View source for Lady Octopus

{{Short description|Marvel Comics supervillain}}
{{about||Olivia Octavius|Doctor Octopus (Olivia Octavius)|Otoha Okutamiya|Spider-Man: Octo-Girl{{!}}Octo-Girl}}
{{Infobox comics character <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
| character_name = Lady Octopus
| image          = Lady Octopus.jpg
| caption        = ''[[Marvel Masterpieces]]'' (1996) lithograph of Lady Octopus.<br>Art by [[Boris Vallejo]].
| real_name      = Carolyn Trainer
| publisher      = [[Marvel Comics]]
| debut          = ''[[The Amazing Spider-Man]]'' #406 (October 1995)
| creators       = [[J. M. DeMatteis]]<br>[[Angel Medina (artist)|Angel Medina]]
| species        = [[Human]]
| alliances      = [[Sinister Syndicate]]<br>[[Sinister Squadron]]
| aliases        = [[Doctor Octopus]] II
| powers         = * [[Genius]]-level intellect
* Wears super-strong and highly-resistant mechanical appendages, impervious to conventional attacks and armed with lasers
* Force-field generation via harness
}}
'''Lady Octopus''' ('''Carolyn Trainer'''), also known as '''Doctor Octopus II''', is a <!--Do not add "fictional" as it is tautological; supervillains (and characters in general) are by definition implied to be fictionalized to some extent.-->[[supervillain]] appearing in [[American comic book]]s published by [[Marvel Comics]], primarily as an enemy to the [[superhero]]es [[Spider-Man]] and [[Ben Reilly|Scarlet Spider]]. The character is the protégée of Otto Octavius, the original [[Doctor Octopus]], and assumes her mentor's mantle and an upgraded version of his tentacle harness following Octavius' death in the "[[Clone Saga]]". After Octavius' resurrection only a few years later, she becomes Lady Octopus to distinguish herself from him, and has made minor appearances in several stories since.

==Publication history==
Lady Octopus was introduced in ''[[The Amazing Spider-Man]]'' #406 (October 1995) and was created by writer [[J. M. DeMatteis|J.M. DeMatteis]] and artist [[Angel Medina (artist)|Angel Medina]].

==Fictional character biography==
Carolyn Trainer is the daughter of [[Seward Trainer]] who was a student of [[Doctor Octopus|Otto Octavius]]. After Octavius was killed by [[Kaine Parker]] during the "[[Clone Saga]]", Carolyn sought to continue her favorite professor's legacy.<ref>''[[Spider-Man Unlimited (comics)|Spider-Man Unlimited]]'' #18 (November 1997)</ref>

Trainer obtained a set of a four-tentacle harness identical to Octavius's, which she upgraded by adding a force-field that protected her from any exterior attacks, but allowed her tentacles to freely go through. She took the "Doctor Octopus" name in honor of her instructor and began a campaign to steal her father's research in merging reality and virtual reality.<ref>''[[The Amazing Spider-Man]]'' #405 (September 1995)</ref> Doctor Octopus works for the Master Programmer, a digitized copy of Otto Octavius' mind, and works with the [[The Hand (comics)|Hand]] to resurrect the real Octavius.<ref>''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]'' #232 (March 1996)</ref><ref>''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #425–428 (August - November 1997)</ref>

Carolyn Trainer later appears in "[[Secret War (comics)|Secret War]]", where she assumes the alias Lady Octopus to distinguish herself from Octavius. She is given a new suit of armor by [[Lucia von Bardas]] and [[Tinkerer (Marvel Comics)|Tinkerer]].<ref>''Secret War'' #3 - 5 (October 2004 - December 2005)</ref>

In ''[[The Amazing Spider-Man]]'' (vol. 5), Lady Octopus joins the [[Sinister Syndicate]].<ref>''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (vol. 5) #26 - 28 (September - October 2019)</ref> She appears with the group in the subsequent storylines "[[Sinister War]]" and "[[Gang War (comics)|Gang War]]".<ref>''[[Sinister War]]'' #2 (September 2021)</ref><ref>''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (vol. 6) #39 - 44 (February - April 2024)</ref> In the miniseries ''Spider-Society'', Lady Octopus joins the [[Sinister Squadron]] in attacking the eponymous Spider-Society in an attempt to prevent it from forming.<ref>''Spider-Society'' #1 (October 2024)</ref>

==Powers and abilities==
[[Image:Octopusforcefield.png|145px|thumbnail|right|Lady Octopus demonstrating a personal force-field.]]
Lady Octopus possesses no superhuman abilities. Instead, she wears a special harness, similar to the one used by the original Doctor Octopus, which incorporates four strong and highly-resistant mechanical appendages, which can be extended or retracted at will. These "tentacles" can lift weights far greater than any human, be used as a means of transportation, and respond faster than human reaction times. They are also armed with lasers and can generate a force-field; the result of upgrades she had made to the harness. The force-field is resistant to most traumatic concussive force and conventional weapons attack, though the tentacles themselves are still vulnerable.

Through the tentacles, Lady Octopus can interface with appropriately equipped computer systems and enter virtual reality interfaces telepathically. Additionally, Lady Octopus possesses a genius-level intellect; having studied robotics, information technology, applied physics, and mechanical engineering.

==Reception==
* In 2020, ''[[CBR.com]]'' ranked Lady Octopus 8th in their "10 Most Powerful Members of the Sinister Syndicate" list.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Allan |first=Scoot |date=July 13, 2020 |title=10 Most Powerful Members of the Sinister Syndicate, Ranked |url=https://www.cbr.com/sister-syndicate-most-powerful-ranked/ |access-date=November 7, 2022 |website=CBR |language=en-US}}</ref>
* In 2021, ''[[Screen Rant]]'' included Lady Octopus in their "Spider-Man: 10 Best Female Villains" list.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hernandez |first=Brenda |date=September 29, 2021 |title=Spider-Man: 10 Best Female Villains |url=https://screenrant.com/spider-man-best-female-villains/ |access-date=November 7, 2022 |website=Screen Rant |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Other versions==
An [[Parallel universe (fiction)|alternate future]] variant of Carolyn Trainer appears in the [[Marvel Comics 2|MC2]] series ''[[Spider-Girl (comic book)|Spider-Girl]]''. This version works for the [[Black Tarantula]]. Years after Otto Octavius's death, Trainer assumes the mantle of Doctor Octopus and attempts to create mutant soldiers. In pursuit of this, she temporarily turns [[John Jameson (character)|John Jameson]] back into the Man-Wolf, defeats [[Mayday Parker|Spider-Girl]], and frees the crime boss Canis from prison; ostensibly to join forces with him to fight Black Tarantula for control of New York's criminal underworld while secretly intending to use Canis as a scapegoat. However, Spider-Girl thwarts Trainer's plans.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=March 2013}}

==In other media==
===Television===
* Lady Octopus appears in the ''[[Spider-Man (2017 TV series)|Spider-Man]]'' episode "Between an Ock and a Hard Place", voiced by [[Kari Wahlgren]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Lady Octopus Voices (Spider-Man) |url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/Spider-Man/Lady-Octopus/ |website=Behind the Voice Actors |type=A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. |postscript=}}</ref> This version has a Ph.D in electronics.
* An original female incarnation of Doctor Octopus loosely based on Carolyn Trainer appears in ''[[Spidey and His Amazing Friends]]'', voiced by Kelly Ohanian.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 9, 2021 |title=Kelly Ohanian on Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CP4ZcAMjEyW/ |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/CP4ZcAMjEyW |archive-date=December 24, 2021 |access-date=July 12, 2021 |website=[[Instagram]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Holub |first=Christian |date=June 7, 2021 |title=Patrick Stump breaks down his theme song for new cartoon Spidey and His Amazing Friends |url=https://ew.com/tv/patrick-stump-marvels-spidey-and-his-amazing-friends-theme-song/ |access-date=July 12, 2021 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]}}</ref>

===Film===
A female Doctor Octopus named Dr. '''Olivia "Liv" Octavius''' appears in ''[[Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse]]'' and ''[[Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse]]'', voiced by [[Kathryn Hahn]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Vejvoda |first=Jim |date=November 29, 2018 |title=Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Official Credits Reveal Surprise Voice Actor Cameos |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/11/30/spider-man-into-the-spider-verse-official-credits-reveal-surprise-voice-actor-cameos |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130210649/https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/11/30/spider-man-into-the-spider-verse-official-credits-reveal-surprise-voice-actor-cameos |archive-date=November 30, 2018 |access-date=December 2, 2018 |website=[[IGN]]}}</ref>

===Video games===
* '''Serena Patel''', a character inspired by Lady Octopus, appears as a boss in ''[[Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions]]'', voiced by [[Tara Strong]].<ref>[http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game/spider-man-shattered-dimensions/achievements/ Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions Achievements]</ref> She is the head scientist of [[Alchemax]]'s Shadow Division, which is dedicated to the secretive creation of dangerous super-weapons and DNA splicing-based experiments. Patel later creates a battle suit with mechanical arms and calls herself "Doctor Octopus" after her idol Otto Octavius.
* Lady Octopus appears in a teaser image for ''[[Marvel: Avengers Alliance]]'' as a victim of the Circle of Eight.<ref>"[http://marvel.com/news/story/20741/get_set_for_avengers_alliance_season_2 Get Set for Avengers Alliance Season 2]," Marvel</ref>

===Miscellaneous===
Lady Octopus appears in the animated web series ''Marvel Battleworld: Treachery at Twilight''.<ref name=":0" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Marvelwiki|Doctor_Octopus_(Carolyn_Trainer)|Doctor Octopus (Carolyn Trainer)}}
* [http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Carolyn_Trainer_%28Earth-616%29 Lady Octopus] at Marvel Wiki
* [http://www.comicvine.com/lady-octopus/4005-15649/ Lady Octopus] at Comic Vine
* {{Marvunapp|http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix4/ladyocktrainer.htm|Lady Octopus}}
* [http://www.spiderfan.org/characters/doctor_octopus2.html Trainer's profile at Spiderfan.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060422191205/http://www.spiderfan.org/characters/doctor_octopus2.html |date=2006-04-22 }}
* [https://www.angelfire.com/mi2/mc2/ladyoctopus.html Brief bio of Lady Ock at Spider-Girl fansite]

{{Spider-Man characters}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Octopus, Lady}}
[[Category:Characters created by J. M. DeMatteis]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1995]]
[[Category:Fictional female scientists]]
[[Category:Fictional mad scientists]]
[[Category:Fictional physicists]]
[[Category:Fictional roboticists]]
[[Category:Fictional technopaths]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics female supervillains]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics scientists]]
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