Otto Octavius (film character)

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Otto Octavius
<templatestyles src="Noitalic/styles.css"/>Sam Raimi's Spider-Man <templatestyles src="Noitalic/styles.css"/>and
<templatestyles src="Noitalic/styles.css"/>Marvel Cinematic Universe character
File:Alfred Molina as Otto Octavius in Spider-Man No Way Home.jpg
Alfred Molina as Otto Octavius in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
First appearance Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Last appearance Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Portrayed by Alfred Molina
Voiced by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Information
Nickname(s) Doc Ock
Aliases Doctor Octopus
Species Human cyborg
Occupation Physicist
Affiliation Oscorp Industries
Spouse(s) Rosalie "Rosie" Octavius
Nationality American

Otto Octavius, Ph.D., is a fictional character from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 (2004) and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Jon Watts film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) —based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name— sometimes known by his alias, Doctor Octopus/Doc Ock. He is portrayed by Alfred Molina, who also voices the character in the video game adaptation of Spider-Man 2.

Octavius is introduced in the film Spider-Man 2 (2004) as a nuclear physicist and friend and mentor of Peter Parker, whose research into fusion power with his wife Rosie (portrayed by Donna Murphy) is being sponsored by Oscorp's genetic and scientific research division, headed by Harry Osborn.

When Octavius' fusion reactor experiment using tritium becomes unstable, resulting in Rosie's death, the harness of powerful robotic tentacle arms equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) which he was using safely handle the materials is fused to his body, burning the inhibitor chip keeping the arms from controlling his nervous system. After ending up in the hospital and massacring the surgeons attempting to save Octavius by sawing them off, the arms' AI convince him to steal funds in order to attempt the experiment again, over the course of which crime spree the Daily Bugle dubs him Doctor Octopus, or "Doc Ock" for short. Along the way, he comes into conflict with Spider-Man, with Osborn offering to give Octavius the tritium he needs to complete his experiment in exchange for handing him over to him. Ultimately, as the experiment begins to destroy New York City, Spider-Man reveals himself as Peter to Octavius after damaging his arms, and inspires him to regain control of them and sacrifice himself to sink the fusion reactor into the East River, where he presumably drowns. Molina reprises his role in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), in which Octavius is transported there right before his death along with four other villains due to a magic spell gone wrong, and ends up clashing with that universe's Spider-Man and his allies.

Molina's performance as the character, considered a tragic villain, has been positively received by critics and audiences, with the character considered to be one of the most iconic villains in superhero films.

Concept and creation

Alfred Molina in 2009

Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus was intended to be the secondary antagonist of Spider-Man (2002), but director Sam Raimi eventually dropped the concept in favor of spending more time with Harry and Norman Osborn.[1] Raimi decided to use Octavius as the antagonist of Spider-Man 2 (2004) due to being both a visually interesting villain and a character who could be seen as sympathetic.[2] Several actors were considered for the role, including Alfred Molina, Ed Harris, Chris Cooper (who would later portray Norman Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2), Christopher Walken and Robert De Niro;[3][4] In February 2003, Molina was cast as Octavius for the film, undergoing physical training for the role.[5]

Raimi had been impressed by his performance in Frida (2002) and also felt that his large physical size was true to the comic book character.[6] Molina was not aware that he was a strong contender for the role, only briefly discussing it.[2] He was excited to get the role, being a big fan of Marvel Comics.[7] Although he was not familiar with Doc Ock, Molina found one element of the comics that he wanted to maintain, the character's cruel, sardonic sense of humor.[8]

Special effects

To create Doctor Octopus' mechanical tentacles, Edge FX was hired to create a corset, a metal and rubber girdle, a rubber spine and four foam rubber tentacles which were 8 feet (2.4 m) long and altogether weighed 100 pounds (45 kg). The claws of each tentacle, which were called "death flowers", were controlled by one puppeteer sitting on a chair. Each tentacle was controlled by four people, who rehearsed every scene with Molina so that they could give a natural sense of movement as if the tentacles were moving due to Octavius' muscle movement.[5] On set, Molina referred to his tentacles as "Larry", "Harry", "Moe" and "Flo".[9]

For Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), Doctor Octopus' mechanical tentacles were created through CGI instead of puppetry. According to Tom Holland, Molina had to subsequently "relearn" how to act using them.[10]

Return of the character

Molina first expressed interest in portraying the character again in The Amazing Spider-Man series. In an August 2014 interview, while promoting Love Is Strange (2014), Molina expressed his openness to return as Doctor Octopus in Sinister Six, then-intended for a 2016 release, after the character's appearance in that film was teased at the end of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), but reflected that the filmmakers could choose to go for other actor.[11] By September 2019, The Sinister Six had re-entered development,[12] Amy Pascal stating the following October that it would feature villains of Marvel Studios' Spider-Man films.[13] By September 2021, The Sinister Six was confirmed to be in active development, to be set in Sony's Spider-Man Universe.[14]

In December 2020, it was reported that Molina would reprise his role as the character in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), which is intended to be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[15] In April 2021, Molina confirmed his involvement with film, calling it "wonderful" to reprise his role. He also revealed that Octavius's story in the film would pick up mere moments after the events of Spider-Man 2. Molina will be digitally de-aged in the film to resemble how he appeared in 2004, despite his concerns about his fighting style not looking realistic due to his age in a similar way to Robert De Niro's character in The Irishman (2019).[16]

Fictional character biography

Becoming Doctor Octopus

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Further information: Spider-Man 2

Otto Octavius is a brilliant nuclear physicist and a scientific idol of Peter Parker, who aims to write his college paper on him. Parker meets Octavius through Harry Osborn's Oscorp funding of Octavius. At first, Octavius dismisses Parker until he remembers that Oscorp pays the bills and that Parker is the "brilliant but lazy" student of Dr. Curt Connors. Octavius sets up an artificial sun with four mechanical tentacles controlled by a device by his neck, attempting a fusion reactor experiment using tritium. The experiment goes awry, resulting in the death of his wife, the harness being fused to his body, and the inhibitor chip controlling the arms being destroyed. The arms' artificial intelligence (AI) massacre the surgeons attempting to save Octavius, convincing him to steal funds and attempt the experiment again.

Along the way, he comes into conflict with Spider-Man and offers to bring him to Osborn in exchange for more tritium. To lure Spider-Man, Octavius kidnaps Mary Jane Watson and battles him atop an elevated train, which he sends careening out of control. Octavius takes Spider-Man captive, delivers him to Osborn, keeps Watson as a hostage, and begins another attempt at the fusion reactor experiment. Spider-Man arrives to stop him and damages the arms before revealing his identity as Parker to remind Octavius of how he believed intelligence should be used for good. Inspired by Parker's words, Octavius sacrifices himself to sink the fusion reactor into the East River.

Entering a different reality

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Further information: Spider-Man: No Way Home

Due to a malfunction in Dr. Stephen Strange's spell to erase people's memories of this Spider-Man's identity, Octavius is brought in an alternate reality moments before his death, along with other individuals from other realities that knew Parker's identity. He attacks Parker at the Alexander Hamilton Bridge, using his nanotechnological suit to upgrade his arms. After learning he is in a different reality with a different Peter Parker, they are nearly attacked by Norman Osborn / Green Goblin, and Octavius is captured and held in a cell in the Sanctum Sanctorum alongside the Lizard. Octavius denies that the Goblin on the bridge was Osborn, explaining that the Osborn he knew had died years prior.[lower-alpha 1]

Upon the rest of the villains being captured, Octavius learns that he would have died fighting Spider-Man. He reluctantly accepts Parker's offer to cure them, accompanying them to Happy Hogan's apartment. Despite initially resisting Parker's efforts, his inhibitor chip is restored, curing him. Out of gratitude, he returns the nanotech, enhancing Parker's suit. Octavius was forced to flee the apartment after the Goblin—who had overwhelmed Osborn—encouraged Max Dillon / Electro to attack him. Octavius returns to cure Dillon at the Statue of Liberty, and reunites with his Peter Parker, also brought in by the spell. Strange casts a spell to make everyone forget the existence of Parker, and Octavius is returned to his universe in his Parker's present as a reformed man, taking an arc reactor with him.

In other media

Video games

  • Molina reprises his role as Octavius in the Spider-Man 2 video game (2004).
  • This version of Octavius appears as a playable character in the 2007 game Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, now voiced by Joe Alaskey. The game is set in an alternate timeline where all of the villains from the Spider-Man film series survived their initial debuts. Doc Ock is present with various other villains during an attempt to kill Spider-Man in the game's opening cutscene. After Spider-Man defeats the villains, the group is attacked by a swarm of symbiote-like creatures known as P.H.A.N.T.O.M.s. The villains, including Doc Ock, are suddenly teleported elsewhere while Spider-Man is rescued by S.H.I.E.L.D. Doc Ock is then brainwashed by the villainous mastermind behind the P.H.A.N.T.O.M.s using a mind-controlling amulet and is sent to Tokyo to create a P.H.A.N.T.O.M. generator. There, Spider-Man fights him by the generator and destroys the amulet, restoring his free will. Afterwards, Octavius reluctantly joins forces with Spider-Man and becomes playable for the remainder of the game.

Reception and legacy

Alfred Molina's role in Spider-Man 2 was widely well-received. In May 2014, IndieWire ranked him as the 5th greatest film supervillain of all time.[17] The effects used for his robotic arms were also praised, with Roger Ebert calling it the film's "special-effects triumph".[18] Chicago Tribune's Mark Caro stated that Octavius was a "pleasingly complex" villain in Spider-Man 2,[19] with Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times concurring with Caro, opining, "Doc Ock grabs this film with his quartet of sinisterly serpentine mechanical arms and refuses to let go."[20] IGN's Richard George felt "Sam Raimi and his writing team delivered an iconic, compelling version of Spider-Man's classic foe... We almost wish there was a way to retroactively add some of these elements to the original character."[21] Empire also praised Octavius as a "superior villain" in 2015.[22]

Looking back at the Sam Raimi trilogy, Tom Holland, who portrays Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, praised Molina's performance in Spider-Man 2, noting that he was initially terrified of the character back when he saw Spider-Man 2 for the first time.[23] Holland later expressed his enjoyment at later working with Molina in Spider-Man: No Way Home, calling Molina "one of [his] favorite people [he]'s ever worked with".[10]

Awards and nominations

Molina has received numerous nominations and awards for his portrayal of Otto Octavius.

Year Film Award Category Result Ref(s)
2005 Spider-Man 2 London Film Critics' Circle British Supporting Actor of the Year Nominated [24]
MTV Movie Awards Best Villain Nominated [25]
Satellite Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Drama Nominated [26]
Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated [27]
Visual Effects Society Awards Outstanding Performance by an Actor or Actress in a Visual Effects Film Won [28]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Norman Osborn's identity as the Green Goblin is retroactively established to have been widely reported upon his death in Spider-Man (2002), and known to Octavius by Spider-Man 2 (2004).
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  9. ↑ Mike Cotton. "Spider-Man 3." Wizard: The Comics Magazine June 2007: p. 30–31.
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External links

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