10 Best Comic Storylines Featuring The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Villains
10. Electros First Appearance (Amazing Spider-Man #9)
The Marvel of Age of Comics was notorious for its complex characters with provocative origin stories like the Hulk, the Thing, Doctor Doom and Doctor Octopus. But in the case of Max Dillon, aka, Electro, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko kept things incredibly simple. Dillon is described as a unlikeable lineman who acquires his electrical powers after getting hit by a bolt of lightening while working on a high-tension pole. Since Dillon is such a jerk to begin within, he decides to use his extraordinary power to rob banks and be a petty crook. By keeping Dillons motivations so simple, Lee and Ditko were able to incorporate a number of other fun touches, making Amazing Spider-Man #9 such a memorable story. There is Electros garish yellow and green costume, complete with a five-pronged lighting bolt headpiece. There is the silly subplot of Daily Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson accusing Spidey of being Electro as part of his crusade against the Wall Crawler. Then there is the final fight sequence, which shows Spider-Man using his noggin (and science), and defeating Electro through the use of rubber gloves. Electros first appearance is a great demonstration that iconic villains can be created without overwrought, melodramatic writing. Sometimes, an obnoxious guy in a ridiculous costume works just fine.
Mark is a professional writer living in Brooklyn and is the founder of the Chasing Amazing Blog, which documents his quest to collect every issue of Amazing Spider-Man, and the Superior Spider-Talk podcast. He also pens the "Gimmick or Good?" column at Comics Should Be Good blog.
