Apex Legends: Octane's Tattoo Meaning and References

Octane’s Background[edit]

One day, Octavio Silva was bored. In fact, he was bored most days. Heir to the preoccupied CEOs of Silva Pharmaceuticals and wanting for nothing in life, he entertained himself by performing death-defying stunts and posting holovids of them for his fans to gawk over. So, this day, he decided to set the course record for a nearby Gauntlet by launching himself across the finish line – using a grenade.

As he lay in triage hours later, the doctors informed him that the damage done to his legs meant his daredevil days were over. That didn’t sit well with Octavio, who turned to an old friend for help: Ajay Che, who he guilted into forging an order to replace his legs with bionic ones. Suddenly able to repair his limbs at a moment’s notice, Octavio decided petty online stunts weren’t enough: the ultimate adrenaline rush, the Apex Games, was calling. Now, he’s going to become an Apex Champion doing the most incredible, death-defying moves anyone’s ever seen. Maybe in the arena, he won’t be so bored. [1]

Octane’s Tattoo[edit]

Octane’s tattoo says “Plus Ultra” and is sometimes stylized as “Plvs Vltra” in promotional art. Depending on how you look at the tattoo, it could mean a few things, though one of the readings has more evidence behind it than the others.

The most likely answer to the meaning behind his tattoo is it’s taken from the motto for Spain[2], Plus Ultra. The idea behind the motto is to push or go beyond limits, which is pretty much Octane’s personality in a nutshell. The phrase “Plvs Vltra” can be seen on the two pillars of the symbol on the Spanish flag:

Prior to being Spain’s motto, the phrase “Plus Ultra” was the personal motto of Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain Charles V. Octane also has a Kill Quip where he says “Non terrae plus ultra,” which is a Latin phrase meaning “No land further beyond.” [3]

The other read into the tattoo is that it’s a reference to My Hero Academia. Plus Ultra is the motto of U.A. High School and it’s also used many times by the number one hero, All Might, during big fights. The full phrase in the anime’s case is “Go Beyond, Plus Ultra!” and it is also related to pushing past your limits in extreme moments.

Again, considering Octane’s determination to keep pushing himself further (even to the detriment of his own body, a trait shared by two prominent characters in My Hero Academia), this theory makes sense too, though My Hero Academia’s “Plus Ultra” is likely pulled from the Spanish motto.

Apex Legends seemingly has other interesting anime references, so it’s not too far fetched to believe that Octane’s tattoo is a reference to both Spanish culture and My Hero Academia. One of the more popular anime references is Wraith‘s design, which looks very similar to One-Punch Man character Speed-o-Sound Sonic.

Octane’s Abilities[edit]

• Tactical Ability: Stim – Move 30% faster for six seconds. This will cost heath to use.
• Passive Ability: Swift Mend – Automatically restores your health over time.
• Ultimate Ability: Launch Pad – Deploy a jump ad that catapults teammates through the air.

Octane’s Reveal[edit]

His image and name were first spotted in EA’s Origin on March 12.

Developer Respawn said they’d release more information about Octane and the Season 1 Battle Pass “very soon.” Then, on March 15, players spotted an interactive item in Kings Canyon that matched Octane’s color scheme.

Several Octane jump pads were spotted around Market, as shown in the video below: