ELECTRO

 

ELECTRO

Real Name: Maxwell Dillon

First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #9, February 1964

Powers: Max Dillon was a high-wire lineman for Con Edison who was struck by lightning while in contact with power lines still connected to their spool. The unusually configured magnetic field generated by the wound spool of cable and live, high-tension wires induced a body-wide mutagenic change to his nervous system. Dillon found himself transformed into a living electrical capacitor, powered by the micro-fine rhythmic muscle contractions that normally regulate body temperature. Deciding to use his newfound power for personal gain, he became Electro, the Living Dynamo.

His body was now capable of generating, absorbing, storing, harnessing, and releasing electrostatic energy both at and for various levels of voltage and effects. Typically, Electro absorbs this energy from an external power source, but in the absence of an external supply, he can generate a limited amount of electrostatic charge by transforming chemical energy within his own body, although this will physically weaken him. Electro can act as a transformer, touching an outside power source (such as a generator) and channeling it through his body for use without intermediate storage.

He has been observed generating lightning bolts in the air with a range approaching 100 feet. This requires an electrical potential difference of at least 30 million volts compared to the target point. Analysis of the resultant damage caused by Electro’s bolts indicates that the current flow can rise as high as 200 amps over short periods. Corresponding video footage indicates that Electro can (without recharging) generate around 100 seconds of current (approximately 1,000 bolts with an average duration of 1/10th of a second). Hence, it appears that Electro can store at least 100,000 coulombs (amp-seconds) of charge.

Electro can employ his electrostatic charge in several ways. The simplest manifestation is the emission of a lightning-like electric arc from his fingertips, which can propagate through the air or other conducting mediums. This discharge, whose total voltage can be regulated within certain limits, travels at the speed of lightning (about 1,100 feet per second). The course of the electrostatic bolt, like lightning, doesn’t always follow a straight line since conducting substances like metal or other electrical fields may influence it. If this target isn’t grounded, his electrostatic bolt will have little effect. The maximum effective range of his bolts is about 100 feet.

Electro can propel himself along the accompanying magnetic lines of force in objects that have great electric potential, such as high-tension electrical lines. He generates tight eddying electrical fields around his legs, which develops an intense, opposing magnetic field that can support him above the electric cable’s magnetic field. By creating imbalances in his field, he can ride along magnetic ripples at speeds of up to 140 miles per hour, the maximum speed at which he can still breathe unaided. He can sometimes create electrostatic bridges to traverse upon, although the expenditure of energy is enormous.

Electro's electrical powers also granted him certain sensory and manipulative abilities. By "feeling" the course of electricity through the circuitry of any electrically powered device, Electro could override the system and make the device obey his mental commands. Electro could disconnect alarm systems, control computers in a limited way, or overload any electrically controlled system that was insufficiently shielded. The electric flux of Electro's skin was such that when his electric charge was at a maximum, a person touching him was in danger of being electrocuted. Electro’s body is immune to the effects of electricity, both his own and outside sources. Hence, Electro cannot be electrocuted, no matter how great the voltage.

By using an external electrical power source to recharge his body's energy reserves, he could expend electrical energy indefinitely without diminishing his personal reserves. The electricity coursing through his altered body augmented his strength, speed, and recuperative powers. When fully charged, Electro was able to lift (press) about 500 pounds. After undergoing an extreme infusion of electrical energy a few years ago, however, Electro's natural production ability and storage limit were both increased a million-fold. Electro's electric field protects him from various forms of harm, now it generates enough heat to protect him from low temperatures environments, can disperse gas attacks before they reach him, incinerate webbing or other projectiles, etc. He later learned how to use electrostatic fields to magnetize metal objects, creating a repulsor effect to throw about large masses of metal. He can also transmit electronic signals or broadcast his voice on different wave frequencies by coming into contact with electrical cables. Electro can negate Spider-Man's wall-crawling ability by sending an electrical pulse through the surface that Spider-Man is clinging to.

Electro later upgraded his powers even further, thanks to the Mad Thinker. He can now physically transform his body into electrical energy, moving at the speed of light as an electrically-based entity. He can transmit himself through power lines or phone lines, or wirelessly jump along radio band transmissions to "beam" himself to any open receiver. His overall levels of electrical production were also increased.