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This article is about the first Doctor Octopus, Otto Octavius. For the second Doctor Octopus, see Lady Octopus.
Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius) is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics since 1963. A highly intelligent mad scientist, Doctor Octopus is one of the greatest enemies of Spider-Man who is 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. Creator Stan Lee has said that Doctor Octopus is one of his favorite Spider-Man villains.[citation needed] The character has appeared in numerous Spider-Man cartoons and video games and was portrayed by Alfred Molina in the 2004 film Spider-Man 2.
[edit] Publication history
The character of Doctor Octopus first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #3 (July 1963), and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko. [edit] Fictional character biographyBorn 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, leading Otto to be shy and reclusive in school. Young Otto's shyness and good work in school got him targeted as a "teacher's pet" and a subject for bullying. Torbert Octavius did not appreciate having a bullied son, more for having to pay the bills for new pairs of eyeglasses than other things, 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. At his mother's insistence and her disgust towards men who worked in manual labor (clearly due to her abusive husband), 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. 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, explaining that he invented it for scientists to be able to handle dangerous chemicals from a safe distance, and the two began a courtship. In due time, Otto proposed marriage to Mary Alice, and joyfully announced to Mary that Dr. Anders is to become his bride. 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 Otto's 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.  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[1]), and the scientist turned to a life of crime. 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: in his first appearance he beat Spider-Man so badly that the wall-crawler considered giving up his heroic career,[2] until he was inspired to continue by the Human Torch at the time when the Fantastic Four were called in to fight Doctor Octopus. Over the years Dr. Octopus has become one of the most identifiable members of Spider-Man's rogues' gallery. He remains one of Spider-Man's most dangerous foes, having many legendary battles with him over the years. Doctor Octopus formed the original Sinister Six to fight Spider-Man.[3] He has led subsequent Sinister Six groups, and usually takes offense when some one else leads the team. Disguised as the Master Planner, he organized a theft of atomic equipment.[4] Doctor Octopus later attempted to steal the Defense Department's Nullifier device, and set a trap for Spider-Man.[5] He became May Parker's tenant,[6] then got close enough to use the Nullifier on Spider-Man and rendered him amnesiac,[7] and tricked Spider-Man into helping him.[8] Doctor Octopus later exhibited the ability to activate his mechanical arms remotely, and used them to free himself from prison.[9] His resulting battle with Spider-Man resulted in the death of Captain George Stacy.[10] Doctor Octopus later waged a gang war with Hammerhead.[11] He attempted to wed May Parker in order to acquire an island with an atomic plant which she had recently unknowingly inherited.[12] Doc Ock escaped death when the island was destroyed, and began a life as a homeless person never able to raise a gang again in fear of the ghost of Hammerhead.[13] 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.[14] Doctor Octopus later attempted to hijack an atomic submarine.[15] He also attempted to poison New York City with printers' ink, and battled the Punisher and Spider-Man.[16] He next battled the Owl and his gang.[17] He successfully deactivated a nuclear reactor in a laboratory before meltdown.[18] He later displayed symptoms which Mister Fantastic diagnosed as multiple personality disorder.[19] Doctor Octopus was taken to the Beyonder's Battleworld, where he fought a horde of heroes.[20] 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, and he needed to be treated for his acute arachnophobia.[21] 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- as he currently turned catatonic with fear every time he saw Spider-Man, killing him in a straight fight was impractical at best-, 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 deciding to let Spider-Man live on the grounds that he would now have to cope with the same humiliation he had endured.[22] Doctor Octopus has worked with other super villains on several occasions, most notably as the leader of the original incarnation of the Sinister Six. He reformed the Sinister Six[23] more than once, 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 as part of Octavius's attempts to gain control of a nuclear power facility May had unknowingly inherited control of, but their wedding was interrupted by Hammerhead. During the Clone Saga, Doctor Octopus saved Spider-Man from certain death due to 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. But 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 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 businessman and con artist 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 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. 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 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. He broke out of jail but was returned there after being defeated by Spider-Man and Invincible. Octavius unsuccessfully tries 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 eludes 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 super-villain detention facility (as seen in Thunderbolts #104 and Iron Man Vol IV #14). He is one of the ex-super villains trying to hunt down the renegade super heroes. In "One More Day" Part 2, Octavius is one of the people Spider-Man contacted to see if he could help with Aunt May's condition; although no speech is given in each of the panels, he most likely did not have a clue, like the others, of what to do, and probably felt sorry for Peter's dilemma because of his near-marriage to May. During the Dark Reign storyline, Doctor Octopus has learned that after all his battles, and injuries suffered, his body is failing, giving him only months left to live. He has now modified himself, to be mentally connected to his own army of miniature octopus robots, and adding four more legs to his harness. His goal then became to use his abilities to take over the utilities of New York City, and turn it into a paradise under his control, though his mind's subconscious also targeted Spider-Man, and disrupted the wedding plans of his ex, Aunt May. Spider-Man and the Human Torch eventually track down his base, save the captive J. Jonah Jameson Sr. (May's fiancee), Carlie Cooper, and Norah Winters, and finally destroy Doctor Octopus' hold over the city. Doctor Octopus is then able to escape (still holding power over his mini-bots) and vows a "terrible revenge".[24] [edit] Powers and abilitiesOctavius 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. Due to exposure to atomic radiation, Doctor Octopus has the mental ability to control his four, electrically powered, telescoping, prehensile, titanium-steel, artificial, tentacle arms (even when they are not connected to him, he can also control them over vast distances), that are attached to a stainless-steel harness encompassing his lower torso. These arms are 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. Doctor Octopus has also employed an armored body suit enabling him to breathe underwater and designed to withstand extreme water pressure. [edit] HarnessesDr. 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, 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. The adamantium harness was powerful enough to both restrain and pummel the Hulk into submission during a series written by Erik Larsen. 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. [edit] Other versions[edit] House of MIn the House of M reality created by the Scarlet Witch, Otto Octavius makes an appearance as a researcher for the government, studying stem cells. [edit] Marvel ZombiesOn Earth-2149 (a world in which almost all heroes and villains are zombies) an undead Doctor Octopus first appears in 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 Galactus.[25] In the prequel series to Marvel Zombies, Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness and Marvel Zombies: Dead Days, the zombie Doctor Octopus makes few cameo appearances, as a member of the undead Sinister Six. [edit] MC2In 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. [edit] Noir Doctor OctopusIn the Spider-Man Noir series, , his name however first appears in the Daily Bugle newspaper near the end of issue 4 as one of the scientists set to find the "Lost City of Atlatas'.[volume & issue needed] 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 black people for his own more secret experiments.[volume & issue needed] [edit] Spider-Man: IndiaIn Spider-Man: India, Dr. Octopus is featured as a minion/meek doctor who is transformed by Nalin Oberoi into a mystical version of Doc Ock. He is later killed by Oberoi, while trying to help Spider-Man rescue MJ and Aunt Meera from Oberoi. [edit] Spider-Man: ReignIn the Alternate Universe 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. [edit] Ultimate Doctor Octopus In Ultimate Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus is no longer fat, but 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; #103 expanded on this, revealing Octavius also has the ability to manipulate metal. It has not yet been revealed how similar or dissimilar his power is to that of Magneto. 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 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 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, 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 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. [edit] ReceptionIn 2009, Doctor Octopus was ranked as IGN's 28th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.[26] The Ultimate version of Doctor Octopus is ranked as 179th greatest comic book character of Wizard.[27] [edit] In other media[edit] Television
[edit] FilmMain article: Spider-Man 2  
[edit] Video gamesDoctor Octopus appears in many Spider-Man computer games and video games, some of which feature him as the game's primary antagonist:
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Categories: 1963 comics characters debuts | Characters created by Stan Lee | Fictional characters from New York | Fictional cyborgs | Fictional doctors | Fictional engineers | Fictional inventors | Fictional scientists | Film characters | Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength | Marvel Comics mutates | Marvel Comics supervillains | Spider-Man | Characters created by Steve Ditko | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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