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Doctor Octopus

Doctor Octopus

492 appearances · Silver Age · 1963–2026 · 23 key issues
Who is Doctor Octopus?

Few villains in Marvel history have cast as long a shadow as Doctor Octopus, who burst onto the scene in The Amazing Spider-Man #3 in 1963 — a landmark Silver Age debut crafted by the legendary team of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko that immediately announced itself as something special, now counted among 23 collector-recognized key issues on his remarkable résumé. Over more than six decades of continuous publication, he has remained one of Marvel's most enduring and compelling figures, racking up nearly 500 catalog appearances across The Amazing Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-Man, and beyond. The company he keeps tells its own story — sharing pages with Peter Parker, Captain America, Iron Man, and J. Jonah Jameson across the years — and his staying power from the Silver Age all the way to 2026 speaks to a character who has never stopped mattering to the Marvel Universe. If you're building a serious Spider-Man collection, Doctor Octopus isn't optional; he's essential.

★ First appearance
The Amazing Spider-Man #3
Jul 1963

Trivia

Covers through the years — 1963–2022

The Amazing Spider-Man #3 1963
The Amazing Spider-Man #3
The Amazing Spider-Man #90 1970
The Amazing Spider-Man #90
The Amazing Spider-Man #130 1974
The Amazing Spider-Man #130
The Amazing Spider-Man #170 1977
The Amazing Spider-Man #170
The Amazing Spider-Man #300 1988
The Amazing Spider-Man #300
The Incredible Hulk #396 1992
The Incredible Hulk #396
Art of John Romita #[nn] 1996
Art of John Romita #[nn]
Amazing Spider-Man by JMS Ultimate Collection #1 2009
Amazing Spider-Man by JMS Ultimate Collection #1
Amazing Spider-Man: Worldwide #4 2017
Amazing Spider-Man: Worldwide #4
Amazing Spider-Man by Wells & Romita Jr. #1 2022
Amazing Spider-Man by Wells & Romita Jr. #1

Key issues

Appearances (most recent 150 of 492)

The Amazing Spider-Man Annual (1964)
Marvel Collectors' Item Classics (1965)
#1
Daredevil (1964)
Spider-Man Comics Weekly (1973)
Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man (1976)
Super Spider-Man (1976)
The Comics Journal (1977)
#40
Spider-Woman (1978)
Spider-Man Annual (1979)
Jimmy Olsen's Pal, Fred Hembeck [Hembeck Series] (1981)
#6
Marvel Tales (1966)
The Marvel No-Prize Book (1983)
#1
Super Spider-Man TV Comic (1981)
Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars (1984)
Tarzan of the Apes (1984)
#2
The Transformers (1984)
G.I. Joe, a Real American Hero (1982)
#31
Iceman (1984)
#2
Buckaroo Banzai (1984)
#2
Secret Wars II (1985)
The Spectacular Spider-Man (1976)
Marvel Age Annual (1985)
The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual (1979)
#7
Captain America (1968)
Solo Avengers (1987)
#2
The Transformers: Headmasters (1987)
#4
The Punisher (1987)
The Sensational Spider-Man (1988)
The New Mutants Annual (1984)
#5
Excalibur (1988)
#8
Web of Spider-Man Annual (1985)
#5
The Amazing Spider-Man: Managing Materials [Chaos at the Construction Site] (1990)
#1
The Amazing Spider-Man [Shan-Lon] (1990)
Daredevil: Marked for Death (1990)
Marvel Super-Heroes (1990)
Marvel Comics Presents (1988)
Fantastic Four Annual (1963)
#25
Crossover Classics: The Marvel / DC Collection (1992)
The Incredible Hulk (1968)
Slapstick (1992)
The Amazing Spider-Man [Pro-Action] (1994)
#3
The Amazing Spider-Man Ashcan Edition (1994)
Marvels (1994)
Spider-Man: Clone Genesis (1995)
Marvels: Portraits (1995)
#1
Spider-Man: The Clone Journal (1995)
#1
Spider-Man: Maximum Clonage Alpha (1995)
#1
Untold Tales of Spider-Man (1995)
#11
Spider-Man Unmasked (1996)
Art of John Romita (1996)
Spider-Man: Dead Man's Hand (1997)
#1
Marvel Vision (1996)
#17
Savage Dragon (1993)
#41
Spirit Jam (1998)
Timeslip Collection (1998)
#1
Wizard Presents The Legacy of Spider-Man Special Edition (1998)
Webspinners: Tales of Spider-Man (1999)
Peter Parker: Spider-Man (1999)
#12
Spider-Man Activision [To Trap a Spider!] (2000)
The Buzz (2000)
#3
Earth X (2000)
Sentry / The Void (2001)
#1
Ultimate Spider-Man (2000)
Marvel Universe: Millennial Visions (2002)
#1
Ultimate Spider-Man [Target] (2002)
Startling Stories: The Megalomaniacal Spider-Man (2002)
#1