(Thrilling Comics 004, 1940)
Electru, aka the Giant Electru, is a giant guy with electrical powers. He also has a large gang armed with various electric ray guns and so forth. There's not a lot to explore about him if I'm honest, but he does inspire a few questions:
1. Just where did Electru come from? We never get an idea of how Electru acquired his great size, his incredible strength or his control over electricity. Are they as a result of his mastery of such things as electric ray guns and broadcast power or the inspiration for his research into them? Did Electru develop his gang's technology at all or is there some poor uncredited criminal scientist somehwere? No answers are forthcoming. Also please note that Electru is robbing the NYC Subtreasury in the top set of panels.
2. Just what was Electru up to? While the bulk of Electru's efforts were directed at bank robbery, there is the possibility that he had some greater aim in mind, as his first act is to attack the Panama Canal and he eventually steals an entire cruiser from the US Navy. Is all this in aid of more plundering or was Electru setting his sights on conquest? No answers are forthcoming. (please also note the one glimpse we get of Electru's cool electricity-themed island covered in power lines. This is some top-notch environmental theming)
3. Why the heck does Doc Strange take so long to beat this guy up? I know that the real reason for this is "because of story pacing" but this is an especially egregious case of the hero just letting the villain go on with his day until the time seems right to sock him in the nose. I count four separate times that Doc Strange was within punching distance of Electru without taking his shot, only one of which is justified by a threat to Virginia Thompson's life. Get your head in the game, Doc!
Doc Strange does eventually get his dander up/ the story does eventually reach its required pagecount, and Electru ends up being ironically electrocuted when Doc punches him into his own equipment. Live by the electricity; die by the electricity, I guess.
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