NetEase Games has committed to introducing a new Marvel Rivals hero every half-season, but that hasn't stopped a creative player from turning their vision of a playable Doctor Octopus into reality. Reddit user WickedCube recently captivated the r/MarvelRivals community by sharing a 30-second video that appears to depict early gameplay footage from NetEase's popular hero shooter. At first glance, the video shows a pre-Hulk Bruce Banner suspended in midair in a testing room, but it's actually a rough, 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

Though the animation is somewhat stiff and quirky, the resemblance to Doctor Octopus is clear. With a bit of imagination, you can see a well-considered concept of how Doc Ock might look and move if NetEase decides to include Otto Octavius in Marvel Rivals. WickedCube's design allows the character to "fly" by magnetizing to nearby structures, a crucial feature in a game with destructible environments. The concept even includes named abilities like Havoc Claw for melee attacks and Wrecking Grip for ranged moves. With over 16,000 upvotes at the time of publication, this impressive, playable prototype was crafted entirely by one person.

"Doc Ock has always been one of the coolest villains in Spider-Man, and his tentacles would be a challenge to implement," WickedCube shared, explaining his inspiration. "As far as I know, they haven't been fully implemented with playable 3D movement in a game before."

Unable to play during a recent PSN outage, WickedCube decided to create his own version of Doctor Octopus. "It all started when PSN was down and I couldn’t play Marvel Rivals," he said. "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 to WickedCube's creation has been overwhelmingly positive, with thousands of players expressing their appreciation and some even urging NetEase to consider adding Doctor Octopus to the game. WickedCube finds the reception "incredibly rewarding" and would be thrilled if NetEase adopted some of his ideas. While he has no plans to further refine the design, he aims to release a playable version soon.

"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 expand Marvel Rivals with two new characters this Friday: the Human Torch and The Thing, following their Fantastic Four teammates, Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, who were introduced last month. This rapid character rollout sets a strong pace against competitors, yet fans continue to dream of the vast potential within Marvel's universe of heroes and villains.

WickedCube's project was inspired by the community's call for more Vanguard or tank-like characters. Although there's no solid indication that Otto will appear in the game soon, WickedCube is already brainstorming other potential heroes, including Nightcrawler and Professor Xavier from the X-Men.

"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 said. "The designers clearly understand how to make a fun game, which, in my opinion, is the hardest thing to get right."

Marvel Rivals is gearing up for its Season 1 mid-season update on February 21, which will include the new character releases, balance changes, and gameplay tweaks. While we await the update, you can learn more about recent layoffs at NetEase's Seattle branch and why the studio isn't addressing rumors about planted hero leaks.