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Doctor Octopus (Otto Octavius) is a comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe and one of the greatest foes of Spider-Man . "Doc Ock", as Spider-Man often calls him, is a powerful and highly intelligent foe that is usually considered Spider-Man's worst enemy, after the Green Goblin ; a position not contested until the 1990s by Venom . The character's first appearance was in Amazing Spider-Man #3 (July 1963). He was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko .
Amazing Spider-Man #3 (1963), the first appearance of Doctor Octopus. Art by
Steve Ditko
.
Otto Octavius was recently revealed to have had a turbulent upbringing. His father 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. At puberty, he was hinted at being a low-level telepathic mutant, giving his father an aneurysm as his father went to beat him. He did not explore his powers however.
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, capable of great strength and highly precise movement and were attached to a harness that fit around his body.
In an accident, the apparatus became fused to his body, and his mutant abilities gave him the ability to 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.) The accident also seemingly damaged his brain (though 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 not much to speak of physically, and is near-sighted to the extent that he is legally blind without the aid of his eye-glasses, 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 .
Over the years Dr. Octopus has become one, if not THE most identifiable member of Spider-Man's rogue gallary. 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 part-time ally Black Cat, who was placed in critical condition and led to Spider-Man beating Doc Ock to an inch of his life. The trauma of the beating he received from Spider-Man left Octavius so 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 , who 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). Thankfully, the wedding was interrupted by Hammerhead .
During the Clone Saga , Doctor Octopus was murdered by the insane Peter Parker clone named Kaine . Octavus's 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 recorderd 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 prostetic 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 who created his own version of Octavius's harness and who tried to kill Octavius, who the young scientist felt was a failure.
=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 explained as having been caused by the initial accident; Octopus and his arms were fused together mentally, as well as phyiscally.
Doctor Octopus has no superhuman powers. However, he is a bona fide genius in the field of atomic physics. He has a Ph.D. in nuclear science.
His harness is attached to four mentally controlled, prehensile metallic appendages. These arms are capable of lifting 25 tons each, provided 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.
In Ultimate Spider-Man , Doctor Octopus was a lab assistant to Norman Osborn. He was caught in a lab accident, grafting morphing metal arms onto him. He became a killer until stopped by Spider-Man. Afterwards, Doc Ock was cured of his amnesia and remembered the secret identity of Spider-Man. He made an appearance in the Ultimate Six miniseries and then finally in the Hollywood arc before Nick Fury took his original arms and melted them down. However, there have since been hints that Doc Ock might return.
Otto was first hinted at being a mutant in the Ultimate Six miniseries. It was only after this that the storyline was incorporated into the mainstream Marvel continuity as well.
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 they have various lethal accessories.
Doctor Octopus' first appearance outside the 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, in which he steals crystals in order to enhance the power of his extra arms. Doctor Octopus was a guest villain in The Incredible Hulk animated series, in the episode Tomb of the Unknown Hulk in 1982 , in which he had stolen a rocket ship in the military camp. In both of his 1980s appearances, he was voiced by Michael Bell .
Doctor Octopus makes several apperances in the 1990s animated series, Spider-Man: The Animated Series . Ock works alone in the episode "Doctor Octopus: Armed and Dangerous". Sometimes Ock continues to get revenge on everyone who had wronged him in episodes "Doctor Octopus: Armed and Dangerous", and "Make a Wish". Sometimes he teams up with the Insidious Six (a team formed by the Kingpin ) in episodes, "The Insidious Six", "Battle of the Insidious Six", and "Six Forgotten Warriors" 5-parter. In all of these episodes, Doc Ock was voiced by Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. , who gave the character a thick Germanic accent.
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 attatches 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 Spider-Man 2 , where you fight him numerous times, the final time being the final boss battle.
(2004) Doctor Octopus portrayed by
Alfred Molina
in the 2004 film
Spider-Man 2
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 likeable man (he is also married, which did not occur in the comics) and rather than working with nuclear material, he uses fusion to create a minature 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 becomes good again (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 dies.
Doctor Octupus featured in a Dead Ringers sketch, parodying also Doc Martin . Doctor Octupus leaves the city to live in the village of 'Blandly-Under-Whelming', where, despite his evil megalomania, he grows to adjust to village life, before meeting Spider-Man, who is now a traffic warden .