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The MCU’s Doctor Octopus is one of Spider-Man’s oldest and most famous adversaries. In Spidey’s rogues gallery, only The Green Goblin and Venom have comparable claims to infamy that Otto Octavius has. As Spider-Man’s premier villain, Doc Ock has appeared in countless media aside from the comics where he originated.
Looking across film and animation at all the actors who have portrayed Doc Ock, physically or vocally, there are a range of performances.
10 Michael Bell In The Incredible Hulk And Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends (1981)
Michael Bell is an accomplished voice actor; there’s nary an 1980s cartoon without his name in the credits. He voiced Doc Ock, not once but twice. The villain first appeared in the pilot of The Incredible Hulk, Tomb Of The Unknown Hulk, an odd choice considering Spider-Man was nowhere to be seen.
Doc Ock eventually faced his usual nemesis in Spidey Meets The Girl From Tomorrow from Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends. Unfortunately, Bell’s voice work left something to be desired. Both times, he used a high-pitched voice, at odds with Ock’s appearance and his intended menace.
9 Vernon Chapman And Tom Harvey In Spider-Man (1967)
Spider-Man and Doc Ock’s first venture outside the comics was in 1967’s cartoon Spider-Man. Spider-Man had low production values, felt in its limited animation and stilted voice acting. Two actors voiced Doc Ock – Vernon Chapman in The Power Of Dr. Octopus and Tom Harvey in The Terrible Triumph Of Doctor Octopus. There wasn’t much of a difference between them, intonation or quality-wise.
8 Scott Menville In Marvel’s Spider-Man (2017)
Scott Menville is the latest actor to voice Doc Ock in the 2017 cartoon, Marvel’s Spider-Man. This version of the character is much younger than usual, being a 19 year old peer of Peter Parker at Horizon High. Menville (famous for youthful characters like Robin on Teen Titans) seemed a fitting choice, especially since the series eventually adapted The Superior Spider-Man. Unfortunately, Octavius sometimes sounds too childish, and petulant rather than menacing.
7 Stan Jones In Spider-Man (1981)
Of Doc Ock’s three appearances in 1980s Marvel cartoons, only one didn’t feature him voiced by Michael Bell. This was in 1981’s Spider-Man, specifically the pilot episode, Bubble, Bubble, Oil and Trouble. In this episode, the good doctor was instead voiced by Stan Jones. Though hampered by cliché villain dialogue, Jones’ deeper intonations made him a better fit for the part than Bell.
6 Efrem Zimbalist Jr. In Spider-Man (1994)
Though not a perfect show by any means, the 1994 Spider-Man cartoon was a big quality uptake compared to its earlier predecessors. Doc Ock’s debut, Armed And Dangerous was an impressive one and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. was the best voice of the character to date. However, as time went on, Octavius was overshadowed by other villains, and Zimbalist’s use of a German accent for the role lent itself to camp.
5 Tom Kenny In Ultimate Spider-Man (2012)
Tom Kenny is famous for comedic parts, but he can be truly creepy when he wants to be. His turn as Doctor Octopus on Ultimate Spider-Man is proof. Octavius is depicted in the first season as a haggard quadriplegic, looking for an opportunity to betray his employer Norman Osborn, who he blames for his condition.
Kenny can oscillate between an eerie calm and resentful rage, and is well-suited for Ock’s more unkempt design. When Ock rejuvenates himself with a fitter, fully mobile body – then less so.
4 William Salyers In Spider-Man (PS4, 2018)
The Otto Octavius of Insomniac Studios’ Spider-Man is one of the most sympathetic versions – he spends the opening chunk of the game as Peter’s mentor, and its clear that the young man views Otto as a surrogate father figure. William Salyers’ unassuming voice fits this friendly, meek Otto, but he also turns in some impressive spite once Doc Ock makes his Face Heel Turn. Best of all, there’s his despair when a heartbroken Peter abandons him after their clash.
3 Peter MacNicol In The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008)
The finest Spider-Man cartoon is The Spectacular Spider-Man. Otto spends most of the first season as Norman Osborn’s weak-willed quisling, but once he turns in episode 8, he becomes the hammiest Ock of all. Like many characters in The Spectacular Spider-Man, this slow-burn development does wonders for Otto’s character depth; it’s easy to see why he so relishes power when he’s let himself be stepped on all his life.
Peter MacNicol is also excellent both as Otto Octavius, a man who seems perpetually nervous, and Doc Ock, megalomaniacal super-villain with no patience for Spider-Man’s quips.
2 Kathryn Hahn As Olivia Octavius In Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018)
The most drastic onscreen departure from comics’ Doc Ock came in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. This Doc Ock was a woman, Doctor Olivia Octavius, and possibly the most sadistic version of the character yet. Kathryn Hahn’s comedy background leads to some deadpan moments (“My friends call me Liv. My enemies call me Doc Ock”), but she’s genuinely menacing as well, particularly in her reveal scene when she describes how much she wants to see Peter B. Parker fade away to nothing. If any villain deserves a comeback in Across The Spider-Verse, it’s Liv.
1 Alfred Molina In Spider-Man 2 And Spider-Man: No Way Home (2004 & 2021)
Sam Raimi knocked it out of the park with the villainous casting of his first Spider-Man film by selecting Willem Dafoe as The Green Goblin. Somehow, he surpassed this in with an even better pick in Spider-Man 2 – character actor Alfred Molina for Doctor Octopus. Molina was something most versions of Doc Ock usually aren’t – charming. On top of this charisma, Molina’s Doc Ock was written with greater pathos, he’s a man simply trying to see his dream though. When he realizes how he’s fallen and proclaims “I won’t die a monster,” it tugs the heart strings.
Molina’s interpretation of Doctor Octopus is one of the main reasons for Spider-Man 2‘s enduring esteem. Indeed, he was so acclaimed that he got the chance to reprise the role be the MCU’s de facto Doc Ock in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
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