Marvel’s first 2025 release just showed us what an MCU Doctor Octopus would’ve looked like, and I’m genuinely pleased to see it. While I think the MCU timeline has done a good job when it’s come to selecting villains for Spider-Man to face, it’s also been hard to not hope for the franchise introducing a new Doctor Octopus to the live-action world. Not only is the villain one of Spider-Man’s biggest enemies, he’s also a fascinating character in his own right, whose parallels with the web-swinger can really help underline what makes Peter such a notable hero.

While we did get to see Alfred Molina slip into the MCU through his part in the cast of Spider-Man: No Way Home, this was via him entering the world from another movie universe following his time in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films and world. As such, it’s all the more exciting to see a 2025 MCU release provide its own version of Doctor Octopus, and give us a better idea of what the iconic villain could have been like in the main universe, even if the odds of getting a new Doctor Octopus in the main MCU universe currently appear slim at best.

Marvel’s New 2025 Spider-Man Release Introduced Its Own Version Of Doctor Octopus

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man‘s version of Doctor Octopus is arguably the closest we appear set to get in terms of the MCU’s iteration of the villain, since Tom Holland’s franchise seems to be without its own versions of some major Spider-Man characters like Otto Octavius. However, we know the new MCU Spider-Man show is centered around a very similar universe – since things like the Sokovia Accords and Captain America: Civil War‘s airport battle are shown to have happened – meaning it stands to reason the universe’s Doctor Octopus is pretty close to what we could have gotten in the main timeline.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man episode 4 closes on the reveal of the show’s version of Doctor Octopus – who is very close to the classic comic bowl-cut clad Otto Octavius, complete with glasses and a glimpse of a green and yellow suit under a white lab coat. Episode 5 follows up on this tease, showing more of the character’s design and personality in the show as we watch Doctor Octopus give Mila Masaryk the tech upgrades that would make her into the laser-firing villain Unicorn that Spider-Man has to face down in one of his toughest fights yet later in this chapter of the story.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man episode 3, 4 and 5 all released on February 5, 2025, with more episodes set to release weekly until the season 1 finale on February 19.

While Doc Ock only gets a few minutes of screentime in this sequence, it’s enough to establish a lot about the villain and this specific rendition’s characterization of him. Otto’s disdain for Mila and pride in his work shows him to be every part the egotistical and misanthropic scientist that he’s often depicted as in the comics, making it clear from the offset that he holds his scientific research dear to the point of becoming a career criminal.

Depicting Otto in all his mad scientist glory really allows the villain to shine in a series that’s already got a considerable character roster, and lets voice actor Hugh Dancy add some real dimension and charm to the character with his performance. Though we don’t get to see Doctor Octopus in action but rather self-assuredly kitting another antagonist out with their own equipment, the series has primed itself to show a seriously interesting version of the character either later in the season or in the greenlit season 2.

Your Friendly Neighborbood Spider-Man’s Doctor Octopus Is A Total Contrast To The Sam Raimi Movies’ Version Of The Villain

One of the most interesting things about Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man‘s Doc Ock depiction is how it contrasts with the iteration of Doctor Octopus that MCU viewers would have seen beforehand, since Alfred Molina’s Otto is very different to the animated show’s take on the character. This not only helps set the different versions of Doctor Octopus that have appeared in the MCU apart, but also serves to show just how many different ways stories can use and define the villain, even if these versions keep many major details relatively similar.

While both play into the tropes of an unhinged scientist, the show’s villain leans far more into the comic wackiness of the antagonist, both in design and in behavior. This is something helped in no small part by the animated series’ art style being able to more closely replicate the comic art itself than live-action can.

Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus having a backstory that connects him to Peter Parker also makes him a very different character to the show’s take, who appears to have no link to the young hero based on everything that’s been revealed about both characters thus far. This all also makes the prospect of a villain redemption story – as Doctor Octopus is won over by a version of Spider-Man in both Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man: No Way Home – far less likely for the animated show, since Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man‘s version seems more conventionally villainous and has no connection to Peter.

I’m Glad Your Friendly Neighborbood Spider-Man Chose To Depict Doctor Octopus The Way It Has

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man‘s version of Doctor Octopus is one of the most comic-accurate takes on the character, and – while I certainly think the more dramatic depiction of the villain may come as a surprise to audiences more used to a toned-down version – I’m glad the show decided to take the approach it did with the character. Given Alfred Molina’s version of Doctor Octopus has arguably been a defining depiction for the villain’s on-screen presence, taking a similar route must surely have been tempting, but providing audiences something both fresh and nostalgic looks set to pay dividends.

Currently, the chances of the main MCU timeline bringing its own variant of Doctor Octopus into the franchise seems pretty unlikely – especially since Spider-Man: No Way Home introduced Peter to the character in a way that would make him meeting another Otto complicated in a way the MCU may not wish to explore. With this in mind, getting to see what an Earth-616 Doctor Octopus could be like – and what a brighter, more bombastic Doc Ock could be like in an era where we have gotten things like Wolverine’s yellow costume on-screen – is still a fun development all around.