With Spider-Man: No Way Home on everyone’s mind, I
figured now is a great time to cover some of the MC2 counterparts of the
villains confirmed to appear in the film. Today, we are taking a look at Dr
Otto Octavius aka Doc Ock aka Doctor Octopus in the MC2.
Doctor Octopus first appeared in Amazing
Spider-Man #3 but makes his MC2 debut behind the scenes in The
Buzz #1. Well, technically he’s only alluded to in the first issue and
really makes his debut in The Buzz #2 albeit partially obscured, with
his identity finally revealed in The Buzz #3. Let me break it down.
In The Buzz #1 we learn from J
Jonah Jameson that Spider-Man vanished right before Jameson
needed him most, though we don’t get any further details. Jonah’s wife Marla,
Dr Sonja Jade and Richie
Robertson were key members working on Project: Human Fly, a
superpowered suit designed to empower Buzz Bannon and intended to be
keyed to his specific brainwaves. However, when Dr Jade reveals her true
self and her intention to take the suit, Bannon is shot and dies before
his encephalograms can be linked to the Human Fly suit, leaving JJ
Jameson to be keyed with the suit and foil its theft, though not before Dr
Jade makes off with the project's data and erases all remaining records.
Evidently, Dr Jade is being well-paid by Doc Ock and the suits of
the henchmen accompanying her distinctly resemble those seen way back in the
classic Master Planner story from Amazing Spider-Man #31-33.
Doctor Octopus makes his partially obscured first MC2
appearance in The Buzz #2, receiving a report from Dr Jade regarding
the henchmen’s failure to obtain the Fly suit, which he attributes to
the decrease in quality since the Taskmaster
retired. Otto provides Jade with a device that would allow him to
remotely take control of the Fly suit. Teaming up with Richie
Robertson to maintain the suit, JJ
(dubbing himself The Buzz) sought out Dr Jade with
little success for several weeks until confronted by her in a prototype of the Human
Fly suit. With the device attached, the unseen Octavius downloads
himself into the suit’s operating system and attempts to remotely pilot The
Buzz back to his hidden base only to be interrupted by Spider-Girl.
Otto forces The Buzz to target Marla
Jameson, resulting in JJ’s grandfather J Jonah Jameson being taken
hostage. In order to force Doc Ock to leave the suit, Richie hits
the kill switch and leaves The Buzz plummeting to earth. With the threat
of the suit being destroyed and with Jonah being rescued by Spider-Girl,
Doctor Octopus abandons control and Richie wipes him from the
suit’s system, allowing The Buzz to pull out of the drop just in time (The
Buzz #2).
JJ learns from his grandmother Marla the reason why Jonah blames himself for two murders following Buzz Bannon’s death. Marla explains that shortly after the original Spider-Man disappeared in battle with the Green Goblin, an old enemy attacked the Daily Bugle and murdered Jonah’s closest friend, Joe Robertson, Richie’s grandfather. It’s this inciting incident that led to the idea for Project: Human Fly (The Buzz #3).
Using the control module device, Richie traces Dr Jade and her boss to their base and The Buzz and Spider-Girl follow this lead deep below the East River. The pair encounter Jade and Doctor Octopus is finally revealed as the mastermind who secretly aided in the development of the Human Fly suit, specifically the encephalo-gate which ties brain waves into the suit’s operating system (The Buzz #3).
Otto also
reveals he is dying from cancer and intended to use this method to transfer his
consciousness. Unveiling his prototype Octopod, Otto uses the
machine to battle The Buzz, but is left in a coma following an
electrical backlash when the underwater base beings to flood. Confronted with
the man who killed his grandfather, Richie insists The Buzz
brings him in to face justice, but when given the choice between proving Dr
Jade's involvement and saving Doc Ock, he was more than happy
for The Buzz to leave Ock to die. Conflicted, The Buzz
instead helps save Octavius and Dr Jade escapes (The Buzz #3).
It seems Doctor Otto Octavius never regains consciousness,
and by the time Dr Jade re-emerges her partner Carolyn
Trainer has assumed the mantle as the new Doctor Octopus
in honour of her ‘recently deceased mentor’ (Spider-Girl #69). At
least the name is in good hands.
Thus ends the life of Otto Octavius, at least in the MC2.
Unless, of course, he managed to transfer his consciousness like he had planned
and is still out there somewhere trapped inside his Octopod…
Until I stop the rampant rumour-mongering about versions of Doctor
Octopus somehow surviving beneath the water, I remain
frogoat