Image: Sony Pictures
Floating menacingly, to establish dominance
Spider-Man: No Way Home is jampacked with tons of fight scenes and banter between heroes, but there’s one frame in particular that’s blowing up on social media. Specifically, it’s a shot of Doctor Octopus, played by Alfred Molina, in the middle of a fight scene with Spider-Man. Except someone has edited out his giant mechanical arms, so he’s just floating there, menacingly.
There’s something striking about the silhouette of the good doctor, floating toward you, and the internet has gone ahead and created tons of memes. You don’t need to know anything about No Way Home or even Spider-Man in general. No thought necessary, just enjoy hovering, intimidating Doc Ock.
He’s actually more menacing without the arms pic.twitter.com/7cOqOEF3s4
— The Green Kasey (@RawbertBeef) January 10, 2022
This fucking image bruh LMAO pic.twitter.com/4dw630ZJOz
— Shield Big House 2022 (@ShieldNyx) January 11, 2022
I will never be a memory, Peter pic.twitter.com/j0pSuTT6dp
— Xenoko | Commissions Open! (@XenokoYT) January 10, 2022
Open your heart Peter pic.twitter.com/f48wpLqaLF
— KH13 · for Kingdom Hearts (@KH13com) January 11, 2022
pic.twitter.com/Z5OJwOoqMp
— carol saw no way home (@classicalbluess) January 10, 2022
My contribution pic.twitter.com/YKmU3bCcH3
— LouArt (@Lou_Art_93) January 11, 2022
Doc Ock #UE4 pic.twitter.com/7pS7KLix9D
— polaq (@polaqwym) January 12, 2022
pic.twitter.com/jVHcRb09f2
— Ragunyu (@ragunyu) January 11, 2022
Honestly, it’s just nice to see a villain given the gravitas they deserve. Doc Ock is a clever and intimidating opponent even without his giant robot arms. And honestly, there are tons of panels from the old comics that would benefit from a similar treatment. What if we lived in a world where Doctor Octopus’s arms were never visible? Would a panel like this one have the same je ne sais quoi?
Image: Marvel Comics
Now that we’re in a more experimental stage of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I suppose anything is possible. We may not be getting more movies with Molina’s Doc Ock, but that’s OK — this meme is nice while it lasts, and we’ll always have the memories.
