Who is Doctor Octopus? Peter Parker tends to have his hands full whenever this baddies shows up. Thanks to Doctor Strange’s magic spell going awry in Spider-Man: No Way Home, due to Peter’s interference, the multiverse collapses in on itself (oops?), bringing in antagonists from parallel dimensons.
One such Spider-Man villain is the noble doctor turned cold-hearted scientist Otto Octavius, aka Doctor Octopus. Widely considered Spider-Man’s greatest foe (although some would argue that’s the Green Goblin), Doc Ock, with his deadly mechanical arms and superior intellect, aren’t to be underestimated.
The good doctor has a long history both in and out of the comics, but how much do you really know about this mollusc-themed menace? Did you know, for example, that he nearly married Aunt May? Or that he was briefly Spider-Man? You didn’t? Well, don’t worry, we here at The Digital Fix have done the hard work for you, telling you who is Doctor Octopus, both in the Spider-Man movies and the comics that inspired them.
Who is Doctor Octopus in the Spider-Man movies?
Doctor Octopus was first introduced in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) is an ambitious but kind scientist working for Harry Osborn. When we meet him, Otto is building an experimental fusion reactor that he hopes will benefit all of humankind.
Peter meets Otto soon after, thanks to Harry, and sees in the scientist the chance for a better life. Otto seems to have it all, a career he loves, a wife, Rosie, who he adores, and he’s even helping humanity. He’s everything Peter might have if that darn spider hadn’t bitten him.
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Unfortunately, Otto’s peaceful life doesn’t last. During a demonstration of the reactor, during which Otto dons four mechanical arms to help him control the reaction, the experiment goes critical. The ensuing accident kills several in attendance, including Rosie and permanently welding Otto’s robotic arms to his spine.
Devastated that his life’s work led to the death of his wife, Otto considers ending it all but the artificial intelligence built into the arms starts affecting his brain. He concludes that the first reactor was sabotaged and that he needs to build a bigger, more powerful version of his initial design.
Thus begins the career of the criminal Doctor Octopus (he gets his moniker from the Daily Bugle), which puts him on a collision course with Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire). Luckily for Otto, Peter’s struggling with some power incontinence at the time, and Doc Ock basically gets away with his crimes.
Eventually, though, he needs a rare element to power his experiment, and the only person who can get it for him is Harry Osborn. In exchange for the element, Harry demands that Otto kill Spider-Man. To do so, Doc kidnaps Mary Jane (he must have been following Norman’s lead), forcing Peter to swing back into action.
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While Peter puts up some resistance, Otto doesn’t fight fair and gets the better of the Wallcrawler during their battle delivering him to Harry. True to his word Harry gives Otto the element he needs, and Doc begins his deadly experiment once again.
With all of New York City now in danger, Peter convinces Harry to let him go, and he swings over to confront his former teacher. Spidey’s still no match for Otto’s powerful tentacles, though and is forced to unmask in an attempt to reason with the demented doctor.
Seeing Peter is Spider-Man, Otto briefly regains control and manages to destroy the pier holding his now self-sustaining fusion reactor. As he falls into the water, Otto smiles, knowing he didn’t die a monster.
Or so we thought because, at the moment of death, Otto was, in fact, whisked away to the MCU, where he gets a new chance at life.
Who is Doctor Octopus in the Spider-Man comics?
Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Doctor Octopus first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #3. Unlike his cinematic counterpart, though otto is not a kind and caring scientist, he’s a misanthropic misery who uses his intellect to bully those he believes his inferior.
A brilliant scientist, Octavius designed a set of powerful mechanical tentacles that allowed him to manipulate dangerous materials in relative safety. Unfortunately, an accidental radiation leak during an experiment saw the tentacles become fused to Otto, and the scientist turned to crime.
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It wasn’t long before the newly born Doctor Octopus clashed with Spider-Man, but incredibly Otto proved to be Peter’s superior, besting the Wallcrawler in their first confrontation. Otto’s winning streak wouldn’t last, however, and the villain became trapped in a cycle of attacking the Wallcrawler, getting his butt kicked, and then coming back later for more.
His greatest villainous achievements at this time included, forming the first version of the Sinister Six, a stint as the criminal mastermind known as the Master Planner, killing Gwen Stacy’s father, and trying to marry Peter’s Aunt May after she inherited an island with a nuclear power station on it (comics, am I right?).
In the early years, Otto’s position as Spider-Man’s nemesis was never in doubt. However, in the 90s through the early 2000s, with the rise of Venom and the return of the Green Goblin, the character became something of a second-stringer. He was still a widely respected villain, but he rarely got any real focus.
That is until 2010 when Dan Slott took over The Amazing Spider-Man. During this era, Ock discovered that he was deathly ill as a result of his battles with various super-powered beings and the radiation that gave him control over his tentacles.
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Dying and wanting to leave his mark on the world, Otto plotted several schemes to secure his legacy. Those plans included automating New York City to increase efficiency, reforming the Sinister Six, and building a device to superheat the Earth, wiping out 99.9% of humanity.
Spider-Man ultimately stopped Ock’s plans, but Doctor Octopus wasn’t done yet. Using a specially adapted robot, he managed to swap consciousnesses with Spider-Man, trapping Peter in Ock’s dying body. While Peter wasn’t able to get his body back he did manage to impart on Otto a certain responsibility.
Now in Peter’s body, Otto became the Superior Spider-Man, a more brutal and, in Otto’s mind, effective vigilante. Otto’s time as Spider-Man was brief (he eventually gave Peter back his body), but it left a huge impression on the character.
Since then, Otto has operated as something of a wild card. After getting his old body back (thanks to a deal with the Devil), he’s been everything from a villain to an anti-hero and even a brief return to outright super heroics.
Have a look at our best movies list for more cinematic greatness, and don’t forget our new movies guide to see what’s coming out.
