The Tired Octopus or how I came up with too much ideas for my interpretation of Otto Octavius
So. I do not know if this is AU or just a random story that I came up with for my own interpretation of Otto, but it is there and the number of ideas that I have is bothering me. Welcome to the Octoverse, so to speak, because this is not Alfred Molina, not Olivia from Into the Spiderverse, and not Otto from Spectacular Spider-Man or a 19-year-old genius from Marvel's Spider-Man. This is an ordinary Otto from nowhere who has his own Spidey, who is not even called Peter Parker, Miles Morales, Gwen or Anya. His name is Mark. Just out of nowhere. Here even the Goblin is not Norman, but Harry, and Norman is an adequate father.
But in short, let's start this adventure. For the most part, the story revolves around Otto, since I came up with him the very first. Maybe someday I'll tell you about Norman, Harry, the Green Goblin and "Sinister Six", but it won't be today ahaha
Let's go!
Otto, as always, is a scientist working on a small project - mechanical arms that help people do several things at the same time or make them easier. Unlike most interpretations, his arms do not have AI - he can simply control them with wires, "bracelets" and special iron "spines" coming from an iron corset, where a battery for arms, all programs, microchips and so on are stored (?), allowing the hands to function. Octavius created his arms to help people, to benefit both in a scientific sense and in everyday life.
Together with him, Mark Meyer is working on the project (not only this one) - a young student who is very well versed in science and needs practice and a small amount of money that Otto can easily provide him with. Mark is his loyal assistant. After working together for a long time, they became very close, to the point that Octavius could call Meyer his son. But one thing he still didn't know about him, namely that his "son" was Spider-Man all this time. Not that Otto was against this hero, but he did not know that Mark was him.
Then the day of the presentation of Otto's arms came. He was confident in his experiment and, in his opinion, everything was ready, successful and without any problems. Mark doesn’t think so, and thinks that Otto could have made a mistake in calibrating the mechanism, which could lead to a not very good outcome, but Otto did not listen to Mark and still went to the presentation. He decided to take the strongest battery that he had so that his arms could hold on longer. As soon as he put on artificial arms clinging to his entire back, neck, shoulders and hands, and inserted the battery, the mechanism began to overheat. It turned out that Mark was right - the mechanism was not ready for full use and began to break down due to too much battery voltage. The outcome was an explosion. The arms caught on the wires and transmitted the current to the rest of the building, which caused everything to burn. The metal began to dig into Otto's upper body, injuring him and creating scars, and the electricity passing through his entire body crippled his nervous system and brain. He wasn't sure that he and everyone who was at the presentation would survive. Standing up, his whole body ached from his wounds, but once the pain passed, he could never feel it again. By every hour he lost more and more ability to feel strong emotions and began to hallucinate and hear aggressive voices in his head. Unlike Alfred Molina’s Otto, here he could contradict them and not listen - voices just sometimes interfered with him, but not that they always appeared.
Then, during the explosion, Mark escaped to change into the Spider-Man costume. When he returned, he pulled out everyone who was stuck in the building, but did not know what to do with Octavius, so he left to find help, but never returned - he realized that he could not help him anymore. Mark thought Otto was dead, and meanwhile Otto thought he had lost Mark.
Now Otto had his mechanical arms stuck to him forever. And, unlike other Octavius, if he manages to take them off, he won't be able to move anything but his legs, if he doesn't die at all. Otto began to get used to life with eight limbs. He was able to find a place that would replace his undermined laboratory, which was also his home. The Daily Bugle and all the people who noticed him immediately thought he was the new super villain, even though Otto didn't do anything. Yet. But Octavius still decided to lock himself in his new place and not climb out of there without much need.
The main opponent of Spider-Man at that time was the Green Goblin, or more precisely, Harry Osborn. They had been fighting for a long time, but Mark could not completely catch and get rid of his enemy. After another attack, Otto offers Spider-Man his help. Imagine Mark's face when he realized that Otto was alive. He decided that it was better to hold back tears of joy for now and accepted the help of a genius. But voices and hallucinations overtook Octavius at the most unnecessary moment, awakening emotionlessness and mercilessness, hiding under justice and help. He caught the Green Goblin and killed him. Spider-Man, of course, did not approve of this, and attacked Otto in response, trying to put his brains back in, but also tried to restrain his own rage. Octavius "woke up" from the voices and, realizing what he had done, fled the crime scene.
From that moment on, Spider-Man and Otto became enemies, and the Daily Bugle called him "Doctor Octopus". Mark was unbearably sad that he had lost Octavius so quickly, left alone again. He would very much like to tell him who he was, but it was dangerous now - who knows what Otto could do with this information and with Mark himself.
When he got home, Otto completely closed himself in - now he is definitely a villain and his opponent is Spider-Man himself. He didn't know what to do, but his voices told him “to take revenge on him and be who he thinks you are”. “Continue what you started”. Octavius began working on new experiments and mechanisms - weapons, modifications for his arms, and so on. It was unusual to work alone after such a long time with Mark, but he quickly got used to it. After a while, Harry was not his only victim. Otto had completely lost his mind and in order to achieve his goals, he was ready to get rid of people further, without sparing them, cruelly.
And at some point, silence suddenly fell in New York. Doctor Octopus did not appear again. His voices are gone and he can't believe what he's done. He completely lost control and it was incredibly difficult for him to come back. But one thing he knew for sure - the streets of the city would be quieter without him. There was too much blood on his hands - all six of them. He hid in a separate bunker base, separating himself from the world. But Spider-Man was still able to find him. He hated and at the same time feared him with all his soul, but believed that he could change him and bring him back. He offered Otto his help, but Otto only pushed him away, and then Spider-Man took off his mask and introduced himself to him as Mark Meyer - his old assistant. Otto couldn't believe his eyes -he was sure that he was dead! He would have liked to hug him, but he knew that he was not worthy of him, and he knew that the boy was afraid of him. But despite this, Mark still continued to offer him his help and, at some point, Otto agreed. Since then, Mark has been treating him - both medically and psychologically. He couldn't take his hands off, but Otto got used to them anyway, so it wasn't a big problem. Octavius' rehabilitation lasted a very long time, but successfully and, after a while, he completely stopped hearing voices that made him a completely different person, felt better and thought soberly. He felt like a human again. Despite the fact that he has four mechanical arms attached to his back.
Artist: Timofey Stepanov
Title: Story of the Fallen Sun
“The full version of the "Father of the Sun" piece, took me about 3 years to finish this one.
If you would like to see detailed and explained process of these illustrations, get high-res images, PSDs or just to support me consider buying this gumroad:
https://gumroad.com/l/MjVTOP
Special thanks to Kanjiman - https://www.artstation.com/kanjiman , and Mark Meyer for helping with writing and world building.”
Masterpiece...
