Peter Ben Octavius?

I've done quite a few "What-ifs" on here. I absolutely love comics and seeing how events play out with one slight narrative change. Spider-Man is up there with the most iterations of himself and his story. Only rivaled by say someone like, the Flash or Superman. Those characters can literally chose to rewrite their own history at a whim if they felt like it because of how powerful they are. However my favorite part of Spider-Man? I absolutely LOVE the dynamic Peter and Otto have across all mediums. Their mentor/mentee dynamic is amazing, and so many times even with Otto at his absolute worst. He and Peter are so close, Otto literally became Spider-Man at one point.

But what happens when we flip the script just a bit? What happens when we see Otto at his absolute best along side Peter instead of as an adversary. What happens when Otto becomes Peter's legal guardian? What happens when Peter's loving and caring side is nurtured under Aunt Rosie, but Peter's intellect thrives under Otto?

So, unfortunately in my universe not only do Peter's parents die but also Aunt May and Uncle Ben die too. Otto and Rosie were both college friends of Richard and Mary Parker. They were there when Peter was born, they've been to many of his birthdays, and ever since Peter was even in diapers. Otto noticed Peter was cut from a different cloth intellectually. Otto was always by Peter's side encouraging him as a young child, to embrace his intelligence while reminding him, "Intelligence is not a privilege, it's a gift. And you use it for the good of mankind.". Mary and Richard appreciated this so much, should anything happen to them or even aunt may and uncle ben, Otto and Rosie would be next in line to take care of Peter in their untimely demise. Unfortunately, that day came. Otto and Rosie show up early to Peter's science fair to help Peter set up and give him some words of encouragement. Mary and Richard Parker swing by to get May and Ben. When the worst happens. All 4 die in a fatal car crash on their way to Peter's fair.

Peter wins the fair, and after Otto is made aware of what happened by the police. He lets Peter have his moment before taking him aside to let him know why his family couldn't make it. Of course Peter is inconsolable. A young child losing his blood family in the blink of an eye. But Otto is right there, vowing to always watch over Peter, protect him at all costs, and love him with every fiber of his being. Rosie of course is there too, doing her best to comfort poor young Peter. They'll both be there every step of the way not only to help him grieve, but to make sure the son they never had grows up to be the best version of Peter he can be.

So fast forward to Peter in high school. Of course he's bitten by the spider and gets his powers. At first he's of course hesitant to share his secret, the last thing he wants is to lose what little family he has left should anyone discover his identity. But Otto notices the changes, for a while he lets Peter think he doesn't know. But occasionally drops hints that he knows, reminding Peter of the gifts he has and that they're to be used to help mankind. Eventually though Peter comes out and tells both Otto and Rosie that he's Spider-Man. Of course neither wants their son to get hurt. In this universe, Peter is actually given the "with great power, comes great responsibility" from Otto. Otto actually learned that from Uncle Ben years ago, when Otto started making incredible leaps in the world of AI. Except Otto isn't referring to Peter's powers. He's actually reminding Peter that his greatest power is his intelligence. It's great he's out in the world saving lives everyday. Spider-Man can save hundreds if not thousands of people. But Peter is capable of saving the whole word. Because once again, "Intelligence is not a privilege, it's a gift. And you use it for the good of mankind.". This resonates with Peter to remember to have balance. Fighting crime with his fists, but also fighting the world's problems with his brain.

After giving Peter their guidance and trust he'll do everything in his power to make the world a better place; Otto and Rosie decide to sit back as much as they can so Peter become his own man. They understand Peter is a good person and will stop at nothing to do good. In the meanwhile Otto does however step up where he can. Giving Peter advice on how to improve his webshooters and even his suit so he can stay safe. He helps develop new technology under the table, while he's working for Oscorp. And Otto helps Peter develop spider drones so he can better map New York so he can become more efficient. He even pitches the idea of making extra limbs to be more spider-like, but Peter refuses.

For a few years things are going great. Although Peter is incredibly stretched thin, he's actually happy. He has balance between Spider-man and Peter. He and Mary Jane are doing well. Peter is excelling in college. Things are going well. Until one day the sinister 6; Electro, Kraven the Hunter, The Vulture, Mysterio, The Green Goblin, and Rhino attack and nearly kill Peter. Seeing his son beaten into a coma awakens something in Otto to where he can no longer sit back and help from the sidelines. Otto has been working hard on his artificial limbs for years, and now's the time for human trials. He dawns his experimental tentacles to fight crime while Peter is out of commission. He also quits Oscorp out of disgust when he discovers Norman, the Green Goblin, was one of the men who nearly killed his son. Thankfully Otto has saved up enough money to start his own startup where he's furthering developing his limbs to perfection. And when crime shows its ugly face, Doc Ock is there to step in to fight crime while Spider-Man heals.

Once Peter is back on his feet and all healed up from his injuries, both Otto and Peter try to talk each other out of crime fighting. Because they love each other, Otto never wants to see his son hurt ever again. Peter doesn't want to be responsible for losing another one of his family after he's lost so much. And Peter is the one with powers, he should be the only one in the field. Until; they get the genius idea of fighting together, and that's where we end. For now, there's so much more I can write but I'll save it for another day. Feel free to comment your feedback and if you want to read more about this "what-if" from me. I appreciate all the feedback!

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