Panel to Play: Electro

The air is buzzing with electricity for today’s From Panel to Play as we introduce Max Dillon, the voltaic super foe of Spider-Man better known as Electro!

Max Dillon grew up learning that the key to a happy home was money. He yearned to make enough to have a stable home for himself as an adult but was forced to settle for a lineman position with the local power company instead of going to college to become an electrical engineer. Being unable to provide for a family to the level he desired took its toll on him until one day he had a chance to make a major change in his fortunes. A coworker found themselves in a bind on the jobsite and Max saw an opportunity. He forced a promise from his colleague: help Max get a promotion and Max would save him. The coworker agreed. During the rescue attempt, a thunderstorm arrived and the coworker fell to his death. Max on the other hand was struck by a lightning bolt. Instead of killing him, it mutated him into an electrically charged being capable of storing electricity in his body and discharging it on command. It did not take long for him to become a villain.

Electro’s ability to store and release electricity makes him a formidable foe. This Threat Value 4 character has 6 Stamina on both sides of his card and a reasonable defensive stat line of 3/4/3. His Speed may surprise players as this dynamo of villain is limited to a Short move, but he does have the Flight Innate superpower to help him navigate the battlefield.

The first attack on Electro’s card is the Power generating Electric Discharge. This attack is a 5 dice attack with an impressive Range 4 that has the chance to leave the target with the Shock special condition that can mitigate counter attacks by his foes. His second attack, Overload the Grid, showcases his electrical abilities. This Range 3 attack costs him 4 Power, but when creating the dice pool he can charge up the electrical components of a terrain feature of Size 3 or less to destroy it. He then adds dice equal to the Size of the terrain feature to the dice pool. This can result in a 9 dice attack that clears out potential hiding spots for enemies!

Electro’s Short Speed is deceptive thanks to his ability to use the electricity in his body to rapidly move along electrical wires often found on the battlefield. His Active superpower, Ride the Wires allows him to select a small terrain feature within Range 3 of him. He is then Placed within Range 2 of it! It does come with a cost, however. In addition to the 2 Power required, he will have to drop any objective he is holding before moving. This ability can send him far and more than make up for his otherwise lackluster movement.

When working around electricity it’s important to avoid getting shocked. Unfortunately for his opponents, that’s not easy to do. Live Wire is a Reactive superpower that punishes enemies who get too close to him. Enemies that end any type of movement within Range 3 of him may find themselves suffering electrical burns from electrical arcs as he rolls 4 dice and deals damage for each Critical and Wild rolled.

Electro’s second Reactive superpower keeps the shocks coming. After being attacked by an enemy, Electro can give them the Shock special condition with Electrostatic. This superpower costs 1 Power and works against attackers within Range 3 of him, blunting their ability to continue damaging their targets.

To round out his card Electro has a couple Innate superpowers. The first is Immunity (Shock). He would be a very poor electrical villain if he wasn’t immune to his own abilities! He also has the previously mentioned Flight superpower.

With that, Electro’s lighting up the sky as he rides the lines into the night with Spider-Man in pursuit. Be sure to check back later for yet another installment of From Panel to Play, the series where we give you your first look at how your favorite characters transition to the tabletop in Marvel: Crisis Protocol. Pre-order your copy of Electro at your local game store or through the webstore today.

Until next time, Atomic Mass Transmissions, signing off!