Power to the People Part Two

Electro’s powers are out of control and he is broke and has reinvented himself as a folk hero by leading a protest against government bailouts on Wall Street. When Spider-Man interfered, the web-slinger was electrocuted and left swarmed by the frenzied mob of protestors. Spider-Man tries to talk sense by pointing out that Electro is just playing them, but nobody wants to listen. Luckly, a well placed manhole cover allows Spider-Man to escape. As he crawls through the sewers, Peter admits to himself that Electro did a good job winning the hearts and minds of the people and wonders if he could do the same thing before ultimately dismissing the idea. He figures it’s not a complete loss since he stashed his clothes and camera nearby and figures he can at least score a win for Peter Parker.

Later, Electro has retreated into an alley because his powers are growing out of control again. He makes a panicked call to the Mad Thinker to make a plea for help because his powers are killing him. The Thinker tells Max that he should have been raising money for his costly operation instead of raising a mob. Electro insists that he has a plan, but before he can explain himself his temper causes his electrical charge to build up enough to fry his cell phone. At that same moment, the mob considers their protest a win and they are all making plans on continuing in greater numbers over the weekend. That’s when Peter Parker arrives on the scene with his camera and argues with one of the protesters about Spider-Man’s status so he can take a picture of him as he spews vitriol.

Although Dexter Bennett tries to spin his government bail out to make the protesters look like the villains, he tells his butler to lock up his penthouse and set the alarms, just in case.[1] Alone in the bath, Dexter Bennett is frightened when the lights in his condo suddenly go out. He is confronted by Electro threatens to electrocute Bennett in his tub, but Dexter is smart enough to call his bluff as he knows this is an attempt at blackmail, not murder. Max Dillon admits that this is the case and threatens to turn up the heat with the protests unless Bennett pays to make his movement go away.

Meanwhile, Peter Parker has been hard at word cannibalizing all his electronics to build a device that he can use to track Electro’s power surges. To test the device, he overloads the outlet in his room. While the device ends up working as planned, Michele Gonzales — his roommate — comes in to yell at him because the overload melted her hair dryer.

While back at the Mad Thinker’s hideout, the deranged scientist is running a simulation to see the viability of his war-sphere design. When he notices his assistant, Anne, is not paying attention he tells her to focus. She admits that she is distracted because having Electro around creeps her out and she isn’t sure if she can keep working for the Thinker if he continues to have him around. The Thinker tells her to get used to it because the odds of Electro failing to raise the money he needs are near zero. As he says this, Max arrives and tosses a bag filled with a million dollars on the table. Electro heard everything that Annie had said and tells her not to write him off just yet. He also asks the Thinker if he is going to listen to her, but remembers that the genius doesn’t see people as anything more than numbers. Cradling the million dollars in his hands, the Mad Thinker orders Annie to fire up the genetic sequencer.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man swings across the city looking for Electro. Between thinking about how he is going to apologize to Michele for blowing a circuit in their apartment and complaining about how the people of New York ignore everything he does, his Electro tracker suddenly kicks in. At that same moment, Aunt May and her newly wed husband Jay Jameson have returned from their honeymoon and are stopping by Peter’s apartment for a surprise visit.[2] When they knock at the door Michele answers the door, already angry because her hair is out of control. When she confirms that May is the woman who raised Peter, she tells her to stop bragging about it and slams the door in their faces. They briefly remember Michele as the woman Peter brought to their wedding before deciding to go on yet another trip, this time to Hawaii.

By this time, the Mad Thinker has strapped Electro into the genetic sequencer and tells Annie to get her act together. She is looking forward to this because so she doesn’t like the constant smell of burning hair and the fear of being electrictured. That’s when the Mad Thinker tells her that they aren’t de-powering Max Dillon but boosting his powers even more. As he explained how he bio-engineered a virus to jack up Elector’s power, Spider-Man’s Electro tracker begins going off the charts. That’s when Spider-Man comes crashing into the warehouse, cutting off the power to the genetic sequencer in the process.

When the Mad Thinker tells Spider-Man that his interference has just signed Electro’s death warrant. However, Electro emerges from the machine feeling better than ever and starts attacking Spider-Man. However, when the he tries to wrap up Electro in webbing, the villain turns into pure electricity and arcs around behind the web-slinger and zaps him from behind. Seeing this with his own eyes, the Mad Thinker realizes that Spider-Man’s interference actually turned Dillon into a living lightning bolt. As Electro revels in his new power, the Mad Thinker and Annie decide to make their exit. Meanwhile, Spider-Man tries to pull down some debris from the ceiling on to Max, but he creates a field of electricity that deflects the debris. Spider-Man then tries to spray Electro with a water hose. This causes Max to panic and after jolting Spider-Man again leaves the scene. The Mad Thinker returns just long enough to collect the money he left behind and Annie gives a quiet apology for leaving Spider-Man behind in the burning lab to die.

Moments later, at the offices of the DB!, as reporters rush to the scene of the fire, Dexter Bennett is informed that Electro just posted another video on the internet. With his jacked up powers, the villain vows ot destroy the newspaper publisher once and for all. As Dexter watches in stunned silence, Electro tells the people of New York that they can help him generate the power to obliterate the DB! off the face of the Earth by turning on every light an appliance in the city.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Electro, Aunt May, Jay Jameson, Dexter Bennett

Continuity Notes

1. There are a few references swimming in the front page of the DB! shown here which you’d miss unless you have a keen eye. They are:

   • The headline “Mayor to Bennett: Drop Dead” is due to the fact that mayor J. Jonah Jameson is bitter over losing the Daily Bugle to Bennett in a buy out. After Jonah suffered a heart attack in Amazing Spider-Man #546, his wife sold the Bugle to Bennett two issues later.

   • The photo credit for the photo of Max Dillon’s mugshot is given to Lance Bannon. Bannon was a long time freelance photographer who operated from Amazing Spider-Man #208 until his death in Web of Spider-Man #114.

2. May and Jay were recently married in Amazing Spider-Man #600.

Topical Referneces

• This story was inspired by the recession that hit the United States from 2007 to 2009. Any suggestion that this story happened during said recession should be considered topical.

• A headline on the DB! References the romance life of baseball player Alex Rodriguez. This should be considered topical since since he has been in a relationship with Jennifer Lopez since 2017.