Max Dillon

**Maxwell "Max" Dillon**, also known by his alias **Electro**, is an antagonist in *Marvel's Spider-Man* with an appearance in *Marvel's Spider-Man 2*. A rival of Spider-Man who is capable of controlling electricity and dreamed of becoming pure energy, Electro joined the Sinister Six. He later became a target of Kraven the Hunter.

## History

### Early history

Born around 1979, in Endicott, New York, Max Dillon was involved in an unspecified accident which granted him the ability to absorb electricity and deploy it in destructive blasts. Becoming the super-criminal Electro, Dillon had several encounters with Peter Parker's Spider-Man over the years. At one point, he perpetrated a killing spree for which Spider-Man was blamed by J. Jonah Jameson, leading to his alter-ego Peter Parker quitting his job at the *Daily Bugle*. By the eighth year of Spider-Man's career, Electro was incarcerated in The Raft.[*citation needed*]

### *Marvel's Spider-Man*

Electro at one point was made to power the Raft prison, saving taxpayers money. When Electro refused to do so, it returned to the city's power grid.

Electro had the goal of evolving himself into pure, living energy. At some point, Doctor Octopus, in trying to build a team to humiliate Norman Osborn, approached Electro to ask for his request, but at first thought the idea insane. When he drove deeper into the problem, he modified Electro's suit to put Electro so close to the dream of being pure energy that the difference was irrelevant. Electro joined the Sinister Six and, in "Out of the Frying Pan...", was freed from the Raft and led Spider-Man on a chase around the prison. The chase led Spider-Man to the Sinister Six where they fought him until, on Octopus' orders, they stood down as Octopus gave Spider-Man a warning.

Electro was tasked with attacking Oscorp power plants, potentially destroying the poewr grid. In "Picking up the Trail", Spider-Man was ambushed by Vulture as a trap, and flown to the power grid Electro was attacking so the two could stop him there. Spider-Man was however able to defeat them both, leaving them webbed up.

### *Marvel's Spider-Man 2*

While held captive in The Raft alongside Doctor Octopus, Rhino, Scorpion, Mister Negative and the Kingpin, Electro came to Kraven the Hunter's attention. The man was searching for a worthy opponent to fight and decided to select Electro as a potential target. However, Max was tranferred from the prison six months before Kraven and his group of hunters arrived in New York City. Undeterred, Kraven still designated Electro as one of his prey. Kraven noted that, given Electro's powers, he was potentially a worthy challenger for him. After personally hunting the Scorpion and Martin Li, Kraven then pursued Electro.

Kraven eventually found, fought and defeated Electro. When recording his duel with Electro, Kraven expressed that Max had been a weakling and a waste of time to fight. He voiced that he imagined Electro, with his significant powers, would have been much more challenging than he actually was. Nevertheless, Kraven hoped that Electro's suit would prove useful for his hunters to use, noting the suit had incredible electrical properties that he believed Electro had failed to use to its full potential.

After death, the memory of Electro still haunted Peter Parker. The man appeared as a hallucination in his mind when Miles Morales and Martin Li explore it to try and free him from the Symbiote's influence.

## Characteristics

### Appearance

Electro is a bald Caucasian man, with a distinct star-patterned scar tissue encompassing most of his face. Aside from his harness, Electro's attire is quite simple compared to the other members of the Sinister Six: black leather jacket, yellow wife-beater, dark green cargo pants, and black boots.

### Personality

Electro is the most carefree of Spider-Man's foes, even going so far as to banter with Spider-Man during their confrontations. However, he can come across as arrogant and even hyperactive at times. Electro's ultimate goal is to become "pure energy", something Doctor Octopus initially thought insane.

### Abilities

A living electrical capacitor, Electro is capable of generating electrostatic energy of roughly 1,000 volts per minute. He can store upwards of 1,000,000 volts and can discharge the stored energy in the form of lightning blasts. He is also capable of traveling at high speeds by generating a massive field of electricity which can propel him through the air. It was theorized by Peter Parker that if Electro ever reached his full potential, even the Avengers would struggle to stop him.

Electro wears a specialized body-harness, designed by Doctor Octopus, which grants him greater control of his powers.

## Original appearance

For more background of Max Dillon throughout comic book history, see **all appearances of Electro** and the **original appearance of Max Dillon** on the **Marvel Database**
The Maxwell Dillon version of Electro was one of the original members of the Sinister Six. The character's first appearance was in *Amazing Spider-Man* #9 (February 1964).

## Behind the scenes

Electro is portrayed by Josh Keaton, who had ironically voiced Spider-Man himself in *The Spectacular Spider-Man* animated series.

## Notes

### Annotations

1. ↑ Electro is 39 years old in *Marvel's Spider-Man*, which takes place in 2018.
2. ↑ The star-patterned scar tissue on his face is a nod to his traditional mask in the comics.

### Citations

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 *Marvel's Spider-Man* menu § "Max Dillon / Electro"
2. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Off the Grid"
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Picking up the Trail"
4. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Out of the Frying Pan..."
5. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Lethal Tantrum"

## References

* Insomniac Games (2018). *Marvel's Spider-Man* [Game]. Sony Interactive Entertainment. PlayStation 4.
* Insomniac Games (2023). *Marvel's Spider-Man 2* [Game]. Sony Interactive Entertainment. PlayStation 5.