Spider-Man No Way Home is only two weeks away, and fans are wildly speculating. Rumors and speculation are no stranger to the biggest movie of 2021, one of the biggest rumors being Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man villains returning as the Sinister Six in No Way Home. No longer rumors, Spider-Man villains Green Goblin, Electro, Doc Ock, Lizard, and Sand Man have been confirmed to return! With this confirmation has come one of the wildest theories regarding how Andrew Garfield's Electro might have killed his universe's Iron Man.
Max Dillon looks very different from how he first appeared in the Andrew Garfield-led The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Eagle-eyed sleuths have noted some particularly interesting pieces of Electro's new costume, including what definitely looks like a familiar piece of MCU tech. Ahead is a look at what Electro's new look could reveal about his character in No Way Home.
Electro is using Iron Man's Arc Reactor in No Way Home
While the most obvious change to Electro's design is that he's no longer blue (more on that later), a point of interest for a lot of speculation recently has been a certain gizmo attached to his jacket. As seen in the photo below, Electro seems to be rocking a new suit complete with wires that feed into a piece of glowing blue tech that may look familiar to MCU fans.
While it's always important to set limits on wild speculation, this sure does look like an Arc Reactor, doesn't it? Combined with the loose wiring and bolted-on aspects of the rest of the suit, it appears this could be a handmade solution that allows Electro to control his power. The Reactor stores the power so that his body doesn't have to, thereby allowing him to look more like a normal person and less like a shiny member of the Blue Man Group.
That isn't to say that blue Electro is definitely not appearing in No Way Home, though. For evidence, Exhibit B: this shot from the second trailer that appears to show a blue Electro harnessing yellow electricity from power lines. This could, potentially, be the moment where Electro utilizes the Arc Reactor to contain his power and better enable him to blend in with the common folk of New York, provided Spidey doesn't catch him, that is.
How does this play into the Multiverse?
This brings up some important questions. How and when did Max Dillon manage to get his hands on an Arc Reactor? Did he have it in the universe he came from? Did he kill Tony Stark? Is this Electro the same as the one seen in The Amazing Spider-Man 2? It's time to dive right in.
In a brief clip from a TV spot for No Way Home, Electro is seen in a building either without the suit or, more likely, with his coat covering it. Looking out the window, he remarks "Look at this place... And all the possibilities." In the spot, the line is clearly meant to be taken as a reference to the MCU, but this could be misdirection.
As it seems the villains (or at least Sandman, Electro, and the Lizard) will end up working together against Peter, this line could instead be in reference to the place they're congregating. That location could be where Electro found the Arc Reactor or it could be a haven found by another villain that they use as a safe house where they can work on their tech.
Did Tony Stark Die in the Multiverse?
Fans of What If...? are certainly aware that Tony Stark doesn't have the best track record when it comes to survival across the many universes of Marvel. In nearly every universe shown on screen so far, Tony has met an ill fate. If Electro acquired his Arc Reactor before his arrival in the MCU, then it very well may mean he killed Iron Man to get it.
That is, of course, assuming that Tony Stark existed in the universe Electro came from. Exactly how closely the source universes for the villains (and potential other Spider-Men) will stick to the storylines of their films isn't really known yet. The previous Sony Spider-Man franchises had no connection to the MCU, so it's unclear how they'd reference characters like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thanos who might not have ever existed in their universes.
It's worth noting though that the Electro seen in the trailers so far is very different from the one seen in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. In that film, Max Dillon was a shy electrical engineer that no one noticed, and he was quite traumatized by the events that gave him his powers. The one fans have seen so far behaves very differently, so there's certainly the chance that even if the Lizard and/or Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker come from the universe of The Amazing Spider-Man, Electro might not.
A Shocking Ending
To summarize, Electro has an Arc Reactor that he might have killed Tony Stark to get in his own universe, but he also might have taken or been given it upon his arrival in the MCU. Too little has been shown of the character to know for certain where exactly in the multiverse he comes from. Of all the characters confirmed to be in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Electro very well may be the one about whom there are the most questions.
The industrial style of his suit seems to be a callback to his origins as an electrical engineer, but beyond that, this character should probably be treated as an entirely different person from the one in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 for now. Doctor Strange did promise "visitors from every universe", so it stands to reason there'd be more than just two sources for the villainous guests. Fans will have to wait and see exactly where in the Multiverse Spider-Man's foes and friends are coming from.
Luckily, that wait won't be for much longer! Spider-Man: No Way Home and its shocking cast will light up the big screen when it premieres December 17, 2021.
