Jamie Foxx Reveals Details of Electro’s Origin in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ Sequel

Jamie Foxx didn't get the "no spoilers" memo when it comes to super hero movies. Foxx, who will be playing Electro in the upcoming sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man, recently shared information about his characters origin, and it is markedly different from the comics. According to the actor, his portrayal of Max Dillon (a.k.a. Electro) will show a villain whose beginnings focus on him as a huge Spider-Man fan. Speaking to MTV, here's what Foxx had to say about his character:

"You'll see that in his whole life, no one is talking to him. People have stolen his ideas at the big company. He's a nobody. At a certain point, Spider-Man bumps into him and says, 'You're my guy. You're my eyes and ears on the street.' And he says his name - no one has ever said [Max] Dillon's name. He goes, 'Wow' and, when Spider-Man leaves, he sort of thinks that, 'I am Spider-Man's partner!' He's cutting out Spider-Man's face and pasting it on all his boards..."

The idea of Dillon as an intellectual who never gets his due somewhat echoes The Riddler's origin in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?" It's definitely a divergence from the comic book origin, in which Dillon was an electrical engineer involved in a freak accident that gave him super powers. Unlike the description from Foxx, the Dillon in the comics was hardly a sympathetic character, even before his accident.

Changing character origins can often be a point of contention for fans, but Electro's beginnings are hardly revered by long time Marvel devotees, and even die hard fans would certainly be forgiven for not being familiar with the story of how Dillon came to be Electro. That said, any diversion from the source material in a super hero film is usually met with at least a modicum of resistance, and the idea of a fan-turned-villain in a Spider-Man film will almost certainly be debated among some readers.