While Doc Ock has always been a formidable foe for Spider-Man throughout his Marvel Comics career–including and especially when he switched bodies with Parker and became the Superior Spider-Man–he is actually way stronger than fans think, which is made clear upon his introduction.
Otto Octavius aka Doctor Octopus was a renowned scientist long before he was a super-villain who started his career after graduating top of his class from M.I.T. and gaining employment with the U.S. Atomic Research Center. Otto was responsible for finding a way to handle radioactive atomic particles from a safe distance, and in that effort he invented his now-iconic robotic arms, an invention that earned him the name Doctor Octopus among his colleagues.
In The Amazing Spider-Man #3 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Doctor Octopus was working in his lab as he had done many times before, using his metallic arms to handle incredibly dangerous material, when suddenly, the particles he was handling exploded and engulfed the doctor in a fireball of radioactive energy. When Octavius awoke in the hospital, he found that his metallic arms were permanently grafted to his body and were more connected to his mind than they had been before. Plus, the robotic tentacles were vastly stronger due to the atomic exposure. However, Doc Ock didn’t just undergo a physical change, but a mental one as well, as he became a super-powered megalomaniac.
While the extent of Doc Ock’s strength was explained upon his initial accident, readers weren’t able to grasp the full extent until he was face to face with Spider-Man for the first time. At this point in his superhero career, Spider-Man was growing cocky as he found himself being able to take down average crooks with ease and wished there was a villain out there who could actually challenge him. Unfortunately, he got what he wanted in the form of Doc Ock who soundly defeated Spider-Man during their first fight. When Spider-Man is surprised by the strength of Otto’s tentacles, Doc Ock explains, “Your strength is merely that of a spider, but mine is the energy of an atom, born of a nuclear accident!” As Doc Ock described, he is seemingly as strong as an atom bomb is powerful, which drastically elevates his level of strength in the eyes of fans.
Doc Ock is one of the most inconsistent characters in Marvel Comics in terms of power and intellect, but his debut proves that he is actually insanely strong. “The energy of an atom, born of a nuclear accident” makes it seem as though Doc Ock’s arms are as strong as the Hulk as their accidents are eerily similar, and this description leads one to think that he wields the immeasurable strength of an atomic bomb. However, Doc Ock has never really been shown to be as strong as he boasts in this issue, including in this issue as Spider-Man is eventually able to web him up like any other common criminal by the end–though based on the explanation behind his villainous origin, it seems as though Doc Ock is actually stronger than he has ever been given credit for.