial Crisis.

[37] Electro's duplicitous nature causes him to betray his followers to align with the amoral Bennett in exchange for help finding a way to restore his powers to a controllable level.

[41] During the "Heroic Age" storyline, it is suspected by the Young Allies that Electro had a discarded and disavowed daughter named Aftershock (similar to the MC2 Universe version) who is a member of the Bastards of Evil.

[42] When Young Allies members Firestar and Gravity fight Electro, he defeats them and lets them live so that they can spread the message that he does not endorse Aftershock and the Bastards of Evil's terrorism.

[44] During the "Origin of the Species" storyline, Electro is among the supervillains invited by Doctor Octopus to reestablish the Sinister Six, where they are promised that they will receive a reward in exchange for securing some specific items.

[47] In the Big Time storyline, Electro becomes a member of Doctor Octopus' new Sinister Six and helps Chameleon break into an air force base in New Jersey.

[49] During the "'Ends of the Earth" storyline despite the Sinister Six being prepared for a fight with the Avengers, Electro was the first of the team to be defeated, being hurled into the upper atmosphere by Thor while distracted by his inability to attack Spider-Man's new hi-tech armor.

Electro gets angry and starts sparking, but the bartender gets the situation under control by commenting on how bad the Punisher is and with compliments like breaking so many villains out of the Raft, which earned him the respect of Crossbones and Count Nefaria.

Determined to get respect, Electro heads back over to the Raft, ready for another breakout despite the Green Goblin having done the same just recently and the fact that it was re-christened as Spider-Island II.

[59] Electro pressures Sajani into telling him how effective the anti-Electro traps will be in removing his powers, but the Black Cat interrupts their talk to ask her how the device works.

Black Cat changes the plan, using the wiring to overload Electro by putting his powers way out of control, shooting his lightning bolts against the helicopter.

[75][76] Electro later appears as a member of the Sinister Six (consisting of Hobgoblin, Bombshell, Spot and Sandman) led by Aaron Davis in a recolored Iron Spider armor.

[83] During the "Devil's Reign" storyline, Electro is among the characters that Mayor Wilson Fisk recruited to be part of his Thunderbolts units so that they can help the NYPD crack down on superhuman vigilantism.

[84] After Fisk is ousted as Mayor and replaced by Luke Cage, Electro joins Agent Gao's Cape Killers in exchange for a lighter sentence as seen during the "Carnage Reigns" storyline.

[91] As Tombstone order White Rabbit to have the Sinister Syndicate and those on their side to pull out of Central Park, Electro helps Trapstr immobilize She-Hulk and then zaps Spider-Man on their way out.

[93] An unusually configured magnetic field is created when Max Dillon is struck by lightning while holding live, high-tension wires and a wound reel of one-inch cable, granting him superhuman powers.

During a stint in prison, Doctor Octopus gave him the ideas of ionizing metals and sparking the petroleum in the fuel tanks of vehicles as a way to generate explosions.

[volume & issue needed] An experimental procedure heightens his powers, allowing Electro to store and absorb a seemingly limitless amount of electricity.

During the events of the storyline "The Gauntlet", Electro becomes a living artificial thunderbolt, allowing him to travel through electrical appliances such as going through a light bulb and exiting through any other electronic device connected to the power source.

He also claimed that the character "never harbored a pathological hatred of Spider-Man", and that he instead "developed a healthy loathing for Spidey because the Wall Crawler frequently interfered with his sole goal of larceny".

Desperate for money, Shiraishi takes on a number of odd jobs before being contacted by the boy's father, a professor researching high-voltage emission technology.

Electro's first appearance, The Amazing Spider-Man #9 (Feb. 1964). Art by Steve Ditko .
Max Dillon, as he originally appears. Interior artwork from Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 (October 1964). Art by Steve Ditko .
Electro's new look in The Amazing Spider-Man #612. Art by Paul Azaceta.
The second Electro, Francine Frye, in the cover of The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 4, #17, art by Alex Ross .
Ultimate Electro. Art by Mark Bagley
Electro as he appears in Spider-Man: The New Animated Series
Electro as he appears in The Spectacular Spider-Man
Jamie Foxx as Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 .