Doctor Octopus Concept by Marvel Rivals Player Wins Fan Approval

NetEase Games has committed to introducing at least one new Marvel Rivals hero every half-season, yet that hasn't deterred one innovative player from crafting their own vision of a playable Doctor Octopus. Reddit user WickedCube captivated the r/MarvelRivals community with a 30-second video showcasing what appears to be early-stage gameplay from NetEase's popular hero shooter. At first glance, the footage centers on a pre-Hulk Bruce Banner suspended in midair within a testing room. However, keen Marvel fans will quickly identify this as a raw, Marvel Rivals-inspired rendition of the classic Spider-Man villain, Doctor Octopus.

We need more vanguards, so i made one (Doctor Octopus)
byu/Wickedcube inmarvelrivals

Though the animation is somewhat stiff and humorous, the resemblance to Doctor Octopus is undeniable. With a closer look, one can appreciate WickedCube's thoughtful design for how Doc Ock might function within Marvel Rivals. His concept allows the character to navigate around obstacles using his arms as magnetic grips, essentially enabling flight as long as he's near a stable structure—a key feature in a game with destructible environments. This prototype even includes specific abilities like Havoc Claw for melee attacks and Wrecking Grip for ranged combat. With over 16,000 upvotes at the time of publication, this fan-made creation is both impressive and playable, developed single-handedly by WickedCube.

"Doc Ock has always been one of the coolest villains in Spider-Man, and his tentacles would be a challenge to implement," WickedCube shared, explaining his inspiration. "To my knowledge, they haven't been fully implemented with playable 3D movement in a game before."

The idea to create this character came to WickedCube during a recent PSN outage when he couldn't play Marvel Rivals. Inspired by some striking Doc Ock fan art he stumbled upon on Twitter, he decided to bring his vision to life. "Since I can't play right now, why not make it myself?" he thought. This India-based indie game developer, who previously worked with Space Engineers studio Keen Software House before resigning in January 2024 to focus on his own projects, has been prototyping mechanics and seeking contract work since then. Character design isn't typically his focus, but the challenge of bringing Doctor Octopus into a 3D environment in Unity motivated him.

Doctor Octopus in the style of Marvel Rivals
.#MarvelRivals #MarvelRivalsfanart pic.twitter.com/d3XHXMZsCL

— CoryHarris.jpg (@LordDepis) January 26, 2025

The response to WickedCube's creation has been overwhelmingly positive, with thousands of players expressing their appreciation and some even urging NetEase to include Doc Ock in Marvel Rivals. WickedCube finds the feedback "incredibly rewarding" and would be thrilled if NetEase adopted some of his concepts for an official Doctor Octopus character. While he has no plans to further refine the design, he aims to release a playable version soon.

"After seeing the response on Reddit, I want to share this and future concepts as a YouTube tutorial series," WickedCube added. "I also plan to open-source the code on GitHub and make the playable versions available on Itch."

NetEase is set to expand Marvel Rivals with two new characters this Friday: the Human Torch and The Thing, following their Fantastic Four teammates, Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, who were introduced last month. This rapid character rollout positions Marvel Rivals strongly against its competitors, tapping into the vast potential of Marvel's extensive universe of heroes and villains.

WickedCube's project stemmed from the community's call for more Vanguard, or tank-like characters, in the game. Although there are no solid rumors about Doctor Octopus joining Marvel Rivals soon, WickedCube is already brainstorming other potential heroes, including X-Men's Nightcrawler and Professor Xavier.

"The character roster at launch is large enough to keep the game enjoyable for a long time, and the rate at which they've promised to release new characters is mind-blowing," he said. "The designers clearly understand how to make a fun game, which, in my opinion, is the hardest thing to get right."

Marvel Rivals is gearing up for its Season 1 mid-season update on February 21, which will include the new character releases, balance changes, and gameplay tweaks. As we await the update, you can read about the recent layoffs at NetEase's Seattle branch and the studio's stance on rumors about planted hero leaks.