Marvel Reveals First Look At Doctor Octopus For New Reboot Universe

Published Oct 9, 2026, 3:34 PM EDT Nicolas Ayala is a Senior Writer for the Comics team at ScreenRant, with over five years of experience writing about Superhero media, action movies, and TV shows. Marvel's Spider-Man reboot reveals its new Doctor Octopus, who looks even creepier than Doc Ock's usual self. Dr. Otto Octavius is one of the creepiest villains in Spider-Man’s entire rogues' gallery due to his deeply unsettling physical movements and his cold-blooded cruelty. Doctor Octopus' body often dangles limply or jerks awkwardly while his artificial appendages slither, twitch, and scale vertical surfaces frantically. Doc Ock also tends to lock himself away in grease-stained laboratories and disregards his physical health while he conducts sadistic experiments. In the original Ultimate Universe, Otto Octavius is a vindictive sociopath whose metallic tentacles can reshape into fluid weapons, and his animated Ultimate Spider-Man counterpart complements them with greasy long hair, pale skin, and a severely hunched over body. Even more grotesque is Baron Victor Octavius from the Marvel 1602 timeline, an Italian nobleman who injects himself with octopus blood to cure the bubonic plague, only to mutate into a human-cephalopod hybrid monster with giant flesh-and-blood tentacles sprouting from his back. In an alternate Civil War, Doctor Octopus' tentacles forcefully attach themselves to Wilson Fisk's spine, administering a fatal shock before puppet-mastering the bloated, lifeless corpse of the Kingpin. Marvel's new Spider-Man universe raises the bar with another terrifying reimagining of one of Peter Parker's biggest nemeses. Midnight Spider-Man's Doctor Octopus Makes His Debut Midnight Spider-Man #2; Written By Phillip Kennedy Johnson; Art By ScieTronc And Neeraj Menon Midnight Spider-Man #1 establishes the Midnight Universe's Oscorp as a technology behemoth, and it links Hank Pym, Felicia Hardy, Curt Connors, and logically, Norman Osborn, to the corporation. After an "Octavius" name-drop in issue #1, Midnight Spider-Man #2 marks Dr. Otto Octavius' official Midnight debut. This version of the villain looks sinister from the start, with a web of metal spikes attached to his bald, vein-covered head, small round glasses obscuring his eyes, and a snout-like mouth that makes him look like an anthropomorphic mole. Like the previous issue, Midnight Spider-Man #2's preview pages are unlettered, so the reason why the rather nonchalant Midnight Felicia Hardy looks shocked while Dr. Octavius follows her will only be revealed on November 18th. Still, the unlettered pages reveal another major addition to Doctor Octopus in the Midnight Universe. A group of four test subjects with no eyelids, metal helmets covered with spikes, and enhanced with Doctor Octopus' tentacles appear to be Midnight Doc Ock's assistants, possibly working for him in constant physical and psychological pain. Doctor Octopus Raises The Bar For Midnight Spider-Man's Future Villains Green Goblin And The Lizard Must Be Living Nightmares In The Midnight Universe Midnight Spider-Man #1 sets the stage for the most unnerving Spider-Man timeline to date with Peter Parker's new origin story, Uncle Ben's death, and Oscorps' shady body-horror experiments. Midnight Spider-Man #2 continues to unveil this universe's darkness with the introduction of Doctor Octopus and his terrifying assistants. After only two issues and the confirmation that Norman Osborn is behind Oscorp, Marvel's Midnight Universe sets up a nightmarish Green Goblin. Whether he has already undergone his artificial enhancement or not, Midnight Green Goblin's appearance and power need to suit the rest of this harrowing reality. The same applies to Curt Connors' Lizard transformation and Hank Pym's Pym Particles, as well as Felicia Hardy's Black Cat identity. Midnight Spider-Man #1 also features a reference to gamma radiation, which suggests Oscorp could eventually have a hand at transforming Bruce Banner into Hulk. Other Spider-Man villains like Venom, Swarm, Vermin, Morbius, and Vulture could reach the peak of their creep factor if they're introduced in this continuity. Which Spider-Man villain would you like to see in the Midnight Universe? Midnight Spider-Man #2 is available November 18th from Marvel Comics Movie(s) Spider-Man, Spider-Man Strikes Back, Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Far from Home, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse TV Show(s) Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Spider-Man Unlimited, Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Spider-Noir Created by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko Comic The Amazing Spider-Man First Film Spider-Man First TV Show Spider-Man