Doctor Octopus
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- This page refers to the first Doctor Octopus, Otto Octavius. For the second Doctor Octopus, see Lady Octopus.
"Doc Ock", as Spider-Man often calls him, is a stocky, near-sighted man, supposedly modeled after pop singer Roy Orbison, who utilizes four powerful, mechanical appendages. A highly intelligent mad scientist, he is obsessed with proving his own genius and destroying his arch foe.
Although possibly overshadowed by the Green Goblin and Venom in various eras, Doctor Octopus is possibly Spider-Man’s greatest adversary. He has been featured in most Spider-Man animated series and video games and was played by Alfred Molina in 2004’s Spider-Man 2.
Character biography
Born in Schenectady, NY, Otto Octavius had a turbulent upbringing. His father, a factory worker, was abusive and violent towards both Otto and his mother, leading Otto to be shy and reclusive in school. However, at his mother's insistence, he was determined not to become like his father and threw all his efforts into his education, regularly scoring top marks. His father's death due to an industrial accident pushed him further towards the study of, and obsession with, physical science.Before his transformation into the megalomaniacal archenemy of the web-slinger, Otto was a brilliant and respected nuclear physicist, inventor, and lecturer. He designed a set of highly advanced mechanical arms to assist him with his research into atomic physics. The tentacled arms were resistant to radiation and were capable of great strength and highly precise movement. They were attached to a harness that fit around his body.
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.
Though Doctor Octopus himself is portly, in poor physical shape, and near-sighted to the extent that he is almost blind without the aid of his eyeglasses, with his harness attached he is physically more than a match for Spider-Man: in his first appearance he beat Spider-Man so badly that the wall-crawler considered giving up his heroic career until he was inspired to continue by the Human Torch at the time when the Fantastic Four was called in to fight Doctor Octopus.
Over the years Dr. Octopus has become one of, if not the, most identifiable member of Spider-Man's rogues' gallery. He remains one of Spider-Man's most dangerous foes, having many legendary battles with Spider-Man over the years. His crowning achievement of evil was the near-fatal beating of Spider-Man's then-partner, the Black Cat, who was placed in critical condition and 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, until Spider-Man was forced to let his nemesis beat him in combat so as to allow his nemesis to break free of his fears and recruit him to save New York City from an exploding nuclear reactor.
Doctor Octopus has worked with other supervillains on several occasions, most notably as the leader of the original incarnation of the Sinister Six. He has been a member of other versions of the Sinister Six, and founded his own short-lived version of the Masters of Evil when his teammates from the Sinister Six proved too difficult to manipulate.
Despite the obvious obstacles, Octavius was for a time on good terms with Peter Parker's Aunt May, whom he first met in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 (1964) when he abducted her and Peter's then-girlfriend Betty Brant to attract Spider-Man's attention. In fact, in later years May Parker and Otto Octavius were briefly engaged to be married, during a period when the latter's madness had been cured (temporarily, as it turned out). Their wedding was interrupted by Hammerhead.
During the Clone Saga, Doctor Octopus 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. Although Octavius had discovered Peter Parker's dual identity shortly prior to his death while curing Parker of a lethal virus created by the Vulture, he lost all knowledge of it upon his resurrection. The reason for this was the memories he gained came from a computer chip provided by his associate Stunner with his recorded memories. That recent memory had not been recorded at the time of his death.
In recent 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 scientist and businessman named Carlyle, who pretended to employ Octavius at his company. This, however, 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 battle with Octavius and Spider-Man, Carlyle was defeated when Doc Ock ripped open his suit, causing a malfunction that seemed to disintegrate Carlyle's body.
Dr. Octopus was taken into 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.
In Sensational Spider-Man #28, Dr. Octopus is seen viewing the 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 oppertunity he had when he unmasked Parker in a previous issue. He is again defeated by Spider-Man, who confronts Dr. Octopus unmasked. He is then sent to Baron Zemo's super-villain detention facility (as seen in Thunderbolts #104) and is apart of the ex-super villains trying to hunt down the renegade super heroes.
Powers and abilities
Doctor Octopus has been hinted as being a low-level telepathic mutant, but no superpowers have been outrightly revealed. He is a bona fide genius in the fields of atomic physics, in which he holds a Ph. D in robotics.His harness is attached to four mentally controlled, prehensile metallic appendages. These arms are capable of lifting up to three tons each, provided 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 task, such as drinking a cup of coffee or constructing a machine.
Harnesses
Dr. Octopus has possessed a total of three different harnesses during his career: the original titanium harness, a more powerful adamantium harness, and the current harness, which was modified in 2004 to resemble the version seen in the movie Spider-Man 2. The original and adamantium harnesses were both destroyed in the Lethal Foes of Spider-Man miniseries.While wearing the harness, the arms are powerful enough to allow him to walk up sheer concrete walls and move quickly about. 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.
During the 1960s, Octopus's original 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, a link he has duplicated with their successors.
Ultimate Doctor Octopus
Afterwards, Octavius is brought into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody where he, along with Norman Osborn, form the Ultimate Six, comprised of some of Spider-Man rogue's gallery and an unwilling Spider-Man himself. In a battle between the Six and the Ultimates on the White House lawn, Octopus is taken down by the 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 goes on a rampage, until he is once again stopped by Spider-Man. Back in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, Nick Fury melts Doctor Octopus' mechanical arms in front of him.
Visually, Ultimate Doc Ock is no longer fat and middle aged, but young and muscular. 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, taser, and machine guns. Also, the 616 Doc Ock wore glasses or sunglasses due to nearsightedness, and also as a styling accessory. The Ultimate Universe's version wears sunglasses to disguise horrible wounds inflicted on his eyes during the accident that created him, that leave him half-blind.
Doctor Octopus in
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 falls into a coma from which he is not expected to recover.
Later, the mantle of Doctor Octopus is taken up by Lady Octopus.
In other media
Animated series
Doctor Octopus' first appearance outside of comics was in the 1960s Spider-Man animated series, where he appeared in two episodes.
He also made one appearance in the 1980s animated series Spider-Man, in which he stole crystals in order to enhance the power of his extra arms. Doctor Octopus was later a guest villain in The Incredible Hulk animated series, in the 1982 episode Tomb of the Unknown Hulk, in which he had stolen a rocket ship in the military camp. Finally, he appeared in a third-season episode of Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends in 1983. In both of his later two 1980s animated appearances, he was voiced by Michael Bell.
In all of these episodes, Doc Ock was voiced by Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., who gave the character a thick Germanic accent. Efrem also voiced the character in the Playstation and N64 Spider-Man game (which was also for N64), as well as for a ride at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man.
Video game appearances
Doctor Octopus appears in almost every Spider-Man video game, many of which feature him as the game's primary antagonist. In the Spider-Man game for the PlayStation, Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Color, he and Carnage are the main bosses. After both are defeated, the Carnage symbiote attaches to Octavius to form the hybrid villain "Monster-Ock". Direct confrontation with this combined foe results in the Spider-Man's death; after the player flees from him, his base explodes and the two villains are separated and subdued. Most recently, Doctor Octopus appeared in the Spider-Man 2 game, where the player fights him numerous times, the final time being the final boss battle.Live action feature films
Doctor Octopus is portrayed by Alfred Molina in the film Spider-Man 2 (2004). However, the story is very contracted, and Octavius seems to have become Dr. Octopus and died within a year. In the movie, Otto Octavius is originally a generally nice and likable man (he is also married, which did not occur in the comics) and rather than working with nuclear material, he uses nuclear fusion to create a miniature electricity-generating "sun," which he manipulates with his tentacles. The tentacles are also different - in the comics, Octavius controlled them with dials prior to his accident, but in the movie, they attach to his nervous system along his spinal cord and he controls them mentally from the start. They also have a degree of artificial intelligence in the movie - Octavius controls this with an inhibitor chip, but when the chip is destroyed in his accident (caused when the "sun" he creates becomes unstable, and a large "flare" from it strikes him in the back, giving him a huge electric shock that melts the tentacles' attachments to his spine), they are able to control his mind and drive him to rebuild his failed fusion device. The tentacles' influence combined with the loss of his wife and his failure is what makes Doc Ock evil in the movie, rather than him simply becoming (possibly) insane due to brain damage from the accident as he does in the comics.
Doctor Octopus is first brought into conflict with Spider-Man in the movie when he robs a bank to gain money for buying parts for the new fusion device. Later, he completes the device, but requires precious tritium to fuel it, and turns to Harry Osborn to provide it for him. Harry agrees, if Ock will bring him Spider-Man (in the first movie, Harry was led to believe that Spider-Man killed his father, and is obsessed with getting revenge in the second movie). This leads to Ock tracking down Peter Parker and kidnapping Mary Jane Watson so Peter will get Spider-Man to meet him. This leads to another battle between Spider-Man and Doc Ock, which Ock wins (Spider-Man is forced to stop a speeding train after fighting Ock, and when Ock confronts him again afterward, he is too weak to fight back).
After delivering Spider-Man to Harry, Doctor Octopus gets his tritium and creates another, larger "sun", which also becomes unstable, threatening to either drag Manhattan into it with its powerful gravity and magnetic field, or explode. Having escaped from Harry, Spider-Man arrives on the scene and fights Doc Ock again - he knocks out Ock by giving him another electric shock with the wires attached to the fusion device. When Spider-Man unplugs the device, however, the "sun" is not destroyed, having become so large it is self-sustaining. The second electric shock appears to free Octavius from the influence of his tentacles - after some mental effort fighting them back, he recalls control of himself, returns to his good nature (this also never happens in the comics) and destroys the "sun" himself by pulling down its supports so it sinks into the river and cools down. Doctor Octopus sinks down after it, and appears to die.
In a special feature on the second disc of the DVD version, the creators of Spider-Man 2 hint that Doctor Octopus may have survived: "If you have a good villain, you don't want to just kill him off."
Parodies
- In the webcomic The Wotch, by Anne Onymous and Robin Ericson, one of the main characters, Robin, has dream that he was Arachnid, fighting Professor Squid, a pair of superhumans who both have "Parody-Law Protection" among their superpowers. Arachnid is an obvious parody of Spider-Man and Prof. Squid an obvious parody of Doctor Octopus.
- The web comic [Boy Genius] features the adolescent adventures of both Spider-Man and Dr. Octopus, who are friends.
- Dr. Octopus also made a humorous cameo appearance in the South Park episode "Krazy Kripples" as a member of Christopher Reeve's Legion of Doom.
- On the episode of Archie's Weird Mysteries "Supreme Girl vs. Dr. Arachnid" it is clear that Dr. Octopus is the source of inspiration for Dr. Arachnid, who has 6 shorter arms with pincers that are not as strong but can also fire energy bolts.
- The flash animation cartoon The Ultimate Showdown featured Dr. Octopus as a participant.
- In Alan Moore's Top Ten, an Octopus wearing a Doctor's Uniform is kept in a plastic bubble custody prison.
- In the Italian cartoon Winx Club a pixie impersonates Doc Ock and his greatest enemy, Spider-Man.
- The Channel 101 superhero comedy Laser Fart had a character named Robot Dick probably inspired by Doc Ock.
Bibliography of Doctor Octopus comic books
- Spider-Man: Funeral For An Octopus #1-3
- Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Year One #1-5
- Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Out of Reach #1-5
- Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Negative Exposure #1-5
References
External links
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