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Revision as of 18:38, 18 November 2007
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| Doctor Octopus | |
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| File:Doctoroctopus.png Doctor Octopus. Art by John Romita Jr. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Amazing Spider-Man #3 (July 1963) |
| Created by | Stan Lee Steve Ditko |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Otto Octavius |
| Team affiliations | Sinister Six Thunderbolts Masters of Evil |
| Notable aliases | Master Planner, Master Programmer, Doc Ock |
| Abilities | |
Dr. Otto Octavius, better known as Doctor Octopus or Doc Ock, is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an archenemy of Spider-Man. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #3 (July 1963). Stan Lee has cited that Doctor Octopus is one of his favorite Spider-Man villains. In his first several appearances, Dr. Octopus' last name was spelled "Octavious." All stories since have spelled it Octavius.
Despite his name, he is not an octopus, but rather a human being. Octavius is a stocky, myopic man who utilizes four powerful, mechanical appendages. A highly intelligent mad scientist, he is obsessed with proving his own genius and destroying Spider-Man. Doc Ock is considered by many to be Spider-Man's greatest adversary (rivaled only by the Green Goblin).
Doctor Octopus, like the Green Goblin, is one of Spider-Man's greatest and most enduring enemies. He has been featured in most Spider-Man animated series and video games and was played by Alfred Molina in the 2004 movie Spider-Man 2, as well as by Peter MacNicol in the new The Spectacular Spider-Man which will premiere on The CW next year.
Fictional character biography
Born in Schenectady, New York, 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.
Otto became 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, 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, and later agreed to marry him. His mother did not approve, and 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.
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[citation needed]), 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, 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, 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 him 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. 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. 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 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.
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 and Octavius assumed it 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 panels, he most likely did not have a clue like the others of what to do.
Strengths and abilities
Doctor Octopus has been hinted at being a low-level technopathic mutant[citation needed] being able to control his arms when they are not even conected to him, but no superpowers have been outrightly revealed.
He is a genius in the field of atomic physics, in which he holds a Ph. D.
His harness is attached to four mentally controlled, prehensile metallic appendages. 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.
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 somewhat resemble the version seen in the movie Spider-Man 2, with tentacles bearing an octopus-like motif. 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. The adamantium harness was powerful enough to both restrain and pummel the Hulk into submission. 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.
During the 1960s (now probably the early 1990s, due to retroactive continuity), Dr. Octopus' 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.
Other versions
A zombified Doctor Octopus is shown being levitated by Magneto's powers alongside several other Spider-Man enemies. [1] He has a cameo in Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness, working alongside zombified former enemies in order to kill victims. Later, Doctor Octopus appears to attack Galactus, and is subsequently blasted apart by several cosmically powered, zombified heroes, who are also attempting to defeat and devour Galactus. [2]
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 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, play him the tape on which his monologue is recorded, and take him to the graveyard where his loved ones lay, hoping 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 Doctor Octopus
Visually, Ultimate Doc Ock is no longer fat and middle aged, but young 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 actually did not have a psychic link with his arms only, rather that he has the ability to manipulate metal. It has not yet been revealed how similar or dissimilar his power is to that of Magneto.
In Ultimate Spider-Man, Dr. Otto Octavius is introduced as a lab assistant to Norman Osborn and secretly a spy for 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, comprised 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 afterward 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 organisations 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 Ultimate 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. Ock is beating Norman senseless until his other former ally, Electro, intervenes and shocks Ock with a bolt of electricity, knocking him out.
In other media
Television
Spider-Man (1967)
Doctor Octopus' first appearance outside of comics was in the 1960s Spider-Man animated series, where he appeared in two episodes, "The Power of Dr. Octopus" (the series premiere) and "The Terrible Triumph of Dr. Octopus".
Spider-Man (1981)
He also made one appearance in the 1980s animated series Spider-Man episode “Bubble, Bubble, Oil and Trouble” (voiced by Stanley Jones), in which he stole crystals in order to enhance the power of his extra arms.
The Incredible Hulk
Doctor Octopus was later a guest villain in the 1982 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.
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
Finally, he appeared in a third-season episode of Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends in 1983, "Spidey Meets the Girl of Tomorrow". In both of his later two 1980s animated appearances, he was voiced by Michael Bell.
Spider-Man: The Animated Series
Doctor Octopus made several appearances in the 1990s animated series Spider-Man: The Animated Series. Dr. Octopus used to be Otto Octavius, who was Peter Parker's science teacher at Science Camp. This relationship of former mentor and pupil made Dr Octopus fond of Peter even after his descent into villainy. One day, Octavius created a fusion experiment, using four metal tentacles. When the experiment exploded, Octavius' tentacles were permanently stuck on his back. In his first appearance, Dr. Octopus kidnaps Felicia Hardy and J. Jonah Jameson for ransom from Felicia's mother, as Felicia's mom didn't have patience to fund Ock's experiments before he was a villain. When Peter calls him, Dr. Octopus decides to have Peter bring the ransom. But Ock reveals he wouldn't release Felicia and Jameson anyway but after he was defeated by Spider-Man, who Peter was secretly after Ock threw Peter off into another part of the abandoned space lab Ock hid out in, Dr. Octopus was captured, and was taken to jail.
Later, he became a member of The Insidious Six in the first two episodes of Season 2 and the five-part episode, "Six Forgotten Warriors" in Season 5, and one of the Kingpin's enforcers after the first episodes of Season 2, helping him commit crimes. He even came far as unmasking Spider-Man with the Insidious Six but since Spider-Man didn't fight as well as he usually does because it was part of Spider-Man's lively evolution, Ock thought he was a fake. He also came to wiping out Spider-Man's memory and making him think the two were partners-in-crime. But thanks to Spider-Man's fangirl, Taina, and a cabbie named Mousie, he got his memory back and Octavius was sent back to jail.
He eventually became aware that Anastasia Hardy's husband, John Hardesky, was a cat burglar known as the Cat and used this information to blackmail Mrs. Hardy into giving him his money. But he was abducted by the Kingpin for Octavius to work for the crime lord again and his plans were not to reveal to the world that Mrs. Hardy's husband was a crook but merely use John Hardesky because he was jailed for knowing the super-soldier formula that created Captain America during World War II.
After Hardesky was kidnapped, Ock was sent to kidnap Felicia to blackmail Hardesky if he didn't reveal the super-solider formula, she'll die. Hardesky revealed the formula and it was tested on Felicia, turning her into the Black Cat.
His final appearance in the show was in the three-part "Secret Wars", in which he conquered part of the alien planet and renamed his section "Octavia". When the heroes arrived, he took part not only in the battle against them (upgrading Smythe's robots) but also an inter-villain power struggle. However, in the end, when Doom absorbed the Beyonder's powers, he transported all the villains, including Ock, back to Earth with no memory of what transpired.
In the series finale of this show, Doctor Octopus did not appear, but among the other Spider-Men from different realities was a Spider-Man with had metallic tentacles and sunglasses like Doc Ock's. He explained it was a "souvenir from my last fight with Doc Ock". Exactly what transpired in that fight is unknown.
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, as well as for a ride at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man.
Doctor Octopus appeared in the following episodes:
- Doctor Octopus: Armed and Dangerous
- The Insidious Six
- Battle of the Insidious Six
- Make a Wish
- Attack of the Octobot
- The Cat
- The Black Cat
- The Haunting of Mary Jane (as a robot of Mysterio)
- Six Forgotten Warriors:
- Unclaimed Legacy
- Secrets of the Six
- The Six Fight Again
- The Price of Heroism
- Secret Wars
- Arrival
- The Gauntlet of the Red Skull
- Doom
The Spectacular Spider-Man
Doctor Octopus will appear in The Spectacular Spider-Man. He will be voiced by Peter MacNicol. His tentacles first appear in the trailer.
Cameos
- On an episode of Fairly Odd Parents, Crocker gets superpowers and calls himself "Dr. Crocktopus".
- In the episode of The Simpsons called "The Girl Who Slept Too Little", Dr. Nick grabs four human arms and exclaims, "I'm not Dr. Nick, I'm Doctor Octopus! I'll get you Spidey! Then I will have upside down kiss with Mary Jane!"
- In another episode called "The Haw-Hawed Couple," at Nelson's birthday party, a hired Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus appear. "Doctor Octopus" claims he has made a machine to turn candy into homework.
- Octopus made a brief cameo in the first episode of Spider-Man Unlimited, where he was seen fighting Spider-Man in a television clip. The battle took place in the past and seemingly ended when Spider-Man punched him right in the face.
- Doctor Octopus appeared in the South Park episode Krazy Kripples as a part of Christopher Reeve's Legion of Doom.
- Doctor Octopus appears in the Robot Chicken episode "Tapping a Hero" voiced by Seth Green. When paparazzi caught Spider-Man emerging from the window of Aunt May's house, Doctor Octopus thought Aunt May was Spider-Man and attacked her.
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.
- Doc Ock is one of the bosses in The Amazing Spider-Man for the Game Boy. He does not appear in the sequel.
- Doctor Octopus is the final boss in Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six.
- Dr. Octopus is the first boss in the game The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin.
- Doctor Octopus the first boss in both the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis games based off the animated series.
- Doctor Octopus appears as a boss in the Japanese only Super Famicon game Spider-Man: Lethal Foes.
- In the Spider-Man video game for the PlayStation, Sega Dreamcast, PC, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Color, he and Carnage are the main bosses. Ock pretended he was reformed and hired Mysterio to frame Spider-Man by having him steal one of Dr. Otto Octavius' new devices. Afterwards, Ock and Carnage released a fog in New York. But Spider-Man destroyed the fog and realized Ock and Carnage framed him. 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 Spider-Man's death; after the player flees from him, his base explodes and the two villains are separated and subdued when they get in contact with the fire. Ock manages to survive, thanks to the symbiote and is knocked unconscious as the symbiote slithers away. He would be saved with Spider-Man from the complete destruction of his lair by the Black Cat, Captain America and Venom. Ock is last seen in the same prison cell with the Scorpion, Rhino and Mysterio, banging his head on one of the cell bars, feeling horrible that not only was he defeated once more by Spider-Man, but he is also in a cell full of idiots. The situation had not changed when he made a cameo appearance in the final cutscene of Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro.
- Doctor Octopus appeared as the final boss in the Game Boy Color game Spider-Man 2: The Sinister Six
- Most recently, Doctor Octopus appeared in the Spider-Man 2 game based on the movie Spider-Man 2, where the player battles him numerous times, the last time being the final boss battle.
- Doctor Octopus is as a playable character in the Spider-Man: Friend or Foe video game.
Film
The director of the 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."[3] 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. While the comic version has been portrayed as highly arrogant, the movie version Otto Octavius is a generally likable man, who is married to his loving wife, Rosaile "Rosie" Octavius (Octavius was not married in the comics). A brilliant nuclear physicist, he is the scientific idol of Peter Parker and the subject of his college paper, and Peter first meets him by means of Harry Osborn, who is funding Octavius through Oscorp. At first, Octavius dismisses Peter until he remembers that Oscorp pays the bills and that Parker is the "brilliant but lazy" Empire State University physics student of colleague Dr. Connors. He regards intelligence as "a gift that should be used to benefit mankind", and attempts to provide an infinite energy source for humanity by generating a protostar via a deuterium-tritium fusion reaction. He initiates and sustains fusion with the aid of four artificially intelligent actuators of his own design, which are impervious to heat and magnetism and connected to his spinal cord and central nervous system with nanowires that feed directly into his cerebellum. In a friendly conversation with Otto and his wife, Peter expresses concern about the slightest errors in calculation dealing with instabilities of the nuclear reaction that could cause harm to the city of New York, but Dr. Octavius and Rosalie assure him he knows what he is doing. Peter, who just prior to this impressed Octavius with his discussion on sympathetic frequencies, further prides Octavius with his knowledge of Bernoulli's discovery of the curves of quickest descent. He asks him about the girl in his life and says that something as complicated as love should never be kept a secret. Rosalie recalls how Otto and she first met and fell in love: she was trying to teach him poetry while he was trying to teach her science, particularly relativity. Further, she says a relationship is difficult and must be worked at. Octavius states that poetry is more difficult than advanced science, and that it is the key to a woman's heart. When the protostar is generated at the exhibition the next day he says that the sun is "in the palm of [his] hands", but a horrible accident occurs, causing his wife to be killed by shattered pieces of glass and ruining Harry's reputation in funding for Octavius's experiment.
The tentacles have several differences from their comic book counterparts: in the comics, Octavius controlled them with hand-operated dials prior to his accident, but in the movie, they are attached to his nervous system along his spinal cord and he controls them mentally from the outset with a special inhibitor chip. The special inhibitor chip protects his higher brain functions by attaching to his cerebral cortex, created to ensure Octavius retains control over the machines and not vice-versa. The arms are designed with a complex claw system that has two separate mini-claws that allows Ock to pick up objects of different size. Each tentacle has superhuman strength and reflexes and are nearly indestructible (although apparently vulnerable to electrical shocks). Each claw also houses a separate camera, allowing the Doctor to see in any direction. They also can become larger "feet" that allow Dr. Octopus to climb walls and walk on any kind of terrain. While they do not possess a large array of weapons like they do in the Ultimate Spider-Man series, in several scenes Doctor Octopus extends daggers from the clawed tips in an attempt to impale Spider-Man. Also, the metal that they are constructed from is not adamantium but from an undescribed type of metal. 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, fusing the tentacles' attachments to his spine--they are able to manipulate his mind and drive him to rebuild his failed fusion device, no matter the cost. The tentacles' influence, combined with the loss of his wife and his ruined dreams, is what makes Doc Ock evil in the movie, rather than him simply becoming insane due to brain damage from the accident (as in the comics).
Doctor Octopus confronts Spider-Man in the movie when he robs a bank to finance parts for the new fusion device. During the battle, Doc Ock takes Aunt May hostage, and nearly kills her when he callously drops her off a high building. Fortunately, Spider-Man saves her, while Ock makes his escape. Doctor Octopus completes the device, but requires 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 vengeance in the sequel). Doc Ock tracks down Peter Parker, reasoning that he can lead him to Spider-Man, and kidnaps Mary Jane Watson to "persuade" Spider-Man to meet him. Doc Ock tracks down Peter in a cafe, where he is having a romantic meeting with Mary Jane. He accosts Peter, hurling a car through the window of the cafe, and tells Peter to instruct Spider-Man to meet him, or Doc Ock will kill Mary Jane.
Following a long battle onboard a train, Doc Ock delivers Spider-Man to Harry and receives his tritium. He duplicates his fusion experiment, creating 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 Ock back far enough to reach the fusion plug, giving him an electrical shock that stuns his tentacles for the time being. When Spider-Man unplugs the device, however, the "sun" is not destroyed, but has instead become so large that it is self-sustaining. A conversation with Peter (who voluntarily unmasks himself to try and reach Octavius' 'good' side), seems to free Octavius from the influence of his tentacles - after some mental effort fighting them back, he regains control of his mind, realizes he must stop the fusion reactor by himself, and pulls down its supports so it sinks into the river and is contained. Peter had told him that sometimes one must let go of their dreams for the good of mankind, mirroring Aunt May's prior speech to him. Doctor Octopus sinks down along with the "sun" where he died. His last words were, "I will not die a monster!". This version of the Marvel comics villain has been praised by both critics and fans.
Doc Ock appears in the opening titles of Spider-Man 3. He also appears on the front page of a Daily Bugle newspaper from the second film in the third film that is framed in J. Jonah Jameson's office, entitled "Doc Ock Still At Large?". Ideas for the next Spider-Man film after Spider-Man 3 have included possibly introducing the Sinister Six. Whether or not Doctor Octopus will return as its founder is unknown (this also is also similar to the questionable appearance of Sandman as a member).
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 apart 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.
- The character has also been recreated in several statues and minibusts, by the likes of Diamond Select, Art Asylum, and Bowen Designs.
Theme parks
Doctor Octopus appeared in the 3-D Spiderman ride in Universal Studios, Orlando
Bibliography of Doctor Octopus comic books
- Spider-Man: Funeral For An Octopus #1-3
- Spider-Man/Doctor Ock : Year One #1-5
- Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Out of Reach #1-5
- Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Negative Exposure #1-5
External links
- Dr Octopus on the Marvel Universe character bio wiki
- Villains of Marvel Comics - Ock's profile
- Ock's profile at Spiderfan.org
- Ock spot
- Doc Ock fan thread at SuperheroHype
- Otto Octavius' lab report
- Doc Ock's profile at Samruby.com
References
- ^ Marvel Zombies: Dead Days
- ^ Marvel Zombies #4
- ^ Making The Amazing. Sony. 2004.
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