One of the most highly anticipated returning villains in Spider-Man: No Way Home is none other than the iconic Doctor Octopus, A.K.A Doc Ock, played by the brilliant Alfred Molina in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2. It's been almost two decades since the release of Raimi's sequel, so you might need a refresher on Peter's (Tobey Maguire) powerful, tentacled foe. Have no fear because we've got you covered! Here's a quick recap on everything you need to remember about Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus.
Who is Doctor Octopus?
Doctor Octopus is a name coined by The Daily Bugle for the renowned scientific genius-turned-supervillain, Dr. Otto Octavius. In Spider-Man 2, Osborn Technologies is funding Dr. Octavius's breakthrough research on how to initiate and sustain fusion. Harry Osborn (James Franco), who is now head of Special Projects at Oscorp following the death of his father, Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe), offers Peter a chance to meet Octavius. Impressed with Peter's scientific brilliance, Octavius and Peter immediately hit it off and bond over their love of science. He teaches Peter an important lesson: intelligence is not a privilege, it's a gift that must be used for the good of mankind.
How Did Dr. Octavius Become Doc Ock?
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
With the help of his wife and scientific assistant Rosie (Donna Murphy), Dr. Octavius gives a public demonstration of his groundbreaking fusion-based energy source. He straps highly intelligent, powerful AI tentacle-like arms around his waist, but assuages the crowd by showing them the inhibitor chip on the back of his neck, which he developed to maintain control over the arms.
Dr. Octavius's fusion reactor is powered by tritium fuel. During the initial test, the reactor becomes unstable and creates a deadly magnetic effect that draws metallic objects to the generator. Rosie is killed by flying shards of glass in the midst of the chaos after Dr. Octavius refuses to shut down the reactor. His inhibitor chip burns, allowing the AI arms to take control and fuse themselves to his body. At the hospital, doctors attempt to surgically remove the arms, only for the sentient arms to kill them.
When Octavius regains consciousness, he quickly falls under the arms' influence as they convince him to re-attempt the experiment but on a larger scale. He becomes obsessed with rebuilding the generator and robs a bank to secure the money needed to rebuild where he kidnaps Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) and faces off against Spider-Man. Peter rescues her, but Dr. Octavius — who has now fully stepped into his villainous persona, Doc Ock — gets away with the stolen money.
The final piece that Doc Ock needs for his experiment is the tritium, so he threatens Harry and demands he give it to him. Harry agrees, on the condition that Doc Ock kill Spider-Man (as revenge for, he believes, killing his father). Harry sends Doc Ock after Peter, Spider-Man's photographer, claiming that he must know where he is. Doc Ock kidnaps MJ (Kirsten Dunst) and tells Peter that if he doesn't tell Spider-Man to meet him, he will kill her.
Peter and Doc Ock battle in the now-iconic subway scene where Peter saves a subway train full of passengers but fails to escape Doc Ock's clutches. Doc Ock delivers him to Harry, who unmasks him and is shocked and horrified to see Peter's face. Peter urges him that there are bigger things at stake.
What Happened to Doc Ock?
Image via Sony Pictures
In Spider-Man and Doc Ock's final showdown at the end of Spider-Man 2, Peter desperately attempts to rescue MJ from Doc Ock's laboratory. He and Doc Ock battle as the nuclear reactor begins to activate, on the verge of destroying the entire city. Peter reveals his true identity to him and reminds him of the words he once spoke to him: intelligence must be used for the greater good of humanity. Horrified as he returns to his senses and determined not to die a monster, Dr. Octavius takes control of the arms and sacrifices himself by drowning the reactor in the river and consequently drowning himself along with it.
Assuming that Doc Ock met his deadly fate at the end of Spider-Man 2, how does he make his triumphant return and face off against Tom Holland's Spidey in No Way Home? The wait is over, Web-Heads! Spider-Man: No Way Home is out in theaters now.