Doctor Octopus' Tentacles is a harness with telescopic, mechanical tentacles utilized by Doctor Octopus as additional limbs and weapons in Marvel comics and its adaptation. It made its first live-action debut in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2.
Overview[]
An invention which earned him the moniker of Doctor Octopus, these mechanical tentacles were originally developed by Dr. Otto Octavius as means to help manipulate radioactive substances from a safe distance. The tentacles were designed to be controlled via. brain-computer interface. Following an accidental radiation leak that ended in an explosion, the resulted radiation endowed Octavius the ability to mentally command them as if they're his natural limbs albeit better at the cost of developing megalomaniacal tendencies. Octavius' influence over his tentacles were so great not only he able to control them even after separated from his body up to at least 900 miles of separation, but also able to "feel" basic sensations with them as if they have nerve endings and lingering influence within the tentacles endow those who attempt to use it gaining an insight of how they worked and means to modify them in addition of its original owner's mannerism and personality — the latter which Spider-Man discovered when using one of his old set of tentacles, even though tentacles in question being the same one Octavius developed when possessing the hero.
Doctor Octopus had utilized three versions of mechanical tentacles in his disposal:
Titanium Tentacles[]
Original version of the tentacles were made of titanium-steel and attached to a stainless-steel harness encircling his body from lower chest to waist. Each tentacle, approximately five inches in diameter, was electronically powered, telescopic, prehensile, and ended with three single-jointed pincers. Said pincers were able to rotate in relation to the arm for 360 degrees, in a screwdriver-like twisting motion. Inside each tentacle segment was four high-efficiency electric motors equipped with a clutched, helical-gear train, independently mounted on frictionless gimbals and housed in four thin, overlapping layers of titanium-niobium steel. The alloy the tentacles made of was as light as extremely durable thanks to high-tensile strength, a high melting point, and high thin-wall rigidity. For the power source, this harness utilized a small nuclear-powered thermo-electric generator, which can provide several hundred watts per hour for up to five years before needing to replace its U-239 core.
Among modifications he made since the time of the original accident were high-efficiency battery packs (enabling movement when cut off from the central power source) and individual micro-circuit control modules (enabling each arm to perform certain pre-programmed actions when Octopus loses conscious control). Should he lost consciousness, the control module of each arm had enough pre-programmed conditional responses in its memory chip to enable it to perform a relatively complex sequence of actions, such as saving his life. The trauma of his arm or arms being separated from the harness caused a period of disorientation in which his arms flail about uncontrollably until the pre-programming takes over.
Adamantium Tentacles[]
Adamantium version of the tentacles shared same powers and abilities as titanium one albeit with superior durability. In fact, they enabled him to challenge multiple super-powered individuals on ease. A testament of their might was Doctor Octopus' usage against combined forces of Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Deathlok, Ghost Rider, and Solo, during which he managed to hold his own even after the rest of the Sinister Six were defeated or fled.
Ocktoid Tentacles[]
“ | Kraven: Hideous. This Godless machine has foul temper, Octavius. Doctor Octopus: It has my temper, Sergei. My previous appendages expressed an abhorrent part of my personality I found hiding in the ventromedial cortices of my prefrontal lobe. I won't make that mistake again. The new ones are all amygdala. Pure aggression to fuel my revenge. |
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~ Doctor Cotopus to Kraven regarding Ocktoid Tentacles. |
A set of tentacles made of countless Ocktoids, smaller variant of Octobots. Unlike previous ones that linked to his prefrontal lobe, these tentacles were connected to his amygdala thus not messed with his personality like the former, making them more effective and reliable. To compensate lack of pincers in previous iterations, Ocktoid Tentacles can disperse into their namesake composition — partially or fully — and reform under Doctor Octopus' command. Even by themselves, Ocktoids can fly and perform tasks on their creators' behalf.
In Other Media[]
Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2[]
Doctor Octopus' Tentacles made their live-action debut in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 where once again, they are developed by Dr. Otto Octavius. The tentacles are attached on a spine-like harness secured by an abdominal belt and connected to Doctor Otto Octavius' brain and spinal cord through a brain-computer interface as a means to control them. According to Dr. Octavius himself, the tentacles are constructed from alloys created from successful fusion which endowed it immunity to heat and magnetism. In addition, the harness has a built-in A.I. which aids him in maintaining control over the arms but is restrained by an inhibitor chip to keep it under his control in return.
Upon the inhibitor chip's destruction however, the tentacles' A.I., now free from the restraints, developed their own sentience but lacked their creator's humanity, as this has them brutally killed every doctor in his operating room before escaping with Octavius. This, coupled with high intelligence stemming from their programming, allowed it to almost completely take over Octopus' already unstable mind and turn his crimes into even more serious felonies. Despite their manipulations however, the tentacles displayed a genuine loyalty towards Octavius whereby the climax of the film, they eventually submitted to their creator's will and gave their lives to aid him in drowning the reactor and artificial sun they sought to create, though the doctor also died alongside them.
Unlike the rest of their counterparts, Sam Raimi's iteration of Doctor Octopus' Tentacles serves as true antagonists of Spider-Man 2.
Spider-Man: No Way Home[]
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Spiderverse[]
A variant of Doctor Octopus, Olivia Octopus, wields a unique set of tentacles where hers being made of a soft yet sturdy, inflatable material as opposed of metal thus their movements are made possible by pumping air into them. Even so, they proved to be as formidable as their counterparts.
Olivia's choice of material in constructing them was practical owing to her tall and lanky physique compared to her counterparts who stockier by contrast. For the same reasons, her tentacles are easier to conceal than even Raimiverse version.
Trivia[]
- Olivia Octopus' tentacles are only version that not made of metal.
- While Raimiverse version of the tentacles are first to be sentient, the concept later implemented into original Marvel comics iteration as shown in Issue 28 - 30 of 2022 Amazing Spider-Man. However, the latter's sentience was byproduct of what best described as muscle memory as opposed of malfunctioning built-in AI; up until he discarded them, Doctor Octopus had used his original tentacles for so long the mad scientist left behind a vestige of himself within their processors. It was from said vestige the original tentacles not only attained their sentience, but also endowed necessary knowledge needed to repair and upgrade them upon those who don them. Unfortunately, wearing the original tentacles for too long will affect the user's psyche that they unknowingky take on their creator's mannerisms and personality, something Spider-Man learned when he used them against Doctor Octopus' Ocktoid Tentacles until Norman snapped him out of it.
Gallery[]
External Links[]
- Doctor Octopus' Tentacles on the Marvel Wiki
- Doctor Octopus' Tentacles on the Villains Wiki (Raimiverse version)
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