10 Biggest Differences Between Doctor Octopus In The Spider-Man Movies & Comics

Doctor Octopus has always been considered to be among Spider-Man’s archenemies across the many iterations of the Marvel universe. Spider-Man: No Way Home brought Alfred Molina’s Otto Octavius back, this time bringing him into the Marvel Cinematic Universe to fight Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.

The comic book version of Doctor Octopus also has mechanical arms fused to his body and goes up against the superhero, but there are plenty of striking differences between him and the movie Doc Ock. It’s interesting to see the traits and attributes of Doc Ock from the live-action series to the one found in the comic book universe since they’re supposed to be variants, yet are so different.

SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY

Movie Doc Ock Doesn’t Need To Wear Glasses

Among all the tearful scenes in Spider-Man: No Way Home, fans would have noticed that Doc Ock kept shifting between wearing glasses and removing them. In the movies, Doc Ock only wore shades when he worked on his fusion reactor since it required him to have eye protection.

The comic book Doc Ock became highly sensitive to light during the accident that fused the tentacles to his body, which made it necessary for him to wear glasses with a particular shade to help his near-sightedness, as shown in Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Negative Exposure #3.

Comics Doc Ock Was The Leader Of The Sinister Six

The MCU brought its own version of the Sinister Six – although there were five antagonists proper – in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Doc Ock didn’t want anything to do with the others even when he was a villain and ultimately aided the heroes against the baddies in the climax.

The comic book version was the one who came up with the idea to band together all of Spider-Man’s primary foes to combat him in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1. Doc Ock had no regrets about challenging Spider-Man in what was an unfair match-up, whereas he arrived to help in the movies to turn the tide in Spider-Man’s favor.

Movie Doc Ock Faithfully Loved One Woman

Doctor Octopus was easily among the most likable characters in the Spider-Man movies because he was a kindly figure before his mind was manipulated by the tentacles. This version had a wife, Rosie, he was completely faithful to, so much so that he became lost without her presence.

Comic Book Doc Ock doesn’t have any scruples in this area, as he even tried to marry Aunt May in The Amazing Spider-Man #130 as a way to antagonize Peter. He was also in love with a woman named Anna Maria when he was in control of Peter’s body. In his youth, he was engaged to a woman named Mary Alice, as shown in Spider-Man Unlimited #3.

 

Comics Doc Ock Had A Bad Childhood

The reason for Doc Ock’s behavior stems from his bad childhood in the comics, as depicted in  Spider-Man Unlimited #3. It was revealed that his father, Torbert Octavius, was a bad man who regularly harmed Otto and his mother, leading to the shy attitude that got him bullied and eventually turned him into a bitter person.

Movies Doc Ock’s childhood has never been detailed, with the only indication of his youth being his romance with Rosie. According to Otto, he pursued Rosie when they were both college students and it was due to her influence that he wanted to help people with his scientific talents.

Movie Doc Ock’s Only Motivation Is To Run His Fusion Reactor

Doc Ock’s personality in Spider-Man movies can be summed up with one quote, which was about his intentions to use the fusion reactor. This version’s sole motivation was to prove his machine could work as a perpetual sun on Earth to provide clean energy.

Comic book Doc Ock turned to villainy in The Amazing Spider-Man #3 after his accident and decided to use his newfound abilities to antagonize people because he was treated horribly by others. His later goals have primarily been to defeat Spider-Man for foiling his plans so many times.

Comics Doc Ock Harmed Peter’s Loved Ones To Antagonize Him

Both versions of Doc Ock have not been above putting Peter Parker’s loved ones in peril, but the comic book Doc Ock has resorted to pettier levels. This includes instances like becoming Aunt May’s tenant in The Amazing Spider-Man #54 just so he could attack Peter during one of his visits.

The movie Doc Ock did kidnap Mary Jane to use as a bargaining chip against Spider-Man, but he didn’t really care about personally antagonizing Spider-Man, so much as ensuring he wouldn’t stand in his way when he completed his main goal of starting the fusion reactor.

Movie Doc Ock Was Friends With Norman Osborn

There were many great performances in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which was bolstered by the chemistry between the characters. Norman Osborn and Doc Ock had a prior connection that was acknowledged in the movie, with both turning out to be former friends who knew each other because of their scientist backgrounds.

Meanwhile, the comic book Doc Ock and Norman Osborn have been far from the best of pals, with Doc Ock attempting to take Osborn’s life in Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #12, and becoming the primary rival to the Green Goblin during the “Goblin King” arc of the Superior Spider-Man stories.

Comics Doc Ock Became Spider-Man Himself At One Point

The most significant defeat Doc Ock ever dealt with Spider-Man was during the “Dying Wish” arc where he swapped bodies with Peter to trap the latter in his dying body while assuming the mantle of Spider-Man himself. After Peter’s death, Otto started calling himself the Superior Spider-Man.

The Superior Spider-Man eventually found a part of Peter’s conscience in his mind and conceded defeat to allow Peter control back over his body. In the movies, Doc Ock is something of a fatherly figure toward Peter, with Octavius happy to learn that Peter had become a responsible adult in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and had given his life to save Peter’s in Spider-Man 2.

Comics Doc Ock Is Responsible For The Death Of Captain Stacy

While the movie Doc Ock had nothing to do with the movie versions of George Stacy in the live-action universe the characters appeared in, the comic book Doc Ock was responsible for the death of Geroge in The Amazing Spider-Man #-90.

It came about during a fight between Doc Ock and Spider-Man, where Ock launched piles of debris at his foe that fell to the onlookers on the ground. George attempted to shield a boy and paid with his life for his act of bravery. The film versions never ended up coming across each other.

There Is Only One Live-Action Doc Ock Between Universes

As of yet, there don’t seem to be multiple variants of Doctor Octopus in the live-action Spider-Man movies. There was no Doc Ock in The Amazing Spider-Man universe, nor has there been one in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. It means that there’s only one live-action Doc Ock that resided in the Sam Raimi trilogy universe.

He traveled to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Spider-Man: No Way Home, confirming there’s no Otto Octavius there either. Meanwhile, the comics have presented dozens of variants, with the primary Doc Ock hailing from Earth-616 along with plenty of others in the Spider-Verse.

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