Why Aunt May Calls Doctor Octopus 'Liv' In Spider-Verse

"Oh great, it's Liv."

What sounds like a throwaway line spoken by Aunt May in Spider-Man: Intro the Spider-Verse may actually have more meaning behind it than it may seem. Granted, it's not like Dr. Olivia Octavius is completely unrecognizable in her battle uniform, but there's a reason why Aunt May doesn't refer to her as "Doc Ock" or even Doctor Octavius.

When Peter Parker and Miles Morales infiltrate the Alchemax laboratory, the two run into Dr. Olivia Octavius. Upon introduction, Peter says, "Can I assume that your friends call you Doc Ock?" To which she replies, "My friends actually call me Liv. My enemies call me Doc Ock."

Fast forward through the movie to another Doc Ock appearance, this time as she breaks into Aunt May's home to attack the heroes gathered there. Doc Ock says, "Cute place. Real homey." Aunt May responds, "Oh great, it's Liv," without much surprise in her voice.

This is definitely not the typical reaction one would have if a supervillain broke into their home.

With Doc Ock's insistence that referring to her as "Liv" is something only her friends do, it appears that Aunt May and Olivia Octavius have a history before the events of Into the Spider-Verse. Whether they were former classmates, friends, coworkers, or just casual acquaintances is not elaborated, but when you take the comics into consideration, there's a chance that this exchange refers to a romantic relationship between the two.

Doctor Octopus has done some pretty terrible things to Peter Parker over the years. As one of Spidey's first villains, Otto Octavius has been causing all kinds of trouble since his debut in The Amazing Spider-Man #3 way back in 1963. He nearly killed the Black Cat, he is responsible for Captain Stacy's death, and he switched bodies with Peter Parker, leaving him to die.

Worst of all, he tried to marry Aunt May.

The Amazing Spider-Man #130 ends with Spider-Man going to Doc Ock's house, only to find the villain standing hand-in-hand with Aunt May. The two, dressed in a tuxedo and bridal gown, stand before a priest and a group of guests as they prepare to say, "I do."

Why in the world does Octavius want to marry Aunt May? Naturally, for bizarre reasons that could only exist between the pages of a comic book — May Parker was set to inherit a Canadian island that just so happened to contain a nuclear plant and a vast amount of Uranium. Thankfully, Hammerhead broke up the ceremony (sadly, no, not because he wanted to marry May as well) and eventually ruins Ock's plans.

However, the Doc Ock/Aunt May love-angle is comic book canon which is why their exchange in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is so significant. There's a possibility that these two were lovers prior to the film's events and that a sequel may shed a little light on the backstory.

Hopefully, this relationship could be explored further within the MCU. Doc Ock will inevitably make his way into the MCU and using the Olivia Octavius character would be a great way to distance the character from comparisons to Alfred Molina's brilliant performance in Spider-Man 2.

Dating Happy Hogan shows that the MCU's Aunt May is looking for love — perhaps she'll soon find it in one of Spider-Man's greatest adversaries.