Doctor Octopus Joins Marvel Rivals: Fan-Made Concept Goes Viral

NetEase Games has committed to introducing at least one new Marvel Rivals hero every half-season, yet this hasn't deterred a creative fan from envisioning a playable Doctor Octopus. Reddit user WickedCube recently astounded the r/MarvelRivals community with a 30-second video showcasing what appears to be early gameplay footage from NetEase's popular hero shooter. At first glance, the clip features a pre-Hulk Bruce Banner suspended in midair within a testing room, but it's actually a rough, Marvel Rivals-inspired rendition of the iconic Spider-Man villain, Doctor Octopus.

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

The video, while stiff and slightly comical, unmistakably captures the essence of Doctor Octopus. With a bit of imagination, viewers can see a well-considered concept of how Doc Ock might look and maneuver in Marvel Rivals. WickedCube's version allows the character to "fly" by magnetizing to nearby structures, a crucial feature in a game with destructible environments. The concept includes named abilities such as Havoc Claw for melee attacks and Wrecking Grip for ranged maneuvers. With over 16,000 upvotes at the time of publication, this fan-made creation is both impressive and fully playable, crafted entirely by one individual.

“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. “As far as I know, they haven't been fully implemented with playable 3D movement in a game before.”

Motivated by his inability to play during a recent PSN outage, WickedCube, an indie developer from India who previously worked with Space Engineers studio Keen Software House, decided to bring his vision to life. He left his position in January 2024 to focus on personal projects and has been seeking contract work and prototyping mechanics ever since. Creating a controllable Doctor Octopus in Unity presented several challenges, but it was this very difficulty that spurred him on. A piece of fan art on Twitter further fueled his drive to create.

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

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

The community's enthusiastic response to WickedCube's Doctor Octopus concept has been incredibly rewarding, with many fans urging NetEase to consider incorporating it into the game. While WickedCube has no plans to refine the design further, he aims to release a playable version soon and share his work through a YouTube tutorial series. He also plans to open-source the code on GitHub and make the playable versions available on Itch.

NetEase is set to expand Marvel Rivals with the addition of two new characters, the Human Torch and The Thing, this Friday, following the early launch of their Fantastic Four teammates, Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, last month. This rapid character release pace sets Marvel Rivals apart from its competitors, tapping into the vast potential of Marvel's universe.

WickedCube's project was inspired by the community's call for more Vanguard or tank-like characters. While there's no indication that Doctor Octopus will join the game anytime soon, WickedCube is already brainstorming other heroes, including Nightcrawler and Professor Xavier from the X-Men.

“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 noted. “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 introduce the new characters, balance changes, and gameplay tweaks. In the meantime, you can learn more about recent layoffs at NetEase's Seattle branch and why the studio is dismissing rumors about planted hero leaks.