NetEase Games has pledged to release at least one new Marvel Rivals hero every half-season, but that didn't stop one 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, albeit rough-around-the-edges, Doctor Octopus concept for the popular hero shooter. The footage, seemingly from a testing environment, features a pre-Hulk Bruce Banner suspended in mid-air. But the real star is the eight-armed, gamma-infused villain himself—a compelling interpretation of the classic Spider-Man antagonist.
We need more vanguards, so i made one (Doctor Octopus)
by u/Wickedcube in marvelrivals
.reddit-embed-wrapper iframe { margin-left: 0 !important; }While slightly stiff and quirky, the design is undeniably recognizable. WickedCube's Doctor Octopus concept is well-conceived, demonstrating how Doc Ock might move and look within Marvel Rivals. His arms magnetize to structures, allowing for a unique form of flight when near stable surfaces—a clever mechanic in a game with destructible environments. The concept even includes named abilities: Havoc Claw (melee) and Wrecking Grip (ranged). With over 16,000 upvotes at the time of writing, this impressive, single-person project is a testament to fan dedication and creativity.
“Doc Ock has always been one of the coolest Spider-Man villains, and his tentacles would be a significant development challenge,” 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 say, stemmed from a recent PSN outage.
“It all started when PSN was down, and I couldn't play Marvel Rivals,” WickedCube shared. “While browsing Twitter, I saw some amazing 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 has been overwhelmingly positive, with thousands praising WickedCube's vision and urging NetEase to incorporate it into the game. WickedCube describes the reception as “incredibly rewarding,” expressing enthusiasm about the possibility of NetEase adopting some of their ideas. While there are no current plans to further polish the design, a playable version is planned for release soon.
“After seeing the Reddit response, 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 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. These follow the recent addition of Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman, demonstrating a remarkably strong launch exceeding competitor releases. However, the vast potential of Marvel’s universe of heroes and villains continues to inspire fan creativity.
WickedCube's project stemmed from community requests for more Vanguard (tank) characters. While there's no official word on Otto Octavius joining the game, WickedCube is already developing concepts for other potential heroes, including Nightcrawler and Professor Xavier.“The launch roster is substantial enough to keep the game enjoyable for a long time, and the promised release rate of new characters is impressive,” they added. “The designers clearly understand how to create a fun game, which, in my opinion, is the hardest part.”
Marvel Rivals Season 1's mid-season update arrives tomorrow, February 21, bringing the aforementioned characters, balance changes, gameplay tweaks, and more. While we anticipate the update, you can find information regarding recent layoffs at NetEase's Seattle branch and the studio's stance on hero leak rumors.
