Doctor Octopus Proved Marvel's Most Iconic Villain Plan Makes No Sense
It's not uncommon for comic-book villains to threaten the entire planet, but Doctor Octopus once proved why people shouldn't take them that seriously. From the threat of Galactus devouring the Earth to Ultron's quest to eradicate all life, world-ending scenarios are basically a Thursday when it comes to the average life of a superhero. Of course, while these examples focus on other-worldly entities and robotic menaces that have no semblance of human life, there are also average comic villains that attempt these plots. The thing is, many of the villains who threaten Earth also have to live on it.
In The Amazing Spider-Man #339 by David Michelinie and Erik J. Larsen, the villains that make up the Sinister Six are shocked to see that the poison they launched at Spider-Man isn't working. This poison, crafted by the Hobgoblin, is strong enough to kill someone within fifteen seconds, and they're using it as leverage to become the rulers of Earth. If the citizens fail to comply, they plan to release it in the atmosphere and kill everyone, so it comes off as a surprise to them to see that this deadly threat isn't ending their greatest foe. This is when Doctor Octopus steps forward and reveals a huge secret.
The truth is that he has replaced the poison with an alternate substance that won't kill anyone. The Secret Six are outraged, but Doctor Octopus explains to them that the reason why he couldn't go through with killing everyone on the planet is because "only an idiot would destroy the entire planet! What profit is there in ruling the dead?" He makes a lot of sense. If everyone on the Earth were to die leaving only the Sinister Six, what exactly would they have to gain? Money would be absolutely worthless, and the absolute best they could hope for would be to die alone or try to start a new life on an alien planet. Their remaining days would be meaningless. Doctor Octopus isn't nearly as shortsighted as the team, who attack him for tricking them, despite the fact that the substance does still have a purpose.
While Doctor Octopus may not want to destroy the planet, that's not to say that he's gone easy on Earth. He later goes on to describe that he's replaced the poison with a mist that will cause anyone who uses cocaine to go into convulsions if they try to use the drug again, with the intent of charging them exorbitant amounts of money for the one cure (that only he has.) He still wants to be in a position of power, but as he points out, he needs people to be around for that to have any meaning. Amusingly, Octavius' substance begins dissolving the ozone layer, harming the planet in a way he never even intended.
Later in life, Doctor Octopus would once again hold the planet hostage (in Spider-Man's 'Ends of the Earth' arc), but this time with more lethal intent, given a terminal condition was soon going to claim his life anyway. However, even in this case, Octavius intended to leave a small segment of humanity alive to tell the story of his dark triumph. This underlines the fact that a villain would need a truly unusual reason to actually destroy the planet, and that the majority of bad guys who profess their intent probably - like Otto Octavius - have some secret recourse to protect the Earth should their demands go unmet. While it may be a classic plot, Doctor Octopus proved that most villains who announce their plans to destroy the planet probably intend anything but.