Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 01:23, 26 December 2012

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) No issues specified. Please specify issues, or remove this template. (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius) is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics since 1963. A highly intelligent mad scientist, Doctor Octopus is one of Spider-Man's greatest foes. He is typically portrayed as a stocky, myopic man who utilizes four powerful, mechanical appendages, and is obsessed with proving his own genius and destroying Spider-Man. In his first several appearances, Dr. Octopus' last name was spelled "Octavious." All stories since have spelled it "Octavius". Spider-Man has also nicknamed Octopus as Doc Ock. The character has appeared in numerous Spider-Man cartoons and video games and is portrayed by Alfred Molina in the 2004 film Spider-Man 2 as the film's main antagonist. In 2009, Doctor Octopus was ranked as IGN's 28th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time. Comics journalist and historian Mike Conroy writes of the character: "Created by Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, Doc Ock, as he became known, has become one of the web slinger's most persistent and dangerous foes."

Publication history

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2008)

The character of Doctor Octopus first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #3 (July 1963), and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko. The character soon appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #11 and #12, and again in #31 - 33.

Fictional character biography

Born in Schenectady, New York, Otto Octavius had a turbulent upbringing. His father, Torbert, a factory worker, was abusive and violent towards both Otto and his mother Mary. Young Otto's shyness and good work in school got him labeled as a "teacher's pet" and targeted as a subject for bullying. Torbert Octavius did not appreciate having a bullied son, and roared at Otto to use violence in dealing with the bullies. Mary Octavius would defend her son from Torbert's tirades, saying Otto was a gifted thinker who would use his brain to solve problems, not his fists. Due to his mother's insistence and her disgust towards men who worked in manual labor, Otto was determined not to become like his father and threw all his efforts into his education, regularly scoring top marks. Otto's devotion to study paid off with him being awarded a university scholarship. During Otto's freshman year of college, his father's death due to an industrial accident pushed Otto towards the study of, and obsession with, physical science. After graduating from college, Otto Octavius found work in an engineering firm.

Otto became a brilliant and respected nuclear physicist, atomic research consultant, inventor, and lecturer. He designed a set of highly advanced mechanical arms controlled via a brain–computer interface to assist him with his research into atomic physics. The tentacle arms were resistant to radiation and were capable of great strength and highly precise movement, attached to a harness that fit around his body. Later in his criminal career, he claimed the inspiration for the device came from The Vitruvian Man, the famous pencil sketch by Leonardo da Vinci, one of his idols.

Though his relationship with co-workers was typically hostile, a fellow researcher named Mary Alice Anders befriended him when Otto impressed her with a demonstration of his harness, and the two began a courtship. In due time, Otto proposed marriage to Mary Alice. However, Otto's mother did not approve, believing that no woman was good enough for her son. To please her, he ended his engagement. Later, when he discovered that his mother had begun dating a librarian, he rebuked her, causing her to have a fatal heart attack in the heat of their argument. With the death of his mother and Mary Alice Anders out of his life, Octavius' disposition towards nearly everyone became mean-spirited, and he had become more distracted from paying attention to detail and safety precautions in his work. His co-workers often called him "Dr. Octopus" behind his back, a pun on his actual name inspired by the four-armed apparatus; he was aware of this insult, but he barely cared.

Criminal career begins

During an accidental radiation leak that ended in an explosion, the apparatus became fused to Octavius' body. It was later revealed that the radiation (or possibly his own latent mutation) had mutated his brain so that he could control the movement of the arms using his thoughts alone. The tentacles have since been surgically removed from his body, although Octavius retains the power to control them telepathically from a great distance. The accident also seemingly damaged his brain (although it was later suggested that what was interpreted as brain damage was in fact his mind rewiring itself to accommodate four extra limbs), and the scientist turned to a life of crime, first taking the hospital hostage and calling himself Dr. Octopus, the derogatory name that his co-workers had given him. Though Doctor Octopus himself is portly, in poor physical shape, and is near-sighted, with his harness attached he is physically more than a match for Spider-Man. The accident also made his eyes very sensitive to light, requiring him to wear glasses with shaded lenses.

In their first encounter, Octopus defeated Spider-Man, tossing him out of a window. Following this defeat, Spider-Man considered giving up his heroic career, but was inspired to continue his heroic career by the Human Torch, and ultimately defeated Doctor Octopus.

Over the years, Dr. Octopus has become one of the most identifiable members of Spider-Man's rogues gallery. Doctor Octopus formed the original Sinister Six to fight Spider-Man after taking Betty Brant and May Parker hostage. He has led subsequent Sinister Six groups, and usually takes offense when someone else leads the team. Disguised as the Master Planner, he organized a theft of atomic equipment. After he stole a formula that Spider-Man needed to cure his Aunt May, Spider-Man tracked Octopus' gang to their base. In the ensuing fight, Spider-Man became trapped underneath a collapsed building. Seemingly doomed, Spider-Man was ultimately able to draw upon sheer force of will to summon the strength to escape. It is later revealed he used a scuba tank to escape.

Doctor Octopus later attempts to steal the Defense Department's Nullifier device, and sets a trap for Spider-Man. He became May Parker's tenant, then got close enough to use the Nullifier on Spider-Man; although he had hoped that it would merely nullify Spider-Man's web-shooters, the radiation in Spider-Man's blood resulted in the Nullifier's interaction with Spider-Man's unique biology rendering him amnesiac, Doctor Octopus subsequently tricking Spider-Man into helping him before Spider-Man's own better nature resulted in him turning against his 'partner' despite his memory loss long enough for John Jameson to use the Nullifier to shut down his tentacles.

Doctor Octopus later exhibited the ability to activate his mechanical arms remotely, and used them to free himself from prison. His resulting battle with Spider-Man resulted in the death of Captain George Stacy. Doctor Octopus later waged a gang war with Hammerhead. He attempted to wed May Parker in order to acquire an island with an atomic plant which she had recently unknowingly inherited. Doc Ock escaped death when the island was destroyed, and began a life as a homeless person. He next battled the "ghost" of Hammerhead, and was able to return him to human form and defeat him after a temporary alliance with Spider-Man.

Doctor Octopus later attempted to hijack an atomic submarine. He also attempted to poison New York City with printers' ink, and battled the Punisher and Spider-Man. He next battled the Owl and his gang. He successfully deactivated a nuclear reactor in a laboratory before meltdown. He later displayed symptoms which Mister Fantastic diagnosed as multiple personality disorder. Doctor Octopus was taken to the Beyonder's Battleworld, where he fought a horde of heroes and plotted against Doctor Doom for leadership of the group of villains. He was able to defeat the X-Men until Magneto came to the mutants' aid.

Arachnophobia

His crowning achievement of evil was the near-fatal beating of Spider-Man's then-partner, the Black Cat, which led to Spider-Man beating Doc Ock to within an inch of his life. The trauma of the beating he received from Spider-Man left Octavius afraid of Spider-Man and spiders in general for years, and he needed to be treated for his acute arachnophobia. Spider-Man was forced to let his nemesis beat him in combat so as to allow Octavius to break free of his fears and recruit him to save New York City from an exploding nuclear reactor; Octavius had been planning to detonate the reactor to kill Spider-Man indirectly, but after his out-of-control arms beat Spider-Man seemingly senseless, Spider-Man convinced him to shut down the reactor to ensure that there were witnesses to his 'great triumph'. Octavius decided to let Spider-Man live on the grounds that he would now have to cope with the same humiliation he had endured.

Death and resurrection

During the Clone Saga, Doctor Octopus saved Spider-Man from certain death from a poison injected by the Vulture, although this was only because he desired to be the one to kill Spider-Man. During the healing process he discovered the identity of Spider-Man and then allowed himself to be taken in by police, expecting to be saved by his accomplice/lover Stunner. However, Stunner was knocked out and Doc Ock was murdered by the insane Peter Parker clone named Kaine. Octavius' student Carolyn Trainer took over as "Doctor Octopus" until the original was resurrected by a branch of the mystical ninja cult known as the Hand. Upon his resurrection, it was revealed that he had no knowledge of Spider-Man's identity. The reason was that the memories he gained came from a computer chip provided by Carolyn Trainer; that recent memory had not been recorded at the time of his death.

Subsequent schemes

In later years, Octavius attempted to create his own personal assassin in the form of a villainous mutated entity he dubbed "Spider-Woman", and was involved in a plot involving using prosthetic limbs as mind-control devices, to create an army of minions. He has also had to deal with another usurper, in the form of an arrogant young businessman and con artist named Carlyle, who pretended to employ Octavius at his company. This proved to be a ruse, and Carlyle subdued Octopus and stole his technology, using it to create his own version of Octavius' harness. During a prolonged battle with Octavius and Spider-Man, Carlyle was defeated when Doc Ock ripped open his suit, allowing Spider-Man to fill Carlyle's suit with webbing, although Doc Ock informed his enemy that he only did this to hurt Carlyle rather than to help Spider-Man.

Then, Dr. Octopus took the ambassador of the newly-formed Free Palestinian State hostage, demanding that in exchange for the ambassador's freedom, Spider-Man would meet him in Times Square and unmask himself in front of the world. When Spider-Man went to Times Square, he pulled off his mask to reveal another mask, angering Octavius enough to distract him from the release of the ambassador by agents of the Israeli Secret Service.

Dr. Octopus was taken to Ryker's Island and was drugged and brainwashed to take down the Green Goblin. He interrupted a battle between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin on the Brooklyn Bridge, and the two villains were struck by lightning and fell into the river below. Octopus was dragged out days later with no memories of the event.

Civil War

Octavius unsuccessfully tried to form and lead another version of the Sinister Six, because Captain America's Secret Avengers managed to defeat the villainous group, although Ock himself eluded authorities. In Sensational Spider-Man #28, Dr. Octopus is seen viewing a telecast of Peter Parker revealing himself to be Spider-Man. Ock then goes rampaging throughout the city, in utter disbelief that not only was he beaten numerous times by a teenager, but of the lost opportunity he had when he unmasked Parker in one of their first encounters (at the time, Peter was severely weakened by a bad case of flu and Octavius assumed he was an impostor). He is again defeated by Spider-Man, who confronts Dr. Octopus unmasked, after two of Peter's students distract Octavius. He is then sent to Baron Zemo's supervillain detention facility (as seen in Thunderbolts #104 and Iron Man Vol IV #14). Later, Spider-Man contacts Octavius to see if he can help with Aunt May's condition.

Dying

This section's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (December 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Doctor Octopus learns that due to injuries suffered from his many battles, his body is failing giving him only months to live. He has now modified himself to be mentally connected to his own army of miniature 'Octobots', and has added four additional appendages to his harness. He used the Octobots to take control of all of the technology in New York City and planned to turn it into a paradise under his control, though he subconsciously also targeted Spider-Man, and disrupted the wedding plans of his ex, Aunt May. Spider-Man and the Human Torch eventually tracked down his base, save the captive J. Jonah Jameson Sr. (May's fiancee), Carlie Cooper, and Norah Winters, and finally destroyed Doctor Octopus' hold over the city. Doctor Octopus is then able to escape (still holding power over his octobots) and vows a "terrible revenge".

During the "Origin of the Species" storyline, Doctor Octopus assembles a supervillain team to secure specific items and promised they will receive a reward. First, he targets Menace's newborn infant despite Spider-Man's interference as it has pure Goblin Serum in its veins which Doctor Octopus thinks that it would help cure his crippling illness. After Spider-Man grabs the infant from Doctor Octopus, he sends the villains after Spider-Man. Doctor Octopus talks with Chameleon stating that he had placed an Octo-Tracker on Spider-Man in order to track him down. After Chameleon steals the baby from Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus talks with the Chameleon saying that the baby is the first of a new species. Because the serums inside Norman Osborn and Lily Hollister co-mingled when they reproduced, the baby is beyond Octopus' procurement. He refers to it as "Sui Generis" and plans on using the new species' DNA to repair his body. When Spider-Man caught Chameleon, he mentioned that the baby is still alive and that the Lizard stole it from him before it can be handed over to Doctor Octopus. Doctor Octopus was looking for the Lizard when Spider-Man arrived. When Doctor Octopus attacks Spider-Man, the Lizard attacks Spider-Man. Lizard reveals that he got a blood sample from the baby and found out that Norman Osborn is not the father. The Lizard then gives the baby to Spider-Man saying that if Osborn is not the father, then the baby is of no use to him. Doctor Octopus then attacks the Lizard while Spider-Man escapes with the baby.

Spider-Man and the Avengers later fight Doctor Octopus and his macro-octobot army. During that time, he had assembled another version of the Sinister Six consisting of Chameleon (who was posing as Steve Rogers), Electro, Mysterio, Rhino, and Sandman in a plot to slip the macro-octobot army into a military base and detonate them. This was prevented by Spider-Man, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four. After his defeat, Doctor Octopus acknowledges Spider-Man's intellect and no longer considers him as the 'foolish child' he had believed him to be.

When Alistair Smythe was having Scorpion, Fly-Girl and some cyborgs attack the launch base where John Jameson is, Doctor Octopus was observing the occurrences with a remote Octobot and uses the machine to assist the astronauts on board as part of his heretofore unknown plans.

Both Otto and Tony Stark had a working relationship years ago before they became superhumans. Attempting to find a cure for his condition, Doctor Octopus attempts to capture Tony Stark to force him to find a treatment for his injuries, threatening to detonate a nuclear bomb if Stark doesn't help him. However, when Stark suggested contacting others such as Doctor Strange or Mister Fantastic for help, Doctor Octopus rejected the offer proclaiming that he had mainly made the offer to force Stark into a position where he would fail simply to make Stark admit that Octavius was smarter than him, with the 'bomb' being a fake.

The Sinister Six and the Avengers Academy fought each other when the Sinister Six were trying to steal something from a lab in Paris. Although it seemed like they were trying to steal something the lab in Paris, they were actually trying to steal something in Hank Pym's lab. They tricked Jocasta (one of the teachers at the academy) into opening a portal into the lab and stole the object that Doc Ock said could have ruined his future plans. Otto's actions not only caused some of the Avengers Academy members to be hospitalized, but their defeat by the Sinister Six also hurt their reputation.

Spider-Man and the Future Foundation stumble onto a plot by Doctor Octopus and the Sinister Six to cause trouble on a Caribbean Island with a plot that involves masquerading as zombie pirates. It was revealed that the zombie pirates were animatrons constructed by Mysterio, as were the rest of the Sinister Six aside from Mysterio and Chameleon. The real Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Electro and Rhino had taken advantage and gotten into the Baxter Building whilst it was completely empty, and Doctor Octopus is looking for something.

Doctor Octopus and the Sinister Six later fight Intelligencia and stole their Zero Cannon (a powerful weapon which changes Earth's gravity field to send specific objects into space). Doctor Octopus appears in a robot suit which would help to keep him alive.

Doctor Octopus and Mysterio later coordinate the Octobots that have infiltrated the Apogee 1 Space Station. When Mysterio notices that some of the Octobots were disabled, Doctor Octopus orders the Octobots to finish their mission and then destroy the space station. Spider-Man, Human Torch, and John Jameson later discover that some of the space station's crew members have come under control of the Octobots, making them obey Doctor Octopus' commands. Doctor Octopus discovers that Spider-Man is on the Apogee 1 Space Station. Doctor Octopus then appears on the space station's screen stating that Spider-Man has meddled in his plans for the last time and pushes a button that starts to move the Apogee 1 Space Station closer to Earth. After Apogee 1 Space Station is destroyed and the crew is evacuated by Spider-Man, Human Torch, and John Jameson, Doctor Octopus tells the rest of his Sinister Six that his master plan is about to begin.

In the "Ends of the Earth" storyline all of Doctor Octopus's preparations with the Sinister Six come to fruition in a plan to conquer the world. At the Sinister Six's underwater base, Doctor Octopus tells the rest of the Sinister Six his master plan which would also imply that he would even fight the Avengers. Doctor Octopus activates a giant antennae called the Octahedral which activate his satellites called Octavian Lens which are orbiting around the Earth. The Octavian Lens end up speeding up the Greenhouse Effect and heats up the Earth. Upon hacking into the TV screens all around the world, Doctor Octopus announces what is happening and shuts down the satellites. He says he can save the world at a price so that he can be known as the man who "gave you the greatest gift of all...a future." In a flashback, the Sinister Six are stealing objects from around the world which can further their plans and are connected to each of the Avengers. In the present at Palazzo Senatorio, an international meeting of the world's greatest minds and the world leaders is carried out to discuss Doctor Octopus' supposed offer to save the world. Back in Rome after Spider-Man exposed that Al Gore was Chameleon in disguise, a transmission from Doctor Octopus states that he has activated the Octavian Lens which are blocking the harmful UV rays from the sun in order to reinforce his offer. After letting Chameleon go, Spider-Man secretly places a Spider-Tracer on Chameleon so that he and the Avengers could follow him. They follow Chameleon to the Mediterranean Coasts where the rest of the Sinister Six waits for Chameleon. Using many of the stolen objects, the Sinister Six successfully subdues the Avengers leaving only Spider-Man standing. He is taken down when trying to gain control of Octopus's tentacles with his helmet. Octopus then says he has succeeded in another goal, defeating Spider-Man. Although Spider-Man and Black Widow manage to escape being captured by the Six with the aid of Silver Sable- who had been following the Avengers since the conference-, and defeat Sandman at a base in the Sahara, Octavius not only demands that two hundred missile facilities be turned over to him so that he can put his plan into action, but also orders the world to capture the 'terrorist' Spider-Man for his interference. However, as the last of his satellites are launched and deployed, he admits that Spider-Man was right all along and begins to burn everything on the day side of the Earth. Not wanting the 'mediocre and mundane' of the planet's populace to live on as his own genius dies, he believes that the Earth should perish with him. After a transmission to the people, Doctor Octopus learns that Mysterio and Chameleon have engaged Spider-Man without his permission as Doctor Octopus wanted to be the one who fights Spider-Man to the end. He takes control of the battlesuit that Chameleon was using and tries to destroy Spider-Man which allows Spider-Man and the others to realize that Symkaria's destruction is false. When Spider-Man arrives in Guatemala, Doctor Octopus uses the Octobot-controlled Avengers to fight Spider-Man and his allies. After they are defeated, Octavius begins the final phase of his plan by launching a hidden cache of his satellites, leaving the freed Avengers occupied to stop them. Spider-Man and Silver Sable make an assault on his hidden base, and in the final confrontation with the Spider-Man, Octavius reveals his real intention to actually destroy 99% of the Earth's population, leaving the survivors to remember his infamy for all time. However, when Spider-Man points out that the intense heat will not only kill the bulk of the human population, but will also destroy the memories of those who survive, Doctor Octopus hesitates; leaving Spider-Man with enough time to destroy his control panel and stop the satellites from activating. In the end, Doctor Octopus tries to drown himself but is prevented by Spider-Man. Spider-Man then carries Doctor Octopus out of the sinking base and asks the Horizon Labs staff to build a life support unit for him. While in the Raft's infirmary, Spider-Man tells Doctor Octopus that since his satellites will be destroyed, he will be leaving no legacy behind when he dies. The final scene shows one of Doctor Octopus' remaining Octobots floating on the surface of the water.

Doctor Octopus is shown in the Raft weakly whispering "Peter Parker" over and over. Spider-Man is summoned to the Raft by the Avengers to confront Doctor Octopus only for it to be revealed that somehow Doctor Octopus has swapped bodies with Spider-Man, taking all of Peter's memories to pose as him. Doctor Octopus gloats that he will take over Peter's life while Peter is stuck in Doctor Octopus' dying body with no idea how Octopus has accomplished this feat. Peter flatlines seemingly dying in Doctor Octopus' body as Doctor Octopus leaves ready to live his new life as Spider-Man. The prison doctors resuscitate "Octavius", allowing Peter to deduce that his use of Octavius's mind-mapping technology to control his Octobots allowed Octavius to gain a 'map' of his brainwave patterns. This gave Doctor Octopus the opportunity to finally attack him with a specially-designed mentally-controlled Octobot during a time when Peter's spider-sense was overloaded causing Peter to ignore its signals until it had already transferred their brainwaves to the other's body. With his options running out, Peter uses the Octobot to send a message to various supervillains to rescue him from the Raft in exchange for a hefty reward, subsequently asking them to capture "Spider-Man" and bring him to Octavius alive. Trapster, Scorpion, and Hydro-Man answer the call and raid the Raft where Trapster puts Doctor Octopus' body in a portable life-support system that he threw together. Peter in Doctor Octopus' body states that he would need two more supervillains in order to make it a Six. He turns down Alistair Smythe and Morbius the Living Vampire and nearly asked Lizard until Trapster called Lizard a "mindless beast." Trapster teleports them all to one of Doctor Octopus' hideouts and then asks him for pay. But Peter Parker in Doctor Octopus' body reminds them that they have to capture Spider-Man alive and bring him before Octavius in order to find a way to switch the bodies back. However, Doctor Octopus' body only has 700 more minutes to live.

Powers and abilities

Octavius is a genius in the field of atomic physics, and he holds a Ph. D. in nuclear science. A brilliant engineer and inventor, he is also a superb strategist and a charismatic leader. His genius in radiation is so exceptional that he was once called upon by Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four to offer his expertise when the Invisible Woman suffered from complications during her second pregnancy as a result of the cosmic radiation that had given the team their powers.

Due to exposure to atomic radiation, Doctor Octopus has acquired the mental ability of psychokinetic control over the four electrically powered, telescoping, prehensile, titanium-steel artificial tentacle "arms" (a degree of psychokinetic control over them that he can also exercise over vast distances even when they are not connected to him) that are attached to a stainless-steel harness encompassing his lower torso. Each of these four arms is capable of lifting several tons, provided that at least one arm is used to support his body. The reaction time and agility of his mechanical appendages is enhanced far beyond the range attainable for normal human musculature. The arms allow Octavius to move rapidly over any terrain and to scale vertical surfaces and ceilings. He has developed his concentration and control to the point that he can engage a single opponent, like Spider-Man, or multiple opponents with the arms while performing a completely separate, more delicate task, such as stirring coffee or constructing a machine. Due to his weight and age, his opponents are often lured into a false sense of security, only to find he is a formidable combatant, as he has managed to force to fight on the defensive, opponents as dangerous as Spider-Man, Daredevil, and Captain America.

Doctor Octopus has also employed an armored body suit enabling him to breathe underwater and designed to withstand extreme water pressure.

Doctor Octopus has begun wearing a full-body armor suit due to a crippling illness caused by the amount of punishment he has sustained over the years, made even worse by the fact that his ability to take damage is still at a human norm, even if he can deliver a superhuman level of punishment; he relies completely on his arms to prevent opponents with superhuman strength getting in close enough to damage his relatively unfit physical form even before his illness. To compensate, he has covered his entire body with his new suit, his normal arms are bound to his chest, and four additional tentacles have been added to his harness. He has also developed psychokinetic-telepathic control over an army of "Octobots" (small octopus-like drones).

Harnesses

Dr. Octopus has possessed a total of three different harnesses during his career: the original titanium harness, a more powerful adamantium harness, and a carbonanium harness with tentacles bearing an octopus-like motif. The original and adamantium harnesses were both destroyed in the Lethal Foes of Spider-Man miniseries.

His current harness is made of a titanium-steel-niobium alloy mixture that is dense but light weight in composition. While wearing the harness, the arms are powerful enough to allow him to walk up sheer concrete walls and move about quickly. They are also used to grab items, both small and large, and as literal weapons in terms of being swung at objects and people like clubs. The pincers at the end of each tentacle can also be used to cut and tear into the flesh of his enemies. His sheer power using these appendages was great enough to beat Daredevil, a seasoned combatant with superhuman senses, almost to death.

The adamantium harness was powerful enough to both restrain and pummel the Hulk into submission during a series written by Erik Larsen. The adamantium in his tentacles made besting Iron Man in combat possible, tearing the hero's armor apart with a defeat so harsh that Tony Stark began to doubt his abilities almost enough to allow his persistent problem with alcohol abuse to flare up. The harness is also capable of holding a small jetpack allowing him to fly to places faster and able to evade Spider-Man more easily. Doctor Octopus is even capable of whirling his tentacles around to deflect small projectiles like bullets.

Eventually, Dr. Octopus' harness was surgically removed, but he was still able to control it mentally, even at a distance. This power was initially explained as having been caused by the initial accident; Octopus and his arms were fused together mentally as well as physically. In fact, when the original harness was destroyed, it caused Octavius excruciating pain. He was seen sweating profusely and screaming. Later stories suggest that Octavius possessed minor telepathic powers that gave him a direct mental link with his harness. These telepathic powers were also hinted at to have caused a brain aneurysm in his father when they first developed during puberty. However, the original controls for the harness remain on the first version, with Mister Fantastic managing to use these controls to shut down the tentacles when he needed Octavius's help, though it is obviously impractical to use this regularly, given Reed Richards's unique powers.

Other versions

House of M

In the House of M reality created by the Scarlet Witch, Otto Octavius makes an appearance as a researcher for the government, studying stem cells.

Marvel 1602

In the Marvel 1602 universe, a version of Dr. Octopus appears in the Spider-Man 1602 miniseries. Baron Victor Octavius is an Italian nobleman living in France. His attempts to use the blood of octopuses to cure himself of bubonic plague have resulted in his becoming a deformed monster, he is also associated with fellow Dr. Curtis Connors, transforming him into The Lizard. A potion derived from the blood of Hal McCoy by the natural philosopher Henri Le Pym keeps him human, but is growing steadily less effective. He believes that the blood of Peter Parquagh might be the basis of a more effective potion. He is later killed by a transformed Le Pym's giant foot.

Marvel Zombies

On Earth-2149 (a world in which almost all heroes and villains are zombies) an undead Doctor Octopus first appears in the Marvel Zombies series alongside several other zombie supervillains attempting to kill and devour the invading Galactus; this incarnation of Doctor Octopus is apparently destroyed piecemeal by several cosmically powered hero zombies after he got in the way of an attack they were aiming at the invading Galactus.

In the prequel series to Marvel Zombies, Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness and Marvel Zombies: Dead Days, the zombie Doctor Octopus makes only a few cameo appearances, as a member of the undead Sinister Six. He returns in Marvel Zombies Return along with a version of the Sinister Six. He was ripped in half and infected by the undead Spider-Man. The Doctor's body is then destroyed and devoured by a zombified Spider-Man and then was spit out (because zombie meat tasted terrible to other zombies) after he and the rest of the Sinister Six has devoured Peter's friends.

MC2

In the MC2 alternate continuity, it is revealed that Doctor Octopus attacked the Daily Bugle shortly after the disappearance/retirement of Spider-Man, killing editor-in-chief Joseph "Robbie" Robertson. This motivates Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson to initiate "Project: Human Fly", an attempt to create a government controlled superhero. Mercenaries (later revealed to be in the employ of Doctor Octopus) attempt to steal the Human Fly suit, but are thwarted when Jameson's grandson takes the suit (the controls of which bond to the first user) and becomes the superhero The Buzz. The Buzz and Spider-Girl eventually apprehend Doctor Octopus, who—now being struck with cancer—falls into a coma from which he is not expected to recover. Later, the mantle of Doctor Octopus is taken up by Lady Octopus.

Noir Doctor Octopus

In the Spider-Man Noir series, his name however first appears in the Daily Bugle newspaper as one of the biologists undertaking an oceanic voyage on a research ship named "The Atlantis'. He appears in person in issue one of the sequel series, "Eyes Without a Face". Here, he is a doctor working in a facility on Ellis Island. His legs are crippled and withered, and he travels in a wheelchair with six long metal claw-like tentacles sticking out. He is officially conducting experiments on primates, to study their brains in connection with evolution, and in the end, it is shown he is secretly taking in kidnapped African-Americans for his own more secret experiments. He is later revealed to in fact be working with the Nazis and their American proxies, "Friends of New Germany", with the plot of making all minorities into mindless slaves. However, his experiments are uncovered by Spider-Man, and although he is allowed to leave the country due to his past service to America, he is subsequently rejected by the Nazis as they believe his crippled body reflects a crippled mind that could produce nothing of value for them.

Spider-Man: India

In Spider-Man: India, Dr. Octopus is featured as a minion/meek doctor who is transformed by Nalin Oberoi into a mystical version of Doctor Octopus to find and kill Pavitr Prabhaker, the Indian version of Spider-Man. He is later killed by Oberoi, while trying to help Spider-Man rescue MJ and Aunt Meera from Oberoi.

Spider-Man: Reign

In Spider-Man: Reign, as conceived by Kaare Andrews, in which many superheroes had grown old and retired, Octavius appeared to save Spider-Man from death at the hands of an older version of the Sinister Six. While he originally appeared to merely be world-weary, relying on his 'four sons' (his tentacles) to keep him alive, he revealed via monologue that he had in fact been dead for months, and had left the tentacles a program that would force them into action to find Spider-Man. Furthermore, the tentacles were used to play the tape on which his monologue is recorded, and take him to the graveyard where his loved ones lay. The hope is to use Spider-Man to reignite the age of the super powered beings, as both Doctor Octopus and Spider-Man were born from nuclear accidents.

Ultimate Marvel

In Ultimate Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus is younger and very muscular. While the original Doctor Octopus wore sunglasses due to myopia, the Ultimate Octavius wears them to disguise horrible wounds inflicted on his eyes during the accident that created him, that leave him very sensitive to light. His arms are also different: he modifies them so that their ends are made up of nanobots, and thus can have various lethal accessories, transforming the three-pronged 'claws' into flamethrowers, tasers, and machine guns. Ultimate Six revealed he had a psychic link with his arms and could control them remotely. Ultimate Spider-Man #103 expanded on this, revealing Octavius also has the ability to manipulate metal.

Dr. Otto Octavius is introduced as a scientist at OsCorp and secretly a corporate spy for Norman Osborn's business rival, Justin Hammer. He is caught in a lab accident (the same one that turns Norman into the Green Goblin), grafting his traditional metal arms onto his body. After this incident, he is able to communicate with these mechanical arms via telepathy. He modifies his arms to have the power to morph into different shapes, and then seeks revenge against Justin Hammer, but Spider-Man intervenes. Although Octavius is defeated by Spider-Man, Justin Hammer perishes due to a heart attack caused by Doctor Octopus attacking him. Afterwards, Octavius is brought into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody where he, along with Norman Osborn, form the Ultimate Six, consisting of some of Spider-Man's rogues gallery. There are only five villains to begin with, but Norman Osborn planned to bring Spider-Man into the group. The five attack S.H.I.E.L.D. and capture an unmasked Spider-Man. They tie him to a chair, and Osborn humiliates Peter by rcounting the accident that created him, and he and Otto's involvements. Osborn then blackmails Peter into joining them, threataning Mary Jane's life. In a battle between the Six and the Ultimates on the White House lawn, Octopus is taken down by Wasp. Octavius is separated from his tentacles and held in a different prison far away from them. Octavius later finds out that his ex-wife is giving the rights to use his likeness in the Spider-Man film. Outraged, he summons his tentacles from the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility and goes on a rampage. He manages to capture Spider-Man, and he brings him aboard an airplane, ties him to a chair, and unmasks him. From there, he inflicts humiliation and torture on to Peter, mocking him as a teenager, pulling a tooth out, and webbing his mouth. Peter escaped, and defeats Octavius. Back in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, Nick Fury melts Doctor Octopus' mechanical arms in front of him and instructs the guards to watch the melting mechanism for at least an hour afterwords to make sure the arms would not try to escape. However, in the Ultimate Hobgoblin story arc, it was revealed that a spare set of arms existed within a bunker belonging to Norman Osborn. Plans for these remain to be seen.

In the "Ultimate Clone Saga", Otto Octavius was revealed to be responsible for all the Spider-Man clones, including an older clone of Peter believing itself to be Richard Parker, and a Gwen Stacy clone that can transform into the Carnage creature. His experimentation and research was done for the FBI/CIA (both organizations are said to be behind it in different issues) in order to find a way to create super soldiers so the U.S. Government wouldn't have to be reliant on Nick Fury's monopoly on the Ultimates. In #103, he smugly reveals he is now outside Fury's jurisdiction and takes pleasure in pointing out to Peter that his work perverts the hero's life. In issue #104 he creates a new set of arms out of metal scraps and battles both Spider-Man and Spider-Woman, killing two other clones in the process, before being knocked out.

Octavius makes a brief appearance in Ultimate Spider-Man #113 confronting Norman Osborn as the latter breaks out of the Triskelion; Octavius attacks his former boss to prevent his escape, informing him that he betrayed him by giving the OZ formula to the FBI. Otto is beating Norman senseless until his other former ally, Electro, intervenes and shocks Ock with a bolt of electricity, knocking him out.

During the Ultimate Mystery, Doctor Octopus appears as a member of Roxxon's Brain Trust.

Alongside the rest of the Ultimate Six, Octopus plays a role in the "Death of Spider-Man" storyline. Norman Osborn breaks him and the rest out of the Triskelion. After their escape, Norman Osborn informs them that God wishes for them to kill Peter Parker. Doctor Octopus wanted to leave the group, because he wanted to live a normal life as a scientist and also said that he took enough pride in helping created Spider-Man. Osborn was outraged by the fact that Octavius tried to share credit for Spider-Man's existence, and attacked him. The two of them fought which ended with Osborn pummeling him to death.

This version of Doctor Octopus is ranked as 179th greatest comic book character of Wizard.

In other media

Television

• Doctor Octopus appears in the 1960s Spider-Man TV series, voiced by Vernon Chapman.
• Doctor Octopus appears in the Spider-Man episode "Bubble, Bubble, Oil and Trouble", voiced by Stanley Jones.
• Doctor Octopus was a guest villain in the 1982 The Incredible Hulk episode "Tomb of the Unknown Hulk", voiced by Michael Bell.
• Michael Bell reprises the role in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode "Spidey Meets the Girl of Tomorrow".
• Doctor Octopus made several appearances in the 1990s Spider-Man TV series, voiced by Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. with a thick Germanic accent. First appearing in the episode "Doctor Octopus Armed and Dangerous", Otto Octavius was Peter Parker's science teacher at science camp when Peter was 10 years old. This relationship of former mentor and pupil made Dr. Octopus fond of Peter even after his descent into villainy. Octavius was also a member in both incarnations of the Kingpin's Insidious Six, as the leader of the group in the field. In the three-part "Secret Wars" saga, Doctor Octopus was among the villains the Beyonder chose to represent evil. They conquer some of the planet. He originally colonized Octavia before it was taken over by Doctor Doom, who renamed it New Latveria.
• Doctor Octopus makes a cameo in the first episode of Spider-Man Unlimited.

• Doctor Octopus appears in The Spectacular Spider-Man, voiced by Peter MacNicol. Dr. Octavius is a timid research scientist working under Norman Osborn at OsCorp, and plays a part in the creation of Sandman and Rhino, earning him the nickname "Doctor Octopus", which he considers demeaning. After the four-armed harness he creates becomes fused to his spinal cord, he becomes deranged and megalomaniacal, blaming Osborn and Spider-Man for the accident. He forms the Sinister Six, composed of himself, Electro, Rhino, Sandman, Vulture, Shocker; he's defeated and incarcerated again. Pretending to become cured of his dementia, he secretly becomes the "Master Planner" and begins organize several plans to ensure super villains would run New York with him as their leader. However, his plans are foiled again by Spider-man during New Years Eve.
• Doctor Octopus appeared in Ultimate Spider-Man, voiced by Tom Kenny. This version is depicted as being physically paralyzed and entirely dependent on his tentacles to move. He has an unclean appearance with long hair, wears an apparatus similar to an iron lung, and the tips of his tentacles can convert into various weapons. This version is a black market criminal genius associated with Norman Osborn and the creator of Venom. He is abused repeatedly by Osborn, who saved his life by putting him in the tentacled device after a lab accident, but makes selfish and unreasonable demands. Eventually, he gets revenge by turning him into the Green Goblin.
• Doctor Octopus appears in the Robot Chicken episode "Tapping a Hero" voiced by Seth Green. In the "Superheroes Tonight" segment, paparazzi nabbed Spider-Man emerging from a window from Aunt May's house causing Doctor Octopus to think that Aunt May was Spider-Man.

Film

• Director of the Spider-Man films, Sam Raimi, has stated that Ock was intended to appear in the first film, teaming up with Green Goblin, but wasn't included because Raimi thought it "wouldn't do the movie justice to have a third origin in there."
• In the 2004 feature film Spider-Man 2, Doctor Octopus is the main antagonist, and is portrayed by Alfred Molina. This version is portrayed as a sympathetic character, and he is married to a woman named Rosalie. He first meets Peter Parker when Curt Connors recommends visiting him. A disastrous experiment with tritium that Octavius uses his four-armed harness to handle results in Rosalie's death and the fusion of the harness to Octavius. The arms have artificial intelligence that influence Octavius into acting irrationally, and he comes into conflict with Spider-Man when he tries to rob a bank to further his experiments. He eventually kidnaps Mary Jane to an abandoned pier warehouse where he makes another attempt to harness energy from tritium. When Spider-Man arrives, they do battle, but Octavius's original personality manages to reassert itself over his arms' A.I., and he ultimately sacrifices himself to destroy the tritium reactor before it explodes.
• Archive footage of Molina as Dr. Octopus appears in the opening scene of Spider-Man 3, and an old newspaper headline in J. Jonah Jameson's office states that Doctor Octopus is still at large.

Video games

Doctor Octopus appears in many Spider-Man computer games and video games, some of which feature him as the game's primary antagonist:

• Doctor Octopus appears in the Spider-Man Questprobe game.
• Doctor Octopus was one of many Spider-Man villains to appear in the arcade game Spider-Man: The Video Game.
• Doctor Octopus is one of the bosses in The Amazing Spider-Man for the Game Boy.
• Doctor Octopus is the final boss in Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six.
• Doctor Octopus is the first boss in the game The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin.
• Doctor Octopus is the first boss in both the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis games based on the animated series.
• Doctor Octopus appears as a boss in the Japanese only Super Famicon game Spider-Man: Lethal Foes.
• Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. reprises his role of Doctor Octopus in the Spider-Man video game for the PlayStation, Dreamcast, PC, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Color. Doctor Octopus works with Carnage to turn everyone in New York into symbiotes but they are both defeated by Spider-Man. After being defeated, the Carnage symbiote bonds with Octavius, turning him into Monster Ock (voiced by Marcus Shirock). After Monster Ock is defeated, the Carnage symbiote separates from Doctor Octopus, and he is arrested.
• Doctor Octopus appeared as the final boss in the Game Boy Color game Spider-Man 2: The Sinister Six.
• Doctor Octopus is seen at the end of Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro, still in his cell.
• Doctor Octopus appeared in the Spider-Man 2 game based on the movie Spider-Man 2 voiced by Alfred Molina. He appears as a boss character several times in the game, and is the final boss at the end of the game.
• Doctor Octopus is a playable character and a boss in the Spider-Man: Friend or Foe video game voiced by Joe Alaskey.
• A female version of Doctor Octopus, Dr. Serena Patel, appears as a boss in the Marvel 2099 setting of the video game Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, voiced by Tara Strong. She is the head scientist of Alchemax's Shadow Division, which is dedicated to the creation of dangerous super-weapons and other experiments. Fearing that Spider-Man's war on Alchemax would lead to her, Patel creates a battle suit and models it after her idol, Otto Octavius, along with six high-tech mechanical arms, and takes up the mantle of Dr. Octopus.
• Doctor Octopus (credited as Doc Ock) appears as a villain in two missions in the MMORPG Marvel Super Hero Squad Online, voiced by Peter MacNicol.
• Doctor Octopus appears in Spider-Man: Edge of Time, voiced by Dave B. Mitchell. When history is altered so that Alchemax was established in the seventies, Octavius is a scientist employed by the company, who apparently never turned to crime, although he still uses his tentacles as tools for his research. He and company founder Walker Sloane attempt to use Anti-Venom to kill Spider-Man, but when Spider-Man 2099 intervenes, Octavius, Sloan and Anti-Venom are merged and thrown into a time portal, where they are trapped between the present time and the year 2099.
• Doctor Octopus is featured as a boss in the Facebook game Marvel: Avengers Alliance.
• In The Amazing Spider-Man video game, Octavius is mentioned in Scorpion's bio as one of the scientists at Oscorp that makes cross-species super-humans.

Toys and collectibles

• Doc Ock has been recreated in action figure form multiple times, first as part of Mattel's Secret Wars line, then later many times by Toy Biz in their Spider-Man and Marvel Legends series, and finally by Hasbro as part of their Spider-Man: Origin series. The movie figure will also be featured in Hasbro's Marvel Legends Spider-Man 3 wave. The action feature from this figure was removed. Hasbro released a Spectacular Spider-Man action figure later.
• The character has also been recreated in several statues and mini-busts, by the likes of Diamond Select, Art Asylum, and Bowen Designs.
• Doctor Octopus is the third figurine in the Classic Marvel Figurine Collection.

Amusement park rides

Doctor Octopus appears as the leader of the Sinister Syndicate in The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man ride at Islands of Adventure at the Universal Orlando Resort, voiced by Rodger Bumpass. He has invented an anti-gravity cannon, and uses it, with the Syndicate, to hold the Statue of Liberty for ransom. He attacks guests several times during the ride, until he is finally defeated by Spider-Man on the New York rooftops. Doctor Octopus is last seen bundled together with the rest of the Syndicate, attempting to attack Spider-Man one last time before his tentacle is webbed to the Hobgoblin's head.

References

1. Doctor Octopus is number 28 , IGN.
2. Conroy, Mike. 500 Comicbook Villains, p.44-45, Collins & Brown, 2004.
3. Spider-Man/Dr. Octopus: Negative Exposure #1
4. Spider-Man Unlimited vol. 1 #3
5. The Amazing Spider-Man #3
6. DeCandido, Keith R.A. (1997). "Arms and the Man". In Stan Lee and Kurt Busiek (ed.). Untold Tales of Spider-Man. Berkley Trade; Boulevard edition. ISBN 1-57297-294-7.
7. The Amazing Spider-Man #3
8. Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Negative Exposure #3
9. The Amazing Spider-Man #3
10. The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1
11. The Amazing Spider-Man #31-32
12. The Amazing Spider-Man #53
13. The Amazing Spider-Man #54
14. The Amazing Spider-Man #55
15. The Amazing Spider-Man #56
16. The Amazing Spider-Man #88
17. The Amazing Spider-Man #89-90
18. The Amazing Spider-Man #112-115
19. The Amazing Spider-Man #130-131
20. The Amazing Spider-Man#152, 154, 156
21. The Amazing Spider-Man #157-159
22. The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #1
23. The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #15
24. The Spectacular Spider-Man #73, 75, 76
25. The Spectacular Spider-Man #124
26. ^ Fantastic Four #267
27. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1-12
28. Web of Spider-Man #4-5
29. The Amazing Spider-Man #297
30. The Spectacular Spider-Man #220
31. The Spectacular Spider-Man #221
32. The Amazing Spider-Man #427
33. The Amazing Spider-Man #428
34. The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2 #43
35. The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2 #44
36. The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2 #45
37. The Spectacular Spider-Man vol. 2 #6
38. Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #12
39. Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #24
40. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man #600
41. The Amazing Spider-Man #642
42. The Amazing Spider-Man #643
43. The Amazing Spider-Man #644
44. The Amazing Spider-Man #645
45. The Amazing Spider-Man #646
46. The Amazing Spider-Man #648
47. The Amazing Spider-Man #653
48. Invincible Iron Man #502
49. Avengers Academy #14
50. The Amazing Spider-Man #659
51. The Amazing Spider-Man #660
52. The Amazing Spider-Man #676
53. The Amazing Spider-Man #680
54. The Amazing Spider-Man #681
55. "IGN.com: Dan Slott discusses the next big Amazing Spider-Man storyline". 13 December 2011.
56. The Amazing Spider-Man #682
57. The Amazing Spider-Man #683
58. The Amazing Spider-Man #684
59. The Amazing Spider-Man #685
60. The Amazing Spider-Man #686
61. The Amazing Spider-Man #687
62. The Avenging Spider-Man #8
63. The Amazing Spider-Man #698
64. The Amazing Spider-Man #699
65. Spectacular Spider-Man #221
66. Daredevil #165
67. Marvel Fanfare #22
68. Spider-Man 1602 #1
69. Spider-Man 1602 #5
70. Robert Kirkman (w), Sean Phillips (p), Sean Phillips (i). "Marvel Zombies (Part Four)" Marvel Zombies, vol. 1, no. 4 (May, 2006). Marvel Zombies.
71. Marvel Zombies Return #1 (2009)
72. Spider-Man Noir #4
73. Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Mask #1-4
74. Spider-Man: India #2
75. Spider-Man: India #4
76. Spider-Man: Reign #4
77. Ultimate Spider-Man #103
78. Ultimate Mystery #3
79. Ultimate Spider-Man #156
80. Ultimate Spider-Man #157
81. Webb, Charles. "Interview: Tom Kenny on the Hilarious Creepiness of 'Adventure Time's' Ice King". MTV. Retrieved 2011-09-27.
82. Making The Amazing. Sony. 2004. {{cite AV media}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
83. Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions Achievements
84. "IGN Reveals The Amazing Spider-Man Game Connected To Symbiote & Doc Ock". ComicBookMovie.com. 2012-06-04.

External links

• Doctor Octopus (Otto Octavius) at Marvel.com
• Ock's profile at Spiderfan.org
• Doc Ock's profile at Samruby.com

• Characters created by Stan Lee
• Characters created by Steve Ditko
• Comics characters introduced in 1963
• Fictional characters from New York
• Fictional cyborgs
• Fictional doctors
• Fictional engineers
• Fictional inventors
• Fictional mad scientists
• Fictional scientists
• Film characters
• Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength
• Marvel Comics mutates
• Marvel Comics supervillains
• Spider-Man characters