Editing Doctor Octopus (section)

{{Short description|Marvel Comics fictional character}}
{{About|the first Doctor Octopus and Superior Spider-Man, Otto Octavius|the second Doctor Octopus|Lady Octopus|the film character|Otto Octavius (film character)|the solo series|The Superior Spider-Man}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox comics character <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
| character_name = Doctor Octopus
| image          = Dr. Octopus Marvel.jpg
| caption        = Doctor Octopus as depicted on the cover of ''Superior Octopus'' #1 (October 2019).<br/>Art by Sujin Cho.
| real_name      = Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius<ref>''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z'' Vol. 1, #3. Marvel Comics.</ref>
| species        = Human mutate-cyborg
| publisher      = [[Marvel Comics]]
| debut          = '''As Doctor Octopus:'''<br>''[[The Amazing Spider-Man]]'' #3 (July 1963)<ref>{{cite book |last =Rovin |first =Jeff |authorlink=Jeff Rovin |title =[[The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains]] |publisher =Facts on File |date =1987 |location =New York |isbn = 0-8160-1356-X |pages=100–101}}[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofsu0000rovi_h5r9/page/100/mode/2up]</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Misiroglu |first1=Gina Renée |last2=Eury |first2=Michael |title=The Supervillain Book: The Evil Side of Comics and Hollywood |date=2006 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |isbn=9780780809772 |url=https://archive.org/details/supervillainbook0000gina/page/102/mode/2up |language=en}}</ref><br>'''As Superior Spider-Man:'''<br>''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #698 (November 2012)<br>'''As Superior Octopus:'''<br>''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #25 (May 2017)
| creators       = [[Stan Lee]] (writer)<br>[[Steve Ditko]] (artist)
| alliances      = '''As Doctor Octopus:'''<br>[[Sinister Six]]<br>[[Masters of Evil]]<br>[[Thunderbolts (comics)|Thunderbolts]]<br>Legion Accursed<br>'''As Superior Spider-Man:'''<br>[[Avengers (comics)|Avengers]]<br>[[Mighty Avengers]]<br>[[Parker Industries]]<br>[[Horizon Labs]]<br>Spiderlings<br>[[Sinister Six|Superior Six]]<br>[[Spider-Verse|Spider-Army/Web-Warriors]]<br>'''As Superior Octopus''':<br>[[Hydra (comics)|HYDRA]]<br>HYDRA's [[Avengers (comics)|Avengers]]
| aliases        = The Master Planner<br>the Master Programmer<br>the [[The Superior Spider-Man|Superior Spider-Man]] (Peter Parker)<br>the [[Venom (character)#Superior Spider-Man (Doctor Octopus)|Superior Venom]]<br>the Superior Octopus<br>Dr. Elliot Tolliver
| powers         = '''As 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 book]]s 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, [[Myopia|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 [[Archenemy|archenemies]], alongside the [[Norman Osborn|Green Goblin]] and [[Venom (character)|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 (Marvel Comics series)|Daredevil]]'' vol. 3 #21 (both December 2012), as the fourth predominant main continuity Spider-Man. 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 ''[[Superior Spider-Man (2018 series)|The Superior Spider-Man]]'' launched in 2018 saw the duplicate taking on the mantle and the new name '''Dr. Elliot Tolliver''' before returning to the Doctor Octopus mantle as an [[antihero]], having his soul restored and memories of redemption erased by [[Mephisto (Marvel Comics)|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 (writer)|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."<ref>{{cite book |last=Conroy |first=Mike |authorlink=Mike Conroy (writer) |title=500 Comicbook Villains |publisher=Collins & Brown |date=2004 |isbn=1-84340-205-X |url=https://archive.org/details/500comicbookvill0000conr/page/44/mode/2up |language=en}}</ref> 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 [[Otto Octavius (film character)|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,<ref>{{cite web|title=Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time|url=https://www.ign.com/lists/top-100-comic-book-villains|website=[[IGN]]}}</ref> and in 2014 rated him Spider-Man's greatest enemy.<ref>{{cite web|title=Top 25 Spider-Man Villains|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/top-25-spider-man-villains|website=IGN|date=April 16, 2014}}</ref>

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