While fans rejoiced in seeing Alfred Molina return as Doctor Octopus in “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” there have also been plenty of suggestions of who could portray a new version of the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, from Mark Hamill to Gary Oldman. But artist Daniel Savage has another comic book movie alumni in mind for the iconic part. In August 2019, the artist, known by @savagecomics on Instagram, posted a piece of fan art of actor Michael Shannon as Doctor Octopus. 

It doesn’t take long to look at the piece and be on board. The sleek design of the green-and-gold suit, along with the more simplified mechanical arms, is a solid choice. These characteristics help this Doc Ock to stand out from Molina’s portrayal, while also keeping more true to some of his comic appearances. And Shannon, complete with a nifty pair of goggles, gives off a perfect combination of the character’s wit, self-aware sensibilities, and menacing nature, which we can only imagine Shannon bringing to his performance in this fictional scenario. 

Of course, this wouldn’t be Shannon’s first go-around as an iconic comic book villain. While he has portrayed nasty antagonists in films such as “The Shape of Water,” “Knives Out” and “Bullet Train,” he elevated his evil-doer resume as General Zod in 2013’s “Man of Steel.” Shannon won the “Man of Steel” role over actors such as Viggo Mortensen and Daniel Day-Lewis.