A villain published by
Marvel Comics. The Lizard first appeared in
Amazing Spider-Man #6.
Dr. Curt Connors was a surgeon in the Army during the Vietnam War. Connors
was wounded in the arm and the wound became infected, forcing the
amputation of his right arm. This cut short Connors' career as a surgeon.
Upon returning to the states, Connors turned his efforts towards herpetology,
the study of reptiles. Connors became an expert in this field, learning all of the
unique attributes of reptiles. Connors became particularly interested in the
reptilian ability to regenerate lost limbs. Hoping to regrow his own amputated
arm, Connors began research to find the particular element within the reptile's
makeup that controlled this ability.
After years of research, Connors believed that he had isolated a serum that
took this ability to regrow lost limbs from reptiles. Connors injected himself
and was amazed to see his lost right arm begin to regrow. Connors was overjoyed
that his discovery worked, but soon found that the serum had a side effect.
Connors' transformation continued and he became a huge lizard-like creature
with amazing strength and massive, powerful tail. How the Lizard's tail is able to
come out of the purple pants that Dr. Connors continually wears has never been
fully explained, because the Lizard typically wears Connor's labcoat while
in his Lizard form.
Dubbed the Lizard by the
press, Connors began to rampage around the canyons of New York, eventually
coming into conflict with Spider-Man. Spider-Man's alter-ego, Peter Parker,
was friends with Connors and knew of the doctor's transformation. Though they
have often clashed, Spider-Man tries to not do the Lizard too much injury knowing
that Dr. Connors is not in control of his actions.