University of Panels

13: Doctor Octopus

(Otto Octavius)

 

Most modern comic book villains are men who were once good that have now turned bad as a result of science experiments gone wrong. Dr. Otto Octavius truly defines this trope as he was originally a man who desired to share his genius with mankind. To do this, he attempted to harness the power of nuclear fusion, using a set of robotic tentacles of his own design to handle materials to dangerous for humans to come in contact with. However, a lab accident fused the arms to his spine, and cost him his own sanity. Taking the name he had gained among his fellow scientists, "Dr. Octopus" began a long criminal career, attempting to further his research through unlawful means, as well as build his own criminal empire. This brought him into continuous conflict with Spider-Man, who defeated and placed him behind bars on numerous occassions.

 

The most interesting development to Octavius' character in my eyes however, comes from his role in THE SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN series. After discovering that he was dying of cancer, Octavius attempted to cheat death by transfering his brain patterns into Spider-Man's body, while placing Peter's conciousness into his own decaying carcass of a body. Peter desperately fought to get his own body back, but eventually subcummed to the disease ravaging Octavius's body. While Octavius now had the opportunity to use Spidey's powers to carry out his criminal career, he was soon exposed to Peter's memories and experiences, realizing that with great power also came great responsibility. Influenced by Parker's memories, Octavius promised the dying Peter to carry on his legacy as a Spider-Man superior to Parker in everyway. As the new Spider-Man, Octavius felt that he could finally do what he had always desired, share his genius with the rest of society. He virtually eliminated all crime from New York, using technology and a private army to monitor all criminal activity. His success caused him to become arrogant and overconfident however, and he was willing to even kill criminals if necessary. His arrogance came at a price however, when the Green Goblin was able to slip under his radar, and build a criminal empire right under his feet. The Goblin soon layed waste to Octavius' headquarters and resources, and was prepared to target all of Peter's loved ones, as well as his girlfriend Anna Maria Marconi. Realizing that a true hero was one that did not plan every outcome, but would act because it was the right thing to do, Octavius made the ultimate sacrafice and deleted all of his brain patterns and memories, allowing Peter's concioussness (which still remained) to be the only one remaining, realizing that Peter always was the Superior Spider-Man. 

 

In the end, Octavius was able to redeem himself, casting aside his life of villainy and came to understood what it truly meant to be a hero...