The Dillon Family Tree

Here's another family tree I was inspired to pump out after completed my last post: The Dillon Family Tree! Electro is one of Spider-Man's most iconic enemies and has always been a personal favourite of mine. So, as you can imagine I was pleasantly surprised when not only did we get an Electro-themed MC2 character, but we also learned she was indeed related to the original.

Maxwell 'Max' Dillon first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #9 but we didn't get much insight into his life or personal history until Amazing Spider-Man #422. It's in this issue that we learn pretty much everything we could want to know about what makes Max the man he is: a man with great potential who never really tried to push himself. Max was born in Endicott, New York but his father Jonathan Dillon made them move frequently as result of being fired often. Jonathan was a tightly wound man prone to violent outbursts who abandoned his young family when Max was around 8 years old. This event caused Max's mother, Anita Dillon to become overprotective of her son, actively discouraging him from taking risks even when he reached adulthood. When Max announced his plans to go to college to pursue a career as a scientist or electrical engineer, Anita discouraged him, insisting he lacked the intelligence and discipline. Clearly, Max never stood a chance.

Just three weeks before Max's twenty-fifth birthday, Anita passed away. Six months later, Max married Norma Lynn, a secretary he met working at the local electric company. Max went from job to job until he became a lineman, and rather than pursue a management position or his dream of being an engineer, he stayed where he felt safe. Refusing to settle for a man with no ambition, Norma left Max who threw himself into his work-the only thing he had left. It was while (selfishly) doing his lineman job that Max would gain his electrical powers.

Fast forward to the MC2 and an unnamed female villain clad in an Electro-inspired costume makes an appearance in Spider-Girl #51. This particular issue has the distinction of being the only one written by someone other than Tom Defalco and the gang. Written by Sean McKeever with art by Casey Jones, the issue was commissioned as a fill-in issue in the event a deadline couldn't be met but after sometime, it was published regardless. While this issue was published directly after the big anniversary issue #50, it obviously does not follow these events with the collected digests placing the story between Spider-Girl #35 and #36. None of this is strictly relevant, but I felt a little context might help. The aforementioned Electro-styled villainess who briefly appears goes unnamed, though Spider-Girl does point out the apparent connections to Electro and jokingly refers to her opponent as 'Electra', quipping that it's already taken.

We wouldn't learn anymore about this character until she was re-visited by Tom and Ron in Spider-Girl #81 in what has to be one of the best stand-alone issues of the series. We learn that years ago Max fell in love with a woman named Marilyn, though the two never married. They had a daughter together named Allison Dillon who was born with similar electrical powers. Sadly, Max and Allison were never able to make physical contact due to their 'electrical auras' causing one another extreme pain. Marilyn told Max to stay out of Allison's life and he obliged, later winding up in prison. While there, Marilyn died, leaving Allison to be shuffled between foster homes, eventually donning a costume and starting a life of crime like her father before her. Only recently learning of Allison's situation, and apparently having served his time, Max reaches out to the Avengers to obtain help from his old enemy Spider-Man. With Spider-Man and Spider-Girl's help, father and daughter are reunited and fight through the pain of their electrical auras, finally overcoming the barrier between them.

As a sidenote, I found references to Max having a sister but this seems to ignore established continuity.As near as I can tell this 'sister' only appears in the Spider-Man: Web of Shadows video game.The last thing left to mention is the unusual instance of Allison being mistakenly referred to as Samantha Dillon in Spider-Girl #100. Or maybe Samantha is her middle name?!

That's about it for this one. Hopefully we'll see more of this electrified family someday. Until I can maintain a regular schedule for this blog, I remain

frogoat

The Robertson Family Tree

After a bit of break, the Family Tree's are back! A personal favourite fictional family: The Robertson's! Since the introduction of Joseph 'Robbie' Robertson way back when, the Robertson's have been a consistent and stable feature of the Spidey titles.

Despite the insistence of several reputable sources which tell me Joe Robertson first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #51, I'm not entirely convinced. But I can definitely agree that Robbie appears in the very next issue Amazing Spider-Man #52, as he's identified by name. While we learn a lot of Robbie's past through flashbacks in Spectacular Spider-Man #139, including his unfortunate relationship with Tombstone, we never do learn how he met his dear wife. Martha Eleanor Robertson makes her first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #71, though she does make a small appearance in a photo beforehand in Amazing Spider-Man #68. Martha and Joe are the proud parents of Randolph 'Randy' Robertson, who first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #67.  

While I can't find a primary source for their names, Joe's parents are identified as Alice and Samuel Robertson in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol. 9, both deceased at some point prior to meeting Martha, as Robbie recounts in Amazing Spider-Man #196. It is also in ASM #196 where we learn Robbie and Martha's first child Patrick Henry Robertson tragically died at only six months old. The enormity of this event stills affects them to this day.

After moving away to Pittsburg, Robbie met and married a Jewish woman named Amanda 'Mandy' Batavides, as we learn in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #112. While I can't find a reference for Amanda Robertson's surname pre-marriage in primary sources, it is given in the OHOTMU Vol. 9. Randy neglected to tell his parents of his hasty marriage, leading to some initial misgivings from Robbie. 

And now comes the part of the post where I discuss divergent timelines and bore you all to death. Or I could just show you this scene from the post-reboot Peter Parker: Spider-Man (vol. 2) #17: 

As this occurs in a comic outside of the MC2's established timeline, we can assume Randy and Amanda are either still happily married or worked through there problems and reconciled. Now, why did I bring this plot point up? 

Because in The Buzz #1 we meet Richie Robertson, son of Randy and grandson of Joe Robertson. I reached out to Richie's co-creator, consummate professional and all-round-good-guy Mr Ron Frenz for some behind the scenes information and he confirmed that 'Richie' is short for Richard. Additionally, Ron also revealed that he and Tom Defalco didn't have anyone in particular in mind for Richie's mother. They've kindly given me permission to indulge myself by putting Amanda in this role. Thank you, gentlemen! 

Sadly when we catch up with Richie, we learn that the Robertson's suffered a terrible loss not long after Spider-Man finally hung up his webs. Joe Robertson was murdered by Doctor Octopus during an attack on Bugle. We also learn that Richie's father, Randy works for the New York City Council, while Richie put his considerable intellect to use working on Project: Human Fly along side Dr Marla Jameson and the treacherous Dr Sonja Jade. The project was the brainchild of J Jonah Jameson following Joe's murder, largely to ensure there was a hero who could be controlled and accountable for their actions.

Richie goes on to become The Buzz's closest ally in his fight for justice, despite their sometimes prickly relationship. When confronted with the man who killed his grandfather, Richie insists JJ aka The Buzz brings him in to face justice, but when given the choice between proving Dr Jade's involvement and saving Doc Ock, he was more than happy for The Buzz to leave Ock to die. 

Richie is honestly one of the most interesting supporting characters in the MC2 and I would love to have seen more of him and the Robertson's. The impact the family has on the mythos can't be understated. 

Special thanks to Mr Ron Frenz, Josh Bertone and Alex Evangeli for their help with this one.

Until I start working on theses family tree's more regularly again, I remain

frogoat