- NOTE: This article is about the incarnation of Doctor Octopus from the Sam Raimi trilogy. The mainstream version can be found here: Doctor Octopus (Marvel).
| “ | The real crime would be not to finish what we started. We'll do it here. The power of the sun in the palm of my hand. Nothing will stand in our way! NOTHING!
|
„ |
| ~ Otto Octavius upon becoming a supervillain. |
| “ | I will not die a monster! | „ |
| ~ Otto Octavius's last words as he sacrifices himself to drown his machine into the river. |
| “ | Hello, Peter. | „ |
| ~ Doctor Octopus to the MCU Spider-Man after arriving in the latter's universe - one of his most famous quotes. |
Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius, later known as Doctor Octopus, is the main antagonist of the 2004 film Spider-Man 2, the second installment of Sam Raimi's Spider Man trilogy, and a major character in the 2021 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: No Way Home.
He was an enthusiastic and dedicated scientist, who befriended Peter Parker during the year 2004, but later became possessed by his own malevolent mechanical arms after an experiment with his fusion reactor funded by the son of his close friend Norman Osborn and Peter's best friend Harry Osborn went horribly wrong. Following his failed experiment, in which his inhibitor chip was destroyed, his mechanical arms took control of his mind and successfully manipulated him into finish his experiment at all cost, leading to Otto being turned into a dangerous supervillain called Doctor Octopus. Otto committed numerous crimes without remorse to finish his experiment. However, after eventually being returned to his senses by Spider-Man, who revealed himself as Peter, Otto (back to his old self) was persuaded by the latter to destroy his fusion reactor. Unfortunately, Otto sacrificed his life in the process of destroying his machine.
Twenty years later, a past version of Otto prior to his redemption and death, was accidentally transported to Earth-199999 through space and time alive from a spell performed by Doctor Strange, where that universe's Spider-Man helped release him from the corrosive AI of his tentacles. Indebted, Otto helped him, his native Spider-Man, and another alternate version of Spider-Man in their fight against the Green Goblin and the uncured villains on Liberty Island, while in the process, briefly reuniting with his native Peter. After the remaining villains were cured, Otto along with the others were sent back to their respective universes, where he would be given a second chance at life in a branched/alternate timeline in the Raimiverse.
He is portrayed by Alfred Molina, who also played Satipo in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Reverend Leland Drury in White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf, Snidely Whiplash in Dudley Do-Right, Johann Tetzel in Luther, Bishop Manuel Aringarosa in The Da Vinci Code, Professor Jeffries in Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!, Maxim Horvath in The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Ke-Pa in Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the On Her Majesty’s Secret Service radio drama adaptation, Rippen in Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero, Viggo Grimborn in Dragons: Race to the Edge, Destiny in Justice League Dark, Lasombra in Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie, Mr. Freeze in Harley Quinn, The Duke in Solar Opposites, and Mictlan in Maya and the Three. In the Japanese dubbed version, he is voiced by Banjō Ginga.
Personality[]
| “ | Intelligence is not a privilege, it's a gift and you use it for the good of mankind. | „ |
| ~ Dr. Octavius' motto to Peter Parker before his transformation into "Doctor Octopus". |
Otto Octavius started out as a good hearted, charming person, wanting to change the world for the better. He told Peter Parker that intelligence was a gift to be used for the good of mankind.
While he isn't generally a malicious person when things go his way, and is primarily motivated by noble intentions, Doctor Octopus had all the classic traits of a narcissist: delusions of grandeur, an unhealthy obsession with success, and an inability to take any form of criticism even before his incident. Following the incident, his mechanical arms took control of his mind due to the destruction of the inhibitor chip, which led to the arms playing on his ego and manipulating him to finish his experiment at all costs. Like any narcissist, he refused to come to terms with his own mistakes and shifted all his problems onto Spider-Man and was hell-bent on recycling failed ideas under the logic they were tampered with by others rather than being flawed, to begin with about. He is, however, very charismatic and suave, rarely losing his temper and remaining perpetually friendly and cheerful, even in the face of his opponents. He has somewhat right-wing tendencies and values productivity. However, his desire for praise was overcome with the power of guilt and remorse, exhibited upon his failed initial experiment, and further demonstrated in his last showdown with Spider-Man. There, he finally realized the value of the city's life outweighed his own glory and even his own life.
Upon being transported to the Earth-199999 universe, prior to his death as well as his redemption, the alternate version of Otto still had his Doctor Octopus personality due to him being pulled before his redemption and death. He clashed with this universe's Spider-Man. He had more of a temper, frequently getting agitated and even lashing out at the Earth-199999's Spider-Man. He was also more sadistic, telling this version of Peter that he should have killed MJ, although he was referring to Mary Jane Watson and not Michelle Jones from Earth-199999. However, he also had kinder moments such as during May Parker's awkward attempt to offer him water.
After Spider-Man permanently cured him of this state, Otto's old personality returned and he showed a more grateful side to him by transferring the nanites he ripped off of the Iron Spider armor into his Spider-Man suit and helping him and Osborn develop cures for the other villains, the latter of which he refused to do as Doctor Octopus. He even helps the Earth-199999's Spider-Man, his native Spider-Man from the Raimi universe and the Webbverse version of Spider-Man fight the villains on the Statue of Liberty, and prevents Electro from falling to his death after the scaffolding collapsed because of the Green Goblin's pumpkin bombs. During this time, Otto was reunited with his Peter Parker and was happy to see his old friend. He also appeared to be fascinated by the Arc Reactor, a device that was essentially what Otto had been attempting to create with his own failed fusion reactor.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Mechanical Tentacles: Otto created 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. Ock can use them to 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: Ock's tentacles 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: Doc Ock is capable of using his tentacles to climb up walls or ambulate with them instead of his own feet, allowing him to move at much faster speeds.
- Tentacle Manipulation: Doc Ock is able to use his mechanical arms to protect himself from anything until the chip is destroyed in the back of his neck.
- Sensation Feeling: Ock can feel and sense the basic sensations in his tentacles when someone is near or coming closer.
- Superhuman Concentration: Even before the accident, Otto possessed mental abilities and concentration to be able to perform multiple complex and independent actions at once via the use of his tentacles.
- 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.
Abilities[]
- Genius-Level Intellect: Otto is known as one of the world's greatest scientists and inventors as he was a scientific genius with a PhD in nuclear physics. He is also a gifted roboticist, developing his four mechanical tentacles.
- Master Combatant: Thanks to his tentacles, Doctor Octopus is a formidable combatant which enables him to overpower superhumans, especially Spider-Man and even his MCU counterpart in the MCU when he first encounters him.
Relationships[]
Family[]
- Rosalie Octavius † - Wife and Accidental Victim
- His tentacles - Creations and Former Manipulators
Allies[]
- Norman Osborn - Friend and Former Enemy
- Peter Parker/Spider-Man - Fan, Friend, and Former Enemy, Former Attempted Victim
- Peter Parker/MCU Spider-Man - Temporary Enemy, Former Attempted Victim, and Curer
- Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange - Temporary Enemy and Former Capturer
- Curt Connors/The Lizard
- Michelle Jones - Temporary Enemy
- Ned Leeds - Temporary Enemy
- Max Dillon/Electro - Temporary Enemy
- Flint Marko/Sandman
- MCU May Parker †
- Peter Parker/Amazing Spider-Man
Enemies[]
- Harry Osborn † - Former Ally
- Mary Jane Watson - Kidnappee and Attempted Victim
- May Parker - Hostage and Attempted Victim
- J. Jonah Jameson
- Green Goblin † - Enemy
Production of the character[]
David Duchovny, Liev Schreiber, Robert De Niro, Sam Neill, Ed Harris, and Chris Cooper were all considered for the role of Doctor Octopus, but ultimately role went to Alfred Molina. Apparently, Sam Raimi decided to cast Alfred Molina as Octavius after his wife watched the film Frida which Molina had starred in. Molina was a huge fan of Marvel Comics since childhood. Cooper would later be cast as Norman Osborn in 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Quotes[]
Spider-Man 2[]
| “ | If you keep something as complicated as love stored up inside… gonna make you sick. | „ |
| ~ Otto Octavius. |
| “ | Doctor Octopus: You're getting on my nerves. Spider-Man: I have a knack for that. Doctor Octopus: Not anymore. |
„ |
| ~ Doctor Octopus and Spider-Man during their first battle in the bank. |
| “ | You've stuck your webs in my business for the last time. Now you'll have this woman's death on your conscience. | „ |
| ~ Doctor Octopus to Spider-Man about meddling his plans. |
| “ | Doctor Octopus: Hello, Harry. Harry Osborn: Otto, what do you want? Doctor Octopus: That precious tritium. But I need more of it this time. Harry Osborn: More tritium, are you crazy? You'll destroy the city. You're a hack! (Doc Ock uses tentacles to grab Harry and threatens to throw him off the roof) Hey! Hey! Stop! Stop! All right! All right, all right, all right. Put me down. We'll make a deal. (Doc puts him back down) Kill Spider-Man, I'll give you all the tritium you need. On second thought, bring him to me alive. Doctor Octopus: How do I find him? Harry Osborn: Peter Parker. Doctor Octopus: Parker? Harry Osborn: He takes pictures of Spider-Man. For the Bugle. Make him tell you where he is. Doctor Octopus: Have it ready. Harry Osborn: Don't hurt Peter! |
„ |
| ~ Doctor Octopus ordering Harry to give him the tritium and Harry makes a deal to bring Spider-Man alive to him. |
| “ | Doctor Octopus: Peter Parker. And the girlfriend. Peter Parker: What do you want? Doctor Octopus: (grabs Peter towards him) I want you to find your friend Spider-Man. Tell him to meet me at the Westside Tower at 3:00. Peter Parker: I don't know where he is. Doctor Octopus: Find him. (uses tentacles to threaten Mary Jane) Or I'll peal the flesh off her bones. Peter Parker: If you lay one finger on her... Doctor Octopus: You'll do what? (throws Peter away and takes Mary Jane away) |
„ |
| ~ Doctor Octopus ordering Peter to find Spider-Man before abducting Mary Jane. |
| “ | Spider-Man: Where is she? Doctor Octopus: Oh, she'll be just fine. Let's talk. |
„ |
| ~ Doctor Octopus and Spider-Man, seconds before their second battle. |
| “ | Mary Jane Watson: Hey! Hey! (whistles to gain Doc Ock's attention) I'm talking to you! You got what you needed for your little science project. Now, let me go! Doctor Octopus: I can't let you go, you'd bring the police. Not that anybody can stop me now that Spider-Man is dead. Mary Jane Watson: He's not dead. I don't believe you. Doctor Octopus: Believe it. |
„ |
| ~ Doctor Octopus to Mary Jane before starting his machine. |
| “ | Doctor Octopus: I should have known Osborn didn't have the spine to finish you!. Spider-Man: Shut it down, Ock. You're going to hurt a lot more people this time Doctor Octopus: Well, that's a risk we're willing to take. |
„ |
| ~ Doctor Octopus and Spider-Man seconds before their final battle. |
Spider-Man: No Way Home[]
| “ | What have you done with my machine? | „ |
| ~ Doctor Octopus to the MCU Peter Parker. |
| “ | You think you're fancy new suit's gonna save you? | „ |
| ~ Doctor Octopus mocking the MCU's Spider-Man about the Iron Spider suit. |
| “ | You're not Peter Parker. | „ |
| ~ Doctor Octopus to MCU's Spider-Man realizing he is not the Spider-Man from his universe. |
| “ | You don't listen to him. You listen to me. | „ |
| ~ Doctor Octopus when his mechanical arms are controlled by Spider-Man. |
| “ | Norman Osborn. Brilliant scientist. Military research. But he was greedy. Misguided. | „ |
| ~ Doctor Octopus explaining who Norman Osborn is. |
| “ | It can't be him. Because Norman Osborn died. Years ago. So either we saw someone else. Or you’re flying out into the darkness to fight a ghost.. | „ |
| ~ Doctor Octopus telling Peter that Osborn died long ago and that they're likely fighting a ghost. |
| “ | Norman Osborn: Octavius? Doctor Octopus: Osborn? Norman Osborn: What… What happened to you? Doctor Octopus: What happened to… You're the walking corpse. Norman Osborn: What do you mean? Doctor Octopus: You died, Norman. Years ago. |
„ |
| ~ The reunion between Doctor Octopus and Norman Osborn. |
| “ | That’s nonsense! Spider-Man was trying to stop my fusion reactor. So I stopped him! I had him by the throat and then I... And then I was here. | „ |
| ~ Doctor Octopus explaining how he was fighting Spider-Man and then realizing he was about to die beforehand. |
| “ | And then what? We perish? | „ |
| ~ Doctor Octopus questions Doctor Strange about the villains' dying once they get send back to their universe. |
| “ | What? Hey, I told you. I don't need fixing. I don't need fixing! Especially by a teenager using scraps from a bachelor's junk drawer. | „ |
| ~ Doctor Octopus refusing to be experimented on by MCU's Spider-Man. |
| “ | Doctor Octopus: All of these humiliations never cease. You! Keep your science fair project away from me! Norman Osborn: Hey, it’ll work. Have faith. Doctor Octopus: Says the reckless fool who turned himself into a monster. |
„ |
| ~ Doctor Octopus about to be experimented on and brushing off Norman, saying how he turn himself to Green Goblin. |
| “ | Otto Octavius: It's so quiet… Those voices… Inside my head… I'd almost forgotten… Norman Osborn: Otto. Otto Octavius: Yes. Norman. It's me. Sandman: Would you look at that. Otto Octavius : I'm grateful, dear boy. Truly. Spider-Man (MCU): Yeah. You're welcome. |
„ |
| ~ Dr. Octopus becomes Otto Octavius again. |
| “ | Otto Octavius: The power of the sun. Spider-Man: In the palm of your hand. Otto Octavius: Peter? Spider-Man: Otto. Otto Octavius: Oh, it's good to see you dear boy. Spider-Man: It's good to see you. Otto Octavius: You're all grown up. How are you? Spider-Man: Trying to do better. |
„ |
| ~ Octavius and Peter reunite. |
Trivia[]
- Doctor Octopus was originally planned to appear in Spider-Man and team up with Green Goblin, but he wasn't included because Sam Raimi thought it "wouldn't do the movie justice to have a third origin in there".
- The mechanical tentacles were each made up of 76 individual pieces. Each one of them was controlled by four people, who rehearsed each scene with Alfred Molina to get a more natural sense of movement. The sound designers chose not to use servo sound effects, to complete the illusion that the tentacles are a part of Doctor Octopus' body.
- Molina actually gave names to his four mechanical tentacles (Larry, Harry, Flo, and Moe). Flo was the top right tentacle because it was operated by a female grip and that particular tentacle was the most motherly, which removed his sunglasses and gave him sips of his drink.
- In the video game adaptation of Spider-Man 2, Doc Ock has many henchmen. However, in the movie, he works alone, without any henchmen, like the other villains of the Spider-Man trilogy.
- Unlike in the comic books and other universes, Doc Ock often says "we" with his arms which bears similarities to Venom with the symbiote, which is every ironic given to the fact that the Venom in the Raimi series only goes by "I".
- Doctor Octopus is the only antagonist in the trilogy to not damage Spider-Man's mask; instead Spider-Man removed it in order to get Doc Ock to remember him.
- The train fight between Doc Ock and Spider-Man was the idea of director Sam Raimi and the first major sequence to be filmed.
- Alfred Molina lost some weight for the role of Doctor Octopus, considering he had had to gain some for the part of Diego Rivera in Frida He said he wanted Doc Ock to have the build of a "1950s weightlifter".
- Alfred Molina is a big fan of Marvel Comics and was excited about his role in the film.
- Putting knives inside Doc Ock's tentacles was Sam Raimi's idea, and never featured in the comics. Raimi nicknamed it 'the death knife'.
- Michael Chabon submitted a draft screenplay which featured a younger Doc Ock becoming infatuated with Mary Jane. In Chabon's script, Octavius is the creator of the genetically modified spider that bites Peter Parker. Producer Avi Arad rejected the screenplay, largely because he didn't like the idea of another love triangle.
- In the script, Doctor Octopus isn't totally happy with what's happened to him, but whenever his old self resurfaces the tentacles are quick to take control again. For instance, they force him to rob the bank not only to fund his experiments but also to test out the tentacles. They can also distract people, like snake charming, but this isn't made clear in the film.
- One of the things that attracted Alfred Molina to the character of Doctor Octopus was his twisted, sardonic sense of humor.
- Sam Raimi chose Alfred Molina after Raimi's wife watched Frida.
- Doc Ock's strength comes from his arms, but it's never explained how he can take superhuman punches from Spider-Man or a desk to the chest.
- Though this can be explained as Spider-Man has been confirmed to hold back his punches, especially against human enemies.
- Doc Ock's pier lab is supposed to be an old building that is slowly sinking into the river (exterior shots show that one end is already partially collapsed). For the interior set, the floor and ceiling were tilted at skewed angles to each other, which is extremely unusual and difficult to construct safely.
- The extreme close-up shot of Dr. Octopus sinking in water is entirely digital. The SFX team hailed it as the most detailed rendition of a human face (for its time) that was purely done in CG.
- In the script, Doc Ock tapped Peter's phone lines. That's how he knew he'd find him at a café with Mary Jane.
- According to the novelization, Doc Ock thinks that he's helping Aunt May by giving her a quick death.
- Alfred Molina was digitally de-aged in Spider-Man: No Way Home in order to match how he appeared in Spider-Man 2.
- Instead of being props like in Spider-Man 2, Doc Ock's tentacles are completely CGI in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
- As Octavius returns to his universe with the arc reactor near the end of the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, he should be able to destroy his machine without sacrificing his life, leading to him likely surviving in the branched timeline.
- In an early draft of Iron-Man, Tony Stark was responsible for the creation of Dr. Octopus' tentacles in Spider-Man 2, but Sony didn't want to share the Spider-Man film rights so the idea was dropped.
External Links[]
- Doctor Octopus on the Heroes Wiki
- Doctor Octopus (Unpublished) on the Pure Evil Wiki
- Doctor Octopus on the Spider-Man Films Wiki
- Doctor Octopus on the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki
- Doctor Octopus on the Marvel Wiki
- Doctor Octopus on the Marvel Movies Wiki
- Doctor Octopus on the Disney Wiki
- Doctor Octopus on the Wikipedia
- Doctor Octopus on the Magnificent Baddie Wiki
[]
 Cinematic Villains
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