For other uses, see Lizard (disambiguation).

The Lizard is a comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe, and an enemy of Spider-Man. In his normal human state however, he is Dr. Curt Connors, a friend and ally of Spider-Man. The Lizard first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #6 (November 1963), and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Entertainment, Inc. ... In comic books, first appearance refers to the date or issue of a characters first appearance. ... The Amazing Spider-Man is the title of both a comic book published by Marvel Comics and a daily newspaper comic strip. ... Stan Lee and his most famous co-creation, Spider-Man. ... The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 (1964): Cover art by Ditko. ... Healing Factor is a fictitious classification of the healing power and relative speed with which a comic character in the Marvel Universe can resist and recover from bodily injuries or disease. ... Lizard can mean: Lizard, a reptile Lizard, Cornwall Lizard (comics) Fictional aliens native to the Tau Ceti star system, who invade Earth in the Worldwar series of stories written by Harry Turtledove. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Doctor Doom, one of the most archetypal supervillains and his arch-enemies The Fantastic Four (in background). ... Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Entertainment, Inc. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Spider-Man swinging around his hometown, New York City. ... Spider-Man swinging around his hometown, New York City. ... The Amazing Spider-Man is the title of both a comic book published by Marvel Comics and a daily newspaper comic strip. ... Stan Lee and his most famous co-creation, Spider-Man. ... The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 (1964): Cover art by Ditko. ...

Character biography

The Lizard is the alter-ego of Dr. Curt Connors, a human scientist whose fields of expertise encompass both herpetology and gene therapy. Families Many, see text. ... Herpetology (Greek herpeton = to creep, to ramp and logos = in this context explanation or reason) is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of reptiles and amphibians. ... Bold textMedia:Example. ...

Connors' right arm had been amputated as a result of a war injury while he served as a medic in the military, and he later hoped to find a way to regenerate the lost or damaged limbs of disabled people. To this end, he studied the regenerative nature of reptiles and amphibians. He developed a radically advanced form of therapy which could reproduce these regenerative abilities in humans and began to use this therapy in experiments. Unfortunately, Connors was contaminated by his own serum and physically transformed into a bipedal, sapient reptilian humanoid. Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma or surgery. ... In biology, regeneration is the ability to recreate lost or damaged tissues, organs and limbs. ... Reptoids are often reported wearing hoods Reptilian humanoids are intelligent, supernatural, or highly developed reptile-like humanoids in mythology, popular fiction, and speculative fringe theories. ...

As The Lizard, Connors became a threat to humanity, with an insane determination to replace the human race with super-reptiles like himself. The Lizard possesses superhuman strength and durability due to his alligator-like hide. His regenerative powers give him incredible stamina, and he can fight for days without tiring. His tail is strong enough to cut Spider-Man's webbing and smash through solid concrete. The Lizard possesses the ability to scale walls like a gecko. He is also able to communicate with and control any reptiles within a one-mile radius, usually giving them simple commands such as attacking or guarding something. Although usually intelligent and capable of speech, the Lizard has several times reverted to a mindless, bestial savage state. Subfamilies Aeluroscalabotinae Eublepharinae Gekkoninae Teratoscincinae Diplodactylinae Geckos are small to moderately large lizards belonging to the family Gekkonidae and found in warm climates throughout the world. ...

The Lizard transforms back into Curt Connors. Art by Steve Ditko.

Eventually defeated by Spider-Man and returned to his benevolent human self, Connors still transforms back into the evil Lizard to plague the web-slinger every now and then. Although repeated administration of the "Lizard formula" was originally required to change Connors into the Lizard, it was later revealed that great stress can also trigger the transformation. On several occasions the Lizard has retained the mind of Curt Connors and refrained from attacking Spider-Man or other people, but on the whole the Lizard can only be regarded as villainous in nature. Art from Amazing Spider-Man #6. ... Art from Amazing Spider-Man #6. ...

When Connors' Lizard form is dormant, the scientist often helps Spider-Man in the event of serious medical or scientific problems. Even in his Lizard state he doesn't attack anyone he truly cares for, such as his wife Martha and their son Billy. After years of trying to cope with her husband's split personality, Martha Connors died of cancer caused by exposure to industrial toxic waste. Now Curt has the added guilt and stress of single parenthood while still fighting to control the monster within himself.

Powers and abilities

Doctor Curt Connors has no superhuman powers. His superhuman powers do not manifest unless he transforms into the Lizard. However, he is highly intelligent and studied in the fields of genetics and herpetology. Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. ... Herpetology (Greek herpeton = to creep, to ramp and logos = in this context explanation or reason) is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of reptiles and amphibians. ...

When he is transformed into the Lizard, his strength is increased to super-human levels, enabling him to lift several tons. Likewise, his speed, agility, and reflexes raised to a level equivalent to Spider-Man's. He can also scale walls like Spider-Man, using a combination of his sharp talons (on his hands and feet) and micro-scales that create molecular friction. However, he possesses other powers and weaknesses secondary to his reptilian form. He is highly resistant to injury due to his thick and scaley hide, allowing him to resist punctures and lacerations from ordinary melee weapons and low calibur guns. Also, he can regenerate from grievous wounds including lost limbs and organs. He also has a powerful tail which he can whip at high speeds, reaching 70 mph. Like a reptile, he is cold-blooded, and grows weaker if he is exposed to low temperatures for too long. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

The Lizard can also control all reptiles within a mile of himself via telepathy. He has also on at least one occasion secreted powerful pheromones which caused humans to behave violently. Telepathy (from the Greek τηλε, tele, distant; and πάθεια, patheia, feeling) is the claimed ability of humans and other creatures to communicate information from one mind to another, without the use of extra tools such as speech or body language. ... Fanning honeybee exposes Nasonov gland (white-at tip of abdomen) releasing pheromone to entice swarm into an empty hive A pheromone is any chemical produced by a living organism that transmits a message to other members of the same species. ...

The Lizard's intelligence varies from nearly mindless or animalistic to average human intelligence. He most often has human intelligence.

Controversy

In a 2004 story arc written by Paul Jenkins in the Spectacular Spider-Man comic book, it was revealed that the Lizard persona was not a separate personality from Dr. Connors after all - Curt had been consciously controlling his reptilian alter ego all along. Furthermore, Connors was shown to know that Peter Parker was Spider-Man, despite his discovery of his identity never being explained or shown (Jenkins later admitted that this was an error). The story ended with Dr. Connors deliberately getting himself sent to prison and threatening to once again unleash the Lizard on the world sooner or later. Paul Jenkins, British comic-book writer Paul Jenkins (born 1923), U.S. abstract Expressionist painter This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Given the sheer amount of source material this storyline conflicts and the plot holes it introduces, most fans do not consider it a part of mainstream Spider-Man continuity. The Lizard's next appearance after this was as a member of the Sinister Twelve, where he showed no indication of being controlled by the mind of Dr. Connors. It seems likely that this concept of Connors being in control of the Lizard's villainy all along will be mostly ignored by future writers of Lizard stories. However, Connors' knowledge of Spider-Man's identity was mentioned in the Spider-Man: Quality of Life limited series. The Sinister Twelve was a fictional group of supervillains from the Marvel comics universe, some of the greatest foes of Spider-Man. ... The limited series is a term referring to a comic book series with a set finite number of issues. ...

One fan theory (found here in the section titled "A Lizard by any Other Name") posits that Connors possessed this evil personality control only briefly due to exposure to the same toxic waste that led to his wife's death.

In other media

Animated series

The Lizard has appeared in several of the Spider-Man animated television series over the years. The original 1967 Spider-Man cartoon featured the Lizard in the episode "Where Crawls the Lizard." The character appeared again later on in the 1981 Spider-Man cartoon series episode "Lizards, Lizards Everywhere." Spider-Man is an animated television series that ran from September 9, 1967 to June 14, 1970. ... Spider-Man is the name of a syndicated short-lived animated TV series based on the popular Marvel Comics character of the same name. ...

Possibly the most notable of the Lizard's animated appearances was in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, in the 1994 premiere episode "Night of the Lizard". Here, the Lizard was portrayed as possessing a genius level of intelligence but also having the savage mindset from the comics. The Lizard later went on to appear in the episodes "The Tablet of Time", "The Ravages of Time", "The Final Nightmare" and "The Lizard King", as well as the "Secret Wars" 3-part episode from the end of the series' run in 1997. The non-mutated Dr. Curt Connors had many other appearances as a supporting character, including the episodes "The Alien Costume, part 2", "The Insidious Six", "Venom Returns", "Carnage", "The Spot", and "Partners". Dr. Connors and the Lizard were both voiced throughout this series by Joseph Campanella. Joseph Campanella (born November 21, 1933 in New York, New York) is an American actor who has appeared in over 200 TV and film roles since 1955, including a recurring role on the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful from 1997 to 2003. ...

The most recent animated appearance of the Lizard was in the "Law of the Jungle" episode of MTV's Spider-Man: The New Animated Series in 2003. Both Dr. Connors and the Lizard were voiced here by rock musician/filmmaker Rob Zombie. He injected himself with lizard DNA (like in the comics)and his first confrontation with Spider-Man was inside a police department (the Lizard came there because he wanted, and succeeded, to get revenge from a crook who almost killed him as Connors). They last saw each other on top of the rooftop and the Lizard escaped. Later on, the Lizard went off to OsCorp to kill Harry Osborn (he lost his arm by the responsibility of Norman Osborn but since he died, he would decide to finish off the Osborn family by wiping out Harry). Spider-Man arrived just in time to stop the Lizard from killing Harry and their showdown took place on top of OsCorp. Apparently, their showdown was interrupted when a police jet arrived (Harry called the police to stop the confrontation). Spider-Man got to the jet with the Lizard and the villain struggles, forcing Spider-Man to let go of him and he fell to his death to the streets below. Rob Zombie Rob Zombie (born Robert Cummings on January 12, 1966 in Haverhill, Massachusetts) is a Heavy metal and Industrial Rock musician, a director, and a writer. ...

Video game appearances

The Lizard's first video game appearance was in the 1991 Sega Spider-Man arcade game, one of several popular side-scrolling team fighter games of the time. Other Sega Spider-Man games later released for the Sega Genesis home console during the 1990's also featured the Lizard as part of their villain lineups. Sega Corporation ) is an international video game software and hardware developing company, and a former home computer and console manufacturer. ... Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... The Sega Mega Drive was a 16-bit video game console released by Sega in Japan (1988), Europe (1990) and most of the rest of the world. ...

The first Spider-Man 3-D environment video game by Neversoft also included the Lizard. This game was released in 2000 for multiple game platforms, including PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Sega Dreamcast, and PC. He had a small role in the game and was a villain held behind a cage. He was the one who helped Spider-Man find Mary Jane Parker. In the entire game, the Lizard is the only villain not fought against. Neversoft or Neversoft Entertainment is a video game developer, founded in 1994 by Joel Jewett, Mick West and Chris Ward. ... For other versions of PlayStation, please see PlayStation (disambiguation) The PlayStation is a video game console of the 32/64-bit era, first produced by Sony Computer Entertainment in the mid-1990s. ... The Nintendo 64, commonly called the N64, is Nintendos third home video game console for the international market. ... The Sega Dreamcast (Japanese: ドリームキャスト; code-named Blackbelt, Dural, and Katana during development) is Segas last video game console and the successor to the companys Sega Saturn. ... ...

Although the Lizard has also appeared in several handheld console Spider-Man games, he has not had much of a role in the more recent home console games. Dr. Connors made a minor appearance in Activision's 2004 Spider-Man 2 game, but not the Lizard himself. Originally the Lizard was supposed to have been included in this particular video game, and was even prominently featured in some promotional materials before being suddenly removed. At the time there was speculation that the character had been removed from the game because at the time he was being considered for use in the future Spider-Man 3 film, but this has not been proven. A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic machine for playing video games. ... Activision, Inc. ... Spider-Man 2 is the name of several computer and video games based on the Spider-Man universe and particularly the Spider-Man 2 movie. ... For the video game based on the movie, see Spider-Man 3 (video game) Spider-Man 3 is the third film in the Spider-Man film series and is scheduled to be released on May 4, 2007. ...

Live action feature films

Dr. Connors was mentioned briefly in the 2002 film Spider-Man, and appeared in the 2004 sequel Spider-Man 2, where he was played by actor Dylan Baker. Director Sam Raimi had reportedly considered his friend, B-movie legend Bruce Campbell for the role of Dr. Connors, but decided against it since Campbell appeared in the first movie as a wrestling announcer (However, Campbell did have a different cameo in Spider-Man 2) Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man Spider-Man is the name of an extremely successful movie (released on May 3, 2002) which stars Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and Willem Dafoe and was directed by Sam Raimi. ... Spider-Man 2 is the Academy Award-winning sequel to the popular 2002 film Spider-Man and was released in the U.S. on June 30th, 2004. ... Dylan Baker is an American actor best known for playing supporting roles in both major studio movies (Spider-Man 2 as Dr. Curt Conners a. ... Samuel Marshall Sam Raimi (born October 23, 1959) is an American film director, producer, and writer. ... Bruce Campbell lectures on his life as a B Movie actor. ...

So far Dr. Connors has not become the Lizard in this franchise, and whether he will in any future film is presently uncertain. In Spider-Man 2, however, he is missing his right arm as in the comic book. He is depicted as a physics professor concerned for Peter Parker's well-being and declining academic performance and considers Peter brilliant, recommending him to his friend Doctor Otto Octavius. The possibility of the Lizard appearing as the villain in Spider-Man 3 was once considered unlikely given that two different actors, Thomas Haden Church (Sandman) and Topher Grace, have been cast for Spider-Man 3's villains, but reports of four villains in Spiderman 3 leave the Lizard with a fighting chance. It was rumored for a time that Church might have been cast to replace Dylan Baker in the role of Dr. Connors, but Marvel Studios CEO Avi Arad eventually confirmed that Baker would indeed be returning for Spider-Man 3 to reprise the Connors role. The first few hydrogen atom electron orbitals shown as cross-sections with color-coded probability density. ... Doctor Octopus (Otto Octavius) is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an enemy of Spider-Man. ... For the video game based on the movie, see Spider-Man 3 (video game) Spider-Man 3 is the third film in the Spider-Man film series and is scheduled to be released on May 4, 2007. ... Thomas Haden Church at the premiere of Sideways. ... The Sandman is a Marvel Comics character, traditionally an adversary of Spider-Man. ... Topher Grace in a photoshoot for Saturday Night Live Topher Grace (born Christopher Paul Grace on July 12, 1978) is an American actor, perhaps best known for playing the role of Eric Forman on the sitcom That 70s Show during the shows first seven seasons. ... Marvel Studios is an American television and motion picture studio based in Beverly Hills, California. ... Avi Arad is an Israeli-born American businessman. ...

Ultimate Lizard

Ultimate Lizard, as drawn by Mark Bagley in Ultimate Spider-Man #60.

In the Ultimate Marvel universe, in addition to becoming the Lizard, Dr. Curt Conners (note different spelling of the last name) created the Ultimate version of the supervillian Carnage using DNA from both himself and Spider-Man. Ultimate Lizard, as drawn by Mark Bagley. ... Ultimate Lizard, as drawn by Mark Bagley. ... Bagleys cover for Ultimate Spider-Man #65. ... Ultimate Spider-Man is a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics. ... The various characters of the Ultimate Marvel Universe, as seen on the cover to Ultimates (v2) #12. ... Carnage is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an adversary of Spider-Man and Venom. ... The general structure of a section of DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid —usually in the form of a double helix— that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life, and most viruses. ...

The Ultimate universe version of the Lizard first appeared in Ultimate Marvel Team-Up # 10, and appears to be based on a basilisk lizard in design. Ultimate Lizard has so far appeared less intelligent than the original Marvel universe Lizard. Ultimate Marvel Team-Up was a Marvel Comics title which ran for 16 issues (plus a concluding Ultimate Spider-Man Super Special), set in the Ultimate Marvel Universe. ... Binomial name Basiliscus basiliscus (Linnaeus, 1758) Basiliscus basiliscus or basilisk is a lizard living in Central America. ...

External links

• Lizard's Profile at Spiderfan.org