Doctor Octopus

Otto Octavius had a turbulent upbringing. His father, a factory worker, was abusive and violent towards both Otto and his mother, leading Otto to be shy and reclusive in school. However, at his mother's insistence, he was determined not to become like his father and threw all his efforts into his education, regularly scoring top marks. It was hinted that he was a low-level telepathic mutant whose powers emerged at puberty; this mutation may have been responsible for giving his father an aneurysm as his father went to beat him. His father's death in an industrial accident pushed Otto further towards the study of, and obsession with, physical science. 


Before his transformation into the megalomaniacal archenemy of the web-slinger, Otto was a brilliant and respected nuclear physicist, inventor, and lecturer. He became the youngest person to serve on the National Board of Nuclear Science. He designed a set of highly advanced mechanical arms to assist him with his research into atomic physics. The tentacled arms were resistant to radiation and were capable of great strength and highly precise movement. They were attached to a harness that fit around his body.

During an accidental radiation leak that ended in an explosion, the apparatus became fused to Octavius' body. It was later revealed that the radiation (or possibly his own latent mutation) had mutated his brain so that he could control the movement of the arms using his thoughts alone. The tentacles have since been surgically removed from his body, although Octavius retains the power to control them telepathically from a great distance. The accident also seemingly damaged his brain (although it was later suggested that what was interpreted as brain damage was in fact his mind rewiring itself to accommodate four extra limbs), and the scientist turned to a life of crime.

Though Doctor Octopus himself tends to be portly, and in poor physical shape, he has recently been able to improve upon his physique. He was also near-sighted to the extent that he was legally blind without the aid of his extremely thick eyeglasses, but he no longer appears to suffer from that problem, presumably through the use of laser surgery. With his harness attached he is physically far more than a match for Spider-Man; in his first appearance he beat Spider-Man so badly that the wall-crawler considered giving up his heroic career until he was inspired to continue by the Human Torch at the time when the Fantastic Four was called in to fight Doctor Octopus.

Over the years, Dr. Octopus has become one of most recognizable members of Spider-Man's rogues' gallery. He remains one of Spider-Man's most dangerous foes, having many legendary battles with him over the years. His crowning achievement was the near-fatal stabbing of Spider-Man's then-partner/lover, the Black Cat, who was placed in critical condition. This led to Spider-Man beating Dr. Octopus within an inch of his life. The trauma of the beating he received from Spider-Man left Octavius severely phobic of Spider-Man and spiders in general for years. This lasted until Spider-Man was forced to let his nemesis beat him in combat so as to allow him to break free of his fears and recruit him to save New York City from an exploding nuclear reactor.

Doctor Octopus has worked with other supervillains on several occasions, most notably as the leader of the original incarnation of the Sinister Six. He has been a member of several versions of the team, and founded his own short-lived version of the Masters of Evil when his teammates from the Sinister Six proved too difficult to manipulate. Certain members of the Six have since attempted to murder him, to no avail.