Electro – Lightning Strikes

I‘ve long been a fan of Max Dillon, the Spider-Man villain better known as Electro largely due to his fashion sense. Max was a blue collar dude working on a power line and after being struck by freak lightning gained the power to control electricity. Dig it. He could have filed a workers comp suit and retired but no, he championed the American Dream and struck out on his own. He had an on-the-table offer by Magneto, Master of Magnetism and terrorist-turned-champion of mutant rights; Electro turned the mutant leader down.

During his illuminating career, Electro has repeatedly met defeat at the hands of Spider-Man, the Falcon, the Defenders, and the New Avengers, to name a few. To his credit, he does not give up, regardless of the opposition, out-numbered or out-powered.

But age is the universal referee. Defeat after defeat, Max returned with a new look - his face now scarred with lightning bolts in place of his traditional mask. Hate it.

I always dug Electro’s original look – the jagged, lightning bolt mask. If nothing else, it’s flamboyant. I never imagined Electro being a champion of homosexual rights but with the mask as testimony, regardless of Max Dillon’s sexual preferences, Electro, in his traditional green and yellow garb, seems a prime example for the homosexual cause. Seeing him as Grand Marshall of some Gay Rights parade would not be particularly shocking. Pun intended.

The original mask screams Look-At-Me. I imagine sashes and boas, a well-deserved super-villain swagger, a wink and sneer, the homosexual crowd providing positive reassurance, and green and yellow balloons. I see Electro, in all his glory, lighting up the night.