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.

SANDMAN

 

SANDMAN

Real Name: William Baker

First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #4, September 1963

Powers: William Baker was a petty criminal who received superhuman powers when he was exposed to a massive dose of radiation after being caught in a nuclear testing explosion on a beach, and was molecularly bonded to the sand beneath him.

As the Sandman, Baker developed the ability to shift from a uniform carbon-mass body to individualized silicon-mass, essentially becoming a man-shaped mound of sand particles. The Sandman's "essence" was contained in a single, radioactive "soul molecule" among his body. This particle contained his consciousness and was the medium through which his sand body was able to approximate human traits of sight, hearing, speech, and touch. So long as that particle remained, other silicon particles could be added or dispersed from his body as needed. Force or impact could scatter and displace sand from the Sandman's body with negligible effect. The displaced sand could coalesce back into piles and reform him, or even new and previously unrelated sand particles could be accumulated to substitute for original mass that could not be recovered.

In later years, the Sandman has demonstrated the ability to increase in size beyond his original mass by adding new sand to his whole body. He could grow to giant size and make an entire beach into an extension of his body. The Sandman could also formulate multiple independent bodies simultaneously, each animated by different aspects of his mind or personality. This could be done deliberately to increase his manpower or multi-tasking, but it also occasionally happened without his knowledge with different aspects of his personality fighting for control. The Sandman could only increase or decrease his mass while in his silicon state-- he's never demonstrated the ability to transform into a carbon-based man larger than his normal stature, and cannot return to normal without first accumulated enough of his displaced mass to do so.

In his sandy state, the Sandman can manipulate his density. Instead of existing as loosely displaced sand, he can harden into limestone or granite (though only in portions of his body at a time unless he absorbs excess silicon mass first). He can leap from great heights and absorb the impact in his sandy state without injury, or squeeze himself through spaces too small for a human. The Sandman can walk heedlessly through a chain link fence, filter his entire body through drains or air ducts, etc. He can project his mass outwards with great force, often turning his hands into pressurized blasts of sand. By manipulating his density, he can then harden his sand around a victim after striking them, holding them in place. He can expand his fists to enormous size or shift them into different forms like hammers or mace balls. The Sandman is capable of shape-shifting while in his sand form. He can mimic the features and dimensions of another person perfectly, although he still is made of sand when he does so. He also has the mental control to create a tiny sand castle out of his mass, with animated knights and figures moving through it.

The Sandman is vulnerable to heat as temperatures of 3,400° Fahrenheit can cause his highly impure silicate composition to fuse into amorphous silicate (glass). Further, when his sand-state becomes wet, his body becomes soggy and difficult to manipulate.

The Sandman once used a belt and costume designed for him by the Wizard of the Frightful Four. It allowed him to incorporate other chemicals into his sand when he transformed. This could make his sand as slippery as oil, explosive like nitroglycerin, or a freezing substance like liquid nitrogen, which further produced a poisonous vapor when heated back up.

VULTURE

 

VULTURE

Real Name: Adrian Toomes

First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #2, May 1963

Powers: Adrian Toomes was an electronics engineer who developed an electromagnetic harness which gave him the ability to defy gravity. It could create silent propulsion by cutting through the magnetic lines of force surrounding the planet. Toomes incorporated the harness into a bird suit with a set of artificial wings. On its own, the harness enabled him to hover and fly slowly through the air. With the addition of glider wings, however, the Vulture could reach speeds of nearly 100 mph, and dramatically increased his aerial agility and maneuverability. Oftentimes, his metallic feathers were razor sharp at the tips, making them useful as weapons. A side effect of the electromagnetic fields generated by the harness was that they increased the Vulture's strength and vitality. Despite being roughly 90 years old, the Vulture developed the ability to lift over 800 lbs, increased stamina, reflexes, and recuperative powers. In the early days, this booster effect would fade if he stopped wearing the harness for a time, but eventually his metabolism was permanently upgraded.

Many years later, the Vulture attempted to fight off cancer using the Juvenator, a device for transferring life energy from one host to another. This essentially allowed the Vulture to "trade ages" with another person. By grabbing a 20-year-old with the Juvenator paddles, the Vulture could regain the youth and vitality of his twenties, and send his victim into their nineties. The process was normally temporary, though, meaning both parties would revert back to their true ages within hours. Vulture managed to stabilize the process for several months, however, by draining the artificial life of "Mary Parker", the synthezoid Chameleon used to mimic Peter Parker's mother. With his newfound youth, the Vulture was much stronger and faster than ever before. He adopted a new armored costume and began using new weaponry, like an electromagnetic bolt gun and pulse grenades. Eventually, the Juvenator effects began to wear off, and he became a true Vulture, attacking people with the Juvenator paddles to steal their youth and maintain his own. Contact with the decomposing creature known as D.K. permanently restored his advanced age.

Adrian Toomes holds a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering and is a brilliant electronics engineer with a great talent for invention.