The Amazing Spider-Man: Lizard Facts

Lizard returned to the pages of Amazing Spider-Man during the story "Shed" in 2010. Taking place during the bigger arc, "The Gauntlet," writer Zebb Wells took over from #630-633 with the emotionally bleak mini-story. Curt loses his cool when a lab assistant he has feelings for sleeps with his jerk of a boss. Curt gives into his inner reptilian voice and becomes the Lizard yet again and eats the man. He goes on to eat his son as well, but the real highlight is the Lizard's expanded telepathic abilities.

He now has the ability to trigger the predator/prey instinct in anyone surrounding him, forcing them to violently take what they want or flee for their lives. As expected, puny Parker made a run for it when the Lizard used this ability on him. The Lizard eventually completely kills what is left of Connor's personality, but it leaves him with the epiphany that there might be more to life than slaughtering. He then flees into the sewers.

It's the first time we'll see the Lizard in theaters, but Curt Connors has already shown his face on the big screen. First appearing with only one arm in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2, Dylan Baker brought the classic Spidey character to life. The potential for a future story was there, but unfortunately, it never developed into a bigger event. But now we're being given a Lizard story that'll hopefully be more than worth the wait. Your time has passed, Baker, and it's now time for Rhys Ifans to step into the Lizard's scaly shoes.

The Lizard gets around, showing his ugly mug in plenty of TV shows and video games. We've seen a good deal of animated versions, ranging from the goofy counter-part in the 60s Spider-Man cartoon to the vicious and action-packed version in Spectacular Spider-Man. The reptilian enemy also has a plethora of video game appearances, clawing his way into everything from Game Boy to current consoles. Lizard had the honor of being just one of the many bosses in the first Marvel: Ultimate Alliance but was then reduced to a console specific character for the follow-up.

If you're looking to spend a pretty penny or two, the Lizard's first appearance would be a worthy addition to any collector's library. Amazing Spider-Man #6 (written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Steve Ditko) will cost well over $300. Many issues later there's another classic Lizard story worth reading which takes place in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #44-45. Or, you can always opt to save money and the purchase respective Essential Amazing Spider-Man collections (in this case it would be volume 1 and 3).

Then there's Todd McFarlane's "Torment" in Spider-Man #1-5. This strays from the classic vibe of Lee and Ditko by offering a dark and extremely violent battle between Spider-Man and a bloodthirsty Lizard in the sewers. And, as previously mentioned in this article, "Shed" is also a read well worth your time and debuts a brand new take on the long-time villain.