Marvel’s Spider-Man: Across the Multiverse

The so-called "missing person" referred to none other than Electro.

Anyone who has seen The Amazing Spider-Man would have a vivid impression of this character.

Electro, whose real name was Max Dillon, was originally an electrical engineer at Oscorp—a genius in the field of electrical engineering.

However, his life was far from satisfactory.

In the workplace, he was constantly suppressed. His meticulously designed electrical schematics were claimed by his superiors, leaving him with nothing. For the sake of his job, he had to swallow his pride and endure the injustice.

In his personal life, he was equally insignificant. No one remembered him, cared about him, or even acknowledged his birthday. (A pointed criticism of Oscorp here—not even the basic employee care you'd expect! Say what you will about the 996 work culture in some domestic companies, but at least they send a birthday greeting, right?)

Eventually, due to an accident, he fell into an aquarium containing genetically modified electric eels at Oscorp, transforming into Electro.

Yet even as a living, breathing superhuman, his death went unnoticed, as silent as his life had been.

Truly tragic.

However, Max Dillon, as Electro, was perhaps the easiest villain to sway.

Treat him as a friend, and he'll treat you the same.

Show him genuine kindness, and he'll reciprocate wholeheartedly.

This is evident from how he devoted himself to helping Harry Osborn after Harry reached out to save him.

But for Peter, Max Dillon the electrical engineer held no value—it was Electro who was useful.

Therefore, it was impossible for Peter to befriend Max Dillon at this point.

Perhaps if he approached Max now, he could alter Max's tragic fate. But doing so would also trap Max in the same monotonous, joyless cycle of existence.

Maybe that, too, would be another form of tragedy.

When it comes to fate, it's hard to say which path is better.

From many perspectives, becoming Electro might have been exactly what Max Dillon desired.

It freed him from his stagnant, lifeless routine!

It even came with a bonus—a makeover. Just look at Electro in No Way Home; isn't he way more attractive compared to the version in The Amazing Spider-Man?

Since he can fully ionize, tweaking his appearance during reformation probably wasn't that difficult.

As for what Peter planned to do while waiting, he had some ideas.

All of them still revolved around Oscorp.

As a weapons dealer collaborating with the British military, Oscorp excelled in two major technologies:

First, its biotechnology.

The genetically modified spiders that created Spider-Man, Dr. Connors' lizard serum, the mutated electric eels that birthed Electro, and the Green Goblin serum that transformed Harry Osborn—all were products of Oscorp's research.

From a cinematic perspective, this might seem cliché—as if every villain conveniently originates from the same place.

It feels like those old urban novels where the protagonist starts cultivating powers, and suddenly the whole world is filled with cultivators.

If modern novels followed this trope, they'd be harshly criticized.

The second area of expertise was Oscorp's weapons technology—or rather, its advanced military hardware.

After becoming the Green Goblin, Harry Osborn donned a specialized suit with excellent protective capabilities and the ability to heal physical injuries.

His Goblin Glider, a personal aerial vehicle, could carry up to 200 kilograms for high-speed flight (officially rated around 150 kilograms).

Then there were his various pumpkin bombs: some shot out razor-sharp blades, others exploded with different effects—each with unique destructive power.

Beyond that, Oscorp's underground labs housed other high-tech weaponry, like the Rhino armor used by Aleksei Sytsevich and what appeared to be Dr. Octopus' mechanical tentacles.

Any one of these pieces of black-market tech could make someone a formidable force on the streets.

Peter planned to find a way into Oscorp, and if he could get his hands on their weapon technology, that would be a significant bonus.

Moreover, he already had a plan!

After breakfast.

Peter, Gwen, and Dr. Connors stepped outside.

Peter and Gwen were currently staying at Dr. Connors' house. Since his house was spacious with plenty of rooms, it was more than enough for the two of them alongside Dr. Connors and his wife.

Dr. Connors sat in the car while Gwen took the front passenger seat—or rather, she was temporarily going by the name "Gwenda." After all, this universe already had a Gwen, and whether for clarity or other reasons, the name change was necessary.

Vroom vroom

The car engine roared to life.

Peter waved with a grin. "Gwen, study hard!"

Gwen rolled her eyes, ignoring him.

She wanted to strangle Peter, that troublemaker. He dragged her from her universe to another just so she could go to school somewhere else?

Who even does that?

Dr. Connors glanced at Peter through the window. "Are you sure you want to meet with Osborn?"

Peter nodded.

"Alright then. You might want to look for Otto. He's a physicist and has some old ties with Osborn." With that, Dr. Connors nodded and drove off.

Deep down, Dr. Connors disapproved of Peter's insistence on approaching Oscorp.

To him, Oscorp was the epitome of corporate villainy.

They turned a blind eye to the suffering their weapons inflicted on the world, obsessed solely with profit and efficiency.

No matter how dangerous the weapon, as long as it made money, they were all in!

Even Dr. Connors' first, reluctant trial of the Lizard Gene Serum had been due to someone at Oscorp desperately needing human trials.

They even targeted war veterans for their experiments.

To prevent such tragedies, Dr. Connors injected himself with the Lizard Gene Serum, becoming the first test subject.

That decision eventually set him down the path of the original storyline.

Hence, Dr. Connors now held Oscorp in utter contempt.

But Peter had no intention of considering Dr. Connors' opinions.

Instead, he was intrigued by the name on the business card he held.

Otto Octavius!

This was the real name of Doctor Octopus!

A character who hadn't appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man series.

Clearly, Dr. Connors and Doc Ock were old acquaintances, and Otto might have ties to Oscorp.

This could also explain why, in the unmade sequels, Otto might have donned his mechanical tentacles for some reason, becoming Spider-Man's nemesis.

When Peter asked Dr. Connors how to meet Norman Osborn, Dr. Connors introduced him to Otto Octavius.

After watching Dr. Connors' car drive away, Peter exchanged brief farewells with Mrs. Connors before quickly taking to the sky.

With the help of his webs, Peter swung swiftly through the city, heading toward his next destination.

(End of Chapter)

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