Doctor Octopus (Otto Octavius)
Attributes
| Eyes: | Brown |
| Features: | Four mechanical tentacles |
| Hair: | Brown |
| Height: | 5' 9" |
| Weight: | 245 lbs |
Powers
| Abilities: | With the use of his arms, Ock can move very quickly, and climb almost any surface.His tentacles can move at speeds of up to 90 feet per second, and can extend a full 24 feet in length. Worlds leading authority on nuclear radiation and its effect on animal physiology. A brilliant engineer and inventor, he is also a superb strategist and a charismatic leader. |
| Equipment: | Various purpose-built devices. |
| Limitations: | If anyone can get past his tentacles, Ock is vunerable. |
| Powers: | No innate powers. |
| Strength Level: | Each arm can lift up to 3 tons assuming he is adequately braced with one or more remaining arms. |
Summary
| Citizenship: | Unknown |
| Created By: | |
| Current Occupation: | Criminal Mastermind |
| Dual Identity: | Generally Known |
| Education: | Doctorate in Nuclear physics |
| Former Aliases: | Master Planner, Bowrey Bum, Master Programmer |
| Former Bases: | Various Laboratories, Secret underwater lair, Warehouses |
| Former Groups: | Sinister Six, Masters of evil |
| Former Occupation: | Atomic scientist |
| Known Allies: | Stunner, Carolyn Trainer (Doctor Octopus II). |
| Known Confidants: | Stunner, Carolyn Trainer (Doctor Octopus II), |
| Known Relatives: | Torbert Octavius (father, deceased), Mary Lavinia Octavius (mother, deceased), Unnamed maternal grandmother, Hargrove (cousin) |
| Legal Status: | Long Criminal Record |
| Major Enemies: | |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Place of Birth: | Schenectady, New York |
| Real Name: | Otto Gunther Octavius |
| Usual Bases: | Various Laboratories, Secret underwater lair, Warehouses |
Background
The son of a verbally abusive father and an overbearing mother, Otto Octavius had a sad and lonely childhood. His chubby appearance, round spectacles and deep passion for science made him a target for the bullies in school. A brilliant student, Otto graduated college at the top of his class. However Otto's father died in a construction accident during his freshman year at college. After that, Mary Lavina Octavius clung to her son even more. In fact her overbearing nature was instrumental in sabotaging young Otto's brief romantic interest with a fellow scientist named Mary Alice Burke, in which he eventually had her fired from U.S. Atomic Research.
Quickly establishing himself as a genius in the field of Atomic research, Octavius quickly became one of the country's top ten atomic scientists. As his fame grew, Octavius became more arrogant, egotistical and generally unpleasant to his fellow co-workers. He invented a special harness consisting of four mechanically operated arms, which allowed him to manipulate radioactive chemicals which are far too dangerous to touch. Due to his unpleasant nature, and the mechanical arm harness he wore, Octavius was dubbed Doctor Octopus by his co-workers.
When Octavius discovered his mother had been dating behind his back, he blew up in anger at her. His rage was so great that it caused his mother to die of a heart attack. In the weeks that followed his mother's demise, Octavius buried himself in his work. However during an experiment where he was manipulating dangerous radioactive chemicals with his mechanical arms, an explosion occurred. Having barely survived, Octavius was taken to a private hospital where it was revealed that his mechanical arms had become fused to his body. He also had suffered an unknown amount of brain damage. Though it is later believed that what appeared as brain damage may have been his brain's chemistry re- writing itself to accommodate Octavius' new mechanical appendages.
After awaking from his coma, Octavius realized that he could control his mechanical arms with his mind. Using his new found power, Octavius took the medical staff hostage. Spider-Man entered the scene, however he severely underestimated Ock's power, and was easily defeated and humiliated by the arrogant Ock. Following Spider-Man's defeat, Ock then took over the U. S. Atomic research center, and planned to bathe the city in radiation. Spider-Man managed to defeat Ock on his second battle with the diabolical Doctor, thus saving New York and at the same time making himself a deadly new enemy.
When Doc Ock was released less than a year later for good behavior, he used his power to free a big time gangster named Blackie Gaxton, whom had connections to Bennett Brant, the brother of Betty Brant. Bennett was shot in the epic battle between Spidey, Ock and Blackie.
Ock then embarked on a series of robberies. He decided it was time to get rid of Spider-Man to prove he was more powerful than the wall crawler. Kidnapping Betty Brant, Ock planned to lure Spider-Man into a trap. However at the time Peter was suffering from a flu virus. Weak and dizzy, Spider-Man put up a miserable fight to Ock, whom easily defeated him and unmasked him in front of everyone. Refusing to believe Peter Parker was really Spider-Man because of the miserable fight he gave, Ock tossed Peter aside and escaped. He was later defeated again in an epic battle when Peter's flu was gone and Spidey returned in fighting form.
In prison, the doctors figured out a way to remove Ock's tentacle harness from his body. Believing this was the end of Doctor Octopus, they stored it away in a container within the prison. What nobody knew was that even though the harness was removed from his body, Ock was still able to mentally control his tentacles, and used them to free himself from prison. After suffering three defeats at the hands of Spider-Man, Ock decided to gather a group of Spider- Man's deadliest enemies consisting of Electro, Vulture, Sandman, Kraven the Hunter and Mysterio. Together with Doc Ock they dubbed themselves the Sinister Six. To ensure Spider-Man would fight them, Ock had Betty Brant kidnapped again. However this time Peter's Aunt May was with her. And she too was taken prisoner. However May was so charmed by Ock that she never realized she was being held hostage. Planning to wear Spider-Man out with each battle, Spidey battled each of his foes, defeating each one until he reached the final showdown with Ock in his lair, where he had Betty and May. Spidey and Ock battled in a giant fishbowl, where Ock tried to drown Spider-Man. Spidey managed to over power Ock and defeat him.
Doc Ock later built himself a secret under water base. Dubbing himself the Master Planner, he hired a group of highly trained mercenaries to commit high profile scientific thefts of radioactive materials. Spider-Man battled the Master Planner's men several times. But it really got personal for Spidey when Ock had his men steal a special isotope called ISO-36, which was needed to save Aunt May who was dying of radiation poisoning due to a blood transfusion she got from Peter several months ago. Spidey tracked down the Master Planner's men to their secret lair, where he was confronted by the Master Planner who was revealed to be Doctor Octopus.
In their ensuing battle, the underwater base was severely damaged, and Spidey became trapped under some heavy machinery. With the lair flooding, and the ISO- 36 just out of his reach, Spidey summoned all his inner strength and lifted it off himself and escaped with the isotope to save Aunt May. Ock however had disappeared.
Ock next appeared in an attempt to steal a device known as a Nullifier, which can be used to render any weapon completely useless. Planning to use it to conquer the world, Ock stole the device at the demonstration for it. Spider-Man showed up and managed to retrieve it back after battling with Ock, but Ock escaped. Seeking a new hideout from the law, Ock rented the spare bedroom in Aunt May's house. Blissfully unaware of Ock's real sinister personality, Aunt May gladly accepted Ock as a tenant. Peter was horrified to discover Ock living in his Aunt's house. He confronted Ock and a huge battle ensued. Aunt May walked in on the two super powered foes fighting. The sight of it caused her to faint from shock. With that distraction Ock escaped. He then succeeded in stealing the Nullifier again, and was successful in raiding Stark Industries with it. Spider-Man, bitter with anger over what happened to Aunt May, confronted Ock. Ock turned the Nullifier on Spider- Man, causing him to lose his memory. Ock used the opportunity to convince Spider- Man that they were really criminal partners. Using Spider-Man, Ock sent him to commit a theft from a military base. However the Army managed to track Spider- Man back to Ock's secret lair. Meanwhile Ock showed his true colors to Spider- Man, who despite his memory loss trusted his instincts, and decided Ock was not to be trusted. As they battled each other John Jameson turned the Nullifier on Ock rendering his tentacles temporarily useless. With Ock captured, the authorities tried to take the confused Spider-Man into custody too for his association with Ock. But Spider-Man fled the scene.
Over the years Doc Ock's criminal deeds became even more sinister. Police Captain George Stacy, father of Gwen Stacy, was killed when a large chunk of debris crushed him during a battle between Spider-Man and Octopus.
Doc Ock then started a gang war with Hammerhead. Each villain wanted control of Kingpin's territory. During this time Ock had learned that May Parker had inherited a nuclear facility on a Canadian island. Realizing he could use this facility to build an arsenal of atomic weapons, Ock preyed on May's fondness for him by proposing to her. May accepted. And during the wedding ceremony Hammerhead intervened. With the aid of Spider-Man, the wedding was broken up. But Peter had become dangerously close to having Ock as his uncle.
One of Doc Ock's greatest acts of evil came when he and the Owl had started a gang war. Wanting to prove that he was the most dangerous man alive, Doc Ock tried to blow up New York. However Spider-Man and Black Cat intervened and stopped him. Ock viciously beat Black Cat to within an inch of her life, before his henchmen shot her. Battered and bleeding, Spider-Man raced her to the hospital where her life hung in the balance. Meanwhile Ock was not finished with Spider-Man and Black Cat. Swearing revenge on them for ruining his scheme, Ock arrived at the hospital and gave Spider-Man a sinister warning that in 24 hours he intended to kill him and the Black Cat for what they did. Ock was as good as his word. He showed up 24 hours later and a battle of epic proportions between Spider-Man and Doc Ock occurred. As Captain Jean DeWolffe desperately tried to protect Black Cat by taking her to a place of safety, Ock viciously pursued her, battling Spider-Man all the way. Spider-Man barely managed to survive this battle with Ock.
As the 90's began, Doc Ock decided to reform the Sinister Six, replacing Kraven with Jason Macendale). His plan was to hold earth for ransom. However Ock back stabbed the Six after they outlived their usefulness, and thus a large grudge was formed between Ock and the rest of the members of the Six. One of the greatest Ock stories was 'Web of Death' during the Clone Saga. Spider-Man was dying of a chemical virus that the Vulture had infected him with. Feeling cheated that his greatest nemesis was not dying by his hands, Ock decided to find a cure for Spider-Man, unmasking him in the process. Ock was successful in finding a cure and saving Spider-Man. However before he could really enjoy the pleasure of taking down Spider-Man himself, he was murdered by the clone Kaine, who was trying to protect Peter from his enemies. Ock's demise was short lived. With the aid of a secret mystic cult known as the Hand, Carolyn Trainer), Stunner, Jacob Conover) and Delilah resurrected Octavius. Carolyn uploaded Octavius' memories into his mind, which he had uploaded onto a microchip in a computer prior to his discovery of Spider-Man's identity. Doc Ock was restored to his former glory, but it was at the expense of Stunner, who sacrificed her life energy to bring her beloved Otto back. She's now currently in a coma.
Since his resurrection, Ock has been the deadly criminal genius he's always been. Some of his most notable recent exploits include his teaming up with Fusion (Markley), his battle with Carlyle who tried to steal his tentacle technology, and Ock's attempt to force Spider-Man to unmask himself in Times Square by kidnapping the Palestinian ambassador, causing a threat of a war to break out. Doctor Octopus is what fans and Marvel writers refer to as Peter Parker gone bad. Octavius is what Peter Parker would be if he had not chosen to use his powers responsibly. That parallel between Peter and Otto was particularly focused on recently in Doctor Octopus Year One. Otto and Peter share much in common. They both were science geeks when they were younger, both were lonely with no friends, both were bullied at school, both lost their fathers at young age, and both acquired their powers through a scientific accident. But Peter learned and chose to use his amazing powers for good. While Octavius uses his for his own selfish and evil gain, showing no responsibility for his actions. And this parallel between them makes their relationship even more interesting. When Peter looks at Octavius, he sees what he might have been had he chosen the wrong path when he gained his amazing powers.
During the Civil War saga, 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, and is one of the ex-super villains trying to hunt down the renegade super heroes. Doctor Octopus was one of the many people approached by Spider-Man in search for a cure for Aunt May during the 'One more Day' storyline.
"Brand New Day"
Doctor Octopus' first appearance in 'Brand New Day' was when he was seen sending small octobot type robots to various locations all over New York, including Forrest Hills, the Daily Bugle offices, Times Square, Grand Street, and the Empire State Building. He was seen monitoring all of this on many computer screens in an undisclosed location.
It is later revealed that Doc Ock's body is dying due to the various blows he's received from many super powered beings through the years. The radiation in his system from the accident which made him Doctor Octopus is preventing his body from healing properly. Ock is told he has about 18 months to live. He reacts in anger to this, refusing to dwindle away into nothingness, and promises to leave his mark on the world so nobody will ever forget the name Doctor Octopus.
Doc Ock's plan involves using many small octobot like devices to infiltrate various electronics throughout New York. The information from the octobots is then fed into a main central computer, which Ock controls using a helmet like device. Doc Ock reveals to New York that he wants to leave them a parting gift, he wants to control all the electronics in New York, and eventually the world, so there will be no more blackouts, or energy shortages etc. However, Doc Ock's evil subconscious sabotages this, and the electronics in the city turn on Spider-Man, and cause all kinds of chaos and destruction trying to kill him, putting the lives of the citizens of New York in danger.
Ock also sabotages Aunt May's wedding arrangements after he reads that she's engaged to J. Jonah Jameson, Sr. Ock's octobots also kidnap Jay from his apartment. Norah Winters and Carlie also are captured by Doc Ock when they inadvertently stumble across his secret base of operations when they are searching for the missing Jay Jameson. Ock's lair is in the old Atomic Research Centre, where Doc Ock had his accident that made him Doctor Octopus. Spider-Man, with the help of The Human Torch, tracks down Ock's base of operations, and rescues Jay, Carlie, and Norah, who are tied to tentacle harnesses which attack Spidey and the Torch.
Spidey then confronts Doc Ock, who is now armed with eight tentacles. His body is totally useless, and he speaks through an electronic device. Ock's ocotbots attack Spidey, then Ock subdues Spidey in his tentacles, and declares that his plan to create a perfect world controlled by his mind will work, despite the dangers he's causing that Spidey warns him about. Spidey and Ock battle, and Spidey briefly subdues Ock under some rubble, and then uses Ock's helmet to shut down Ock's control over the city.
Doc Ock is infuriated, and tells Spidey that he's dying, and he has to give his gift to the world. Spidey tells Ock he's sorry for his condition, but that his gift is returned, and Ock will spend his remaining days in Rykers. Ock reacts in anger and his octobots swarm all over Spidey's body. Then Ock himself escapes in an escape capsule hidden in the floor with his remaining octobots. The Human Torch saves Spidey by flaming away all the ocotbots covering him. Meanwhile, in the escape capsule, Doc Ock says that if Spider-Man will not allow him to do something great, then he will return and do something great....and TERRIBLE!
"Origin of the Species"
Doctor Octopus returned some time later, and gathered a large group of super villains to help him get his hands on the unborn baby of Menace, aka Lilly Hollister. Otto believed that the child's blood could cure him of his deteriorating condition, as both of the kids parents (its father is Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin) had been exposed to the Goblin Formula. The child was finally acquired by the Chameleon, but it was taken from the master of disguise by the Lizard. The lizard-man kept little Stanley Osborn alive as a bargaining chip against Norman, but needed Spider-Man to test the childs blood. It didnt sit well with Otto that Stanley wasn't actually Norman's son, but Harry's. He and the Lizard battled it out (partly due to the Lizard's ability to influence a mammal's R-complex) while Spider-Man and Stan escaped.
"Big Time"
In 'Big Time', Doc Ock makes a wide scale attack on New York using giant Octobots. Spider-Man leads the Avengers in the quest to take down the Octobots due to his personal experience with Ock. Doc Ock uses the distraction to have the Chameleon and Electro infiltrate the Avengers Mansion and let loose dozens of his mini Octobots in it. Doc Ock is seen in a secret base with Mysterio, Rhino, and Sandman. Ock reveals his goal is to compile data on his opponents, so the next time he faces The Avengers and the Fantastic Four there will be some surprises for them.
In the meantime, Otto has been maneuvering the Six into position to accomplish world conquest. They stopped the Intelligencia (M.O.D.O.K., Red Ghost, Klaw, Mad Thinker and Wizard ) from conquering the world, which was a threat to Ock's plan. He also used his tiny octobots to commandeer the space station Apogee 1, which was manned by John Jameson. The sudden loss of communications between Apogee and Horizon Labs caught the attention of Peter Parker, who asked the Human Torch to fly him to the station.
"Ends of the Earth"
In 'Ends of the Earth', Doc Ock finally launches his master plan that he has been planning and preparing to execute for many months. He activates dozens of satellites in the atmosphere which bombard the planet with heat from the sun. Crops and animals die. The polar ice caps melt. People collapse and writhe in pain. Ock does this using what is called an Octavian lens. He then switches it off and addresses the planet, warning them that this is what global warming will do for generations to come. He claims his Octavian lens can reverse this and wants this to be his parting gift and legacy to the world before he dies.
Spider-Man assembles The Avengers in an attempt to stop Ock and his Sinister Six. Unfortunately Doc Ock has been anticipating the interference from "Earth's mightiest heroes" and takes counter measures which enables him to not only defeat The Avengers but make them octobot controlled slaves. Doc Ock's true intentions are revealed to be a deadly scheme in which Doc Ock intends to kill most of the population of planet earth, leaving a few thousand people behind who will remember who he was, and begin civilization again. In the course of trying to stop Doc Ock's scheme, Mysterio turns traitor on Doc Ock after learning what Ock is really up to and tells Spider-Man where Ock's base is. Doc Ock monitors their arrival, then secures his Octohedral base and instructs it to flood.
Spider-Man and Silver Sable infiltrate Ock's base after defeating and freeing the octobot controlled Avengers, as the doomsday clock on Ock's Octavian Lens ticks down. However Rhino intercepts their path. While the Rhino holds Sable down under water drowning her and himself in Ock's drowning base, as Rhino no longer wishes to live in a world without his wife, and is willing to perish in Doc Ock's mass murder scheme, Spidey reluctantly leaves Sable to her fate as he is unable to stop Rhino and must stop Ock before he kills the planet. As Doc Ock and Spider-Man face off, Ock subdues Spidey and prepares to press the button on the Octavian lens. In a final act of desperation, Spidey reminds Doc Ock that the surviving thousands of his Octavian lens will not remember who he is because their brains will be friend from it's extreme heat. They'll be vegetables.
This stalls Ock long enough, who is adamant he could not have made such an error in judgement, and Spidey uses everything he has to break free of Ock's tentacles. He then smashes the controls to Ock's Octavian lens. With his scheme foiled Ock's dying body begins to sink into the water, wishing to die to with his failed scheme. However Spidey saves Ock, telling him nobody dies when he's around, not even Ock. Spidey delivers Ock to the Zenith ship, and instructs the Horizon scientists to rig up a life support for Doc Ock.
One month after Doc Ock's attempt to destroy the planet, Octavius has been moved to The Raft, a maximum security prison for super villains. Since that time according to the doctors in his charge, he has not shown any brain activity in weeks. But suddenly Doc Ock is attempting to speak, which causes alarm in The Raft, as the doctors press the panic button bringing security forces storming into Doc Ock's cell. With his withered dying body hooked up to various life support machines, Ock weakly mumbles the name 'Peter Parker'.
Captain America and The Avengers contact Spider-Man and summon him to The Raft, telling him Ock has been asking for Peter Parker, not Spider-Man. Spider-Man asks for a moment alone with Doc Ock, no cameras or any supervision. Once alone with Doc Ock, Spider-Man asks what does he want. Doc Ock mumbles the name Peter Parker again. Spider-Man unmasks and reveals he is indeed Peter Parker. But Ock croaks out he is Peter Parker. But Spider-Man reveals he is Otto Octavius and he has Peter Parker's body now, and Spider-Man is now trapped in the dying body of Otto Octavius, while Octavius now has Peter's body and all of his memories. Ock then gloats that he will never reveal how he did it, and will leave Peter to die in the body he caused to die from years of beatings at his own hands.
Octavius' body then goes into cardiac arrest, as a crash team of doctors rush in, Spider-Man covers up his face with his mask, and leaves the doctors to their work. Outside Doc Ock's cell The Avengers ask Spider-Man what happened. However Spider-Man nonchalantly says he's not giving it a second thought as he has his own life to get on with now.
With Peter trapped in Otto's body, he manages to escape The Raft, and with him he breaks out Scorpion, The Trapster, and Hydro-Man. Doc Ock, in Peter's body, hears about the escape. At first he decides to leave the country for a day to give Peter enough time to die in Otto's body. But when he hears J. Jonah Jameson called Doctor Octopus a failure on Television, he decides to stay and face Peter. He rounds up all the people who are close to Peter and seals them in a safe room in Avengers Tower. Otto then contacts the secret base he knows Peter is using and tells him he has all of his friends and family. He has also called the Police and sent them to Peter's location. Peter manages to escape, after disabling the Trapster with his own glue guns, after he figured out there was some kind of mind swap in Ock's brain after they put his body on a life support and saw the neural patterns of his brain. Peter then escapes taking Hydro-Man and Scorpion with him.
Peter gains access to Avengers Tower via a sewer network to reach a subterranean access point. Ock has used one of his last remaining giant Octobots to divert the attention of the Avengers elsewhere. Hence why he has Avengers Tower to himself. Ock and Peter, in each other's bodies, come face to face and do battle. Their battles spills out of a window onto the street outside Avengers Tower where Otto delivers a brutal blow to Peter in Otto's dying wreck of a body. In a last act of desperation Peter somehow telepathically forces Peter’s memories into the forefront of Otto’s consciousness. Against his will, Otto relives the tragedies of Peter’s life, the many times his loved ones have died because of his inaction or weakness. Uncle Ben, Marla Jameson, the Staceys, and more. The lesson is burned into him: with great power must come great responsibility.
Peter makes Otto promise to protect his loved ones and to only use his power for good. Then he dies. Octavius stands over his dead body and says “Farewell, Peter Parker,” thinks Otto. “Know this: I will carry on in your name. You may be leaving this world, but you are not leaving it to a villain. I swear. I will be Spider-Man. Better yet, with my unparalleled genius, and my boundless ambition, I’ll be a better Spider-Man than you ever were. From this day forth, I shall become... the superior Spider-Man!” (Amazing Spider-Man #700)
Please see Superior Spider-Man for Ock's subsequent adventures.
"Sinister War"
Otto and his Sinister Six found a beaten Spider-Man in a Manhattan graveyard. (Spider-Man had already fought a group made up of the Foreigner, Black Ant, Jack O'Lantern, Taskmaster, Slyde, and Chance.) He had Spidey trapped in his coils but was hesitant to end it, to the irritation of the others. He said he would do it, but was interrupted by the Savage Six (Vulture, King Cobra, Stegron, Scorpion, Rhino, Tarantula.) The scene became more chaotic after Boomerang's group arrived (Hydro-Man, Shocker, Speed Demon, Override) and the all female Sinister Seven (White Rabbit, Electro (Francine Frye), Beetle (Janice Lincoln), Carolyn Trainer, Scorpia, Ana Kravinoff, Trapster). Spider-Man escaped in the chaos but was stoped by the Sin-Eater, Juggernaut, Whirlwind, Living Laser, Grey Gargoyle and Morlun. (Sinister War #3)
During the chaos, Otto was able to over ride Kindred's remote control of the centipedes he used to control the bad guys. Black Ant's helmet was tuned to a frequency to control ants, so Otto adjusted the helmet to control the centipedes. He used the frequency to blow up the centipedes brains and end the mind control. Spider-Man thanked him but Ock told him he stopped Kindred because he reneged on his deal with Otto to help him answer questions about his past. Otto left and advised Spider-Man to do the same, before the others recovered from the shock of the terminated mind control. (Sinister War #4)
"Beyond"
Peter Parker had been exposed to a dangerous level of radiation while fighting the U-Foes and was in a hospital, out of commission. The doctors didn't have much hope and May went to Otto for help. He sweet talked her the whole time they were investigating the scene of the fight with the U-Foes but she was focused on helping her nephew. They took a sample of radioactive cloth to his hideout, where he offered her a glass of wine. She accepted but reminded him they were there on business. He reminded her he will act like the man she thinks he is but he would do what he needed to do if he had to defend themselves. Their investigation eventually led them to the U-Foes. May learned what she needed to help Peter but found Otto about to kill various scientists at the facility. She refused to have anything more to do with him, knowing that he'll never change. He admitted that this was who he was and that he has a duty to act this way. Later, he found that the Beyond corporation had purchased the remains of Parker Industries. Beyond had a Spider-Man of their own, and Otto considered it all to be plagiarism. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #80.BEY)
Otto arrived at Beyond and took two scientists hostage before he tried to gain access to it's information. Ben Reilly arrived and managed to sever Otto's mental connection to his tentacles but Ock escaped by getting out of the metal harness. He used Beyond's automated security system against Ben and escaped but returned later with other tentacles, looking for Maxine Powers. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #84)
He resented that Beyond had stolen his intellectual property and was stunned to see that it's labs had created oddities such as a talking fish and sentient sandwiches. The contents of the other rooms horrified him further and he went to Maxine's office. He was confronted by Misty Knight and Colleen Wing but quickly disabled them. After finding Maxine, he told her he had seen her lies and intended to use his scientific discoveries as intended once he took over Beyond. Ben showed up at that moment and fought him into a storage room (after Ashley Kafka reminded Ben that they had a therapy session later on.) Using a magnetic gun, Ben disabled Ock's tentacles, which blew up and knocked a hole in the wall. Otto was swung out of the building and they landed on a nearby rooftop, where he tauntingly told Ben that Beyond was using him. Ben was a puppet for the corporation, because he was psychologically compromised and easily manipulated. He handed Ben a data drive that he had downloaded while inside the Beyond building. Otto walked away as Ben was engrossed in what he was reading. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #85)
"Devil's Reign"
Daredevil erased Wilson Fisk's memory of his identity, and in revenge Mayor Fisk outlawed all vigilantes. The Thunderbolts were re-assembled and began taking down every superhero they could find in accordance with the Powers Act. Every time a hero was arrested, they were cuffed with power dampening collars. Octavius personally locked dampeners onto Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman at the Baxter Building. The government had been looking away regarding what Reed Richards had been working on but evidence of a weapon of mass destruction at the Baxter Building changed their minds. Later, Otto spoke with Fisk regarding Richards lab and it's interdimensional portal. (Devil's Reign #1)
Otto was meeting with Fisk at a sub-basement beneath City Hall, where the Purple Man was being held by them. Fisk wanted to run for president of the United States and Zebediah Killgrave's mind control powers was going to be useful to win the election. Fisk wanted total mind control of the citizens but Otto could only channel Purple Man's power to Fisk in a way that provided influence. Fisk tried to use the mind control on Otto, but he had given himself neuro-blockers that protected him. Their agreement complete, Otto left the Kingpin. Back at Richard's lab, Otto mused that Fisk thought too small. He let Kingpin control New York, the interdimensional gate was more powerful than one city. He used the gate to bring variants of the Hulk, Wolverine and Ghost Rider to him. (Devil's Reign #2)
Fisk contacted Octavius, telling him that Purple Man had children that shared his abilities. He wanted to know if gathering all of them would increase the power of the psycho-prism. Octavius refused Fisk's order to find them, telling him he would update the psycho-prism after the children had been found. The call ended and Octavius spoke with the interdimensional others, telling them that he had brought them there because they all had the same dream and the same setbacks. They were all variants of Otto Octavius, and just as he had melded with Peter Parker to become the Superior Spider-Man, they had melded with other heroes. Together, they would stop the world from being run by small minded men.
His team arrived at the mayor's mansion just as a group of heroes also showed up. Spider-Man (Miles Morales) was surprised that Octavius had been taking orders from Fisk and Ock told him that he had planned to take the mayor's seat from him by installing the Chameleon. Since Chameleon had been captured, he would have to settle for saving the city instead of running it. At that moment, thousands of flying Octobots arrived. (Devil's Reign #3)
After Fisk began using the Octobots as city-wide surveillance to watch for unauthorized vigilante activity, he was confronted in his office by Octavius. He and Superior Wolverine came to tell Fisk that were happy to let him sit in a useless political seat while they improved the world. Reed Richard's lab made his Octobots possible, and made the arrest of Fisk's criminal son possible as well. (Devil's Reign #4)
With the Purple Man free and controlling both super-villains and average citizens, the heroes were under siege. Octavius's Superior Six were also under Purple Man's influence and he chastised Superior Hulk for allowing himself to be controlled. He ordered Hulk to use his superior Octavian mind to break free, and he was blasted by Iron Man, who said that he should have used his superior mind to build a suit of armor. (Devil's Reign #6)
”Sinister Adaptoid”
Ock was captured and held hostage by the Living Brain’s avatar, who used his tentacles to capture J. Jonah Jameson. Jameson led the tentacles to Peter, who rescued Jameson. Spidey befriended the arms, who led them to the Brain’s hideout. The Brain had created an amalgamation of the original Sinister Six and set it against Spider-Man. He fled the creature and ended up in the room where the Six were held captive. In desperation, he set them free to help against the adaptoid. Ock naturally took credit for the creature’s defeat but still had to appreciate the engineering behind the Living Brain once it’s physical computer was found. Spider-Man tried to prevent them from destroying it but they were about to do it anyway when Kraven interrupted. He offered Spider-Man the chance to escape if he destroyed the Brain himself. Of course Spider-Man refused and the Brain’s avatar was surprised. It trapped the Six in a force field and sent them away. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #6)
"Comrades at Arms (And Arms and Arms)"
Ock was annoyed to have found Deadpool in his lab, as well as the villain called Harrower. Deadpool explained that he was there to kill him, as a kind of job interview. He was attempting to join a group of assassins called Atelier, who had sent him after Doctor Octopus. As a odd side note, Deadpool had also been kidnapped by Harrower and infected with a Carnage-like symbiote. The creature was trying to eat it's way out of Wilson and had already burst two arms out of Deadpool's sides. Ock demanded that they be careful of his specialized equipment, and then recognized Harrower as the grand-niece of Augusta Bromes. Harrower and Ock held their own against Deadpool but Ock was sickened when a third symbiote arm burst out of Deadpool's mouth. It cut away Harrow's giant plant monster and while Wilson wanted to go after Ock, the alien forced him to attack Harrow. As Octavius was about to attack Deadpool from behind, he was stabbed in the back by Deathstrike. (She had also been scouted by the Atelier as Deadpool's partner against Ock, and was furious that he had left her behind.) The assassins went after the villains but the pain Deadpool felt from the symbiote made him cut off the arms and flee.
After Deathstrike and Deadpool left, Harrow explained to Ock that the symbiote isn't fully grown and needs a host. She suggested that they work together: once she had her sample, Ock could have his revenge. He liked her ambition and agreed. Meanwhile, the deadline to kill Octavius expired and the hit was called off. (Deadpool #2)
Quiz: Quick Quiz on Dr Octopus.
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Appearances
Thanks To
The assistance of the Marvel Chronology Project is gratefully acknowledged.
Some of the above information is extracted from the various versions of the Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe and the more recent Marvel Encyclopaedias.