WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Marvel Zombie #1 by W. Maxwell Prince, Stefano Raffaele and Juan Ferreyra, on sale now.


Marvel Comics villain Doctor Octopus is the thematic fusion of man and cephalopod, which, if the internet has taught us anything, is fertile ground for "creative reimagining." Many of those multiversal takes on the character have been riffs on Otto Octavius' misguided mad scientist persona, opting to present the supervillain as a leaner, more fit, more dangerous version of his canonical counterpart. Some, however, go the opposite direction, acknowledging that, at his core, Doc Ock is a villain who fashioned himself as part man, part beast. Artistically, there's a lot of hijinks you can get up to when you accept that your subject is inherently unhinged in this manner.

Such is the case in the recent Marvel Zombie #1, a horror-themed one-shot that returns to the idea of a Marvel Universe overrun by zombies, first established in Robert Kirkman and Sean Phillips' Marvel Zombies #1 in 2006. The one-shot doesn't boast any overt ties to that miniseries, opting instead to fashion a zombie-ruled post-apocalypse of its own devise. What it does provide, however, is perhaps the most disgusting version of Doctor Octopus yet.

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But saying that is a bit like handing out the trophies before the race has even begun. If we're to establish the most disgusting Doctor Octopus in the Marvel Universe, we have to be methodical about it -- scientific, even. Before we get to the pure gross-out nature of Marvel Zombie's Doc Ock, let's take a look at what the minds of Marvel have fashioned for Otto up to this point -- let's count down the grossest Doctor Octopi of the Marvel Universe.

Baron Victor Octavius

To find our first gross Doc Ock, we'll need travel back in time -- to the year 1602, to be exact. While many Marvel Comics writers are reticent to acknowledge Doctor Octopus' animal side, Jeff Parker and Ramon Rosanas' Spider-Man 1602 miniseries had no such holdups. In fact, the duo leaned into it hard, resulting in an alternate reality version of the villain named Baron Victor Octavius.

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First appearing in Spider-Man 1602 #1, Baron Victor Octavius is a mixture of the Spider-Man villain and Victor von Doom who has resorted to a strange cocktail of science and magic to cure himself of the plague. In this instance, the villain has imprisoned versions of Hank Pym, Janet van Dyne and Beast to create a regenerative serum. The serum has unintended side effects, though, causing him to grow new limbs that emerge in the form of -- you guessed it -- tentacles.

Doctor Octopus as a character is ripe for Lovecraftian fusion, so it was only a matter of time before someone committed and brought a squid kid Doc Ock to the page.

King Ock

King Ock technically isn't another version of Otto Octavius, but he is an alternate reality version of Doctor Octopus. Yeah, identity in comic books is weird like that. Regardless, it doesn't make King Ock's story any less disgusting. See, King Ock was originally introduced in Civil War Vol. 2 #3 during the Secret Wars event, so, naturally, it takes place in Battleworld, that nebulous realm where anything is possible and frequently gross.

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Doc Ock's tale starts in the Warzone area of Battleworld, where the battle over the Superhuman Registration Act never ended. In Warzone, Iron Man and Captain America duke it out eternally in a war where the stakes are constantly upped, each one looking for any advantage they can muster. Spider-Man discovers Tony's biggest advantage when he runs a raid for Captain America. That advantage is a creature that is equal parts valuable and deadly.

The creature is King Ock, the corpse of Wilson Fisk. Apparently, Kingpin thought it would be a good idea at some point to nab Otto's mechanical arms for himself, but the moment he attached them to his spine they electrocuted him, killing him instantly (they really liked their owner). The A.I. inside the limbs remained active and alive, though, earning its keep by doling out weapons for Iron Man. They also shuffle around with the corpse of Kingpin attached. Fun!

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Demon Ock

There's seemingly not a whole lot to the backstory of Demon Ock, an alternate reality version of Doctor Octopus whose namesake -- being a demon -- is his defining quality. First introduced in Uncanny X-Force #12, Demon Ock never really got his time to shine until Uncanny X-Force #19.1.

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In the issue, he attacks Magneto and Rogue, who in this reality have a son named Charles Lehnsherr. At some point, Demon Ock got around to eating Charles. Naturally, Magneto and Rogue are none too pleased about this development. When Demon Ock attempts to eat another kid, this time an unnamed girl whose father had just been killed by the Black Legion, the supervillain group Demon Ock is affiliated with, Magneto and Rogue team up to wipe him off the face of the Earth.

Demon Ock's part in the grand Marvel Universe design is a small one, but his weird, bug-like design and propensity for eating children certain puts him in the pantheon of gross Doc Ocks.

Marvel Zombie's Ock

Finally, we get to the most recent (and perhaps most disturbing) version of Doctor Octopus yet. As the old adage goes, the Devil is in the details, and Marvel Zombie's Doctor Octopus is filled with an ample helping of stomach-turning details that probably make a soft, squishing sound when you poke them.

To start off, this version of Doctor Octopus has eight limbs. Now, that probably doesn't sound too gross. After all, Doctor Octopus has always had two arms, two legs and four incredibly deadly metallic appendages. Marvel Zombie's Doctor Octopus has eight human limbs, though -- which is a very different thing.

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There's no telling exactly where he got all those limbs. Given that he's a zombie he might have torn them asunder from some hapless passerby or a superhero who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, or maybe they just sprouted (zombies, man!). All we know for sure is that he has got hands to spare. Sadly, those hands aren't glued on very tight.

At one point during a brawl with a pack of zombies, Spider-Man uses one of his standard webbing thwips to try and bring the undead Doc Ock back in line. It doesn't work. In fact, it fails spectacularly and disgustingly, with the arms on Doctor Octopus' back giving way with a satisfying "splortch" and tumbling to the ground, right beside Otto's spine, head still intact. Spider-Man, naturally, utters a horrified, "gross."

Well, there are plenty of gross versions of Doctor Octopus out there, but if it's gross enough for Peter then it's good enough for us. Marvel Zombie #1 just introduced the most disgusting Doctor Octopus ever.