A Marvel Rivals Player Created a Playable Doctor Octopus Concept and Fans Love It

NetEase Games has committed to introducing at least one new Marvel Rivals hero every half-season, yet that hasn't deterred one imaginative player from crafting their own concept for a playable Doctor Octopus. Reddit user WickedCube recently captivated the r/MarvelRivals community with a 30-second video showcasing what appears to be rough gameplay from NetEase's popular hero shooter. At first glance, the footage seems to focus on a pre-Hulk Bruce Banner suspended in midair in a testing room, but it's more than that. Marvel enthusiasts will recognize this eight-armed version of the gamma-infused doctor as an unpolished, 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 animation may be a bit stiff and somewhat goofy, but the resemblance to Doctor Octopus is undeniable. If you squint, you'll notice a well-thought-out concept of what Doc Ock might look like and how he could move if NetEase were to include Otto Octavius in Marvel Rivals. WickedCube's creation allows the character to essentially fly by magnetizing to and navigating around obstacles, a crucial feature in a game with destructible environments. This early Doc Ock concept even features named abilities such as Havoc Claw for melee attacks and a ranged move called Wrecking Grip. With over 16,000 upvotes at the time of publication, this impressive, playable concept was 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 explained, highlighting 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 the game during a recent PSN outage, WickedCube, an India-based indie game developer who previously worked with Space Engineers studio Keen Software House, decided to take matters into his own hands. After resigning in January 2024 to focus on his personal projects, he has been seeking contract positions and prototyping mechanics. Creating a controllable version of Doctor Octopus in Unity presented several challenges, but it was this very difficulty that spurred him to pursue the idea.

“It all started when PSN was down and I couldn’t play Marvel Rivals,” WickedCube recounted. “While browsing Twitter, I came across some really cool Doc Ock fan art. I thought, ‘Since I can't play right now, why not make it myself?’”

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

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

The response from thousands of players has been overwhelmingly positive, with many advocating for NetEase to include WickedCube's Doctor Octopus in the game. WickedCube describes the feedback as "incredibly rewarding" and expresses his enthusiasm for the Marvel Rivals team to adopt some of his ideas should Doc Ock officially join the roster. While he has no plans to further refine the design, he aims to release a playable version of the character soon.

“[ttpp]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 advance its Marvel Rivals post-launch strategy by introducing two new official characters this Friday: the Human Torch and The Thing. These heroes will follow their Fantastic Four teammates, Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, who debuted early last month. The rapid addition of characters outpaces competitors, but comic book fans continue to see Marvel’s vast catalog of heroes and villains as a source of endless potential.

WickedCube’s project was inspired by the community’s call for more Vanguard, or tank-like characters, in the game. Although no strong rumors suggest Otto will appear in the game anytime soon, WickedCube is already brainstorming more ideas for other potential heroes, including X-Men stalwarts 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 added. “The designers clearly understand how to make a fun game, which, in my opinion, is the hardest thing to get right.”

Marvel Rivals is set to release its Season 1 mid-season update on February 21, which will include the aforementioned character releases, balance changes, gameplay tweaks, and more. While awaiting the update, you can read about the recent layoffs affecting the U.S. team at NetEase’s Seattle branch, and learn why the studio isn't addressing rumors about planted hero leaks.