Otto Octavius

### Occupation

Scientist, Criminal mastermindPrior occupation: Atomic researcher consultant, engineer

## Personality

At first glance, Dr. Otto Octavius could be considered quiet and unassuming. Mild-mannered, polite, affable and accomdating, he shows a good level of respect at his colleagues. This respect extends to his co-workers outside of those in academia however, which makes him valued and appreciated by many people. He also attempts to be patient with his more temperamental co-workers though can often be exaspeated or even condescending at times whenever they truly irritate him. At the same time, he can be quite gentlemanly to people and can be quite charming in his own way, especially to women he is sweet on.

However, he is also a troubled man with his own demons within him. An abusive childhood and working under exploitative bosses have given him a skepticism or even contempt toward harsh authority figures. In fact, after his accident with the arms, he has become more emotionally raw, irritable and volatile, revealing a large well of repressed anger. He takes delight in showcasing the power of his mind and lording it over others as a way to compensate for past weaknesses. When it comes to intellectual equals, he can run the gamut between respectful and even admiration to contempt and denial of the genius over his own. Driven by an inferiority complex, Dr. Octavius is a classic example of a man lashing out at a world who has kicked him around as a kid yet his moral compass, while damaged, is not yet broken and still shows signs of a good man not yet fallen into the abyss, trying to reclaim himself.

## Powers & Abilities

***-Scientific Genius:*** Doctor Octopus is a genius on a variety of various sciences such as nuclear physics, nuclear engineering, mechanical engineering. computer sciences and so on. While his specialty lies in the nuclear sciences, mainly in the creation, maintanance and repair of nuclear power sources, he is good in various other specialities. He also possesses knowledge in biochemistry which was utilized to create the neurotransmitter connected to his harness allowing him to control the robotic arms with just his thoughts.

***- Mechnical Telepathy:*** As a result of his accident that synchronized his mind with his harness, he formed a "mental bond" with it, allowing him to control it remotely from a distance. However, the farther away, the long it takes for the signals to reach and the directions tend to be quite basic. Additionally, it requires the harnass having sufficient power.

## Tools & Equipment

***- Octopus Extendable Arm Harness Ver 1.0:*** The personal invention of Doctor Octavius, he made it as part of his specialized method to control radioactive material. Based on pre-existing concept ideas of robotic extendable arms, he revolutionized the method by creating a neurotransmitter that could be hooked up to a port attached to his nervous system that could allow him to control the arms as his own limbs. During experimentation with the effects of varying radiation, including vita radiation,  an accident caused the "Vita-Rays" to flood out to him, fully connecting him to his harness and likely creating the mental bond (the truama of it may have led to some mental instability along with the crudeness of the transmitter).

The four mentally-controlled, electronically-powered, telescoping, prehensile titanium-steel tentacles are attached to a specialized steel harness encircles his body, working largely on his back with the power source located in the front. Each tentacle, several inches in diameter, terminates in three single-jointed pincers with extra pincers capable of popping out. The pincers are able to rotate in relation to the arm for 360 degrees, in a screwdriver-like twisting motion. The ends of the claws also have strong lights to be used to look around while also flashing in different colors to warn of the radioactive levels. Relatively light-weight with high-tensile strength, a high melting point, and high thin-wall rigidity, the motors that operate the limbs are on a revolutionary atomic battery pack of his own design. It keeps the arms functional and moving for years before needing to be replaced.

***- Radioactivity Resistance Suit:*** A green suit that helps against the radiation of the atomic battery pack. While the atomic battery pack emits relatively low levels of radiation, the suit helps further block the radiation levels so Doctor Octavius can further go on while wearing the harness on his person. Also heat resistant and shock resistant.

## History

### From Child to Adulthood

Otto Gunther Octavius was born as the only son of Tobert and Mary Octavius within Schenectady, New York in 1945. Tobert Octavius was a construction worker while his wife Mary was a waitress before meeting Tobert. Tobert Octavius was a gruff and hot-tempered man who possessed a massive inferiority complex (not unlike how his son would inherit and develop) as a result of his failure to join the US Army due to health problems and serve his country during WW2. Made even worse with the conflict between him and his younger brother Karl, who became a decorated soldier and the two's bitterness meant Otto did not know his uncle until much later in life. Mary meanwhile doted on her son Otto as an escape from her turbulent marriage with Tobert, which many speculated was the result of Tobert impregnating Mary. Unsurprisingly, Otto became a target of bullying during his childhood as a result of lower class status, his large framed spectacles, poor health and pudgy appearance. Furthermore, Otto was also a victim of physical abuse from the hands of his father, who kept trying to demand that he (Otto) fight back against his bullies while Mary told Otto not resort to violence, not wishing to see Otto becoming the same sort of brutish person like his father. This led Otto to repress his anger deep within him along with his resentment at his situation. Despite this, Otto would exceed immensely in his academic studies. While this earned him the pride of his mother, it impressed little of his father.

Otto's life would begin to change when he won a whole scholarship to study over at M.I.T. In fact, Tobert would die of his alcoholism in Otto's first semester, which left Otto free to study at his pace. At the same time, now free of her husband's dreadful reign, Mary devoted herself entirely to pressuring her son to cost to succeed and make something of himself. However, this came at the cost of Otto isolating himself from most of his peers during his time in university. While Otto did form some positive relationships at his time in school, he was still dominated by the influence of his overbearing mother. Eventually, he would graduate on top of his class from M.I.T., along with earning his doctorate and specializing in physics with an honoary degree in biochemistry. However, he would have few friendships and positive bonds there, still feeling restrained and restricted. In fact, around this time, his resentment also began extending over to his mother as well.

### Working at the Atomic Research Center

After his graduation, Otto would begin his time at the U.S. Atomic Research Center in the midst of the Cold War around 1967. During his time there, he would mean various colleagues there, either at the institution itself or whenever he had to travel for parts or time off, Otto would mean various intellectuals and prominent individuals. From his old mentor in Phineas Mason, to an aeronautics engineer known as Adrian Toomes to many others during his time in studying atomic sciences and helping to create either power sources or bombs. Eventually though, he would come to become a prominent head when he would finish inventing his *Octopus Extendable Arm Harness,* a special harness to allow the handling of hazardous materials within a safe distant and with ease. However, he would also grow increasingly conflicted with his superiors at the research center in regards to the harness for military uses or to be developed for outside purposes. Furthermore, Otto's family life would finally reach a crack when he would be courting a co-worker of his in his work, Mary Anders. She was one of his first friends there and he would be planning to try and propose to her. However, when he would be informed to that of his mother, Mary Octavius lashed out in fear that Otto would be abandoning her, feelings that grew as a result of Otto trying to find more independence. Otto would be cowed and end up not proposing over to Mary. Ironically, he would weeks later discover his own mother would be dating behind his back

Infuriated at this act of hypocrisy, Otto lashed out at his mother for her suffocating behavior and how he felt she just used him. At the argument grew heated, it would give Mary a heart attack from the stress leading to her death. In a fit of shock and tragedy, Doctor Octavius would be forced to bury his mother in 1975, filled with bitter and complicated feelings. Out of a sense of isolation, he would try and seek some other families and this led to him growing closer to his extended family in his father's uncle and his cousins, the children of his mother's sister, but they lived relatively far away and did not know them well enough to be truly close to them, at least in his mind. In an attempt to deal with his frustrations, he buried himself in his work with limited success. The boiling magma of his resentment and anger at the world was hidden in the fragile crust of his fortitude.

In Octavius' last years at the Atomic Research Center, he would actually adopt a protege of sorts in Carolyn Trainer who got a starting position there through the connections of her father, Seward Trainer. They quite an amicable relationship, with her looking up to him as her mentor and hero while he referred to her as the most capable assistant he ever had and gave her plenty of glowing praise for her upcoming career.

### Rise of Doc Ock

He would depart from the Atomic Research Center over in 1992 as a result of the various budget changes coming from the post-Cold War developments along with his growing personal conflicts with the change of development. While he would be able to easily find work in various labs, he grew increasingly frustrated and bitter at the world and the percieved lack of control of his destiny. From anger at the military management and politicians, many noted that it seemed that Otto was nearing a breaking point.

Said breaking point came one day in 1996, while he was researching the interaction of various raditions with the latest prototype of his harness. In his negligance, a valve resulted in a massive surge of vita radiation to go through his body. The inner workings of the harness, including the neural transmitter and connections to his nervous system, would fuse with his body from the temperature along with the radiation having an affect on Otto's behavior. All the repressed anger at the world and the people who ran it along with the desire for respect and glory came out in an uninhibited tidal wave. Otto Octavius would no longer hold back all of the resentment he possessed, finally understanding how his father felt. He would show the world his brilliance... his genius.

No longer would he be held back by know-nothing superiors or outsiders, he would begin lashing out at the world to show them all who he was made of. He set his eyes on the criminal underground of New York as a good starting ground for the beginnings of his operations and decided that the best way to establishment his credabiltiy as a threat would be to defeat the biggest threat to crime at the time, Spider-Man.

## Trivia

* Octavius' moniker of "Doctor Octopus" was given when he first unveiled his harness, reflecting having his eight-limbs along with the octopi's intelligence. Octavius' acceptance of the name prior to the accident was indifference at best or annoyance at worst. He has since embraced the moniker since becoming a criminal.

* While his relationship with his mother's ended in complicated bitterness from her coddling and later hypocrisy, he is still fond of her and every year or so, around the time of her death, he is in a period of melancholia and mourning.

* His views of his father have become more complicated after his death. Namely, since the incident that transformed him and then becoming a criminal, he admits to now understanding and even empathizing with his father. In his first few days of indulging in his outrage and resentment at the world and his circumstances for not giving him his fair due, he realized that this was how his father felt all the time as a blue collar worker.

* His childhood hero growing up was none other than Leonardo Da Vinci. He mentions that the idea for the tentacle harness was inspired in part by his *Vitruvian Man* pencil sketch. Unsurprisingly, one of his favorite hobbies was going to art museums and admiring his work.

* One of Octavius' odder friendships was with a video store clerk named Angelina Brancale, who was Carolyn Trainer's roommate at the time she interned under him. They met when he visited the store and upon recognizing her, chatted up with her up, with her being so thankful as to giving him a discount in documentaries. He empathized with her regarding coming from poverty and feeling a repressed anger at the world. He has kept in touch with her ever since.

* Despite his honorary doctorate in biochemistry, Octavius has a skeptical and harsh view on certain ideas in the field of genetics. Specifically, he is deeply uncomfortable at the idea of cloning humans and on human mutants with superhuman abilities. When asked, Octavius notes how the whole train of thought seems dehumanizing and reminiscent of eugenics, especially the idea of some humans becoming "replacable" and on those born "superior to others" just from their genetics. Those who know him believe that this disdain is rooted in personal issues; the former due to how he was treated as an adult by his superiors as a meaningless nobody that could be replaced and the latter on how he was taunted and bullied for being born asthmatic and sickly, something beyond his control.

* In contrast, he holds a highly favorable view in bionics. He professes a belief in augmenting the human body through cybernetics as the next step in human evolution to overcome the natural weaknesses of the human body. He notes that anyone born with a debilitating condition could use cybernetics to cure, fix or even improve themselves. Those who know him note this was born out of a desire for him to improve himself beyond the body he was born and the concern of potential terminal illnesses or debilitating conditions gained from his atomic research.

* Another belief he professes to is that he doesn't believe people can change in terms of how they are at their core. He comments on the nature of how people are and makes apt comparisons to how people like his parents were.

* In college, he took up smoking cigars as a stress-coping mechanism, which continued to a fair bit of his adult life. He notes that his father only smoked cigars on occasion (namely when he could afford buying good ones) andwhenever he did some cigars, it was when he was at his most affable. He would end up being forced to quit for the sake of his health, a choice that Otto laments in having to do so.

* Another aspect Octavius shared with his father was a taste for fine suits, noting he felt empowered and truly in the elite whenever he wore one. In fact, his father's old suit was the only thing he ever kept from him besides his last cigars. Some of his colleagues noted with his fondness for fine suits and cigas along with his ambitions for leadership and control, he's like a mob boss.

* While he admits to not liking being around children, he oddly connects well with some. He recalls an incident where his car broke down and got help from a nearby good samaritan and his family. As Octavius notes, the woman was a charming converstionalist while the man in particular was a talented mechanic and amicable person. He even notes how the man recognized him as a scientist and to say some encouraging words to his nephew, a lad that reminded him of himself. He encouraged the boy to pursue his love of science, and told him to ignore those who would mock him.