Electro (robot)

Electro is a robot constructed by Philo Zog to serve as a champion of justice and goodness in humanity. Unlike its android contemporary, the Human Torch, Electro is insentient, and is entirely controlled by Zog.

Biography

1940

Electro was built by Dr. Philo Zog to "work for the welfare of humanity, towards the ends that justice and universal happiness may take the place of wars, crime and suffering." More specifically, Zog was working with the United States government as part of their effort to introduce extraordinary combatants into their war effort against the Nazis, a project that also produced Human Torch and Captain America. Large, powerful, and scientifically sophisticated, Electro doesn't think for itself, but rather is controlled by Zog through remote voice commands. Zog also recruited a group of twelve men to act as scouts, leaving Electro to act as a brute-force crimefighter. Electro's first field experience came when one of these scouts, Dick Gardner, uncovered Hymie Pazetto's gang as the culprits in the recent ransom kidnapping of child actress Joyce Lovely. Zog remotely controlled Electro into Pazetto and his men's hideout, easily dispatching the criminals and rescuing Lovely. The girl was returned to her mother and Pazetto was taken into custody.

Electro's second mission came as a result of the ongoing war between the nations of Torpis and Molivia. Torpis, led by dictator Kalph Belgri, had invaded Molivia, and Dr. Zog sent a pair of operatives to scout out the Molivian capital of Bakra. They were met by Molivia's King Sangor, who was grateful for their assistance. The operatives signaled for Electro to join them as the Torpisian army stormed the capital. The seemingly unstoppable Electro single-handedly deflected the Torpisians, successfully defending Bakra. This bitter defeat caused Belgri to commit suicide, ending the war. Dr. Zog next focused on the epidemic of cocaine dealing in the United States, sending Bill Dunn to San Francisco to investigate. Dunn discovered the headquarters of a Chinese drug syndicate there, and Electro was quickly able to defeat and turn in those responsible. Electro further traveled to Chicago and Philadelphia and took down similar drug rings, leading to Dr. Zog receiving a letter of commendation from American president Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Soon after, catastrophic flooding began affecting cities near the Ohio River. Boss Sarpo and his gang sought to take advantage of the disaster, robbing banks and stores in said cities. Electro, who was on the scene helping flood victims, put a stop to Sarpo's plans and brought him to justice. But Sarpo vowed revenge from prison, and his men led by Scarface Joe soon kidnapped Dr. Zog. Zog was forced under duress to command Electro to free Sarpo and commit countless crimes on behalf of the gang, stealing millions of dollars worth of loot and fending off all governmental attempts at bringing him down. Sarpo's final downfall came from the most unexpected of locations. Jago, king of the Dragon-Men of planet Ligra, coveted Electro's power to defeat his people's nemeses, the Lion-People. Jago and a group of Dragon-Men came to Earth and overpowered Sarpo's men, taking Zog and Electro for themselves back to their home planet. Upon their arrival, Jago tortured Zog into consenting to use Electro to help the Dragon-Men defeat the Lion-People once and for all. A great battle ensued with the unstoppable Electro on the Dragon-Men's front lines, and Jago and his men were able to capture Nara, the Lion-People's queen. But Zog escaped his captivity, turning Electro against the Dragon-Men and turning the tide of battle. Jago and his people were defeated, and Zog and Electro returned peacefully to Earth.

Shortly after their return, zombies began to invade major cities across the United States, and the president contacted Zog for help. Zog sent Electro in to fight back the undead, and in one such conflict Electro trailed a zombie in a plane back the hideout of the man responsible for the calamity, mad scientist Bruno Varoz. Varoz had devised an imitation blood formula that brought the dead to life as mindless, obedient monsters. Upon arriving at Varoz's castle off the coast of Cuba, Electro was quickly sealed in a tight vat of hot acid—though it didn't harm him, he was trapped. As the zombies continued their pillaging, Zog developed a remote generator that powered up Electro enough to escape from the vat. Electro fought through more of Varoz's deadly traps and threw him into the acid, killing him. Electro returned to the U.S. and destroyed the last of the zombies, and the military destroyed Varoz's castle.