Why Spider-Noir Used Megawatt Instead Of Electro

Spoilers for "Spider-Noir" Season 1 to follow.

"Spider-Noir" is not your typical "Spider-Man" story, but Marvel fans will still recognize some characters in the show's black-and-white version of 1930s New York City. One of Season 1's main subplots features Ben Reilly/the Spider (Nicolas Cage) tracking "monsters" who have similar superpowers as him.

In Episode 1, "Step Into My Office," Ben meets Flint Marko/Sandman (Jack Huston), who has loose control of his body's sand-shifting powers. Then there's Lonnie Lincoln/Tombstone (Abraham Popoola), named for his rock-hard skin. Finally, there's another criminal who can create and blast electricity, like a living organic electric generator. Spider-Man fans will recognize this super criminal (played by Andrew Lewis Caldwell) as ... Megawatt? Huh?

Spider-Man's rogues gallery famously includes an electricity-themed villain: Max Dillon/Electro, as played in live-action by Jamie Foxx in "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" and "Spider-Man: No Way Home." There's even an Electro in the "Marvel Noir" comic universe who fights with an electrical generator affixed to his back. So, why on Earth did "Spider-Noir" adapt the ultra-obscure Megawatt when the obvious choice of Electro was right there?

Speaking to IGN, "Spider-Noir" developer Oren Uziel mentioned there were certain characters the show couldn't use. However, his phrasing suggests that leaving out Electro may have been more of a self-imposed challenge.

"I'm not sure that I was ever told specifically [who] you can't use," Uziel explained, calling the Spider-Verse a "shared playground" and noting "Spider-Noir" is releasing right before "Spider-Man: Brand New Day":

"You don't want to have too much overlap. You have things that have been in the most recent movies. You've got things from the Spider-Verse, from animation. A lot of these characters are appearing in a lot of things, and I think you just always want to stay as fresh as you can."

Oren Uziel has made similar comments about why "Spider-Noir" gave Nicolas Cage's Spider the real name Ben Reilly instead of Peter Parker. Marvel fans might assume it's due to the complicated "Spider-Man" film and TV rights sharing agreement between Marvel and Sony, but Uziel told Esquire this was all a creative choice. Peter Parker is "too boyish," Uziel said, while he wanted the show's Spider to be a cynical private eye. Think Jake Gittes from "Chintatown."

Still, Uziel's comments about choosing Megawatt over Electro are a bit puzzling in light of the other villains that "Spider-Noir" features. Sandman also appeared in "Spider-Man: No Way Home" alongside Electro, while Tombstone was in "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" and is about to appear in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day." Then again, there are admittedly a lot of Spider-Man stories featuring Electro already.

Debuting in issue #9 of the original "Amazing Spider-Man" by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Electro is historically one of the least complicated Spider-Man villains; superpowers or not, he's a common crook. Some later incarnations, like the Jamie Foxx Electro, reimagine him as more of a tragic figure transformed against his will ... but one thing he's never been, that Megawatt has, is an aspiring actor.

From his debut fighting the Spider in "Spider-Noir" Episode 4, "A Mistake I'll Never Make Again," Megawatt (real name Dirk Leydon) shows a different personality than Electro. As expected from an actor, he makes a spectacle out of the fight like he's on stage. In the following episode, "Betrayal," Dirk's verbosity (including quoting Shakespeare) almost gets him in trouble with Silvermane.

Whereas Marvel fans know what to expect with Electro, adapting a one-appearance character like Megawatt gives "Spider-Noir" more freedom.

"Spider-Noir" is streaming on Prime Video.