title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: When he was five years old, Richelieu's father died of fever in the French Wars of Religion, leaving the family in debt; with the aid of royal grants, however, the family was able to avoid financial difficulties. At the age of nine, young Richelieu was sent to the College of Navarre in Paris to study philosophy. Thereafter, he began to train for a military career. His private life seems to have been typical for a young officer of the era: in 1605, aged twenty, he was treated by Théodore de Mayerne for gonorrhea.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Henry III had rewarded Richelieu's father for his participation in the Wars of Religion by granting his family the Bishopric of Luçon. The family appropriated most of the revenues of the bishopric for private use; they were, however, challenged by clergymen who desired the funds for ecclesiastical purposes. To protect the important source of revenue, Richelieu's mother proposed to make her second son, Alphonse, the bishop of Luçon. Alphonse, who had no desire to become a bishop, became instead a Carthusian monk. Thus, it became necessary that the younger Richelieu join the clergy. He had strong academic interests and threw himself into studying for his new post.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: In 1606, Henry IV nominated Richelieu to become Bishop of Luçon. As Richelieu had not yet reached the canonical minimum age, it was necessary that he journey to Rome for a special dispensation from Pope Paul V. This secured, Richelieu was consecrated bishop in April 1607. Soon after he returned to his diocese in 1608, Richelieu was heralded as a reformer. He became the first bishop in France to implement the institutional reforms prescribed by the Council of Trent between 1545 and 1563.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: At about this time, Richelieu became a friend of François Leclerc du Tremblay (better known as ""Père Joseph" or "Father Joseph"), a Capuchin friar, who would later become a close confidant. Because of his closeness to Richelieu, and the grey colour of his robes, Father Joseph was also nicknamed "L'éminence grise" ("the Grey Eminence"). Later, Richelieu often used him as an agent during diplomatic negotiations.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: In 1614, the clergymen of Poitou asked Richelieu to be one of their representatives to the Estates-General. There, he was a vigorous advocate of the Church, arguing that it should be exempt from taxes and that bishops should have more political power. He was the most prominent clergyman to support the adoption of the decrees of the Council of Trent throughout France; the Third Estate (commoners) was his chief opponent in this endeavour. At the end of the assembly, the First Estate (the clergy) chose him to deliver the address enumerating its petitions and decisions. Soon after the dissolution of the Estates-General, Richelieu entered the service of King Louis XIII's wife, Anne of Austria, as her almoner.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Richelieu advanced politically by faithfully serving the Queen-Mother's favourite, Concino Concini, the most powerful minister in the kingdom. In 1616, Richelieu was made Secretary of State, and was given responsibility for foreign affairs. Like Concini, the Bishop was one of the closest advisors of Louis XIII's mother, Marie de Médicis. The Queen had become Regent of France when the nine-year-old Louis ascended the throne; although her son reached the legal age of majority in 1614, she remained the effective ruler of the realm. However, her policies, and those of Concini, proved unpopular with many in France. As a result, both Marie and Concini became the targets of intrigues at court; their most powerful enemy was Charles de Luynes. In April 1617, in a plot arranged by Luynes, Louis XIII ordered that Concini be arrested, and killed should he resist; Concini was consequently assassinated, and Marie de Médicis overthrown. His patron having died, Richelieu also lost power; he was dismissed as Secretary of State, and was removed from the court. In 1618, the King, still suspicious of the Bishop of Luçon, banished him to Avignon. There, Richelieu spent most of his time writing; he composed a catechism entitled "L'Instruction du chrétien".


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: In 1619, Marie de Médicis escaped from her confinement in the Château de Blois, becoming the titular leader of an aristocratic rebellion. The King and the duc de Luynes recalled Richelieu, believing that he would be able to reason with the Queen. Richelieu was successful in this endeavour, mediating between her and her son. Complex negotiations bore fruit when the Treaty of Angoulême was ratified; Marie de Médicis was given complete freedom, but would remain at peace with the King. The Queen-Mother was also restored to the royal council.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: After the death of the King's favourite, the duc de Luynes, in 1621, Richelieu rose to power quickly. The year after, the King nominated Richelieu for a cardinalate, which Pope Gregory XV accordingly granted in September 1622. Crises in France, including a rebellion of the Huguenots, rendered Richelieu a nearly indispensable advisor to the King. After he was appointed to the royal council of ministers on 29 April 1624, he intrigued against the chief minister, Charles, duc de La Vieuville. On 12 August of the same year, La Vieuville was arrested on charges of corruption, and Cardinal Richelieu took his place as the King's principal minister the following day, although the Cardinal de la Rochefoucauld nominally remained president of the council (Richelieu was officially appointed president in November 1629).


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Cardinal Richelieu's policy involved two primary goals: centralization of power in France and opposition to the Habsburg dynasty (which ruled in both Austria and Spain). Shortly after he became Louis' principal minister, he was faced with a crisis in Valtellina, a valley in Lombardy (northern Italy). To counter Spanish designs on the territory, Richelieu supported the Protestant Swiss canton of Grisons, which also claimed the strategically important valley. The Cardinal deployed troops to Valtellina, from which the Pope's garrisons were driven out. Richelieu's early decision to support a Protestant canton against the Pope was a foretaste of the purely diplomatic power politics he would espouse in his foreign policy.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: To further consolidate power in France, Richelieu sought to suppress the influence of the feudal nobility. In 1626, he abolished the position of Constable of France and ordered all fortified castles razed, with the exception only of those needed to defend against invaders. Thus he stripped the princes, dukes, and lesser aristocrats of important defences that could have been used against the King's armies during rebellions. As a result, Richelieu was hated by most of the nobility.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Another obstacle to the centralization of power was religious division in France. The Huguenots, one of the largest political and religious factions in the country, controlled a significant military force, and were in rebellion. Moreover, the King of England, Charles I, declared war on France in an attempt to aid the Huguenot faction. In 1627, Richelieu ordered the army to besiege the Huguenot stronghold of La Rochelle; the Cardinal personally commanded the besieging troops. English troops under the Duke of Buckingham led an expedition to help the citizens of La Rochelle, but failed abysmally. The city, however, remained firm for over a year before capitulating in 1628.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Although the Huguenots suffered a major defeat at La Rochelle, they continued to fight, led by Henri, duc de Rohan. Protestant forces, however, were defeated in 1629; Rohan submitted to the terms of the Peace of Alais. As a result, religious toleration for Protestants, which had first been granted by the Edict of Nantes in 1598, was permitted to continue, but the Cardinal abolished their political rights and protections. Rohan was not executed (as were leaders of rebellions later in Richelieu's tenure); in fact, he later became a commanding officer in the French army.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Habsburg Spain exploited the French conflict with the Huguenots to extend its influence in northern Italy. It funded the Huguenot rebels to keep the French army occupied, meanwhile expanding its Italian dominions. Richelieu, however, responded aggressively; after La Rochelle capitulated, he personally led the French army to northern Italy to restrain Spain. On 26 November 1629, he was created duc de Richelieu and a Peer of France.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: In the next year, Richelieu's position was seriously threatened by his former patron, Marie de Médicis. Marie believed that the Cardinal had robbed her of her political influence; thus, she demanded that her son dismiss the chief minister. Louis XIII was not, at first, averse to such a course of action, as he personally disliked Richelieu. Despite this, the persuasive statesman was able to secure the king as an ally against his own mother. On 11 November 1630, Marie de Médicis and the King's brother, Gaston, duc d'Orléans, secured the King's agreement for the dismissal. Richelieu, however, was aware of the plan, and quickly convinced the King to repent. This day, known as the Day of the Dupes, was the only one on which Louis XIII took a step toward dismissing his minister. Thereafter, the King was unwavering in his political support for him.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Meanwhile, Marie de Médicis was exiled to Compiègne. Both Marie and the duc d'Orléans continued to conspire against Richelieu, but their schemes came to nothing. The nobility also remained powerless. The only important rising was that of Henri, duc de Montmorency in 1632; Richelieu, ruthless in suppressing opposition, ordered the duke's execution. In 1634, the Cardinal had one of his outspoken critics, Urbain Grandier, burned at the stake in the Loudun affair. These and other harsh measures were orchestrated by Richelieu to intimidate his enemies. He also ensured his political security by establishing a large network of spies in France as well as in other European countries.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Before Richelieu's ascent to power, most of Europe had become enmeshed in the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). France was not openly at war with the Habsburgs, who ruled Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, so subsidies and aid were provided secretly to their adversaries. He considered the Dutch Republic as one of France's most important allies, for it bordered directly with the Spanish Netherlands and was right in the middle of the Eighty Years' War with Spain at that time. Luckily for him, Richelieu was a "bon français", just like the king, who had already decided to subsidize the Dutch to fight against the Spanish via the Treaty of Compiègne in June 1624, prior to Richelieu's appointment to First Minister in August. That same year, a military expedition, secretly financed by France and commanded by Marquis de Coeuvres, started an action with the intention of liberating the Valtelline from Spanish occupation. In 1625, Richelieu also sent money to Ernst von Mansfeld, a famous mercenary general operating in Germany in English service. However, in May 1626, when war costs had almost ruined France, king and cardinal made peace with Spain via the Treaty of Monçon. This peace quickly broke down after tensions due to the War of the Mantuan Succession.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: In 1629, Emperor Ferdinand II subjugated many of his Protestant opponents in Germany. Richelieu, alarmed by Ferdinand's growing influence, incited Sweden to intervene, providing money. In the meantime, France and Spain remained hostile due to Spain's ambitions in northern Italy. At that time northern Italy was a major strategic region in Europe's balance of power, serving as a link between the Habsburgs in the Empire and in Spain. Had the imperial armies dominated this region, France would have been threatened by Habsburg encirclement. Spain was meanwhile seeking papal approval for a universal monarchy. When in 1630 French diplomats in Regensburg agreed to make peace with Spain, Richelieu refused to support them. The agreement would have prohibited French interference in Germany. Therefore, Richelieu advised Louis XIII to refuse to ratify the treaty. In 1631, he allied France to Sweden, who had just invaded the empire, in the Treaty of Bärwalde.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Military expenses placed a considerable strain on royal revenues. In response, Richelieu raised the "gabelle" (salt tax) and the "taille" (land tax). The "taille" was enforced to provide funds to raise armies and wage war. The clergy, nobility, and high bourgeoisie either were exempt or could easily avoid payment, so the burden fell on the poorest segment of the nation. To collect taxes more efficiently, and to keep corruption to a minimum, Richelieu bypassed local tax officials, replacing them with "intendants" (officials in the direct service of the Crown). Richelieu's financial scheme, however, caused unrest among the peasants; there were several uprisings in 1636 to 1639. Richelieu crushed the revolts violently, and dealt with the rebels harshly.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Because he openly aligned France with Protestant powers, Richelieu was denounced by many as a traitor to the Roman Catholic Church. Military action, at first, was disastrous for the French, with many victories going to Spain and the Empire. Neither side, however, could obtain a decisive advantage, and the conflict lingered on after Richelieu's death. Richelieu was instrumental in redirecting the Thirty Years' War from the conflict of Protestantism versus Catholicism to that of nationalism versus Habsburg hegemony. In this conflict France effectively drained the already overstretched resources of the Habsburg empire and drove it inexorably towards bankruptcy. The defeat of Habsburg forces at the Battle of Lens in 1648, coupled with their failure to prevent a French invasion of Catalonia, effectively spelled the end for Habsburg domination of the continent, and for the personal career of Spanish prime minister Olivares. Indeed, in the subsequent years it would be France, under the leadership of Louis XIV, who would attempt to fill the vacuum left by the Habsburgs in the Spanish Netherlands and supplant Spain as the dominant European power.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: When Richelieu came to power, New France, where the French had a foothold since Jacques Cartier, had no more than 100 permanent European inhabitants. Richelieu encouraged Louis XIII to colonize the Americas by the foundation of the "Compagnie de la Nouvelle France" in imitation of the Dutch West India Company. Unlike the other colonial powers, France encouraged a peaceful coexistence in New France between Natives and Colonists and sought the integration of Indians into colonial society. Samuel de Champlain, governor of New France at the time of Richelieu, saw intermarriage between French and Indians as a solution to increase population in its colony. Under the guidance of Richelieu, Louis XIII issued the Ordonnance of 1627 by which the Indians, converted to Catholicism, were considered as "natural Frenchmen":


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: The 1666 census of New France, conducted some 20 years after the death of Cardinal Richelieu, showed a population of 3,215 "habitants" in New France, many more than there had been only a few decades earlier, but also a great difference in the number of men (2,034) and women (1,181).


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Towards the end of his life, Richelieu alienated many people, including Pope Urban VIII. Richelieu was displeased by the Pope's refusal to name him the papal legate in France; in turn, the Pope did not approve of the administration of the French church, or of French foreign policy. However, the conflict was largely resolved when the Pope granted a cardinalate to Jules Mazarin, one of Richelieu's foremost political allies, in 1641. Despite troubled relations with the Roman Catholic Church, Richelieu did not support the complete repudiation of papal authority in France, as was advocated by the Gallicanists.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: As he neared death, Richelieu faced a plot that threatened to remove him from power. The cardinal had introduced a young man named Henri Coiffier de Ruzé, marquis de Cinq-Mars to Louis XIII's court. The Cardinal had been a friend of Cinq-Mars's father. More importantly, Richelieu hoped that Cinq-Mars would become Louis's favourite, so that he could indirectly exercise greater influence over the monarch's decisions. Cinq-Mars had become the royal favourite by 1639, but, contrary to Cardinal Richelieu's belief, he was not easy to control. The young marquis realized that Richelieu would not permit him to gain political power. In 1641, he participated in the comte de Soissons's failed conspiracy against Richelieu, but was not discovered. Then, the following year, he schemed with leading nobles (including the King's brother, the duc d'Orléans) to raise a rebellion; he also signed a secret agreement with the King of Spain, who promised to aid the rebels. Richelieu's spy service, however, discovered the plot, and the Cardinal received a copy of the treaty. Cinq-Mars was promptly arrested and executed; although Louis approved the use of capital punishment, he grew more distant from Richelieu as a result.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: However, Richelieu was now dying. For many years he had suffered from recurrent fevers (possibly malaria), strangury, intestinal tuberculosis with fistula, and migraine. Now his right arm was suppurating with tubercular osteitis, and he coughed blood (after his death, his lungs were found to have extensive cavities and caseous necrosis). His doctors continued to bleed him frequently, further weakening him. As he felt his death approaching, he named Mazarin, one of his most faithful followers, to succeed him as chief minister to the King.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Richelieu died on 4 December 1642, aged 57. His body was embalmed and interred at the church of the Sorbonne. During the French Revolution, the corpse was removed from its tomb, and the mummified front of his head, having been removed and replaced during the original embalming process, was stolen. It ended up in the possession of Nicholas Armez of Brittany by 1796, and he occasionally exhibited the well-preserved face. His nephew, Louis-Philippe Armez, inherited it and also occasionally exhibited it and lent it out for study. In 1866, Napoleon III persuaded Armez to return the face to the government for re-interment with the rest of Richelieu's body. An investigation of subsidence of the church floor enabled the head to be photographed in 1895.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Richelieu was a famous patron of the arts. An author of various religious and political works (most notably his "Political Testament"), he sent his agents abroad in search of books and manuscripts for his unrivaled library, which he specified in his will – leaving it to Armand Jean de Vignerot du Plessis, his great-nephew, fully funded – should serve not merely his family but to be open at fixed hours to scholars. The manuscripts alone numbered some 900, bound as codices in red Morocco with the cardinal's arms. The library was transferred to the Sorbonne in 1660. He funded the literary careers of many writers. He was a lover of the theatre, which was not considered a respectable art form during that era; a private theatre, the Grande Salle, was a feature of his Paris residence, the Palais-Cardinal. Among the individuals he patronized was the famous playwright Pierre Corneille. Richelieu was also the founder and patron of the Académie française, the pre-eminent French literary society. The institution had previously been in informal existence; in 1635, however, Cardinal Richelieu obtained official letters patent for the body. The Académie française includes forty members, promotes French literature, and remains the official authority on the French language. Richelieu served as the Académie's "protector". Since 1672, that role has been fulfilled by the French head of state.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: In 1622, Richelieu was elected the "proviseur" or principal of the Sorbonne. He presided over the renovation of the college's buildings and over the construction of its famous chapel, where he is now entombed. As he was Bishop of Luçon, his statue stands outside the Luçon cathedral.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Richelieu oversaw the construction of his own palace in Paris, the Palais-Cardinal. The palace, renamed the Palais-Royal after Richelieu's death, now houses the French Constitutional Council, the Ministry of Culture, and the Conseil d'État. The "Galerie de l'avant-cour" had ceiling paintings by the Cardinal's chief portraitist, Philippe de Champaigne, celebrating the major events of the Cardinal's career; the "Galerie des hommes illustres" had twenty-six historicizing portraits of great men, larger than life, from Abbot Suger to Louis XIII; some were by Simon Vouet, others were careful copies by Philippe de Champaigne from known portraits; with them were busts of Roman emperors. Another series of portraits of authors complemented the library. The architect of the Palais-Cardinal, Jacques Lemercier, also received a commission to build a château and a surrounding town in Indre-et-Loire; the project culminated in the construction of the Château Richelieu and the town of Richelieu. To the château, he added one of the largest art collections in Europe and the largest collection of ancient Roman sculpture in France. The heavily resurfaced and restored "Richelieu Bacchus" continued to be admired by neoclassical artists. Among his 300 paintings by moderns, most notably, he owned Leonardo's "Virgin and Child with Saint Anne", "The Family of the Virgin" by Andrea del Sarto, the two famous "Bacchanales" of Nicolas Poussin, as well as paintings by Veronese and Titian, and "Diana at the Bath" by Rubens, for which he was so glad to pay the artist's heirs 3,000 "écus", that he made a gift to Rubens' widow of a diamond-encrusted watch. His marble portrait bust by Bernini was not considered a good likeness and was banished to a passageway.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: The fittings of his chapel in the Palais-Cardinal, for which Simon Vouet executed the paintings, were of solid gold – crucifix, chalice, paten, ciborium, candlesticks – set with 180 rubies and 9,000 diamonds. His taste also ran to massive silver, small bronzes and works of "vertu", enamels and rock crystal mounted in gold, Chinese porcelains, tapestries and Persian carpets, cabinets from Italy, and Antwerp and the heart-shaped diamond bought from Alphonse Lopez that he willed to the king. When the Palais-Cardinal was complete, he donated it to the Crown, in 1636. With the Queen in residence, the paintings of the "Grand Cabinet" were transferred to Fontainebleau and replaced by copies, and the interiors were subjected to much rearrangement.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Michelangelo's two "Slaves" were among the rich appointments of the château Richelieu, where there were the Nativity triptych by Dürer, and paintings by Mantegna, Lorenzo Costa and Perugino, lifted from the Gonzaga collection at Mantua by French military forces in 1630, as well as numerous antiquities.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Richelieu's tenure was a crucial period of reform for France. Earlier, the nation's political structure was largely feudal, with powerful nobles and a wide variety of laws in different regions. Parts of the nobility periodically conspired against the King, raised private armies, and allied themselves with foreign powers. This system gave way to centralized power under Richelieu. Local and even religious interests were subordinated to those of the whole nation, and of the embodiment of the nation – the King. Equally critical for France was Richelieu's foreign policy, which helped restrain Habsburg influence in Europe. Richelieu did not survive to the end of the Thirty Years' War. However, the conflict ended in 1648, with France emerging in a far better position than any other power, and the Holy Roman Empire entering a period of decline.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Richelieu's successes were extremely important to Louis XIII's successor, King Louis XIV. He continued Richelieu's work of creating an absolute monarchy; in the same vein as the Cardinal, he enacted policies that further suppressed the once-mighty aristocracy, and utterly destroyed all remnants of Huguenot political power with the Edict of Fontainebleau. Moreover, Louis took advantage of his nation's success during the Thirty Years' War to establish French hegemony in continental Europe. Thus, Richelieu's policies were the requisite prelude to Louis XIV becoming the most powerful monarch, and France the most powerful nation, in all of Europe during the late seventeenth century.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Richelieu is also notable for the authoritarian measures he employed to maintain power. He censored the press, established a large network of internal spies, forbade the discussion of political matters in public assemblies such as the Parlement de Paris (a court of justice), and had those who dared to conspire against him prosecuted and executed. The Canadian historian and philosopher John Ralston Saul has referred to Richelieu as the "father of the modern nation-state, modern centralised power [and] the modern secret service."


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Richelieu's motives are the focus of much debate among historians: some see him as a patriotic supporter of the monarchy, while others view him as a power-hungry cynic. The latter image gained further currency due to Alexandre Dumas' "The Three Musketeers", which depicts Richelieu as a self-serving and ruthless de facto ruler of France.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Despite such arguments, Richelieu remains an honoured personality in France. He has given his name to a battleship and a battleship class.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: His legacy is also important for the world at large; his ideas of a strong nation-state and aggressive foreign policy helped create the modern system of international politics. The notions of national sovereignty and international law can be traced, at least in part, to Richelieu's policies and theories, especially as enunciated in the Treaty of Westphalia that ended the Thirty Years' War.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: A less renowned aspect of his legacy is his involvement with Samuel de Champlain and the fledgling colony along the St. Lawrence River. The retention and promotion of Canada under Richelieu allowed it – and through the settlement's strategic location, the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes gateway into the North American interior – to develop into a French empire in North America, parts of which eventually became modern Canada and Louisiana.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: As of April 2013, the "Internet Movie Database" listed 94 films and television programs in which Cardinal Richelieu is a character. Richelieu is one of the clergymen most frequently portrayed in film, notably in the many versions of Alexandre Dumas's "The Three Musketeers". He is usually portrayed as a sinister character, but the 1950 "Cyrano de Bergerac" shows Richelieu (played by Edgar Barrier in a scene not from Rostand's original verse drama) as compassionate to Cyrano's financial plight, and playfully having enjoyed the duel at the theatre. Actors who have portrayed Cardinal Richelieu on film and television include Nigel De Brulier, George Arliss, Miles Mander, Vincent Price, Charlton Heston, Aleksandr Trofimov, Tcheky Karyo, Stephen Rea, Tim Curry, Christoph Waltz and Peter Capaldi.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: Richelieu is indirectly mentioned in a famous line of Alessandro Manzoni's novel "The Betrothed" (1827–1840), set in 1628, as a Lombard peasant expresses his own conspiracy theories about the bread riots happening in Milan.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: The 1839 play "Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy", by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, portrayed Richelieu uttering the now famous line, "The pen is mightier than the sword." The play was adapted into the 1935 film "Cardinal Richelieu".


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: The "Monty Python's Flying Circus" episode "How to Recognise Different Types of Trees from Quite a Long Way Away", first released in 1969, features the sketch "Court Scene with Cardinal Richelieu", in which Richelieu (played by Michael Palin) is seen to be doing wildly absurd acts.


title: Cardinal Richelieu

text: In the "1632/Ring of Fire" series by Eric Flint, he is one of the primary antagonists to the nascent United States of Europe.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. They currently play in the Primera División RFEF – Group 1, the third tier of the football league pyramid in Spain.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: Founded in 1906 as "Club Deportivo de la Sala Calvet" by Federico Fernández-Amor Calvet, Deportivo have won the league title once, in the 1999–2000 season, and finished as runner-up on five occasions. The club have also won the Spanish Cup twice (1994–95 and 2001–02), and three Spanish Super Cups. The Blue and Whites were a regular fixture in the top positions of La Liga for the best part of 20 years, from 1991 to 2010, finishing in the top half of the table in 16 out of 19 seasons, and are ranked 12th in the all-time La Liga table. As a result, the club was a regular participant in European competitions, playing in the UEFA Champions League for five consecutive seasons between 2000–01 and 2004–05, reaching the quarterfinals twice and reaching the semi-finals in the 2003–04 season.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: Deportivo have played their home games at the 32,660-capacity Riazor since 1944, when the stadium was built. Their traditional home kit consists of blue and white striped shirts with blue shorts and socks. The club has a long-standing rivalry with Celta Vigo, and matches between the two sides are known as the Galician derby.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: Unlike what happened in most of the Iberian Peninsula, football did not reach the city of A Coruña through the English, instead, it was introduced by José María Abalo, a youngster who had returned to his hometown after studying in England. The game gained rapid popularity and several teams were formed on an informal basis.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: In December 1906, members of Sala Calvet gymnasium formed Deportivo de La Coruña, naming Luis Cornide as the first president. In May 1907, Alfonso XIII of Spain granted the club the ""Real"" ("royal") denomination. Dépor started playing at Corral de la Gaiteira ("Piper's Yard"), but soon moved to Old Riazor, a new ground near the Riazor beach.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: The team played friendly matches regularly and competed in local leagues, but failed to achieve success in the Copa del Rey in its early years.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: In 1920, the Olympics in Antwerp saw the debut of the Spanish national team. A good run for the Spanish side increased football's popularity, and as a result, many teams gained professional status, and a league competition was formed and planned for the 1928–29 season.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: In 1928, Dépor failed to qualify for the first ever Primera División, instead competing in the Segunda División, where it finished eighth out of ten. The team kept battling over the next few years in a division that was soon to undergo many structural and geographical changes. In 1932, in the Cup, Dépor defeated Real Madrid, which had gone unbeaten through the entire season in the league.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: In 1936, the Spanish Civil War broke out, forcing the abandonment of all official competitions until the 1939–40 season. That year, "The Herculeans" qualified for the promotion stage. The final game was against archrivals Celta de Vigo, who were fighting to avoid relegation. Celta won 1–0 and remained in the top flight as Depor's hopes of promotion were denied. The following season, however, the club reached the promotion play-offs again, this time beating Murcia 2–1 to earn promotion to La Liga for the first time in the team's history.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: The first season in the top flight saw the club finish fourth. However, the club declined in the next few seasons, finishing ninth, 12th and, in 1944–45, 14th, resulting in relegation. Instant promotion was achieved the following year, but Dépor were relegated again at the end of the 1946–47 season. Nonetheless, the team gained instant promotion in 1947–48.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: This decade saw Depor's entrance to the top flight, so the club decided to build a new ground, Riazor, which remains their home today. It was opened on 28 October 1944 with a league game against Valencia. In this era, the key player of the team was Juan Acuña, the club's goalkeeper. "Xanetas", as he was known by locals, earned four Zamora Trophies between 1942 and 1951, making him the second-most decorated keeper in the Spanish league.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: The club ended the 1948–49 season in tenth place. The next season would see their first major achievement in the league—Dépor finished as runners-up just one point behind Atlético Madrid under the management of Argentinian Alejandro Scopelli, who brought to the club a group of South American players such as Julio Corcuera, Oswaldo García, Rafael Franco and Dagoberto Moll, a group that made the team more competitive and able to remain top flight status for nine consecutive seasons until 1957. It was a great period for the club, as honoured managers like Helenio Herrera and players as Pahiño and local Luis Suárez (the only Spanish player to receive the Golden Ball honour) played at the Riazor.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: After nine seasons of first-tier football in Spain, the team was relegated to the Segunda División in 1957 and stayed there for five seasons until 1962, when they were promoted into the top flight. This started a yo-yo era that led the club to be known as the "elevator team"—promotions were achieved in 1962, 1964, 1966, 1968 and 1971, yet subsequent relegations occurred during 1963, 1965, 1967, 1970 and 1973.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: Dépor had one of the best youth systems at the time in Spain, as youngsters including Amancio Amaro, Severino Reija, José Luis Veloso and Jaime Blanco began their careers at the Riazor, in the future to become regular fixtures on the Spanish national team. Still more, including Luis Suárez, went on to play for larger clubs in Spain and Europe. However, the difficult financial situation of the club led to the forced sales of these players, and the team could not consolidate themselves in the top flight. This "yo-yo era" ended with relegation from the Primera División in 1973.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: After being relegated in 1973, the team struggled in the Second División, failing to avoid another relegation and falling to the third tier (Tercera División) for the first time in their history. However, Dépor gained instant promotion and established themselves in the second tier for the rest of the decade. In 1980, Dépor were again relegated to the newly created Segunda División B, the third tier, again for the second time in their history. Again, however, the drop was short-lived as the team gained promotion the following season. Notably, Dépor were relegated and promoted along with arch-rivals Celta de Vigo, who played during the 1980–81 season the most attended games ever in Spain's third tier.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: The club continued to play in the Second División, showing little chance of being promoted back to the top flight. In the 1987–88 season, Dépor struggled and only avoided relegation after Vicente Celeiro scored a goal during added time against Racing de Santander in the last game of the season. This is often regarded as the end of the club's dark times and the beginning of a new era.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: During this period, the club was heavily affected by financial difficulties and internal troubles with managers being sacked almost every year. In the summer of 1988, an open and popular club assembly chose a new board of directors headed by Augusto César Lendoiro. Deportivo had a debt estimated at 600 million pesetas, had been out of the top flight for 15 years and lacked established structures at economic and sporting level.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: Arsenio Iglesias, a former Deportivo player and manager, was again appointed as manager in the 1988–89 season. Dépor had a lengthy run in the Copa del Rey, though ultimately falling in the semi-finals to Real Valladolid. The next year, the team competed well in the league and qualified for the promotion play-offs, but expectations were denied again, this time by Tenerife. The 1990–91 season saw Dépor finishing as runners-up, finally achieving promotion to La Liga after an 18-year absence. Additionally, the club's finances began to improve and social support increased, especially amongst youth groups.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: The 1991–92 season, the team's first back in the top flight, saw Dépor struggle, and they were forced to take part in the relegation play-off, beating Real Betis in a two-legged round. With Arsenio Iglesias in his fourth spell as manager and experienced players added to the side, including López Rekarte, Paco Liaño, Claudio Barragán, José Luis Ribera, Adolfo Aldana, Donato (most of them veterans being former players of great teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atlético Madrid), along with promising youngsters such as local player Fran and Brazilians Bebeto and Mauro Silva, upgraded the team's level.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: The 1992–93 Deportivo squad experienced a resurgent season, placing in top positions all season and ultimately finishing third after champions Barcelona and runners-up Real Madrid, respectively, thus qualifying for European competition for the first time in their history. That year, the club also provided La Liga's Pichichi Trophy winner, Bebeto, and its Zamora Trophy winner, Paco Liaño. Additionally, Dépor made a historic comeback against Real Madrid at Riazor, trailing 0–2 at half-time but winning the game 3–2 and starting a run of 18 seasons to "Los Blancos" without a win at A Coruña.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: In 1993–94, Dépor had another fantastic season, leading the table for the majority of the year and coming to the last matchday in first to face mid-table Valencia, knowing a win would ensure the first league title in club history. The game was very close, but near its end, Valencia's Serer conceded a penalty on Nando. Regular penalty-taker Donato had been substituted, so Serbian defender Miroslav Đukić took it, but Valencia keeper González caught the ball; Deportivo saw their possible league title denied. After the frustration passed, the fans nonetheless recognised the impressive season the club had: Paco Liaño earned his second Zamora Trophy after conceding just 18 goals in 38 games, and Dépor made its debut in European competitions with the UEFA Cup, beating Aalborg BK and Aston Villa but losing to Eintracht Frankfurt in the round of 16.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: The 1994–95 season began with manager Arsenio Iglesias stating he would leave the club after the end of the year, though Dépor made another great campaign finishing again as runners-up, this time to Real Madrid. In that season's UEFA Cup, Deportivo were beaten again in the round of 16 by a German club, this time by Borussia Dortmund 2–3 on aggregate. Depor had won the first leg at home 1–0, and Dortmund equalized in the second leg to send the match into extra time. Now in extra time, Depor scored a second goal to put the match at 2–1, but with five minutes remaining, Dortmund scored two goals in two minutes to win the series. Despite this tough defeat, the season still hid a great surprise for the club, as Dépor made a fantastic run in Copa del Rey and reached the final for the first time in club history, against Valencia. On 24 June 1995, at the Santiago Bernabéu, the final was levelled 1–1 when referee García-Aranda suspended the game at the 80th minute due to heavy rain and a hailstorm. It was decided that the game would resume three days later. Two minutes after the match resumed, Alfredo Santaelena scored a header, which proved to be the winning goal that handed Depor their first ever major title.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: The 1995–96 season was an average one for Depor; they finished ninth in the league table, but reached the semi-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup, losing to eventual champions PSG. The 1997–98 season was very disappointing. The team only finished twelfth in the league table, failing to qualify for European competitions, and were eliminated in the first round of the UEFA Cup by French club AJ Auxerre.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: In 1999–2000, Deportivo, managed by Javier Irureta and with players like Noureddine Naybet, Diego Tristán, Djalminha, Fran, Roy Makaay and Mauro Silva, finally won their first La Liga title, five points ahead of Barcelona and Valencia. With this title, La Coruña became the second-smallest Spanish city with a population of approximately 250,000, behind San Sebastián (home of Real Sociedad), to have ever won La Liga.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: As league champions, Deportivo qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in its history. Their first match was a 1–1 draw against Panathinaikos in Athens. They went on to top their group unbeaten with two wins and four draws. In the second group stage, they also topped their group, and Deportivo were now looking to be one of the strongest teams in the competition. However, in the quarter finals, they lost the first leg 3–0 to Leeds United, and although Depor won the second leg at Riazor 2–0, it was not enough and they were eliminated. The following campaign, they were unbeaten in the first group stage again, including two wins against Manchester United. They progressed out of the second group group stage into the quarter-finals, where they were eliminated by the team they beat twice in the group stage, Manchester United.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: In the 2001–02 season, Depor finished league runner-up to Valencia and won the Copa del Rey for a second time with a 2–1 win against Real Madrid on 6 March 2002. This match is commonly known in Spain as the "Centenariazo". Deportivo's opponents were expected to win the final comfortably as they were nicknamed the "Galácticos" and were among the strongest teams in Europe at the time. Additionally, the final was being played at their home ground, the Santiago Bernabéu. Everything was prepared so that after the expected victory, Real Madrid could celebrate their 100th anniversary by lifting the trophy in front of their own fans. However, Deportivo spoiled the party with a 2–1 win with goals from Sergio and Tristán.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: Depor's best Champions League campaign was in the 2003–04 season, where they lost to eventual winners Porto by a narrow 1–0 aggregate scoreline in the semi-finals. Although this was their best Champions League campaign, the club also had its biggest defeat in European competitions, losing 8–3 to Monaco in the group stage. However, this campaign is also remembered for their stunning comeback against Milan in the quarter-finals. Milan won the first leg 4–1 at the San Siro, and many people thought Deportivo were already halfway eliminated. But in the second leg at Riazor, the team won 4–0 and eliminated the defending champions 5–4 on aggregate.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: Deportivo had a mediocre 2004–05 season. The team finished eighth in La Liga, only good enough to qualify for the Intertoto Cup. In the Champions League, the club had their worst campaign ever, finishing bottom of their group without winning a single match, and without scoring a single goal. This season ended the club's spell of five consecutive years playing Champions League football.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: In the summer of 2005, manager Javier Irureta was replaced by Joaquín Caparrós, ending his seven-year spell at the club.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: Deportivo's period in the top flight came to an end as they were relegated after finishing 18th in 2010–11. In July 2015, however, it was suspected that in the final round of matches for that season, Levante and Real Zaragoza were involved in a match-fixing scandal which ensured that the latter won 2–1 at the Estadi Ciutat de València and remained in the division at the expense of Deportivo, who lost 2–0 at home to Valencia. The case was in Courts until December 2020, when the match fixing was discarded by the Provincial Court.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: In the 2011–12 season, Deportivo made an immediate return to the top flight, spending half of the season top of the league. Lassad Nouioui was the top scorer with 14 goals, Andrés Guardado the top assistant and Álex Bergantiños the only player to participate in all league matches. They amassed a Segunda División record haul of 91 points and finished in first position.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: In the 2012–13 season, Deportivo finished 19th after a turbulent campaign under three managers, and once again were relegated to the Segunda División. Deportivo, however, finished second in the 2013–14 season, guaranteeing promotion to the top-flight for the second time in three years. A less-than-impressive 2014–15 campaign back in the top division with a disjointed squad featured some very poor performances on the pitch under new manager Víctor Fernández, including a humiliating 2–8 reverse at home to Real Madrid. This was especially disappointing considering the impressive 18-match unbeaten home run between 1992–93 and 2010–11 at the Riazor against Madrid, a feat which no other team has managed to achieve in the history of Spanish football. Deportivo ultimately finished the season in 16th place and avoided relegation after appointing former player Víctor Sánchez as manager on 9 April 2015, for the remaining eight matches of the season.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: With Víctor Sánchez as their new manager, Deportivo made changes for the new season. With the addition of new players Alejandro Arribas, Fernando Navarro, Pedro Mosquera and Fayçal Fajr, Deportivo began the season with a 0–0 draw against Real Sociedad. On 28 November 2015, with a 2–0 victory against Las Palmas, Deportivo were in fifth place after an impressive start. However, after a disastrous second half of the season, which was precipitated by a 3–0 home defeat to CD Mirandés in the Copa del Rey, Deportivo won only two matches out of the next 22, including an 8–0 humiliation at the hands of Barcelona, and only secured their safety in La Liga in the penultimate game of the season with a victory over Villarreal. Victor Sánchez was sacked on 29 May 2016 after several incidents of player unrest within the squad.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: The team continued in a negative spiral in the following seasons. At the end of the 2017–18 season, Deportivo was relegated following a 4–2 home defeat to Barcelona, which also secured the "Blaugrana" the La Liga title. The next season the club played in Segunda División and finished sixth. In the promotion play-offs, Deportivo lost to Mallorca 3–2 on aggregate and remained in Segunda División. In the following campaign Deportivo was relegated once again, falling down into Segunda División B for the first time in 39 years. They were not able to win the promotion back the following season, finding themselves remaining in the third-tier, in the newly formed Primera División RFEF, for the 2021–22 season.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: Deportivo's crest contains cues to predecessor Sala Calvet's crest, with a gentlemen's belt encircling the purple and white banner of the gymnasium. The banner itself features a sky blue diagonal band which represents the maritime flag of A Coruña and the Galician flag. In addition, it features a crown which represents its royal patronage (granted in 1909 by Alfonso XIII). During the Spanish Republic (1931–1936) the honorific "real" (royal) and the crown were removed from the club crest; this was to return under Francoist Spain.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: Deportivo have always played in their famous blue and white stripes, but it was not until 1912 that the club made these colours official for matches. Deportivo continues to wear blue and white striped shirts with blue shorts and socks, yet their second and third kits change annually according to commercial interests. Their current shirt sponsors are local brewery Hijos de Rivera, with Kappa manufacturing the kits. In 2015, Deportivo and Estrella Galicia extended their sponsorship deal throughout the 2015–16 La Liga season with an option of a further year.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: Deportivo's supporters are known as "deportivistas." Despite playing in the third tier, the club had 20,070 season ticket holders in the 2020–21 season. The supporters organise themselves around 200 supporter groups known as "peñas"; the most well-known being the "Riazor Blues". The interests of the supporters are represented by the Federación de Peñas RC Deportivo.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña Femenino is the women's football section of Deportivo which plays in Spain's top division.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: Real Club Deportivo Fabril is the filial team of Deportivo de La Coruña. Founded in 1914 with the name of Fabril Sociedad Deportiva, it plays in Segunda División B. Its stadium is called Cidade Deportiva de Abegondo, with a capacity of 1,000 seats.


title: Deportivo de La Coruña

text: In 1993 the team was officially renamed Deportivo B, although most locals still called it "Fabril". In 2017 it was renamed back to Real Club Deportivo Fabril.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: Beast is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Nelson. The film stars Vijay, Pooja Hegde and Selvaraghavan. It revolves around an ex-RAW agent's crusade to rescue people held hostage in a shopping mall by terrorists.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: The production rights of Vijay's 65th film as lead actor were acquired by Sun Pictures in early January 2020 when it was set to be written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss. However, the producers ousted Murugadoss from the film in October 2020 after he refused to cut his remuneration. Nelson was later hired, and he wrote a new script for the film. Principal photography began in April 2021 and wrapped in December taking place in Chennai, Delhi and Georgia. The music was composed by Anirudh, cinematography was handled by Manoj Paramahamsa, editing by R. Nirmal, and production design supervised by D. R. K. Kiran.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: "Beast" was released in theatres on 13 April 2022, where it received mixed to negative reviews from critics and audience. The film was a commercial failure, grossing crore worldwide.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: Veera Raghavan, an Indian RAW field operative is assigned to capture a terrorist named Umar Farooq. While he successfully manages to do so, a missile shot by him to prevent Farooq's escape injures and kills a civilian child, traumatising Veera, who quits the agency and returns to Chennai. Months later, Veera is still reeling from the after-effects of the child's death. He meets Preethi at a wedding, and they fall for each other, where she convinces him to join her company "Dominic & Soldiers", a failing security service. Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu government gets intel that a major terrorist event is planned in Chennai.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: Along with Preethi and her boss Dominic Irudhayaraj, Veera visits the East Coast mall, which is their last client where he observes a series of suspicious activities and deduces that someone else has taken over the mall. Veera is proven right, as terrorists, led by Umar Farooq's brother Umar Saif, open fire and hijack the mall. Veera, Preethi, Dominic and others hide unharmed inside an unopened restaurant. The government led by Deputy National Security Advisor and Veera's ex-associate Althaf Hussain tries to negotiate with the terrorists, who demands the release of Umar Farooq. Althaf learns that Veera is also trapped inside the mall and manages to establish contact with him, where he tries to convince Veera to help them.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: Though initially hesitant, Veera gets convinced when he realises that the terrorists are here for Umar Farooq, where he kills one of the terrorists and captures another one alive and brings him to their hideout. Veera manages to infiltrate the terrorists and eliminates a few of them. The Home Minister, who is in league with Umar Saif, gets them to stage the execution of his wife and daughter Aparna, who are also in the mall on Live TV. The government succumbs to this and agrees to release Farooq. Enraged, Veera retaliates and kidnaps the Home Minister's wife and Aparna where he pretends to be a Bangladeshi militant to confuse the terrorists, and threatens to kill them if Farooq is released.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: Senses his impending defeat, Umar Saif seemingly gives up, only to slip among the crowd pretending to be a hostage, and soon figures out Veera's real identity due to Dominic where he forces him and his aides to give up and captures all of them. With the help of Aparna, Veera managers to escape, and eliminates Umar Saif and the other terrorists while making sure that the hostages escape to safety. The Home Minister is arrested for his involvement in the hijack. Despite all the negotiations, Umar Farooq is released. Few months later, Veera captures Umar Farooq in Pakistan and after surviving a long air chase, manages to bring him back to India to have him imprisoned. After the mission, Veera, Preethi, Dominic and the rest of his crew celebrate their escapades in Goa.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: Additionally, director Nelson, music composer Anirudh, cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa, choreographer Jani, and Bjorn Surrao appear in cameo appearances as themselves in the song "Jolly O Gymkhana".


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: In January 2020, during the production of "Master" (2021), Vijay reportedly signed for his next project backed by Kalanithi Maran's Sun Pictures, collaborating with them after "Vettaikaran" (2009), "Sura" (2010) and "Sarkar" (2018). While Magizh Thirumeni, S. Shankar, Sudha Kongara, Pandiraj, R. Ajay Gnanamuthu and Vetrimaaran were initially reported to direct the film, in March 2020, a source claimed that AR Murugadoss had planned to direct Vijay in the tentatively titled "Thalapathy 65" (Vijay's 65th film as lead actor). The project was reported to enter production by late April 2020, which did not happen. S. Thaman was finalised to compose the music in May 2020, in what would have been his first collaboration with Vijay. In August 2020, Tamannaah was approached to be the lead actress, collaborating with Vijay after ten years since "Sura". The script was reported to have Vijay in dual roles.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: Murugadoss narrated the final script to Vijay in early August 2020. Following his approval, the team reported in mid-August 2020 that "Thalapathy 65" will enter production soon, with an official announcement on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi (22 August 2020), which did not happen. In an interview, Murugadoss stated that the script was not a sequel to any of his previous films, but an original one. The team further brought the stunt choreographer duo Anbariv on board, which marked their first collaboration with Vijay, and screenwriter R. Selvaraj also joined the project in August 2020. Manoj Paramahamsa was announced as the cinematographer in September 2020.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: Vijay was initially said to receive crore as a remuneration for the project, but due to the financial constraints owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, he decided to waive off 30% from his salary, thus getting crore as remuneration. Maran insisted Murugadoss to reduce his salary post the failure of his previous directorial, "Darbar" (2020). But as Murugadoss refused his demands, Sun Pictures ousted him from the project in October 2020. The producers later planned to bring either S. J. Suryah, Nelson or Magizh Thirumeni on board to direct the project, with Nelson being insisted by composer Anirudh, who worked with Vijay in "Master", to direct the film.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: On 10 December 2020, Sun Pictures announced that "Thalapathy 65" will be directed by Nelson, and Anirudh was also brought on board to score music; this project marks his third collaboration with Vijay and Nelson after their respective films, "Kaththi" (2014), "Kolamaavu Kokila" (2018) and "Doctor" (2021). Manoj and Anbariv who were part of Murugadoss' proposed project with Vijay were retained for this film. R. Nirmal, who worked with Nelson in "Kolamaavu Kokila" and "Doctor" was announced as the film editor, while D. R. K. Kiran handled the production design for this film. Anbariv said that the film would have "extraordinary" stunt sequences similar to those in "" (2018).


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: Nelson had parallelly worked on the film's script along with the post-production works of "Doctor" as the final script was to be drafted. During that period, he simultaneously began location scouting for the film and shared a few pictures from Russia through his Instagram page. Vijay was reported to play a "sharp and humorous" character. While the film was launched under the tentative title "Thalapathy 65", the film's title "Beast" was announced on 21 June 2021, on the eve of Vijay's birthday.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: In November 2021, a Diwali edition published in November by the magazine "Ananda Vikatan" revealed the main plot: an invasion taking place in a shopping mall, where terrorists hold a bunch of shoppers hostage, and how the protagonist saves them. Most of the events take place in the mall. While primarily in the action genre, the film also features elements of black comedy and synchronised comical characters, usually seen in the director's films. Nelson described "Beast" as "60 percent action and 40 percent humour", while acknowledging "Pokkiri" (2007) as an influence on the film.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: Vijay portrays Veera Raghavan, a RAW agent. Nelson compared him to the characters James Bond and John Wick. In January 2021, Pooja Hegde was reported to be the lead actress, and hinted her inclusion in an interview in February 2021. Her inclusion was confirmed by Sun Pictures on 24 March 2021. The film marks her return to Tamil cinema after a decade, following her debut in the film industry with "Mugamoodi" (2012). Hegde allotted 50 days for "Beast", and a remuneration of crore was offered to her. After reports emerged that the team was planning to cast a second female lead, they denied this, stating there was no room for more leading actors in the film and the script did not demand for it. Hegde said the film properly combines the filmmaking style of Nelson, and the acting style of Vijay. Nelson said he wanted an actress who could match Vijay's height and decided on Hedge, then fresh off from the success of the Telugu film "Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo" (2020).


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: In March 2021, VTV Ganesh and Kavin were announced as being a part of the cast after being present in the launch event. Kavin denied being part of the cast, but said three months later that he was working as an assistant director. Malayalam actress Aparna Das confirmed her presence in the project in April. In May 2021, Malayalam actor Shine Tom Chacko was approached for a prominent role in the film, making his Tamil debut. Yogi Babu confirmed his presence in the project in June, collaborating with Vijay for the fifth time after "Velayudham" (2011), "Mersal" (2017), "Sarkar" (2018) and "Bigil" (2019). On 7 August 2021, Sun Pictures announced that Selvaraghavan would be acting in the film. Lilliput and Ankur Ajit Vikal were also announced as a part of the cast on the same day. Nelson said he wanted a relatively new face for a certain role, and Selvaraghavan immediately accepted when approached. The film is Selvaraghavan's debut as an actor.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: Choreographer-cum-actor Sathish Krishnan joined the film's cast during the second schedule. The film was reported to have three antagonists. On 25 August, Smruthi, Janani Durga, Madhuri Watts and Hasini Pavithra were cast in undisclosed roles. On 1 October, "Ananda Vikatan" reported that Shaji Chen would play an important role in the film. In mid-October, it was reported that Sujatha Babu, who works as television reporter in Sun News channel, will be seen as Vijay's mother in the film. Redin Kingsley, a regular in Nelson's films, joined in the same month. On 28 November, Nelson released a behind-the-scenes still confirming the involvements of singer-songwriter Bjorn Surrao, Sunil Reddy and Shiva Arvind, all three of whom worked in the director's previous film "Doctor". Sunil Reddy and Shiva Arvind reprise their roles from "Doctor" as Mahaali and Killi.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: A test shoot for "Thalapathy 65", held on 10 February 2021 at the office of Sun TV Network in Chennai. On 31 March 2021, the film was launched at Sun TV Studios, with a formal puja ceremony. However, Hegde was not present at the launch, due to her busy schedules. After the 2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, Vijay and Nelson headed to Georgia for the film's shooting schedule on 7 April 2021. Sun Pictures released a post from the shooting location on 9 April, revealing that the film entered production. The team shot 30% of the film in Georgia and rest of the shoot in Chennai, because of restrictions due to the second wave of the pandemic. Vijay returned to Chennai on 26 April, after filming in Georgia for 15 days, where an introductory song and few action sequences were shot.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: For the second schedule, a huge shopping mall was replicated at the EVP Film City in Chennai since malls were shut in Tamil Nadu owing to COVID-19 restrictions. Nelson had previously scouted Delhi for malls to shoot in, but ultimately desisted due to the difficulties involved in crowd control. However, Vijay asked the team to suspend production due to the rise in COVID-19 cases and the statewide lockdown prevailing in Tamil Nadu. The song shoot of the film was scheduled for shoot on mid-May 2021 was also stalled after Hegde was diagnosed with COVID-19. Filming resumed in July 2021, with the second schedule lasting for 20 days. A sequence was filmed at East Coast Road, where "Valimai" was being shot and a huge set was constructed at the location. Reports also claimed that shooting of the film progressed at Intercontinental Chennai Mahabalipuram Resort. The team moved to Gokulam Studios for filming major sequences. The film's third schedule began in Chennai on 2 August 2021 and went for more than three weeks.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: The entire schedule was completed on 23 August 2021, and the team continued to shoot the recurring sequences at Gokulam Studios on 1 September 2021, before planning to shoot few sequences in Delhi as a part of the fourth schedule. A song sequence being picturised on Vijay and Hegde, choreographed by Jani Master, was shot during the schedule. The fourth schedule began in Delhi on 20 September. In this schedule, an action sequence choreographed by Anbariv, was shot for five to seven days. The next schedule began in Chennai after 28 September. By late October, reportedly over 70% of filming was complete, and the film is scheduled to wrap up by late-December.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: For the climax action sequences, the team planned to shoot the film in Russia, which was later dropped. Instead, the team decided to go to Georgia again for the final schedule, to shoot a scene involving a younger version of Vijay's character. According to reports, the team would recreate Kashmir and shoot army based scenes in this schedule. Manoj Paramahamsa purchased a new Tiltamax rig for the shoot in Georgia, which also had a hands-on Red Komodo 6K, and later a RED V-raptor camera was brought so as to shoot the action sequences in high resolution. Thus, "Beast" became the first Indian film to be shot using RED V-raptor camera. Hegde returned to Chennai to shoot for the film in November 2021. But due to heavy rains in Chennai, the sets were flooded although none of the cast members were hurt. It has been also reported that the interiors in the sets were not damaged due to floods. Filming wrapped on 11 December 2021. Vijay also finished dubbing for his character the same month. The team later reunited for patchwork filming.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: The first look poster of "Beast" which released on 21 June 2021, shared through Vijay's official Twitter account, was the most liked and retweeted tweet in the entertainment section, according to a survey report by Twitter.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: "Beast" was released in theatres on 13 April 2022, in the week of Puthandu. Apart from Tamil, the film had dubbed versions in Hindi (titled "Raw"), Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. The distribution rights for Tamil Nadu are held by Red Giant Movies. The Telugu version is distributed by Sri Venkateswara Creations, Suresh Productions and Asian Cinemas, the Malayalam version by Magic Frames, the Kannada version by Dheeraj Enterprises, and the Hindi version by UFO Moviez. Ayngaran International holds the overseas distribution rights, except for Singapore and Gulf where the rights are with Home Screen Entertainment. The film was banned in Kuwait and Qatar, though an official explanation was not provided. "Beast" did not release in Karur district of Tamil Nadu due to a dispute between Karur theatre owners and distributors over the quoted price for the film.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: "Beast" was made available for streaming, on 11 May 2022, in both Sun NXT and Netflix, in Tamil alongside dubbed versions in Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada languages.


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: "Beast" received positive to mixed reviews from critics. Soundarya Athimuthu of "The Quint" said, "Beast is neither Nelson's film nor Vijay's film. It's good but not the best combination, where Nelson tries to cater more to the Vijay fans and Vijay tries to fit into Nelson's wacky world." Ashameera Aiyappan of "Firstpost" rated the film 3/5 stars and wrote "Vijay is surrounded by eccentric and flamboyantly funny characters, but as cliches pile up, the irreverent jokes aren't enough to keep this beast alive". Divya Nair of Rediff.com rated the film 3/5 stars and wrote, "Leave logic behind, sit back and watch Vijay do the impossible". Roger Ebert, an American film critic website, reviewed the film with 3/5 stars and wrote "Vijay's all-things-for-everyone self-image is celebrated throughout, as in the chorus of one anthemic song that hails the chipmunk-cheeked hero as leaner, meaner, stronger".


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: M. Suganth of "The Times of India" rated the film 2.5/5 stars and wrote "The director seems to have banked entirely on his star to carry the film, but with a script that hardly offers him anything to work with, even Vijay can only do so much with his star power. Janani K of "India Today" rated 2.5/5 and wrote "It is Vijay's show all the way and he headlines this clichéd thriller". Manoj Kumar R. of "The Indian Express" rated the film 2.5/5 and termed it as "an unapologetic crowd-pleaser and a solid service to Vijay's core fanbase".


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: Srinivasa Ramanujam of "The Hindu" stated, "Beast is a dull and tedious affair". Sowmya Rajendran of "The News Minute" rated the film 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Nelson tries to be imaginative and break out of cliches but he keeps using the oldest tricks in the book whenever he runs out of ideas". Vivek M V of "Deccan Herald" rated the film 2.5/5 stars and wrote "The film's major plot points are silly. Towards the end, the feeling of watching an outdated, one-man show film is inevitable". Haricharan Pudipeddi of "Hindustan Times" stated, "This Vijay and Pooja Hegde film is a Die Hard-inspired thriller but suffers due to weak writing".


title: Beast (2022 Indian film)

text: "Beast" on its opening day collected crore from Tamil Nadu, crore from Hyderabad and Telangana, crore from Karnataka, crore from Kerala, crore from North India and crore ($3.1 million) from outside India to take its worldwide opening day gross to crore. There were reports of the movie collecting crore and core on release day in Tamil Nadu; however Box Office India stated that those numbers were hugely inflated in their second day report. After three days of run the film grossed crore. A report in "The Times of India" stated that the movie grossed crore across the world on its opening day and crore on the second day, crore on the third day and crore on the fourth day with a worldwide total of crore. After five days of its run, "The Times of India", reported the film collected crore. "Beast" collected 6 crore in North India. Later, it was reported that the film grossed crore after 25 days of theatrical run. By contrast, Pinkvilla stated that the film finished its run with crore worldwide.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #3 (July 1963). He is a highly intelligent, myopic, and somewhat stocky mad scientist who sports four strong and durable appendages resembling an octopus's tentacles, which extend from the back of his body and can be used for various purposes. After his mechanical harness became permanently fused to his body during a lab accident, he turned to a life of crime, and came into conflict with the superhero Spider-Man. He has endured as one of Spider-Man's most prominent villains, and is regarded as one of his three archenemies, alongside the Green Goblin and Venom. He is the founder and leader of the Sinister Six, the first supervillain team to oppose Spider-Man.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: While usually portrayed as a supervillain, Doctor Octopus has also been occasionally depicted as a conflicted antihero and ally of Spider-Man. Following Spider-Man's death in the 2012 storyline "Dying Wish", which saw a dying Octavius swapping bodies with the hero and letting him die in his original body, Octavius was motivated to prove he could be a better Spider-Man. As such, he adopted the Superior Spider-Man alias, introduced in "Avenging Spider-Man" #15.1 following a cameo in "Daredevil" vol. 3 #21 (both December 2012). The Superior Spider-Man possesses all of the original Spider-Man's abilities, memories, and equipment, along with additional gadgets created by Octavius, though he often struggles to live up to his predecessor's legacy and turn his life around after being a villain for years. In 2013, Marvel launched a 45-issue "The Superior Spider-Man" comic book series focusing on the character's redemption and superhero career. The original Spider-Man has since been resurrected after the death of Otto Octavius. Following "Spider-Verse", a copy of his consciousness became a villain, though a second volume of "The Superior Spider-Man" launched in 2018 saw the duplicate taking on the mantle before returning to the Doctor Octopus mantle as an antihero.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Comics journalist and historian Mike Conroy writes of the character: "Created by Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, Doc Ock, as he became known, has become one of the web-slinger's most persistent, enduring, and dangerous foes." A fan favorite character and well-known figure in popular culture, Doctor Octopus has been featured in various media adaptations of Spider-Man over the years, including feature films, television series, and video games. Alfred Molina portrayed the character in the films "Spider-Man 2" (2004) and "" (2021). In the animated "Spider-Verse" films, Kathryn Hahn voiced a female version of Doctor Octopus named Olivia Octavius in "" (2018), while an alternate Otto Octavius as the Superior Spider-Man will appear in its sequel, "" (2023). William Salyers voices the character in the "Marvel's Spider-Man" video game series and "" (2019).


title: Doctor Octopus

text: In 2009, "IGN" ranked Doctor Octopus 28th in the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time, and in 2014 rated him Spider-Man's greatest enemy.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Doctor Octopus first appeared in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #3 (July 1963), created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko. Lee recounted: "Usually in creating a villain the first thing I would think of was a name, and then I would try to think of, 'Well, now that I've got the name, who's the character going to be and what will he do?' For some reason, I thought of an octopus. I thought, 'I want to call somebody Octopus. And I want him to have a couple of extra arms just for fun'. But I had to figure out how to do that". The character reappeared in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #11-12, then again in #31-33.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Doctor Octopus is regarded as one of Spider-Man's most infamous enemies. He has been cited as the man Peter might have become if he had not been raised with a sense of responsibility. He is infamous for defeating Spider-Man the first time in battle and for almost marrying Peter's Aunt May. He is also the founder and core leader of the Sinister Six, and has referred himself as the "Master Planner". ("If This Be My Destiny...!") Later depictions revealed him in Peter Parker's body where he was the titular character from 2013 to 2014. In 2018, he returned as the Superior Spider-Man in a series written by Christos Gage and illustrated by Mike Hawthorne.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Born in Schenectady, New York, Otto Octavius had a turbulent upbringing. His father Torbert Octavius, a factory worker, was abusive and violent towards both Otto and his mother Mary Lavinia Octavius. The young Octavius's shyness and good work in school got him labeled as a "teacher's pet" and targeted as a subject for bullying. Torbert did not appreciate having a bullied son, and roared at him to use violence in dealing with the bullies. Mary Octavius would always defend her son from Torbert's tirades, saying he was a gifted thinker who would use his brain to solve problems, not his fists. Due to his mother's insistence and her disgust towards men who worked in common manual labor, Octavius was determined not to become like his father and threw all his efforts into his education, regularly scoring top marks. Octavius's devotion to study paid off with him being awarded a university scholarship. During Octavius's freshman year of college, he was undecided in his studies until they were briefly interrupted by his father's funeral; a construction accident having ended Torbert's life. When Mary remarked that "an early death is a manual laborer's" and she expected better from her son, this seemed to spur an obsession in Octavius about the hard sciences, and he declared his major to be physical science. His obsession, however, did not manifest immediately, and he was regarded by his school friends as a devoted student who was genuinely interested in the studies. He graduated near the top of his class, and was considered a catch to many scientific firms. Octavius was soon hired by an engineering firm.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Octavius became a brilliant and respected nuclear physicist, atomic research consultant, inventor and lecturer. He designed a set of highly advanced mechanical arms controlled via a brain–computer interface to assist him with his research into atomic physics. The tentacle-like arms were resistant to radiation and were capable of great strength and highly precise movement, attached to a harness that fit around his body. Later in his criminal career, he claimed the inspiration for the device came from the "Vitruvian Man", the famous pencil sketch by Leonardo da Vinci, one of his idols.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Though his relationship with co-workers was typically hostile, he was social enough to give a demonstration of his harness to a small group. He showed how the metal tentacles allowed him to work safely with chemicals that would normally be too dangerous for a human being to touch or be in close vicinity to. One such person impressed by this was a scientist named Mary Alice Anders, and the two soon dated. In due time, Otto proposed marriage to Mary Alice. However, when Otto joyously announced his future marriage to his mother, her feelings were not reciprocated. Believing that no woman was good enough for her son, she made him feel guilty that she was going to be pushed aside for his bride-to-be. Shocked that he hurt his mother, and to please her, Otto broke off the engagement with Mary Alice. Later, when he discovered that his mother had begun dating a librarian, he rebuked her, causing her to have a fatal heart attack in the heat of their argument. With the death of his mother and Mary Alice Anders out of his life, Octavius' disposition towards nearly everyone became mean-spirited, and he had become more distracted from paying attention to detail and safety precautions in his work. His co-workers often called him "Doctor Octopus" behind his back, a pun on his actual name inspired by the four-armed apparatus; he was aware of this insult, but he barely cared.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: During an accidental radiation leak that ended in an explosion, the apparatus became fused to Octavius's body. It was later revealed that the radiation (or possibly his own latent mutation) had mutated his brain so that he could control the movement of the arms using his thoughts alone. The tentacles have since been surgically removed from his body, although Octavius retains the power to control them telepathically from great distances. The accident also seemingly damaged his brain (although it was later suggested that what was interpreted as brain damage was, in fact, his mind rewiring itself to accommodate four extra limbs), and the scientist turned to a life of crime, first taking the hospital hostage and calling himself "Doctor Octopus" from the derogatory name that his co-workers had given him. Though Doctor Octopus himself is portly, in poor physical shape, and is near-sighted, with his harness attached he is physically more than a match for Spider-Man. The accident also made his eyes very sensitive to light, requiring him to wear glasses with shaded lenses.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: In their first encounter, Doctor Octopus defeated Spider-Man, tossing him out of a window. Following this defeat, Spider-Man considered giving up his heroic career but was inspired to continue by the Human Torch, and ultimately defeated Doctor Octopus.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Over the years, Doctor Octopus has become one of the most identifiable members of Spider-Man's rogues gallery. Doctor Octopus formed the original Sinister Six to fight Spider-Man after taking Betty Brant and May Parker hostage. He has led subsequent Sinister Six groups and usually takes offense when someone else leads the team. Disguised as the Master Planner, he organized theft of atomic equipment. After he stole a formula that Spider-Man needed to cure his Aunt May, Spider-Man tracked Doctor Octopus' gang to their base. In the ensuing fight, Spider-Man became trapped underneath a collapsed building. Seemingly doomed, Spider-Man was ultimately able to draw upon the sheer force of his will to summon the strength to escape. It is later revealed he used a scuba tank to escape.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Doctor Octopus later attempts to steal the Defense Department's Nullifier device, and sets a trap for Spider-Man. He became May Parker's tenant, then got close enough to use the Nullifier on Spider-Man; although he had hoped that it would merely nullify Spider-Man's web-shooters, the radiation in Spider-Man's blood resulted in the Nullifier's interaction with Spider-Man's unique biology rendering him amnesiac, Doctor Octopus subsequently tricking Spider-Man into helping him before Spider-Man's own better nature resulted in him turning against his 'partner' despite his memory loss long enough for John Jameson to use the Nullifier to shut down his tentacles.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Doctor Octopus later exhibited the ability to activate his mechanical arms remotely, and used them to free himself from prison. His resulting battle with Spider-Man resulted in Captain George Stacy's death. Doctor Octopus later waged a gang war with Hammerhead. He attempted to wed May Parker in order to acquire an island with an atomic plant which she had recently (and unknowingly) inherited. Doctor Octopus escaped death when the island was destroyed in a thermonuclear explosion and began a life as a homeless person. He next battled the "ghost" of Hammerhead, unwittingly returned him to his corporeal form using a particle accelerator and defeated him after forming a temporary alliance with Spider-Man.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Doctor Octopus later attempted to hijack an atomic submarine. He also attempted to poison New York City with printers' ink, and battled the Punisher and Spider-Man. He next battled the Owl and his gang. He successfully deactivated a nuclear reactor in a laboratory before meltdown. He later displayed symptoms which Mister Fantastic diagnosed as multiple personality disorder.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: During the "Secret Wars" storyline, Doctor Octopus was taken to the Beyonder's Battleworld, where he fought a horde of heroes and plotted against Doctor Doom for the leadership of the group of villains. He was able to defeat the X-Men, until Magneto came to the mutants' aid.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: His crowning achievement of evil was the near-fatal beating of the Black Cat (Spider-Man's then-partner) which led to Spider-Man beating Doctor Octopus to within an inch of his life. The trauma of the beating he received from Spider-Man left Otto Octavius afraid of Spider-Man and spiders in general for years, and he needed to be treated for his acute arachnophobia. Spider-Man was forced to let his nemesis beat him in combat so as to allow Octavius to break free of his fears and recruit him to save New York City from an exploding nuclear reactor; Octavius had been planning to detonate the reactor to kill Spider-Man indirectly, but after his out-of-control arms beat Spider-Man seemingly senseless, Spider-Man convinced him to shut down the reactor to ensure that there were witnesses to his 'great triumph'. Octavius decided to let Spider-Man live on the grounds that he would now have to cope with the same humiliation he had endured.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: During the "Clone Saga", Doctor Octopus saved Spider-Man from certain death from a poison injected by the Vulture, although this was only because "he" desired to be the one to kill Spider-Man. During the healing process, he discovered Spider-Man's identity and then allowed himself to be taken in by police, expecting to be saved by his accomplice/lover Stunner. However, Stunner was knocked out and Doctor Octopus was murdered by the insane Spider-Man clone Kaine. Carolyn Trainer took over as "Doctor Octopus" until her teacher was resurrected by a branch of the mystical ninja cult known as the Hand. Upon his resurrection, it was revealed that he now had no knowledge of Spider-Man's identity, as the memories he gained came from a computer chip provided by Carolyn Trainer, and the memory of Spider-Man's identity had not been recorded at the time of his death.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: In later years, Octavius attempted to create his own personal assassin in the form of a villainous mutated entity he dubbed "Spider-Woman". He has also had to deal with another usurper, in the form of arrogant young businessman and con artist Luke Carlyle, who pretended to employ Octavius at his company. Tiring of his life of crime and wishing to return to an engineering career, Octavius accepted the offer. This proved to be a ruse, and Carlyle subdued Doctor Octopus and stole his technology, using it to create his own version of Octavius' harness and tentacles. During a prolonged battle with Octavius and Spider-Man, Carlyle was defeated when Doctor Octopus ripped open his suit, allowing Spider-Man to fill Carlyle's suit with webbing, although Doctor Octopus informed his enemy that he only did this to hurt Carlyle rather than to help Spider-Man.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Then, Doctor Octopus took the ambassador of the newly formed Free Palestinian State hostage, demanding that in exchange for the ambassador's freedom, Spider-Man would meet him in Times Square and unmask himself in front of the world. When Spider-Man went to Times Square, he pulled off his mask to reveal another mask, angering Octavius enough to distract him from the release of the ambassador by agents of the Israeli Secret Service.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Doctor Octopus was taken to Ryker's Island and was drugged and brainwashed to kill the Green Goblin. He interrupted a battle between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin on the Brooklyn Bridge, and the two villains were struck by lightning and fell into the river below. Octopus was dragged out days later with no memory of the event and missing two months of his life.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: While hiding in a plant that was owned by the villain Fusion, Octavius was apparently forced to work for Fusion in helping him recover the 'John Hancock' satellite, once used to find nuclear weapons but now capable of finding potentially radioactive superhumans such as the Hulk or Spider-Man. Although Fusion had apparently forced Octavius into submission, Octavius eventually revealed that he had merely been faking his submission so that Fusion could do all the hard work of finding the satellite for Octavius to sell off, subsequently beating Fusion half to death and attempting to sell the satellite himself before he was caught and defeated by Spider-Man.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Octavius unsuccessfully tried to form and lead another version of the Sinister Six, because Captain America's Secret Avengers managed to defeat the villainous group, although Doctor Octopus himself eluded authorities. In "Sensational Spider-Man" #28, Doctor Octopus is seen viewing a telecast of Peter Parker revealing himself to be Spider-Man. Doctor Octopus then goes rampaging throughout the city, in utter disbelief that not only was he beaten numerous times by a teenager, but of the lost opportunity he had when he unmasked Parker in their second encounter (at the time, Octavius assumed he was an impostor). He is again defeated by Spider-Man, who confronts Doctor Octopus unmasked, after two of Peter's students distract Octavius. He is then sent to Baron Zemo's supervillain detention facility (as seen in "Thunderbolts" #104 and "Iron Man" (vol. 4) #14). , Spider-Man contacts Octavius to see if he can help with Aunt May's condition.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: When Doctor Octopus learns that he is dying due to the years of punishment his body took in his villainous career, facing superhuman foes when he is fundamentally human once getting past the tentacles, he becomes increasingly despondent and brazen in his final plans. Intending to leave a lasting legacy, he attempts to exert control over New York City by using his newly minted Octobots, but while he consciously intends to help, his subconscious drives him to turn the city's resources against Spider-Man, and he also targets May Parker aggressively (deeming her guilty of being due to marry J. Jonah Jameson's father J. Jonah Jameson, Sr.), subtly disrupting the planned marriage. Spider-Man is eventually able to take control of Octavius's planned network, forcing Octavius to flee while vowing revenge.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: In his desperate attempts to prolong his life, Octavius reforms the Sinister Six, wishing to acquire Menace's unborn son, hoping to synthesize a pure strain of the Goblin Serum, only to be thwarted again by the efforts of Spider-Man and the guilty conscience of the Lizard, reigniting his bitterness towards his foe, but gaining a grudging acknowledgment of his abilities. Octavius and Spider-Man keep crossing their ways during the following months, with the Avengers fighting a new iteration of the Sinister Six, Doctor Octopus sending a remote Octobot in John Jameson's shuttle, and Octavius contacting Iron Man to force him to find a cure for his degenerative condition. However, when Iron Man genuinely offers to have the brightest minds in the Marvel Universe find a viable cure, Octavius smugly refuses, in favor of witnessing Stark admit that he cannot do it and beg for mercy to disarm a device that Octavius had claimed was a bomb, basking in this "proof" of his (supposedly) superior intellect.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: His attempts to prolong his life, however, do not hinder a more vast and sinister plan, in which he has the Sinister Six fighting the Avengers Academy for a piece of Hank Pym's technology, the Future Foundation for a piece of Reed Richard's technology, and the Intelligencia for the "Zero Cannon", a powerful antigravity weapon, later revealing to have gained something useful from his early foray in John Jameson's shuttle. All this careful preparation came to fruition during the "Ends of the Earth" storyline, where the apparently mismatched pieces of technology stolen are used to build a satellite net, the "Octavian Lens", able to alter the world's climate by enhancing or smothering solar rays.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Doctor Octopus at first claims to have a benevolent intent, wishing to halt the greenhouse effect in exchange for gratitude and recognition, but he is soon exposed by Spider-Man (having enhanced himself with new Horizon Labs-built tech), the Black Widow and Silver Sable, who provoke him into revealing his real plan: immolate a great part of the entire population to prevent anyone from surviving his impending death, having the survivors remember him in perpetual fear and awe. Playing over his ego, Spider-Man manages to stall him, by reminding him that, even if anyone managed to survive a drastic heating of the entire Earth, the survivors would likely be brain-damaged, and as such unable to remember his actions. Spider-Man then roughly defeats him, in retaliation for Silver Sable's death, openly mocking and berating his efforts by claiming that, because of the Octavian Lens' destruction and his declining health, he is now going to die alone, forgotten and without a legacy.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Even captivity and incarceration were unable to stop Octavius. Since Spider-Man was forced to access the Octobots' hive mind several times in previous months, he unwittingly gave Octavius a full, unrestricted access to his mind and as such he becomes able to program a lone Octobot to swap their mind pattern. Octavius is now in Peter Parker's body and able to access his foe's memories, but with none of his restraints content of living his civilian life and planning for his future, while his foe is now trapped in Octavius' failing body.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Peter is able to recruit the Scorpion, Hydro-Man and the Trapster with the task of keeping him alive and capturing "Spider-Man" in an attempt to reverse the mind swap. However, the Trapster's portable life support can give Peter only 700 minutes to live. As such, Peter openly antagonizes "Spider-Man". While Peter's attempt to reclaim his body fails, he is able to imbue his nemesis with his very memories and values before apparently dying in Octavius' crippled body. Distraught, Octavius (in a sudden surge of empathy for his sworn nemesis) vows to steer himself away from villainy and accepts Peter's dying wish of having a Spider-Man protect New York. Octavius claims that, since he now holds the physical might and the good values embodied by Spider-Man but also the boundless ambition and the scientific mindframe of Doctor Octopus, he will surpass the "Amazing Spider-Man", becoming a "Superior Spider-Man".


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Within Spider-Man's body, Octavius starts his new career as a hero by redesigning his gear and putting his past as a villain behind himself. However, he soon finds himself the target of several villains, such as an Octavius-tech enhanced Stilt-Man, Boomerang, Overdrive, the Shocker, the Speed Demon, the new female Beetle, and the Living Brain, all of them trying to take over the place left by the seemingly-dead Doctor Octopus and his Sinister Six. While they are still no match for the new, more ruthless Spider-Man, his violence and new mannerisms start to tip off several of his close friends and allies, such as the whole staff of Horizon Labs, Daredevil, Wolverine (explicitly forbidden to have Spider-Man's mind telepathically scanned under the threat of legal action in court), Mary Jane Watson, and Carlie Cooper.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Despite his accomplishments, Octavius is revealed to be still haunted by Peter Parker's lingering spirit, unable to reassert control over Spider-Man's shared body, but actively hampering his efforts to stray from Peter's values, and trying to reclaim his body. Despite Peter's lingering influence, Octavius's refusal of Peter's values and perceived screw-ups prompts him to "rectify" some mistakes: "Peter" enrolls back to college, pursuing actively the PhD Peter denied himself in the past, and breaks the self-imposed "no-kill rule" by taking a proactive stance against evildoers and criminals, shooting the villain Massacre even after Massacre appeared to show signs of recovering from the brain damage that motivated his crimes, and violently assaulting the Jester and Screwball for a relatively minor insult. These actions prompted the Avengers to confront "Spider-Man" about his recent activities, recognizing that their friend would never act in such a manner. When their subsequent analysis confirms that he is still biologically Peter Parker, Octavius explains that he is merely dealing with stress over recent events.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Attempting a mind-wipe of all of Peter's memories to destroy the living consciousness completely, Octavius manages to delete the "Daily Bugle" memory. Realizing Peter would not surrender, Octavius directly engages his foe in Spider-Man's mind. After beating Peter to a pulp by breaking his spirit with the knowledge Peter was willing let a girl named Amy come close to death when Octavius was performing surgery on her with a scanner that would have detected him, Octavius declares his final victory while calling Peter unworthy to be called Spider-Man and believes that he deleted all of Spider-Man's memories. Returning to the real world, Octavius rejoices from his belief that he is free and has achieved victory over Spider-Man. But this erasure has also deprived him of Spider-Man's memories, leaving it more difficult for him to pose as Spider-Man, with some of Peter's friends (such as Carlie, Mary Jane, and J. Jonah Jameson, Sr.) questioning Spider-Man's more brutal approach. While Octavius has developed more detailed resources than Peter possessed as Spider-Man, such as creating a small army of Spider-bots and Spiderling allies to assist him, as well as helping Cyclops trap the body-hopping mutant Malice in a specially-designed containment unit, he continues to resort to more questionable methods, such as killing Alistair Smythe, and blackmailing Jameson into giving him free rein in New York by threatening to expose the fact that Jameson asked him to do this. During a series of confrontations with his former allies in the Sinister Six, he also attempted to brainwash them into becoming his new 'team', resulting in him being forced to join forces with new hero Sun Girl when the Six snapped out of his control and tried to kill him.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: Octavius's focus on the larger scale also resulted in him missing the Green Goblin's efforts to establish a new criminal empire, with the Green Goblin rescuing criminals who have escaped Spider-Man and recruiting them into his new gang, as Octavius simply focused on the leaders whereas Peter would have tried to capture the whole gang. His fixation in proving himself Spider-Man's superior reached a particular climax when Spider-Man 2099 came to the past to deal with a temporal anomaly, with Octavius becoming so fixated with solving the problem and keeping his identity secret that he actually attacked the future Spider-Man rather than ask for his help, his actions resulting in the destruction of Horizon Labs because he could not solve the vibranium-related equations that Peter was able to resolve. Unknown to Octavius, Peter's memories managed to survive the deletion. When Octavius attempts to access Spider-Man's memories (because Octavius can only view memories that were looked at before the delete), Peter is shown lifting the 'rocks' off himself from the mental battle.


title: Doctor Octopus

text: When Carlie had found evidence that Doctor Octopus' mind is in Spider-Man's body, she mourns Peter in Doctor Octopus' grave. The grave then collapses and Carlie falls in where she discovers that Doctor Octopus' body is not there. After Carlie has been captured by Menace, the Goblin King receives Carlie's journal from Menace, where the Goblin King discovers evidence in it that states that Doctor Octopus' mind is in Spider-Man's body.