When Doctor Octopus Was Cool

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Dr. Octopus has been with Spider-Man, and Marvel, since forever.

He’s also a tough customer. I mean, the guy took on the Hulk. C’mon.

But Doctor Octopus has never been a cool Spider-Man villain. He doesn’t have the edge of Venom, or the mania of Green Goblin. He just has those arms. And those glasses. And that gut.

Which is why my favorite rendition of Otto Octavius was Erik Larsen’s in the early 1990s.

Octopus was the scientist whose mechanical arms were grafted to his body in an experiment gone wrong (naturally), driving him to a life of crime. Probably Spider-Man’s most intelligent foe, Dr. Octopus was the schemer. He was also a good organizer, drafting the Sinister Six into existence.

But he was always so dumpy. A fat Roy Orbison in green tights. So not cool.

Until Larsen’s run, and especially in the early Spider-Man issues. Larsen portrays Otto with a snazzy double-breasted white suit and black shirt. The glasses stay, as does the bowl cut, but the simple addition of the suit does wonders.

Erik Larsen was my canonical Spider-Man. His rendition of Black Cat, his work on Savage Dragon, his return to Amazing Spider-Man, the weird way he draws…did I mention I got to meet him once? In Chicago?

Anyway.

During Larsen’s reign, Doc Ock was stylish without being handsome, exactly. He looked like a professional villain. With self respect. He’s all business.

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Which is why the above panel is probably my favorite super villain quote ever. Strictly business, that’s what that is.

“You’re going to die Spider-Man. I’m going to kill you.”

Since then, Doc Ock has taken on many forms and appearances (Ock’s new career as Spider-Man is both weird and hilarious), but Larsen’s will always stand out as, at the least, the most dignified.