Matchup · Original Sinister Six

Spider-Man vs. Doctor Octopus

Otto Octavius, one of the original Sinister Six. In this site's ratings, the classic Peter Parker Spider-Man wins 55% of their one-on-one fights, so it is close to a coin flip.

Spider-Man (Peter Parker)55%Toss-up

Doctor Octopus45%Toss-up

The verdict: A coin flip, with Spider-Man by a hair

Fight rules: both fighters at their peak, no preparation, no allies, only their own powers and personal gear. A win is a knockout, a restraint they can't escape, or a forced surrender. The percentages are fan estimates, not official information.

Spider-Man's edge

Faster and far more agile. Once he's past the tentacles, Otto himself has an ordinary man's body.

Doctor Octopus's edge

Four mind-controlled metal tentacles with reach, strength and speed, each able to act on its own, and one of the greatest scientific minds on Earth.

Odds for every Spider-Man

Each version of Spider-Man's chance of beating Doctor Octopus. The best placed, Cosmic Spider-Man, wins 86% of the time; the worst placed, Spider-Ham, wins 47%. The last column says what moves each version away from classic Peter's 55%.

Spider-Man	Spidey wins	Outcome	What changes
Peter Parker Earth-616 comics	55%	Toss-up	The baseline Spider-Man
Miles Morales Earth-616 comics	55%	Toss-up	Overall −3 for this version; +3: Venom strike: one clean jolt can stun or paralyze a living opponent.
Ben Reilly Earth-616 comics	53%	Toss-up	Overall −2 for this version
Superior Spider-Man Earth-616 comics	61%	Favored	Overall +2 for this version; +4: Otto reverse-engineers tech-based opponents faster than anyone alive.
Black-suit Peter Earth-616 comics	60%	Favored	Overall +5 for this version
Iron Spider Peter Earth-616 comics	58%	Toss-up	Overall +3 for this version
Cosmic Spider-Man Earth-616 comics	86%	Favored	Overall +40 for this version
Spider-Woman Earth-616 comics	56%	Toss-up	Overall −3 for this version; +4: Venom blasts stun or knock out living opponents.
Silk Earth-616 comics	54%	Toss-up	Overall −1 for this version
Ultimate Peter Alternate comics	52%	Toss-up	Overall −3 for this version
Ultimate Peter (2024) Alternate comics	51%	Toss-up	Overall −4 for this version
Spider-Gwen Alternate comics	52%	Toss-up	Overall −3 for this version
Spider-Man 2099 Alternate comics	58%	Toss-up	+3: Talons and a paralytic bite can end it against anything short of superhuman toughness.
Spider-Man Noir Alternate comics	53%	Toss-up	Overall −2 for this version
Spider-Ham Alternate comics	47%	Toss-up	Overall −8 for this version
Spider-Punk Alternate comics	56%	Toss-up	Overall −1 for this version; +2: Sonic blasts stagger living opponents.
Maguire's Peter Film	53%	Toss-up	Overall −4 for this version; +2: He has fought an Otto Octavius before and knows how tentacles move.
Garfield's Peter Film	51%	Toss-up	Overall −4 for this version
Holland's Peter Film	53%	Toss-up	Overall −2 for this version
Spider-Verse Miles Film	53%	Toss-up	Overall −5 for this version; +3: Venom strike can stun a living opponent.
Spider-Verse Gwen Film	50%	Toss-up	Overall −5 for this version
Peter B. Parker Film	52%	Toss-up	Overall −5 for this version; +2: Twenty-two years against these villains.
1994 animated Peter TV and animation	54%	Toss-up	Overall −3 for this version; +2: He has fought nearly every one of these villains.
Spectacular Peter TV and animation	50%	Toss-up	Overall −5 for this version
Insomniac Peter Video games	62%	Favored	Overall +1 for this version; +3: An engineer with an arsenal built to short out and dismantle tech.; +3: He has already beaten his own world's version of this villain.
Insomniac Miles Video games	64%	Favored	Overall +1 for this version; +4: His venom blasts hit far harder than the comic version's.; +4: Bio-electric venom fries electronics, shields and drones.

Tale of the tape

Eight stats on a 1-to-10 scale, classic Spider-Man against Doctor Octopus. How the stat scales work.

StatSpider-ManDoctor Octopus

Strength66

Speed65

Agility104

Durability66

Size45

Fighting skill76

Intelligence78

Ranged attack35

Doctor Octopus's power set

Mechanical arms9/10
Four titanium arms he controls with his mind.
Genius9/10
A super-genius physicist and engineer.
Multitasking8/10
Moves all four arms independently.
Strategy8/10
A master planner.

Official handbook power grid

Category	Rating (1 to 7)
Intelligence	5
Strength	4
Speed	3
Durability	3
Energy projection	1
Fighting skills	4

Who is Doctor Octopus?

Dr. Otto Octavius was a brilliant nuclear physicist who built a harness of four mechanical arms to handle radioactive materials. A lab accident fused the harness to his body and gave him mental control of the arms, and he became Doctor Octopus. He founded the Sinister Six in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 (1964) and once came close to marrying Aunt May. In Superior Spider-Man, he swapped minds with a dying Peter and lived as Spider-Man himself.

First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #3 (1963)

Affiliations

Sinister Six: Founder and leader.
Masters of Evil: Led a version of the Avengers' foes.
Superior Spider-Man: Lived as Spider-Man in Peter's stolen body.