‘DOCTOR OCTOPUS – ARMED AND DANGEROUS’

Please feel free to comment on my review.

The first time I saw this episode was when I purchased the ‘Spider-Man vs. Doc Ock’ DVD. It was released at the time ‘Spider-Man 2’ was released at cinemas in 2004. In this episode, Spider-Man meets Doctor Octopus/Doc Ock for the first time in the animated series. This is a great introduction!

Doc Ock is a mad scientist with four metallic arms ready to kill. It’s no surprise that Doc Ock went on to become one of the best supervillains in ‘Spider-Man’, both in comics; TV; etc. Doc Ock would become the big baddie in the aforementioned ‘Spider-Man 2’ movie, which is one of my favourites.

In this episode, Peter Parker is about to take Felicia Hardy out on a date. But Felicia gets kidnapped by Doc Ock at her house. Doc Ock wants ransom money from the Hardy Foundation for his experiments. This episode also features the debut of Felicia’s Hardy mother, Anastasia, in the series.

Very soon, Doc Ock gets two hostages. He has Felicia Hardy and J. Jonah Jameson. It’s funny how Jameson ended up being a hostage to Doc Ock after openly insulting him via phone and on the air. 😀 Spidey tries to rescue Jameson from Doc Ock’s clutches, but even that doesn’t work which is a shame.

I enjoyed how the origins of Doc Ock came about in the episode. Ock was once a mild-mannered scientist in Dr. Otto Octavius. That was before the terrible experiment happened and he became insane. It turns out Dr. Octavius was Peter Parker’s science teacher from the days when he was a kid.

I like how the connection is made between Peter and Octavius. Peter regarded Octavius highly before he became a monster. It echoes in the relationship between Peter and Octavius in both ‘Spider-Man 2’ and the PS4 game. Sadly, Peter can’t win Octavius out from his terrible and evil ways.

I did like that scene where Peter tried to reason with Doc Ock but fails in the process. It’s interesting how Ock refuses to release Felicia and Jameson since he tries to prove a point that the Hardy Foundation broke their promise to him. Peter soon angers Ock with his words and he gets thrown out.

The episode concludes with Spider-Man soon coming in onto the scene; defeating Doc Ock and rescuing Felicia and Jameson from danger. It was so exciting to watch. I like how this episode introduces Doc Ock as a villain. Even though he’s ‘chained’ up at the end, it won’t be the last of him. 🙂

‘Doctor Octopus – Armed and Dangerous’ rating – 9/10