NetEase Games has pledged to release at least one new Marvel Rivals hero every half-season, but that hasn't stopped a creative player from bringing their vision of a playable Doctor Octopus to life.
Reddit user WickedCube recently surprised the r/MarvelRivals community with a 30-second gameplay video showcasing a remarkably polished prototype of the iconic Spider-Man villain. The footage depicts a pre-Hulk Bruce Banner suspended mid-air in what appears to be a testing environment, but the true star is the eight-armed Doctor Octopus. This impressive recreation captures the essence of Doc Ock within the Marvel Rivals aesthetic.
We need more vanguards, so i made one (Doctor Octopus)
by u/Wickedcube in marvelrivals
.reddit-embed-wrapper iframe { margin-left: 0 !important; }While somewhat rough around the edges, the resemblance is undeniable. WickedCube's Doc Ock concept is well-conceived, showcasing how the character might move and function in the game. His arms magnetically pull him towards structures, effectively allowing flight within the game's destructible environments. The prototype even includes named abilities: Havoc Claw for melee attacks and Wrecking Grip for ranged combat. With over 16,000 upvotes at the time of writing, this impressive creation, built entirely by one person, is a testament to fan dedication.
"Doc Ock has always been one of the coolest Spider-Man villains, and his tentacles would be a challenge to implement," WickedCube explained, detailing their inspiration. "As far as I know, they haven't been fully implemented with playable 3D movement in a game before." The idea, they said, stemmed from a recent PSN outage.
"It all started when PSN was down and I couldn’t play Marvel Rivals," WickedCube explained. "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 overwhelmingly positive response, with many players urging NetEase to incorporate the design, has been incredibly rewarding for WickedCube. While they have no immediate plans to further polish the model, they intend to share their process and release a playable version.
"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 continues its post-launch plans for Marvel Rivals with the release of two new official characters this Friday: Human Torch and The Thing. This follows the recent addition of Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman, demonstrating a remarkably strong launch momentum. However, the vast potential of Marvel's universe continues to inspire fan creations like WickedCube's Doctor Octopus.
WickedCube's project highlights the community's desire for more Vanguard-type characters. While there's no official word on Doc Ock's inclusion, WickedCube is already developing concepts for other potential heroes, including 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," they added. "The designers clearly understand how to make a fun game, which, in my opinion, is the hardest thing to get right."
Marvel Rivals' Season 1 mid-season update arrives tomorrow, February 21, featuring the new characters, balance changes, and gameplay tweaks.
