The Lizard is a classic Spider-Man rogue and a man constantly at war with the beast within. Dr. Curtis Connors was once a brilliant army surgeon who had an arm amputated after a wound on the battlefield. He became obsessed with studying the regenerative abilities of reptiles, and his experiments turned him into the Lizard.
The Lizard himself is a bestial creature with an identity completely separate from Connors himself. He is cruel and vicious, and Lizard is obsessed with further experimentation with reptilian DNA. Connors and Spider-Man have worked hard to keep the Lizard from doing anything vile, but, sometimes, the Lizard succeeds.
Updated on May 29, 2023 by Scoot Allan: Insomniac Games recently teased the inclusion of The Lizard in the highly-anticipated Spider-Man 2 sequel. Kraven the Hunter tracked down the animalistic Lizard in the game after a series of attacks, teasing his ultimate threat. Lizard has shown just how brutal he can be in the comics quite a few times over the years as well.
12 He Framed Spider-Man For A Robbery
The Lizard has tried to kill Spider-Man countless times over the years, though he also tried to discredit the hero once as well. When Connors made his second appearance as the Lizard, he robbed a jewelry store and then framed Spider-Man for the crime.
Spider-Man has tried to help the Lizard at every turn, and he has always had trouble with public relations. This made the Lizard's action, while otherwise out of character for the villain, feel especially cruel and vindictive as it targeted Spider-Man's reputation and not the hero himself.
11 The Lizard Accidentally Created The Iguana
The Lizard/Curt Connors has experimented on himself quite a few times over the years, with usually tragic results. He created the "Enervator" device to cure himself of his Lizard condition. Before trying it on himself, he used the machine on an iguana he had injected with his genetic material.
The Enervator turned the reptile into a humanoid creature that became known as the Iguana. This beast had the memories of Curt Connors with the Lizard's persona, meaning the Marvel villains were basically the same character. The Iguana was recently killed by a machine Hunter created by Kraven and Arcade during the "Hunted" storyline.
10 He Clawed His Son To Get A Blood Sample
Curt Connors occasionally took control over the bestial Lizard persona. At one point, he lived in New York's sewers to protect others from the threat of the Lizard while he tried to find a cure for his condition. However, he couldn't keep himself away from visiting his son on his birthday.
While in his LIzard form, Connors broke into his wife's home during the birthday party. After a brief scuffle, he clawed Billy's cheek to get a blood sample and retreated. Billy followed Spider-Man as he chased him into the sewers, hoping to finally end the Lizard's threat. After a brief battle with Spider-Man, Connors successfully regained his humanity and Billy quickly forgave his father.
9 He Turned Peter Parker Into Spider-Lizard
While the Enervator transformed the Iguana into a dangerous threat, Spider-Man modified a new version to help him defeat it alongside the Lizard. Unfortunately, the lack of proper shielding kicked off a transformation in the web-slinger as well.
Peter Parker began to display a severe mood shift that ultimately culminated in his transformation into the Spider-Lizard. While this was more oversight than genuine malevolence on the part of Curt Connors, Spider-Man's brief and dangerous rampage through New York as the Spider-Lizard was still his fault. Thankfully, the Marvel villain saved Spider-Man with an antidote.
8 He Turned Billy Into A Monstrous Lizard Jr.
During a frenzy caused by a meteorite, the Lizard injected young Billy Connors with a serum that transformed his own son. Billy became a powerful reptilian hybrid that became known as LIzard Jr. He joined his father as the two terrorized the city and sought revenge against Spider-Man.
While Connors was pushed to this vial act by the odd effects of the meteorite, he still made the decision to turn his own son into a monster. Considering all the terror and violence the Lizard has brought to Curt Connors' life, this was an especially horrific feat. The transformation was only temporary thanks to Spider-Man, but it became another dark chapter in the Lizard's saga.
7 He Incited A Riot Of Reptilian-Acting Humans
Shortly before Lizard joined Osborn's Sinister Twelve, an incarcerated Curt Connors created a new Lizard serum using random chemicals in prison. He turned into a powerful new LIzard form and escaped, though he developed a new ability that made him even more of a threat.
Spider-Man quickly tracked down Connors and fought to capture him. however, he discovered that Lizard developed the ability to activate the reptilian "R-Complex" within the human brain. He incited a violent riot as anyone in his vicinity became more animalistic and started attacking each other. Spider-Man knocked out Lizard and ended the riot, and he eventually lost his new ability.
6 Lizard Joined Green Goblin's Sinister Twelve
The Lizard participated in an ambitious ploy by Norman Osborn in his Green Goblin costumed identity to kill Spider-Man once and for all. Osborn, knowing Spider-Man's secret identity, had Aunt May kidnapped and threatened to have her killed if Spider-Man didn't break Osborn out of prison.
Spider-Man and Black Cat freed Osborn, who quickly donned his Green Goblin gear and unleashed his Sinister Twelve. Lizard joined Vulture, Sandman, Electro, Chameleon, Hammerhead, Boomerang, Tombstone, Shocker, Hydro-Man, Scorpion, and Venom. This was an act of pure malice on Lizard's part and did nothing for his long-term goals outside of spiting Spider-Man.
5 Lizard Kidnapped Stanley Osborn For Tests
After the "Brand New Day" event reintroduced the formerly deceased Harry Osborn to the world, he started a romance with a woman named Lily Hollister. She discovered one of the Osborn's secret caches and became the superpowered Menace after exposure to the Goblin formula. When Menace reappeared pregnant, the father of her baby became an important mystery.
Doctor Octopus believed that Norman Osborn was the father of young Stanley, so the Lizard kidnapped Stanley after his birth. He hoped to experiment on the child, but Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus intervened before he could begin his tests. They did discover that Harry Osborn was Stanley's true father, and there was no Goblin Formula actually present in the child.
4 Lizard Experimented On Human Test Subjects
The Lizard has used human test subjects frequently over the years, which included his own son, Stanley Osborn, and a number of unwilling subjects. Over the years he has tried to either cure himself or turn humanity into reptilian monsters.
The Lizard's dark experimentation reached a new low when the Curt Connors gave up control and the "Shed" persona took over. The new Lizard kidnapped villains like Vermin and experimented on them to increase their powers and turn them against Spider-Man. He also kidnapped homeless citizens and kept them in the sewers while he perfected his new Lizard serum.
3 Lizard Killed And Ate Billy Connors To Become Shed
The darkest and most twisted thing the Lizard has ever done is kill and eat his own son, Billy Connors. The Lizard tried to shut out Curt Connors's personality forever by removing his final human attachments. The Lizard gained Connors' full intelligence and even new abilities in his new Shed persona.
When Spider-Man showed pictures of Connors' murdered son to Lizard, the Shed persona retreated slightly due to the rush of emotions. When Ben Reilly/Jackal later cloned Martha and Billy Connors, they faced the threat of cellular degeneration. Connors used the Lizard serum to cure Martha and Billy's degradation, restoring his family though not erasing his past deeds.
2 Connors Helped Ben Reilly's Jackal Repower Electro
Connors went through a few different transformations as the Lizard over the years. He even found himself trapped in Lizard's form while in complete control of his faculties, though he decided to stay in prison to atone for his crimes. Ben Reilly is one of Marvel's most dangerous clones, and he returned during The Clone Conspiracy event in his new guise as the Jackal.
Jackal cloned Lizard's family and used them to manipulate Connors into working for him. Lizard helped design a machine to repower Max Dillon as Electro, another one of Spider-Man's most iconic villains. The process didn't quite work as intended and empowered the cloned Francine Frye with his electrical energy instead. Lizard eventually escaped Jackal's employ with his family.
1 The Live-Action Lizard Killed Captain George Stacy
While Dr. Curt Connors appeared in previous cinematic adaptations, the Lizard didn't appear in live-action until 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man. Connors worked for Oscorp as a research scientist exploring the regenerative properties of reptilian DNA. Peter Parker used his father's research to help Connors fill holes in his own work, finishing the serum.
Dr. Connors tested his serum on himself and transformed into the monstrous Lizard. Spider-Man teamed up with his rival Captain George Stacy to stop Connors. Unfortunately, the Lizard brutally murdered Stacy before Spider-Man administered a cure and he turned back into Connors. This version then returned in Spider-Man: No Way Home to become one of the smartest MCU villains.