- "All these souls, lost and alone... I can cure them, I can save them! There's no need to stop me Peter!"
- ―Lizard to Spider-Man[src]
Dr. Curtis "Curt" Connors, formerly also known as the monster the Lizard, is a former scientist at Oscorp Industries. He was Richard Parker's partner and colleague, and was working on the Lizard Serum with him. After Parker's death, Connors befriends his son, Peter. Connors as the Lizard is the main antagonist in The Amazing Spider-Man and the final boss of the video game of the same name .
Biography
Curt Connor's own briliance as a scientist resulted in his terrible transformation into the savage Lizard. Since the beast within was subdued, he's lived a life of regret, certain nothing in his power could ever atone for the pain he caused New York City.
As a prominent Oscorp scientist, Connors had an intern named Gwen Stacy and believed gene-splicing held the key to treating incurable diseases. Not to mention, his missing right arm. Pressured by his superiors at Oscorp, he was forced to accelerate his work and inject himself with a serum containing reptilian DNA. But the DNA didn't play nice; it took control of Connors' body and transformed him into the villainous Lizard.
He came into conflict with Spider-Man, who was secretly Peter Parker. He attacked him in the sewers before being able to tell from his camera, which was webbed against the wall, that he was Peter. He attacked him again in his school, arriving there by going through the sewer underneath the toilet, he attacked Peter, throwing him through a wall.
He explained to Peter that he could save the citizens of Manhattan and there being no need to stop him. Peter, now in his costume, hit the Lizard. Conners chased Peter through the school and came close to finishing him, only to be stopped by Gwen Stacy. Gwen was taken to safety quickly by Spider-Man and managed to get the Lizard out of the school. The Lizard rampaged through the city, intending to infect the entire city with reptilian DNA.
To do this, he went to Oscorp and took the sample he had previously injected into himself. Gwen hid from him, scared that he would attack her, only for him to take the DNA and leave upon seeing her. He crawled up one of the highest buildings in the city and started his device with two minutes before launch. When Spider-Man arrived to stop him, he grabbed him by his throat and made fun of him by reminding him of several struggles he had in life. Conners was stopped by Captain Stacy, who shot several bullets at him while he was being freeze to death. Unfortunately for Spider-Man and Stacy, Conners body parts regrew. He proceeded to kill Captain Stacy and attempt to stop Spider-Man from using the DNA Spider-Man had gotten from Stacy to cure the people of New York. He grabbed him by his leg, but, was too late.
Connors changed back to his human self and was placed for treatment at the Beloit Psychiatric Hospital. The separation from his family and guilt over innocent deaths weighed hard on his soul. This was a man truly at odds with himself. The following took place not long after being in Beloit. It is unclear if Conners either hallucinated a shadowy figure in his cell, or there actually was a shadowy figure in his cell. This figure almost immediately asked him if he told the boy (Peter) the truth about his father. Conners told the figure he didn't, and after saying that was very good, the figure disappeared in a flash of lightning. Conners never mentioned this to Peter.
After months at Beloit, Spider-Man appeared at the hospital with an odd proposition: Spidey would help Connors escape if Connors helped develop a serum to control the cross-species outbreak and save Gwen Stacy from infection. Connors agreed, sensing an opportunity for redemption. But he made Spider-Man promise not to let the dreaded Lizard resurface.
Spider-Man and Connors worked together to develop the serum. After their first try failed miserably, Spidey questioned Connors' true intentions. Suspicion turned into a tense confrontation, but Connors discovered a startling revelation: Spider-Man was the key to curing the outbreak. Connors used Spider-Man's DNA to create a new, improved serum. For the first time in a while, things were looking up for Curt Connors, but not for long.
Desperation forced him to make a terrible decision: he had no other choice but to transform into the Lizard one final time and use its strength to smash Alistaire Smythe's robot army. As the Lizard, Connors fought as Spider-Man's teammate. But after Smythe's defeat, the Lizard's reptilian brain clawed back in control. However, as a battle for the ages ensued, Spider-Man found the chance to inject the serum into Connors and revert him back to human form.
As promised, Spider-Man returned Connors to Beloit, with a newfound respect for this scientist who helped save Gwen and the people of New York. Today, Connors still wrestles with his inner demons, but his path to redemption has begun.
Trivia
- In the comics, Curt Conners had a wife and son. However, after the Lizard transformation recently had taken more control over him, his wife died of cancer and he killed his son. Before he died, however, his son told him he always knew he would kill him.
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