Elmo Galvan was a robber, who in concert with three others stole 2 million pounds and in the process murdered four people. The gang were about to make there getaway to a Caribbean island when they were captured by Batman. Galvan's gang blamed him for the murder's, and he took the fall and was sentenced to die in the Electric chair. On his execution date Galvan was enraged to see the witnesses, who he perceived had come to laugh at his death. The execution was unsuccessful, damaging his nervous system and leaving him partially paralysed. The laws of the state decreed that he could not be executed again. Unwilling to be confined to a charity ward for the rest of his life, Galvan crawled from his bed and bit into a power-line in an attempt to kill himself. The electricity restored his ability to move and gave him control over electricity. Galvan set out to avenge himself against those he believed had mocked him.