Polite Dissent

A classic tonight! To get ready for Spider-Man 2, I’m going to dip into the back issue bin, and take a look at The Amazing Spider-Man #3, containing the first appearance and origin of Doctor Octopus!

Otto Octavious was a brilliant atomic researcher who experimented on dangerous radioactive materials using special metal arms of his own design. A lab explosion one day exposed him to high doses of radiation, causing brain damage and fusing his arms to him.

Hospital doctor at bedside: The X-Rays show an uncertain amount of brain damage! I’m afraid his mind has been permanently damaged!

An X-Ray is useful for showing structures (such as the bones and lungs), but will not show brain damage. While some brain damage is detectable by fancier tests — like MRIs and CT scans — many kinds of brain damage do not show up at all on radiological studies. A series of nerve and neuropsychological tests would be the best way to detect and diagnose brain damage.

It is way to early for the doctor to predict permanent brain damage “in the hours that follow [the explosion].” Because of the radiation, there would be a great deal of swelling in the brain. But this swelling is only short-term, and the brain would improve as it resolves. Long-term prognosis is better predicted by looking for chronic brain changes, not just short-term ones.

In fairness to Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the CT scan wan’t used until the mid-1970s, and the MRI until the mid-1980s, long after The Amazing Spider-Man #3 (July 1963). Brain damage in those days would need to be diagnosed by neurological testing, not x-rays.

But the brain of Dr. Octopus — the brain which has been damaged by radiation — reacts in a bitter way…

Radiation can certainly cause brain damage. Shortly after exposure, fluid can collect in the brain, causing headaches, nausea, vomiting, sleepiness and confusion. This usually goes away on its own.

Long term brain damage from radiation can occur months or years after exposure, and consists of memory loss, progressively worsening dementia, and difficulty thinking. It can also include flawed perceptions and personality changes.

These results are all from studies of radiation levels used during treatment of brain tumors. What high-dose radiation exposure (like what Dr. Octopus was exposed to) will do to the brain has not been well studied.