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| “ | Father? Can you hear us? Don't let them hurt us. We will do whatever you wish. We will serve you. We are you. Father? Are you there? Don't let the bad man hurt us... Can we stop the bad men? | „ |
| ~ The first words of the tentacles to Otto Octavius, their creator, asking for his permission to kill the surgeons (novelization only). |
| “ | Looks like we've got Competition. | „ |
| ~ Doc Ock to the tentacles after seeing the Iron Spider’s legs. |
| “ | It's so quiet... Those voices... Inside my head... I'd almost forgotten... | „ |
| ~ Otto Octavius noting how the A.I. within his tentacles has been overwritten by the MCU Spider-Man. |
Doctor Octopus' Tentacles are the secondary antagonists of the 2004 superhero film Spider-Man 2, the second installment of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, and supporting antagonists in the 2021 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: No Way Home.
They are the A.I. mechanical tentacles of Dr. Otto Octavius, designed by him to aid him during his fusion reactor experiment while keeping them in check with an inhibitor chip. However, when the chip is destroyed, the tentacles get fused into their creator's spine and start controlling Octavius into finishing his experiment at all costs, even if that means endangering all of New York City.
In Spider-Man 2, they were portrayed by four unidentified puppeteers. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, they were portrayed through CGI.
History[]
Film[]
Spider-Man 2[]
In order to pursue his life dream of making a fusion reactor capable of controlling the enormous power of the sun, Dr. Otto Octavius came up with the idea of creating four mechanical appendages to assist him during his experiment, intending to use them to put the tritium provided by Oscorp CEO Harry Osborn into the reactor, showing them to Peter Parker when he visits him in order to pass his science class at college. To prevent the advanced A.I. within the four arms from taking over his mind, Otto created a neural inhibitor chip to prevent such catastrophic scenario.
The day of the experiment, Octavius displays his mechanical appendages before attaching him to his back, explaining the press by pointing out the inhibitor chip within the arms to prevent them from harming him psychologically. However, the experiment goes awry when the fusion reactor becomes destabilized and starts pulling all metal into it. Despite everyone's concerns, Otto refuses to shut down the reactor, even swatting Spider-Man away when he tries to turn it off, but once this gets Otto's wife Rosie killed, Otto is distracted, allowing the experiment to painfully electrocute him from behind. This utterly shoots out the inhibitor chip, leaving Otto vulnerable to his arms as Spider-Man shuts down the experiment and everyone is evacuated.
Hours later, at the Midtown Hospital, a team of surgeons prepare themselves to remove the four appendages from Otto's spinal cord with buzzsaws. However, the arms develop a will of their own and brutally dispose of almost all the medical staff there, leaving Otto to yell in horror once he wakes up and realizes what happened. Escaping from the hospital, Otto takes his arms to an abandoned pier and attempts to drown himself alongside them out of remorse for his irresponsible actions. However, the A.I. within the appendages convinces him to not commit suicide and instead finish the experiment they started, insisting that it would be a crime to leave unfinished the experiment when Otto expresses doubts on stealing the necessary materials. Thus, Otto Octavius becomes Doctor Octopus and his arms become his tentacles.
The tentacles assist Otto in robbing the bank where Peter Parker and his Aunt May are trying to get a loan. They help Doctor Octopus with stealing bags of coins, throwing away a few cops trying to stop them, fighting Spider-Man by throwing some of the bags at him and taking May Parker hostage to allow their creator to escape. They then try to injure or kill Spider-Man with a hidden blade, but May knocks their creator off, leading the tentacles to drop May as they escape with Octopus, leaving Spider-Man to rescue May. Shortly afterwards, finding no ways to find tritium, Doctor Octopus and his tentacles visit Osborn and threaten to kill them if he doesn't give them more tritium, leading Harry to request them to bring Spider-Man to him so he can kill him himself, suggesting to look after Peter due to him taking photos of New York City's local hero before his sudden disappearance, unaware that Spider-Man and Peter are one and the same.
The next day, as Peter and his crush Mary Jane Watson talk in a café, the tentacles throw a car at them, which they narrowly avoid, and Doctor Octopus then follows by kidnapping Mary Jane and demanding Peter to tell Spider-Man to face him at the Westside Tower at 3 o'clock, threatening MJ's life with his tentacles. With few options left, Peter returns to be Spider-Man and fights Octopus and his tentacles aboard a train they nearly get off the rails into the ocean, but Spider-Man saves all the passengers, though the effort considerable weakens him, leading the tentacles to push all the passengers aside when trying to cover for Spider-Man and allowing them to knock him out, tying him up with a black rope and taking him to Harry, who surrenders the tritium to them. Doctor Octopus then leaves to complete his experiment.
Hours later, the tentacles are helping Doctor Octopus with the last preparations for the new fusion reactor, but Spider-Man (whom Harry felt unable to kill upon finding out his identity) comes to the scene and engages Octopus and his tentacles in one last fight. During the battle, while the fusion reactor starts working and pulling almost every metal from New York City towards itself, the tentacles swat Mary Jane away when she tries to come for Spider-Man's defense, but Spider-Man manages to overpower them by electrocuting them, inadvertently weakening the A.I. and permitting Otto Octavius to resurface. With no time to lose, Spider-Man reveals his identity and pleads Otto to shut down the reactor. Otto initially refuses and his tentacles try to strangle Parker, but Parker's words convince Otto to do the right thing and he imposes his will over that of his tentacles, forcing them to obey him and leading them to assist their creator into drowning the fusion reactor into the East River to save New York City. Otto drowns and the tentacles slowly stop working as they sink into the depths of the river, putting an end to both Doc Ock and his tentacles for good.
Spider-Man: No Way Home[]
Having been taken seconds before their creator's death to the Earth-199999, Doctor Octopus' Tentacles first appears after Earth-199999 Peter Parker accidentally botches Doctor Strange's spell to make everyone forget his secret identity after being outed and framed by Mysterio. Due to being taken just as they strangled Peter Parker, Doctor Octopus retains his villainy, destroying part of the Alexander Hamilton Bridge by destroying some vehicles there. Coincidentally, this is where this universe's Peter is talking to the MIT vice chancellor to let his friends get into the institution, but changes into Spider-Man once Doctor Octopus and his tentacles threaten him, engaging in a ferocious fight. After minutes of fighting, the tentacles pin that universe's Spider-Man's against a concrete column and absorb part of his Iron Spider Suit designed by Stark Industries, letting the Stark nanotech merge with them. However, just as Otto realizes that the Peter Parker they were attacking wasn't their own, Peter makes use of the nanotech to overpower the tentacles into obeying him, making them tie Octavius up and save the MIT vice chancellor.
Shortly afterwards, the also displaced Green Goblin comes out from the bridge to attack, but Octavius, Peter, and the tentacles, are transported by Strange into the New York Sanctum. During their imprisonment there alongside the Lizard, the tentacles and their creator wait until the Spider-Man retrieves Electro, Sandman and the Goblin, who has temporarily reverted back to Norman Osborn. Strange announces his intentions to send all five villains back to their universes to die with the Macchina di Kadavus, but MCU Peter wishes to rehabilitate them and fights Strange in the Mirror Dimension for the Macchina, leaving Strange stranded there at the dimension's Grand Canyon for a while. Still restraining their creator under Peter's orders through the nanobots, the tentacles are unable to do anything but keep Octopus tied up all the way to the Earth-199999's Aunt May's penthouse until Peter comes up with creating a new neural inhibitor chip that can cure Octavius from the A.I.'s influence. Despite resisting, Doctor Octopus is put the new chip and finally recovers control over himself, as the new chip overwrites A.I. of the tentacles for good, wiping it out and enabling Octavius to return back to normality once and for all.
Now under their creator's control like they were supposed to be from the beginning, the tentacles continue to assist Octavius throughout the film, helping to three Spider-Men during the battle at the Statue of Liberty by neutralizing Electro and trying to stop the Green Goblin from flying away with the Macchina di Kadavus, though one of the tentacles is cut off because of that. They are subsequently returned to their own reality by Strange with an Arc Reactor in Otto's possession after the Green Goblin's death, allowing Octavius to achieve his dream of providing the world an infinite, fusion-based source of energy through safer and efficient means, as well as possibly using his now reformed tentacles for new experiments or finding a way to remove them from his spine.
Spider-Man 2 novelization[]
Doctor Octopus' Tentacles were tools created to construct his fusion reactor. Octavius, when asked by Hank Pym about whether or not his tentacles could control Octavius, stated that he made an inhibitor chip to prevent his tentacles from controlling him or affecting his mind. Otto then started his fusion reactor. It eventually destabilized and Otto was electrocuted, causing his inhibitor chip to be destroyed. His wife Rosie was also killed in the incident. When Otto was brought to the hospital, his tentacles noticed the doctors attempting to slice them off.
They ask their "father" if they may attack them, to which Otto unconsciously does. The tentacles brutally massacre the surgeons. Reacting to Otto's sensitivity to light after the fusion reactor damaged his vision, they give him sunglasses. They barge out the hospital and throw a car, landing it upside down. They reach a nearby clothes store and destroy the glass to steal a coat they sensed Doc-Ock liked, lifting him to avoid him getting glass shards in his feet.
They hear sirens and were willing to destroy the police, leading to Otto telling them to escape to a ruined peer. Upon entering the peer, rats disgust Otto, leading to the tentacles to kill them. Otto tries to sleep in vain as he keeps thinking of Rosie, the tentacles tell Otto that Rosie's death wasn't his fault and after Otto realizes his chip is gone, the tentacles tell Otto that it came between Otto and themselves. The tentacles try to convince Otto into rebuilding the reactor. When Otto tells them that Peter was right about the energy spikes, the tentacles manipulate him with his ego, saying how he is the great Octavius, he couldn't have miscalculated, and that Spider-Man was the cause of the machine failing.
They tell Otto that Spider-Man didn't want Otto stealing the spotlight. And they convince Otto to do whatever is necessary to rebuild the reactor. When Otto tells the tentacles that stealing would make him a criminal, the tentacles tell him that acts that some would call wrong are done for a great cause is what history is filled with. Finally convinced Otto, decides to rob a bank to attain money. When Otto robs the bank, he tells Spider-Man how furious he is that Spider-Man is interfering with his life again, telling him what the tentacles told him.
Spider-Man tells Otto that his experiment was the cause of Rosie's death. Otto for a moment becomes convinced Spider-Man is right before the tentacles manipulate Otto once more. Otto, escapes with his gold coins, $20 Saint-Gaudens gold coins from a sunken ship near 100 years old. Otto kidnaps Aunt May and attempts to kill her, reasoning that it would be better to die a quick painless death rather than a slow painful death by old age or disease. Otto is stopped by Spider-Man from killing Aunt May but still gets away with his money.
Otto and his tentacles rob numerous government tech that was guarded by the military, who were attacked by Otto and his tentacles. Otto and his tentacles set up the government equipment by leaching on a power main which would take the electric company months to discover. It's revealed that Otto stole candy bars, corn chips and newspapers from a near blind man in a neighborhood that police rarely drove by. Eating such things reminded Otto of his college life where he ate such things, in that time, he made his first greatest ideas. It's implied the tentacles did this to boost his motivation for finishing the reactor.
When reading a newspaper about Spider-Man not being around anymore, Otto is furious that the headline took precedence over him and that Jameson was most likely making it up as there was no proof Spider-Man died. Otto goes to Harry Osborn's house. When they converse of Spider-Man being gone, Ock, his tentacles and Harry disagree with Jameson's headlines and Harry makes Ock deliver Spider-Man to him in exchange for tritium. Harry suggests making Peter tell Otto where Spider-Man was, Ock finds Peter by plugging his tentacles into the fiber optics of the city. Once at the café with Mary Jane, Peter senses a car coming at him and saves Mary Jane and a nurse from it.
Ock demands Peter bring Spider-Man to a clock tower at 3 o'clock before throwing Peter into the café wall causing debris to fall on him. Peter, having regained his strength, goes to the clothes shop where Ock got his coat and gets a mask from there. Upon being masked, Peter steals his costume back from Jameson with Peter feeling like Tom Sawyer the whole time as Jameson was admitting that Spider-Man was a hero. Spider-Man and Ock face each other at the clock tower. Eventually they fall onto a train where Doc Ock destroys the console, leaving Spider-Man to get brutally beat up stopping it.
With Spider-Man weak after the train incident, Ock hands him to Harry, who wanted to kill him but couldn't accept his best friend was the murderer of his father. Ock with his tritium starts the machine, completely ignoring Mary Jane. However, the tentacles snapped at her with what seemed to be jealousy. The tentacles see Spider-Man and warn Ock. After a fight, Ock attempts to stab Spider-Man with his tentacles, Spider-Man webs up a cable and the tentacle stabs it, leading Ock to be electrocuted and sent out of his trance.
The tentacles demand to be saved by Ock who is confused of who is demanding to be saved. Ock demands his tentacles tell him what they have done to him, to which the tentacles call him ungrateful and a sniveling coward who should go to hell. Spider-Man goes to Ock, who looks at his fusion reactor and pieces everything that has happened recently together and is happy that his fusion reactor is working. Spider-Man tells Otto to shut it down due to its potential to destroy New York, Otto rose shouting that he won't. The tentacles rose with Ock's voice and attempted to strangle Spider-Man.
Peter eventually tells Otto that his dream didn't work, and he should abandon it. Otto finally realizing his mistakes, tells his tentacles to obey him while ripping off their appendages. Thanks to the electric shock, the appendages had mostly come off. Otto tells Peter that the only way to stop the reactor is by drowning it, but whoever does it risks death as the reactor hitting the water would superheat the water and cause anyone to be cooked to death. Spider-Man initially tries but Otto grabs him with a tentacle and tells Peter that he himself will do it.
The tentacles ask Ock "Father... must we do this?", to which Otto replies "Yes. And no back talk. You've misbehaved and done great evil. But so have I. And we will do our penance together". The tentacles make the reactor go into the water while Octavius embraces his reactor going into the water and burning to death with it. The tentacles tell Otto one last thing "Father! We are frightened! Hold us!". But Otto died and they were going to as well.
Personality[]
After gaining their own autonomy from the inhibitor chips' destruction, the arms' artificial intelligence, now able to manipulate Otto's mind instead of vice versa, convinces Otto that they need to complete the experiment which Otto made them for at all costs.
In the film, the tentacles, upon awakening to sentience just as a group of surgeons are about to cut them off of Otto, respond in violent self-defence, brutally killing the surgeons in creative ways which border on sadistic, and afterwards proceed to help Otto escape to perceived safety. When Otto is afterwards seriously considering drowning himself and the tentacles, the tentacles move to speak to Otto and talk him out of it, but what they say to him can only be gleaned from Otto's responses: they manipulate Otto into rebuilding the fusion reactor, and notably move in gestures that indicate sentience and personality. When the tentacles suggest Otto steal money to rebuild the reactor and Otto dismisses it as criminal, they convince him the real crime would be not to finish what they started. They seem to care for Otto and take care of him, as they are shown lighting his cigar and giving him sips of a drink. Otto was able to force his will on them and make them drown the fusion reactor in the climax of Spider-Man 2. In No Way Home, the tentacles still influence Otto due to him being sent to the Marvel Cinematic Universe before Spider-Man reached out to him. Upon the Spider-Man of that universe building a new inhibitor chip for Otto, they stop influencing Otto.
The arms were nicknamed Flo, Mo, Larry and Harry in production after each of their individual animatronic puppeteers, and they exhibit individual personality quirks relative to each-other, similarly to a real-life octopus's tentacles which 2/3 of the octopus' neurons are bunched inside. The arm on Otto's upper-right (Flo) is the arm who acts the most maternal towards Otto and physically considerate of him: such as removing his hospital blindfold, taking his hat and giving him Harry's drink. The arm on Otto's upper-left (Moe) is the arm who's the most eager to act as a weapon for grabbing and attacking. The lower two arms (Larry and Harry) are supporters who follow the upper two arms' and Otto's leads.
The novelization written by Peter David gives the arms more personality, with their dialogue being shown in bold. It's revealed that all the tentacles speak in unison in a harmonious way that enchants Otto and puts him under a trance. They're also afraid of dying when Otto drowns them and himself after taking back control.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
They are a set of long, four mechanical limbs that attach to his back, each equipped with red camera lens and three claws. They also possess each ability such superhuman strength, durability, reflexes, agility, etc.
- Superhuman Strength: Each of Doc Ock's tentacles possesses immense strength, which allows him to easily overpower humans, rip metal objects, lift cars, smash through buildings and even overpower Spider-Man. They strike at anything with a strong force, such as striking Spider-Man or through a brick wall by smashing through it. Even each tentacle can also lift 3 tons. Ock's tentacles are also strong enough to restrain Green Goblin's glider.
- Superhuman Durability: The tentacles are capable of withstanding blunt force, allowing Doc Ock to survive great impacts such as smashing through a brick wall or the side of a taxicab. The tentacles are also shown to be completely immune to heat and magnetism. However, the Goblin Glider's blades are actually sharp enough to cut one of Octavius' tentacles, leaving him with only three left.
- Telescoping: They are 4.5 feet long and can extend them to 13 feet long.
- Superhuman Agility: Ock's tentacles are designed with the precision and accuracy necessary to maintain a fusion reaction, with a reach of up to thirteen feet and the ability to move both quickly and precisely to reach a target.
- Superhuman Reflexes: Similar to an octopus' tentacles, the arms' AI relies on "distributed processing," which allows them to react to stimuli before Ock has time to react and act independently of Ock to warn him of danger or shield him from incoming threats.
- Wall-Crawling: The tentacles can climb up walls.
- Secondary Tentacles: The top tentacles contain a 7-foot-long tapered whip that can extend from the center of the claw and ensnare Ock's foes or hostages. The secondary tentacle is comprised of 150 vertebrae.
Trivia[]
- Though Doctor Octopus' Tentacles are mentioned to be able to communicate with Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2, the film doesn't show what they say to him and leaves the audience to interpret. However, the film's novelization by Peter David reveals this to be true, with the text describing what the tentacles think and how they speak to Otto.
- The Spider-Man trilogy version of Doc Ock's Tentacles is so far the only version of Doctor Octopus' Tentacles to be sentient. All other versions have the tentacles being non-sentient.
- The scene of Spider-Man 2 in which Doctor Octopus' Tentacles attack all the surgeons trying to remove them from their creator's spinal cord is widely considered by audiences as one of the scariest scenes in superhero films, given the absence of music throughout the scene expect the sounds of the agonizing surgeons being killed.
- While filming Spider-Man 2, Alfred Molina nicknamed Doctor Octopus' Tentacles as "Larry", "Harry", "Moe" and "Flo" on-set. However, it's unknown if these names can be considered canonical in-universe (if Otto even decided to name them).
- An early draft of Iron Man intended to reveal that Tony Stark created the tentacles for Otto Octavius, which would have connected Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the idea was dropped due to Sony Pictures not wanting to share the Spider-Man film rights with Marvel Studios at the time.
- In Spider-Man 3, Doctor Octopus' Tentacles make a non-physical cameo in one of J. Jonah Jameson's newspapers.
- So far, Doctor Octopus' Tentacles are the only villains in Spider-Man: No Way Home, alongside the Green Goblin, who don't redeem themselves by their own volition: they end up being forcibly redeemed when the MCU's Peter Parker creates a new inhibitor chip for Doctor Octopus, allowing him to regain control of the tentacles and purging the A.I. which influenced him.
External Links[]
- Doctor Octopus' Tentacles on the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki
- Doctor Octopus' Tentacles on the Spider-Man Films Wiki
- Doctor Octopus' Tentacles on the Marvel Database Wiki
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 Cinematic Villains
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