Spider-Man 3 Theory: How Doctor Octopus Joins The MCU

Alfred Molina is returning as Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man: No Way Home – and here’s how the character could have been transported into the MCU. There have long been rumors and reports Spider-Man: No Way Home would be a Multiversal event, but nobody expected that to be confirmed in quite this manner. Defying the Marvel snipers, Alfred Molina spilled the beans about his imminent return as Doctor Octopus; he figured it had already leaked online, so didn’t care about discussing it.

Alfred Molina is playing the same Doctor Octopus he previously portrayed in Spider-Man 2, having somehow survived his apparent death. It’s been 17 years since Spider-Man 2, but Molina will be de-aged because – for the character – absolutely no time at all has passed. Apparently Spider-Man: No Way Home will pick up straight from the moment Doctor Octopus was seemingly consumed by the fusion experiment that had gone so terribly wrong and was threatening the entire city of New York. As director Jon Watts told Molina, “In this universe, no one really dies.“

Related: What Alfred Molina Reveals About Doctor Octopus’ Role In Spider-Man 3

The news has been received with a combination of intrigue and concern. Spider-Man 2 is rightly considered one of the best superhero films ever made, in large part because of the tremendous character arc followed by Molina’s Doctor Octopus. His heroic sacrifice was a tremendous moment of redemption, as Otto Octavius conquered his own inner darkness – and the seductive, sinister influence of the arms that had grafted to his body. In bringing Doctor Octopus back, Marvel risks undoing the ending of a classic film. But, surprisingly, the potential for a return is already there in Spider-Man 2 – and there’s no reason to assume Marvel will make a mistake.

How Doctor Octopus Could Have Survived Spider-Man 2

Spider-Man 2‘s Doctor Octopus was an expert in nuclear fusion, and he was conducting experiments to create the world’s first fusion reactor. Unfortunately as brilliant as Otto Octavius may have been, the science was clearly beyond him, because his fusion reactor was turning into what seemed to be a miniature black hole. Otto’s continued attempts to charge the reactor were threatening to consume the entire city, and perhaps even the whole planet. Fortunately, Spider-Man was able to persuade Doctor Octopus into confronting the psychosis that threatened to tear his mind apart, and the scientist ultimately came up with an idea for flooding the reactor and thereby saving New York. He sacrificed himself in the attempt, a moment of heroism that meant his story ended in redemption.

But that fusion reactor could actually be the key to Doctor Octopus’ survival. In the real world, many scientists have argued black holes could contain wormholes that allow people to travel through space and even time. New models of quantum mechanics suggest it is possible to pass through the heart of a singularity and emerge in another region of the universe, or indeed in another universe altogether. This theory has been propounded by scientists as prominent as Stephen Hawking, who outlined it in a speech back in 2015. ”Black holes are not the eternal prisons they were once thought,” he explained. ”If you feel you are trapped in a black hole, don’t give up. There is a way out.“

In superhero movies, the most complex and sophisticated scientific theories can become the basis for the latest Hollywood blockbuster. In fact, Marvel has a history of working with quantum physicists, recruiting several to act as advisers for Doctor Strange. Given this is the case, Marvel could easily tell a story in which Doctor Octopus survived the destruction of his reactor by being plunged into the singularity he had unwittingly created. Rather than be killed, he could have been transported throughout time and space, ultimately emerging in the MCU sometime in 2024. Frankly he’s probably lucky he arrived in a universe with similar physical laws.

Related: Why The MCU’s Multiverse May Be Different Than You Think

The Return of Doctor Octopus Wouldn’t Negate Spider-Man 2

The return of Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus makes sense using pseudo-science, then, but would it negate his character arc in Spider-Man 2? It’s important to remember that it is not Doctor Octopus’ death that redeemed him, but rather his heroism, his willingness to die to save the city. Otto Octavius was a brilliant man, but he had unlocked scientific secrets that were infinitely beyond him, and he was dealing with forces he did not fully understand. He didn’t realize he was creating a singularity, and had he done so the scientific theories had not yet progressed to the point where such a singularity was considered to potentially be a wormhole. Thus Octavius’ survival would be a happy accident, not affecting his character journey at all.

The interesting question, of course, is just what frame of mind Doctor Octopus would be in when he entered the MCU. He would still be bonded to those fearsome tentacles, which were influencing his mind and driving him towards destruction; but he had proven once before that he could master them, that his willpower was sufficient to take control of them, and thus he’d be able to resist their influence. That means the Doctor Octopus of Spider-Man: No Way Home could be a much more ambiguous character, perhaps even an ally who helps Spider-Man and Doctor Strange as they deal with what seems to be a fracturing Multiverse.

Curiously enough, such a portrayal would have a strong basis in the comics themselves; Doctor Octopus is actually a hero in the modern Marvel Comics. There, he evaded death by temporarily possessing the body of Spider-Man himself, but in doing so he learned that age-old lesson that with great power must come great responsibility. He’s still arrogant and egotistical, still convinced of his own scientific supremacy and tending to take absurd risks, but he’s been transformed by the moral code of Spider-Man – and has worked hard to save the world many times. It’s quite possible Spider-Man: No Way Home will tap into this modern portrayal of Doctor Octopus, revealing a character who is striving to do good in spite of a dark shadow that pushes him towards evil. Rather than negate Doctor Octopus’ character journey in Spider-Man 2, then, Spider-Man: No Way Home could instead complete it.

More: Every Upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie

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