Peter Parker was bit by a radioactive spider that turned him into the friendly neighborhood superhero Spider-Man, one of Marvel’s Greatest Superheroes to ever exist. Spider-Man has helped save the day so many times in the comic books that we have lost count. But his long-time nemesis Doctor Octopus has done a terrific job at being Spider-Man. After swapping bodies with Peter Parker, Doc Ock aptly proved why he was called the ‘Superior Spider-Man’.
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Created a Spider Army to Patrol the City
For almost as long as we remember, Spider-Man has had a tendency to work alone. Sure he has been a part of many teams like the Avengers and the Fantastic Four but deep down, he has been quite vocal about his preference of being a lone wolf. While working alone does have merits, it comes with a busload of disadvantages too. Doc Ock saw that fighting crime alone as a costumed vigilante does not make sense if you have the resources to hire help and take it up a notch. Doc Ock hired a team of mercenaries called Spider-Lings, fit them with Spider- themed weaponry and gave them access to huge Arachnaught Tanks. His Spider Army took down Kingpin’s Shadow Land. That is not something Peter Parker could have ever managed to pull off.
The Die is cast
It is not as catchy as “It’s Clobbering Time” or “Avengers Assemble”. But it does have a very nice ring to it. When Peter Parker was Spider-Man, he had a cheeky one liner for nearly every occasion. So Doc Ock, after taking over Spider-Man’s body, was compelled to give it a shot. He settled for the signature “The Die Is Cast” line. It symbolized the serious tone the new Superior Spider-Man would be more inclined to. Only Doc Ock could be someone who came up with such an amusing catchphrase.
Brought J Jonah Jameson to his heels
J Jonah Jameson is many things. A Spider-Man fan, he is not. All his life he has made it his personal mission to vilify and ridicule the wall crawling vigilante. Jameson is responsible for all the bad PR Spider-Man has ever received in his life. Jameson was the Mayor of New York City when Doctor Octopus took over Peter Parker’s body. He had once ordered Spider-Man to kill a villain called the Spider-Slayer, who was responsible for Jameson’s wife’s death many years ago. Unbeknownst to Jameson, Doc Ock had recorded that entire conversation and used it to blackmail J Jonah Jameson, who ended up working for Spider-Man.
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Became a Billionaire
Peter Parker is a Genius. But being a genius and being smart are two very different things. For all his intelligence, Parker could never capitalize on his assets. That was the epitome of either incompetence or laziness or maybe a combination of both. After Doctor Octopus swapped minds with Parker, he founded Parker Industries, a tech company that focused on bio-medical and cybernetic prosthetic research. In a shot span of time, Parker Industries became a Multi-Billion Dollar Entity. ‘Peter Parker’ became a billionaire.
Tamed Venom
Venom is the anti-thesis of Spider-Man. When the alien symbiote bonded with Peter Parker, it fuelled his negative emotions like rage and aggression. Parker realized that the suit was making him mentally unstable and so he abandoned it. When Doctor Octopus took over Parker’s body, he too was paid a visit to by Venom. The symbiote bonded with him but unlike Parker, Octavius was quick to realize the suit’s after-effects and manage to reach a truce with the alien entity. In the end, Octavius took control of his Venom powers in very little time, something Peter could never do in such short notice.
Took Control of the Raft
The Raft is a prion specifically designed to contain super human criminals. It is a very dangerous place that only the most trained soldiers are allowed to patrol in. It was Superior Spider-Man who ended up turning the Raft into his personal headquarters. To do that he black-mailed the Mayor of New York, who was forced to bankroll that entire operation! The Raft was renamed Spider-Island Two. Doc Ock made a huge island placed within a strategic part of the city his HQ. The closest Spider-Man has ever come to having a lair is his basement.
His Redemption Tale
He was an established super villain. Nobody expected him to leave such a huge mark on the Marvel Comic Book Universe as an established superhero. It expanded the tale and humanized the legacy of Doctor Octopus, revealing that he is more than just a guy with tentacles for feet. Doctor Octopus made us realize and as Spider-Man himself came to revelations he never thought would have, with his redemption tale. It is always cooler to see a super villain get on the right track than a hero do the right thing over and over again.
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Let go of an unnecessary Moral Code
Desperate times do call for desperate measures. Peter Parker’s moral code helped him always stay on the right side of things. He had a perfect moral compass and his ideal superhero code made him a Good Samaritan. But it was not good enough for Doctor Octopus. Doc Ock believed that the reason Spider-Man ended up fighting the same villains over and over again because he was too merciful. Doc Ock took down those moral boundaries. He shot a villain called Massacre in a public execution and enslaved a villain named the Living Brain who was reduced to his personal chauffeur and lab assistant.
Soft Spot for Kids
When Superior Spider-Man fought the Vulture, he was met with the Vulture’s henchmen, the vulture-lings. After fighting off a few, a direct hit from Spider-Man at one of the vulture-Ling led to the latter’s mask slipping away. It was revealed that the Vulture-Lings are all children. This sets Doctor Octopus on a path of rage. Doc Ock himself had a very rough childhood and watching Adrian Toomes exploit innocent children for his own gain was the final straw. Doc Ock mercilessly beat the Vulture, leaving him a burnt heap of flesh that was barely able to breathe.
Put the entire city under Surveillance
Well this move was a double edged sword. In the age of the internet, people are all about privacy. But total protection comes at a price. And that price is paid in terms of personal leg space. For Spider-Man to protect New York City from further harm, Doc Ock needed to ensure he could have all the information about whatever is happening throughout each nook and cranny of the city. Doc Ock reinvented the Spider-Bots with a better design, turning them into a network of eyes and ears that Spider-Man could have access to at all times. Crime Rates were significantly reduced because Doc Ock made this hard decision.
