The son of an overbearing mother and a bullying father, Otto Octavius grew up to become a reclusive but brilliant atomic researcher. It was this area of expertise that first brought him to the attention of the United States government. He was originally brought in to help find a cure for the mutant threat because many believed mutations were caused by radiation and not actual evolution. Otto could find no basis for this theory; but during his many experiments, he discovered mutants were immune to many diseases and illnesses that struck down humans. He began to research the possibility that humans could greatly benefit from mutant stem cells. Since there is currently a ban on research conducted on real mutant embryos for fear that humans might discover a way to reverse the mutant process, Otto has made it his life's work to create a synthetic equivalent to the mutant gene in order to further his research.