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Doc Ock made a surprising revelation to his Superior Four. Can he use it to take over the multiverse?
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Devil’s Reign: Superior Four #1 by Zac Thompson, Davide Tinto, Matt Milla, and Ariana Maher, now on sale from Marvel Comics.
Doctor Octopus has always served an interesting role in Spider-man’s rogues’ gallery of villains. He’s driven by an ego so inflated it’s rivaled by few other than Doom, yet Octavius has found himself playing the hero far more often than Victor in his life. Octavius’ current role in Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto’s Devil’s Reign is firmly that of one of the primary antagonists. But, his recent appearance in Sinister War continued to develop Otto as more sympathetic than the vast majority of Spider-man’s other enemies. Recently, it was revealed that a Doc Ock appears in nearly every reality of the multiverse. Is there some connection between what causes him to flip-flop back and forth between his good and evil deeds, and what guarantees his existence all over the multiverse?
Devil’s Reign – Superior Four Issue #1 by Zac Thompson and Davide Tinto revealed that Doctor Octopus has a multiversal omnipresence. Otto assumed control of the Baxter Building after the Fantastic Four were all arrested or ousted during the first issue of Devil’s Reign. He used Reed Richards’ multiverse technology to summon three other versions of himself all in the likeness of other Marvel heroes (Ghost Rider, Wolverine, and The Hulk). Together they murder alternate reality versions of Iron Man and an Otto version of Spider-man. It’s to these members of the newfound Superior Four whom Octavius revealed the everpresent nature of Ottos throughout the multiverse.
What’s made clear in the issue is that the constant throughout the multiverse isn’t Otto Octavius. It’s the nature of Otto’s powers, his extra four arms, and his overwhelming ego that drives almost every action of each Otto. Beyond that, each Otto can take on seemingly any form, including the Doctor Doom version of Otto seen at the end of the issue.
This Doctor Otto Von Doom is set to be the large enemy of the Superior Four Ottos the story is based around. It makes perfect sense. As mentioned earlier, very few egos rival Doc Ock’s outside of Victor Von Doom. The combination of those egos into a single man would create someone more narcissistic and sociopathic than almost any other villain the Marvel multiverse has ever seen, and it completely removes Octavius’s more human qualities in favor of Doom’s cold, relentless quest for power. If the ability to access Earth-616 falls into Otto Doom’s hands, it could potentially let a devastating new villain into Marvel’s main continuity.
The reason there are variants of Doctor Octopus in nearly every earth throughout the multiverse remains unclear. The idea of it is even questioned by other members of the Superior Four throughout the first issue since Octavius presented little information to back up his claim. What’s is made clear in the issue is that every Otto comes from an abusive past. So if what Octavius claimed about his multiversal inevitability is true, it could make him an allegory for the abusive cycle. In other words, Ottos are inevitable because abuse creates hurt people who, in turn, hurt more people. These Ottos don’t share the same surname because even in a world where Otto Octavius grew up in a stable home, there’s another child out there being made into that same monster as the Otto of Earth-616. A dark concept for a Spider-man villain, without a doubt.
At the core of each Otto in each universe is a damaged man who wants nothing more than to prove his own significance to himself and the world around him. The presence of multiple people like that in the same room can only lead to conflict. Inevitably, power hierarchies will begin to form and there’s nothing Otto hates more than not being at the top of a hierarchy. Maybe it’s best if each Otto remains in their own universe, where they can maintain the illusion that they’re at the center of it.
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