One of Spider-Man’s greatest villains has taken on the form of a school girl in a new Japanese manga series, according to Crunchyroll. Titled Spider-Man: Octopus Girl, the new series was illustrated by Betten Court and written by Hideyuki Furuhashi, both of whom are known for their work on My Hero Academia: Vigilantes. Octopus Girl coincides with the Japanese premiere of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Known for inhabiting bodies in pursuit of the best power source, Doctor Octopus will this time take shape as Japanese junior high school student, Otoha Okutamiya. Octopus Girl will begin with Dock Ock falling into a coma before awaking in the body of Otoha. Octopus Girl will launch on Shueisha’s app, Shonen Jump+ on June 20, just days after Across the Spider-Verse hits Japanese cinemas on June 16.
Alongside Otoha, Doc Ock has assumed other bodies throughout his illustrious run as a Marvel Comics villain, including one issue in which he took the consciousness of Peter Parker. The most recent iteration of Dock Ock arrived in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, with Alfred Molina reprising his role as the tentacled antagonist years after he appeared in Sam Raimi‘s franchise
Octopus Girl is the latest Spider-Man story to receive the manga spin-off treatment, with famed manga author Yusuke Osawa set to release his official Spider-Man companion Spider-Man: Fake Red later this year. Elsewhere, Setta Kobayashi will also take on Peter Parker with an upcoming manga titled Spider-Man: Bonds.
Meanwhile, Deadpool, Joker and Guardians of the Galaxy have likewise been the subject of Japanese manga spin-offs in recent years. In other manga news, Viz Media — the leading entertainment company in distributing manga and licensed Japanese anime, films, and television series — recently announced a new subscription service that will provide translated copies of manga to English-speaking fans.