The Amazing Spider-Man Jamie Foxx IS Electro - Part 1

[JOE]

I'd be okay with a cheap halloween mask he wears and just has a creepy mother***ing voice behind it. Dafoe's voice was okay, I want menacing this time.

 

[Victarion]

I want a sheltered man with passive resentment toward his suppressors to have a megaton of power dumped into his lap. Then we can worry about the costume, or lack thereof if they have him go into pure energy form. I doubt he will given the Lizard's reception.

 

[Oscorp]

So I've watched a few films starring Jamie Foxx recently (accidentally actually), and I have to say that while some of those were **** (especially one about airplanes), he really strikes me as a great actor.

He gives a real impression. His acting feels real and you can tell that he really puts everything into it. I absolutely love that and I can see why Webb likes him so much. With Electro in mind, I can totally see him in that role. Not only that, he has every potential to make the role really special and maybe even the best in a Spidey movie yet (yes, even better than Molina as Ock).

The only thing that would stop that is the script and story, because Foxx himself won't disappoint. So I really hope for a great script now!

 

[Nave 'Torment']

Are you drunk mate?

I honestly don't know

I'm a fan of this design:

I honestly wouldn't mind some alteration of this to fit the world that's been established in TASM.

So I've watched a few films starring Jamie Foxx recently (accidentally actually), and I have to say that while some of those were **** (especially one about airplanes), he really strikes me as a great actor.

He gives a real impression. His acting feels real and you can tell that he really puts everything into it. I absolutely love that and I can see why Webb likes him so much. With Electro in mind, I can totally see him in that role. Not only that, he has every potential to make the role really special and maybe even the best in a Spidey movie yet (yes, even better than Molina as Ock).

The only thing that would stop that is the script and story, because Foxx himself won't disappoint. So I really hope for a great script now!

Foxx is a brilliant actor I'm glad they got him for the part his better performances really gives the impression that this is an actor who gives it all for his role. Let's just hope we don't get a Kevin Spacey turnaround this time.

 

[WarriorDreamer]

Has it been confirmed or does anyone have any evidence if the Green Goblin will be in this movie or not?

 

[Venom'sDad]

I don't think so....still rumor as far as I know, but chances are that Foxx may indeed be Dillon.

 

[SpiderMarvelite]

Gimme Ultimate Alliance Goblin.

 

[Picard Sisko]

Has it been confirmed or does anyone have any evidence if the Green Goblin will be in this movie or not?

Nobody knows at this point. Norman Osborn WILL be a character in the film, however. At some point, Green Goblin will make an appearance though.

 

[Nave 'Torment']

I don't know if it's been discussed yet or not but I was looking up the old James Cameron Spidey Scriptment (after Cracked.com parodied an early draft of it) and found that it bares a lot of similarity to the Raimi films -- organic webbing, Pete getting his powers while taking a photoshot at the exhibit, MJ as his life-long crush, etc. It even has a "David Lynch nightmare montage" that's eerily similar to what Raimi did in the first film.

Thing is, it's Hollywood and the script probably got handed down as studios shifted rights or just wanted a peak. The original writer's not concerned or can do anything about it because they didn't use his (or her) ideas verbatim and the studio probably made for the script years ago as it is. What also probably happened is that Raimi and his people took a look into the better usable ideas from the existing script and then retooled it for their own film. This isn't anything new, it happens to franchise-films all the time in Hollywood (remember how both Hulk and X-Men had David "Solid Snake" Hayter as a writer??). What I'm saying is that the Cameron Scriptment is now a sort of Spidey-Hollywood Legend and among the biggest "what ifs" of the genre: what if Cameron did make that movie and what if the final product didn't really look as bad as the script did?

Well with that in mind -- let's recap some of the things Webb would find if he looks into that scriptment today: Pete in college, a very popular Mary Jane Watson (the script was rated-R, there's a sex scene involved for high-octane kink and while that's something we won't get -- probably for the better -- it's still something that Webb could address a bit more tastefully: Peter's first time) and Electro.

That's right, in addition to Professor Otto "Arnold Schwarzeneggar" Octavius and a Sandman called Boyd that brings the T-1000 to mind, Cameron planned on adapting Electro... and it wasn't exactly faithful to the comics. Let's try to remember that this is during the same time as Batman Returns and so filmmakers were more eager to go their own way with the characters. Cameron's Electro was a capitalist business tycoon cut from the same mold as Norman Osborn, instead of Max Dillion he's "Carlton Strand" and has his eye all across NYC. He notices the headline-grabbing Spider-Man and decides he wants to investigate more on this creature's abnormal abilities.

There are some explicit parallels made between Pete and Electro, and what I loved about the script is that it was under no way making the villain a sympathetic figure while still being a rounded character. Peter's origin is told through flashbacks just as Electro's is, but a major difference in the characterisation is in the fact that just as Pete uses his powers for personal gain at first (in the script), so does Electro. He's already got his powers when we see him, and what he can do is essentially read data and retain information about the stock-market and other big level corporate deals. He got his powers while being a low-level con-artist / criminal like comics-Electro, but he quickly turns a 180 and goes legit and starts to enjoy true power by realising that "the real rip-offs were happening at a much higher-level... the multibillion dollar leveraged buy-outs, corporate takeovers, offshore bank scams... using the resources of a two-bit crime syndicate and using his powers to steal and manipulate data, he builds into a mega-player. He is utterly ruthless, brilliant, feared. Almost magical in the way he knows everything, and how anyone who stands in his way conveniently gets a heart-attack." He has a line where he says "the real power is the power to move the world... to control economic forces that are beyond the realm of most people's imagination." They treat his powers in a very subtle way such giving shocks or using it to tamper with impulses in the brain. And Electro is shown to have hidden his powers from others for the past 10 years when the movie starts, so he goes out of his way to hide his identity and even the fact that he can do these things, I think it lent a very real and urban-myth like vibe to the two characters that was immediately contrastive while still being larger-than-life. I loved it!

To keep things in line with the adolescent theme of organic webbing and a teenager waking up to find that he's suddenly hit puberty (remember when I said Pete and MJ have sex? Well the script pretty much points out explicitly how the sexually-recluse Peter standing next to this alpha-male Flash in school "becomes a man" and starts "feeling like an adult" once he gets his powers. What Cameron wasn't subtle about was the webbing -- dude wakes up seeing white sticky things to his bedsheet... yes it's that gross, the rating's R remember?) Electro's powers also have a subtle sexual undertone. In a scene showing how he's got a "midas touch" and can manipulate everyone, Electro is shown that he lacks a human connection. His Moll comes in wearing a rubber-suit and he goes out of his way to tell her he doesn't want the rubber but her. He kisses her. Her hair stands up on its end which I think was meant to be impressive and not hilarious (though don't ask me if it worked) but then she bursts an impulse and limps on his arm. Electro contemplates about how his powers prevent him from being able to be intimate (like Pete does to MJ in the end, again a glimpse into Raimi's film) and proceeds to repress himself: so he strips the Moll, gives her essentially what amounts to be a shock to her system (the Moll revives) and listens to her saying how "she can't take much more of this." It's all a very different approach to Electro. You can read more about it here.

Thing is, it's also something that's either a hit or a miss -- one one hand why do you need to turn Electro into this corporate figure when you already have Norman Osborn at your disposal right? But it just shows how Hollywood's been thinking about Spidey-villains over the years. It isn't a surprise that Doc Ock was their favourite choice for a long time and Ock's movie is still universally applauded, or that Raimi's fourth film was meant to feature the Lizard and we have, essentially, TASM carrying that mind-set and giving us the Lizard. I'm saying that the influence of producers are strong to the point where it seems that the studios already have in mind what they want. And what they wanted in the past when they were considering Electro was this. Lemme know what you guys think.

 

[GRangerPrimeNYC]

Woah fantastic read!

Really would like that version of Electro.

 

[Picard Sisko]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing! This also goes back to the unproduced Batman sequel to "Batman & Robin," where Scarecrow was supposed to be the villain. And look, he ended up in "Batman Begins." In the unreleased Fantastic Four film (from 1994), they recycled a lot of elements in the 2005 & 2007 films by 20th Century Fox.

Perhaps then the man in the shadows IS Electro, and he is working for Norman Osborn? Even if he isn't the man in the post credits scene, he could still be an Oscorp employee (we know he will be connected to the company in some way).

Despite the Cameron script, I think he will still be named Max Dillon. I like the idea of concealing his identity as Electro, and using his powers for subtle things, like finding out information about stock markets and such, but towards the end of the film he should just break out and unleash all he's got. Like going in times square and absorbing all of the electricity from the large television screens and massive amounts of light. Could be so exciting if done right.

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

Should definitely be named Max Dillon. Should definitely be an electrician (not a scientist, not a corporate tycoon, not a high school kid). Wouldve preferred Aaron Paul but I can live with Jamie Foxx.

Id be okay with him working for oscorp at the time of the accident if they need to tie it together with Normans recovery/enhancements. Id also be fine with a sick wife or brother or father or daughter (despite Sandman in SM3) to give him motive if its done well. Id really like to see him want to kill Norman/Harry through revenge and have Spidey save em.

 

[Picard Sisko]

Maybe he could be a low level employee for Oscorp (the electrician) and he gets caught up in the middle of an experiment because he was too curious? I think he should be a foe of Norman, like perhaps he isn't treated too well and even tries to attack Oscorp at some point in the film, which could motivate Osborn to become Green Goblin.

 

[shauner111]

Yeah the electrician route definately. I dont mind adding motive but don't make him too sympathetic.

The man in the shadows can't be Electro Picard Sisko. It's a white, older man. It's Norman.

 

[Oscorp]

Eh, I'm not a big fan of Cameron's ideas for Electro.

I do like however that he keeps his powers a secret for a long time. I had an idea similar to that where Max Dillon worked for Osborn (underground, criminal work) and then has been hiding for some reason. Norman now wants to defeat Spidey and the only man he knows can do that is Max, so he goes out and finds him to hire him once again.

I like the idea of some villains existing before the creation of Spider-Man. Makes the world feel less random.

 

[Picard Sisko]

Eh, I'm not a big fan of Cameron's ideas for Electro.

I do like however that he keeps his powers a secret for a long time. I had an idea similar to that where Max Dillon worked for Osborn (underground, criminal work) and then has been hiding for some reason. Norman now wants to defeat Spidey and the only man he knows can do that is Max, so he goes out and finds him to hire him once again.

I like the idea of some villains existing before the creation of Spider-Man. Makes the world feel less random.

Yeah, I agree. Reminds me of SM3 where Peter says, "Where do all these guys come from?"

It would be nice to see Electro gaining his powers before the events of TASM. Flashbacks would be nice. Maybe he has the powers, but remains an electrician to find out how to make himself more powerful by stealing technology or something.

He shouldn't be purely evil, like on the level of The Joker, but he should be less sympathetic than Lizard, Doc Ock or especially Sandman. He doesn't care who gets killed, and will do whatever it takes to reach his goal (whatever that may be).

 

[Oscorp]

Yeah, I agree. Reminds me of SM3 where Peter says, "Where do all these guys come from?"

It would be nice to see Electro gaining his powers before the events of TASM. Flashbacks would be nice. Maybe he has the powers, but remains an electrician to find out how to make himself more powerful by stealing technology or something.

He shouldn't be purely evil, like on the level of The Joker, but he should be less sympathetic than Lizard, Doc Ock or especially Sandman. He doesn't care who gets killed, and will do whatever it takes to reach his goal (whatever that may be).

Yeah. I don't want to feel "Holy **** that dude is pure evil!", because that's what I want to feel about Norman Osborn. However, I do want to feel "Holy **** that dude is crazy!".

 

[Anno_Domini]

Perhaps then the man in the shadows IS Electro, and he is working for Norman Osborn? Even if he isn't the man in the post credits scene, he could still be an Oscorp employee (we know he will be connected to the company in some way).

The problem is that Michael Massee isn't black

 

[Oscorp]

Hey what if Sony throws in another villain into the mix, that we don't know of yet?

I know, that would be ridiculous and I wouldn't want that because there needs to be focus on Electro and Norman. But how would you react if we suddenly got news of Mysterio appearing as well??

 

[SpiderMarvelite]

I like the idea of "curiosity killed the cat" kinda like Peter snooping around. And Max gets these powers where he shouldnt have neen going around, so he starts having fun with them an gaining money or something, Normna doeant like that.

 

[Anno_Domini]

Do we really need to see Peter snooping around again in the sequel though? There needs to be something different.

 

[GoldGoblin]

What if Max Dillon is a patient in the mental asylum where Connors is.Dillon and Connors are in the common room playing checkers with each other.When Connors beats Dillon at it,Dillon jumps over the table fighting Connors and bites him.

Dillon swallows some of Connors DNA.Dillon is taken to get electric shock therapy,and the electricity mutates the lizard serum thats in Dillon and makes him become Electro.

 

[AF3619]

What if Max Dillon is a patient in the mental asylum where Connors is.Dillon and Connors are in the common room playing checkers with each other.When Connors beats Dillon at it,Dillon jumps over the table fighting Connors and bites him.

Dillon swallows some of Connors DNA.Dillon is taken to get electric shock therapy,and the electricity mutates the lizard serum thats in Dillon and makes him become Electro.

nah, is LIZARD formula ,and bite him and swallowing?

 

[Anno_Domini]

Lol, ****....the things fans think of

 

[TyphoidDan]

Ah, Electro!
You know, I wanted to see the Scorpion - given that Gargan is a hedonistic loon only below Osborn in the crazy-o-meter -but Electro will be a fascinating character, I'm sure of it. And Foxx? Great choice.
I refer you all to Collateral, in that movie his character is a twitchy, defeated man crushed by the drudgery of a wasted life. In many ways, isn't Electro similar? A man henpecked by his mother into giving up his dreams, forced into a life of mediocrity by the very person who should have been looking out for him.
I know Foxx can pull it off, I'm sure of it.

But as for the character himself, what role should he play? For a start, he shouldn't be connected with Osborn. I hate it when the big villain is revealed as nothing but a pawn - Electro is the result of bad luck, nothing more.
In regards to his costume, I imagine him wearing a yellow electricians outfit through the duration of the movie, perhaps with him adding the star mask (made of tin-foil) as his mind starts to snap even more.

I like the idea of this guy not having a plan. And not in a nihilistic manner reminiscent of the Joker, but simply a man going on a maddened killing spree.
But above all, I think we need to see how Spider-Man's continual taunting of him drives the guy even further into madness. Electro may not initially want to hurt innocent people. but the result of continual mockery by Peter would send him overboard.

It's especially tragic as Spider-Man never learns his lesson, he never seems to want to help these people. He just punches them, cracks a few jokes and takes no responsibility for what this humiliation does to an already fractured mind.
For instance, Scorpion went from simply being a creepy, sleazy lowlife to starting to genuinely believe that the suit wouldn't come off and having his whole personality become more feral and vindictive. All as a result of Spider-Man's continual mistreatment of him.

An interesting twist would be if Electro is haunted by visions of his mother, screaming criticisms and abuse at him, causing him to destroy swathes of the city in a simple attempt to escape her presence. The story should ultimately follow that of the comics, Spider-Man fights a mentally ill villain, slaps him around and learns nothing.