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Electro - Classic Spider-Man Villain

Electro is a classic looking Spider-Man villain. He may be something on a one-trick pony, but you have to admit, the corny looking lightning bolt head gear is a great visual. I can't recall anyone even using Electro all that much in the past few (or more) years. He made an appearance or two in Ultimate Spider-Man (with an uncool, redesigned look) and one on the MTV Spider-Man cartoon, but hardly anything all in the Marvel Universe proper. I think we should start a petition for a starring role in Spider-Man 4.

My favorite entry in the bio below is the line about him being "extremely sensitive" to anything that might short-circuit him. . . Maybe he starts to cry if you confront him with a squirt gun or bucket of water.

Powers and Abilities

Intelligence: Normal
Strength: (unenhanced) Normal, (charged) Superhuman Class 10
Speed: (unenhanced) Normal, (charged) Metahuman
Stamina: (unenhanced) Normal, (charged) Metahuman
Durability: (unenhanced) Normal, (charged) Metahuman
Agility: (unenhanced) Normal, (charged) Metahuman
Reflexes: (unenhanced) Normal, (charged) Superhuman
Fighting skills: Minimal ability at hand to hand combat
Special skills and abilities: None
Superhuman physical powers: Electro can generate electrostatic energy through his body at a rate of about 1,000 volts per minute and store up to 1000,000 volts. At ten feet, his maximum charge is more than enough to kill a normal man. Electro can employ this electrostatic energy as lightning arcs from his fingertips at 1,100 feet per second for about 100 feet.
Superhuman mental powers: Electro can override any electrically-powered device and manipulate it according to his mental commands
Special limitations: By using an external electrical power source to recharge his body's energy reserves, Electro could expend electricity indefinitely without diminishing his personal reserves. When he is fully charged, Electro is extremely sensitive to anything that may "short-circuit" him, such as water
Source of superhuman powers: An unusually configured magnetic field was created when struck by lightning while Dillon was holding live, high-tension wires and a wound reel of one-inch cable.

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Maybe, just maybe we’ll get a good Marvel animated series in 2008 with the premier of a new Spider-Man series entitled The Amazing Spider-Man. It seems that Marvel dominates the movie box office with their comic adaptations, but when it comes to the small screen they definitely trail behind DC (see JLU, Batman, Superman and the Legion).

The 2006 Fantastic Four cartoon that debuted on Cartoon Network last year disappeared after only 6 episodes. Supposedly it will return in a few months with the release of the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer movie.

BURBANK, CA (MARCH 1, 2007) – Spider-Man swings back into television action in early 2008 as an animated series from Culver Entertainment to air on Kids’ WB! on The CW, it was announced today by Kids’ WB! Senior Vice President and General Manager Betsy McGowen and Sony Pictures Television Co-President Zack Van Amburg.

Tentatively titled “The Amazing Spider-Man,” the new series is being produced by Culver Entertainment. Greg Weisman (“Gargoyles”, “The Batman”) is supervising producer, Victor Cook (“Hellboy: Blood and Iron” and “Buzz Lightyear of Star Command”) is producer/supervising director. The series will premiere on Kids’ WB! on The CW, the No.1 rated Saturday morning kids broadcast slate.

Toon Zone – Your Source for Toon News!

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Scourge - Justice is Served

I remember reading the first few appearances of Scourge (probably in Amazing Spider-Man #277) and thinking he was a cool villain. That seems against everything I wrote yesterday, since Scourge could easily be an early version of the dark/extreme hero/villain trend of the 1990's.

Here was a villain (hero?) that went around killing C and D grade Marvel villains and shouting the phrase "Justice is Served." Aside from the Punisher, that was unheard of at the time. I don't think it was the violence of the character that intrigued me, but the mystery. Scourge popped up through many Marvel titles, for several months, exterminating villains here and there. The mystery of Scourge culminated with the massacre at the "Bar with No Name," which was a hangout for Marvel's villains. He was tracked down and defeated by Captain America in issues #319 and #320 of that series. Cool end for a cool story.

Or so I thought.

Another person assumed the identity of Scourge a few years later in Captain America and the pattern was repeted numerous times. The concept became even more diluted when it was revealed that Scourge wasn't a person, but an organization whose members assumed the role of Scourge. One was cool, but like anything, too much is never a good thing.

Organization

Purpose: The elimination of the criminal element through assassination
Modus operandi: The use of subterfuge to get close to targets, then elimination by whatever lethal means are possible
Extent of operations: Nationwide, per�haps worldwide
Relationship to conventional authori�ties: Unrevealed, Scourge is generally believed to be a single individual, rather than an organized group
Base of operations: Southern California estate of Angel I
Former bases of operations: Mobile
Major funding: The personal fortune of the elderly millionaire who claims to have been the 1940's costumed hero Angel I
Known enemies: Captain America, USAgent, Dr. Karl Malus, Red Skull, (former) Enforcer, Miracle Man, Hate-Monger III, Megatek, Melter, Titania I, Basilisk I, Hammer, Anvil, Fly, Death Adder, Blue Streak, Wraith, Bird-Man II, Turner D. Century, Cheetah, Commander Kraken, Cyclone, Firebrand I, Grappler, Hellrazor, Hijacker, Jaguar, Letha, Mind-Wave, Mirage I, Rapier, Ringer I, Shellshock, Steeplejack II, Vamp, Red Skull II (all deceased)
Known allies: (former) Red Skull

Read all about Scourge…

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X-Treme - The Best of the X-Men and the 90’s

Backwards ball-cap: check! Long Hair and Braids: check! Unnecessary Spikes/Blades: check!

It's an extreme 1990's character, so much so, his name is X-Treme.

What a fitting name it is. Not only does this character convey the "extreme" feeling of comics in the 1990's, he also serves as an example of the trend that killed (thematically, anyway) Marvel's line of X-men comics in the same decade.

If one of something is good, then two must be even better (continue ad nauseam). With the success of Uncanny X-Men in the late 80's and Wolverine becoming the star of the line, more and more X-men related titles were introduced. There were 2-3 books featuring the X-Men (Classic X-Men, X-Men, Uncanny X-Men), one book featuring the original five X-Men (X-Factor), student X-Men (New Mutants – later X-Force), X-Men in England (Excalibur), a solo Wolverine title and more limited series and specials than I can remember. If you wanted a new "X" title, just take a word and add "X-" in front to make it work.

Sadly, almost 20 years later, the majority of the X-books are still a mess and not worth reading. The one bright spot in the line is Astonishing X-Men (yes, it's another book) written by Joss Whedon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame.

Go ahead, you know you want to read more about X-Treme.

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Cable - son of Cyclops and Jean Grey

Comic book heroes were "extreme" in the 90's. Superman had long hair, Batman was replaced, Spider-Man was a clone, but the easiest way to make a standard hero "extreme" was to accessorize.

Cable (created by Rob Liefeld) from the New Mutants started this trend with his big shoulder pads, many pockets, and numerous ammo belts. Almost every hero in the 1990's received some sort of extreme makeover which usually involved adding pouches, pockets and belts to their costume. Many people also stopped reading comics at this time and the huge audience that had built up dwindled to almost nothing. Only in the past 2-3 years have comics returned to 1/3 of the number of readers as they had before the 1990's.

Thanks Rob.

Powers and Abilities

Intelligence: Superhuman
Strength: Superhuman Class 10
Speed: Enhanced human
Stamina: Enhanced human
Durability: Enhanced human
Agility: Enhanced human
Reflexes: Enhanced human
Fighting skills: Extensive training in military combat techniques and the martial arts
Special skills and abilities: Highly skilled in devising weaponry and cyborg body parts. He is also an extraordinary combat strategist.
Superhuman physical powers: Cable is believed to be a mutant whose physical abilities and intelligence are enhanced
above the normal human levels. His cyborg left arm and shoulder possess even greater strength than his organic ones. Cable's bionic right eye can see into the infrared portion of the spectrum.
Superhuman mental powers: The psionic ability to control his cyborg body parts
Special limitations: None
Source of superhuman powers: Presumably mutation, cyborg body parts