Doctor Octopus

This article is about the first Doctor Octopus and Superior Spider-Man, Otto Octavius. For the second Doctor Octopus, see Lady Octopus. For the film character, see Otto Octavius (film character). For the solo series, see The Superior Spider-Man.

Doctor Octopus
Doctor Octopus as depicted on the cover of Superior Octopus #1 (October 2019).
Art by Sujin Cho.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceAs Doctor Octopus:
The Amazing Spider-Man #3 (July 1963)[1][2]
As Superior Spider-Man:
The Amazing Spider-Man #698 (November 2012)
As Superior Octopus:
The Amazing Spider-Man #25 (May 2017)
Created byStan Lee (writer)
Steve Ditko (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoDr. Otto Gunther Octavius[3]
SpeciesHuman mutate-cyborg
Team affiliationsAs Doctor Octopus:
Sinister Six
Masters of Evil
Thunderbolts
Legion Accursed
As Superior Spider-Man:
Avengers
Mighty Avengers
Parker Industries
Horizon Labs
Spiderlings
Superior Six
Spider-Army/Web-Warriors
As Superior Octopus:
HYDRA
HYDRA's Avengers
Notable aliasesThe Master Planner
the Master Programmer
the Superior Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
the Superior Venom
the Superior Octopus
Dr. Elliot Tolliver
AbilitiesAs Doctor Octopus/the Superior Octopus:
  • Genius-level intellect
  • Proficient scientist and engineer
  • Master tactician and strategist
  • Wears super-strong and durable mechanical appendages
  • Telepathic control over his mechanical arms

As the Superior Spider-Man/the Superior Octopus:

  • Possesses Spider-Man's powers, abilities, memories and equipment
  • Carbonadium plating over his neck and skull
  • Talons on his hands and feet

Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #3 (July 1963). He is a highly intelligent, myopic, and stocky mad scientist who sports four strong and durable appendages resembling an octopus's tentacles, which extend from his body and can be used for various purposes. After his mechanical harness became permanently fused to his body during a laboratory accident, he turned to a life of crime, and came into conflict with the superhero Spider-Man. He has endured as one of Spider-Man's most prominent villains, and is regarded as one of his three archenemies, alongside the Green Goblin and Venom. He is the founder and leader of the Sinister Six, the first supervillain team to oppose Spider-Man.

While usually portrayed as a supervillain, Doctor Octopus has also been occasionally depicted as a conflicted antihero and ally of Spider-Man. Following Spider-Man's death in the 2012 storyline "Dying Wish", which saw a dying Octavius swapping bodies with the hero and letting him die in his original body, Octavius was motivated to prove he could be a better Spider-Man. As such, he adopted the Superior Spider-Man alias, introduced in Avenging Spider-Man #15.1 following a cameo in Daredevil vol. 3 #21 (both December 2012). The Superior Spider-Man possesses all of the original Spider-Man's abilities, memories, and equipment, along with additional gadgets created by Octavius, though he often struggles to live up to his predecessor's legacy and seeks to turn his life around after being a villain for years. In 2013, Marvel launched a 45-issue The Superior Spider-Man comic book series focusing on the character's redemption and superhero career. The original Spider-Man has since been resurrected after the death of Otto Octavius. Following Spider-Verse, a copy of his consciousness became a villain, though a second volume of The Superior Spider-Man launched in 2018 saw the duplicate taking on the mantle before returning to the Doctor Octopus mantle as an antihero, having his soul restored and memories of redemption erased by Mephisto, before returning to the role of Superior Spider-Man in 2023 in a new series by Dan Slott, and Spider-Man: Octo-Girl by Hideyuki Furuhashi and Betten Court.

Comics journalist and historian Mike Conroy writes of the character: "Created by Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, Doc Ock, as he became known, has become one of the web-slinger's most persistent, enduring, and dangerous foes."[4] A fan favorite character and well-known figure in popular culture, Doctor Octopus has been featured in various media adaptations of Spider-Man over the years, including feature films, television series, and video games. In live-action, Alfred Molina portrayed the character in the films Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). Kathryn Hahn voiced a female version of Doctor Octopus named Olivia Octavius in the animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018).

In 2009, IGN ranked Doctor Octopus 28th in the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time,[5] and in 2014 rated him Spider-Man's greatest enemy.[6]

  1. ^ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains. New York: Facts on File. pp. 100–101. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.[1]
  2. ^ Misiroglu, Gina Renée; Eury, Michael (2006). The Supervillain Book: The Evil Side of Comics and Hollywood. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 9780780809772.
  3. ^ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Vol. 1, #3. Marvel Comics.
  4. ^ Conroy, Mike (2004). 500 Comicbook Villains. Collins & Brown. ISBN 1-84340-205-X.
  5. ^ "Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time". IGN.
  6. ^ "Top 25 Spider-Man Villains". IGN. April 16, 2014.