The Lizard’s Tale Part 1

Curt Connors is silent during a session with his psychologist who tells him that in order for these sessions to work he’s going to need to talk about his feelings. When she asks how long it has been since his wife died, Connors — whose eyes briefly turn reptilian — tells her that he doesn’t remember.[1] She tells Curt not to blame himself otherwise he may create irreparable damage between himself and his son.[2] Unfortunately, Connors thinks the damage is already done as he feels that Billy looks at him as though he failed to save his wife and thinks that Billy sometimes wishes that Curt had died in the place of his wife, Martha. He then tells her that Billy is inconsiderate to his own grief and sometimes feels like he should allow himself to boil over with anger, but for whatever reasons he can’t allow himself to do that. The psychologist points out that he is doing what he thinks Billy is doing, blaming him for how he feels. She questions how a ten-year-old boy could make him feel like he failed. When she suggests that he blame the real culprit, Curt tells her that he can’t and that she wouldn’t understand. She keeps on pushing him to talk about his personal feelings, but Curt refuses to tell her that there is something inside that is better left alone. He then walks out of the session, ignoring the psychiatrist’s suggestions for further treatment and medication to treat his mental illness.

That afternoon, in Queens, Peter Parker and his neighbors are all playing baseball. When Peter notes that the umpire is a bit of a jerk and decides to change up the play. He substitutes the runner on third of John Anderson and tells Mary Jane to hit the ball out of the park. When the pitcher tosses the ball, Mary Jane bunts it, catching the opposing team off guard. Warned that the third baseman is running for home, the catcher is unprepared for John Anderson, who plows through home plate like a bulldozer. Later that afternoon, Peter Parker meets with Curt Connors to see how he and his son Billy are doing. Peter is more than concerned when Curt tells him that Billy is staying with his aunt for the time being. He asks Connors to tell him what’s going on as he looks like Curt hasn’t slept in a week. All Curt can say is that he misses his wife. Peter can relate with Curt but tells him that despite the fact that he lost a loved one the world must move on. Curt recalls how Peter told him about his Uncle Ben but doesn’t think he has the strength that Peter does.[3] He tells Peter how his session with his psychologist went that day, telling him how he couldn’t tell her how he really feels without getting into his past as the Lizard. Billy, on the other hand, has been retreating into a shell, and wonders if this is normal or not.

Curt admits that he has returned to New York City in order to try and continue his life and that he has applied for a grant from the Montalbetti Foundation. He assures Peter that he is not working with reptile serums again, and is shifting his work into cancer research. His only competition for the grant is another scientist named Richardson who is researching Greene’s Syndrome. Connors tinks that Richardson is an amateur and that he can easily win the grant and thinks this is the first step for the next phase of his life. Still, Peter raises his concern asking Curt if he is taking his medication and the Lizard. Curt assures Peter he’s on his medication and figures the Lizard is waiting in the wings. A short time later, Curt has arrived at the Montalbetti Foundation and stops to call his son to have the boy wish him luck. When Curt tells Billy that he’s going to be gone for another day, he leaves the phone without hanging up. As he arrives for his pitch meeting, he runs into Richardson who offers Curt a job, handing him a business card as he goes. However, the board of directors is confused as to why Connors is giving his presentation as he should be aware that they have already awarded the money to Richardson, in fact, they were under the impression that Connors was coming today to withdraw his application. This deeply upsets Connors who can’t understand why they wouldn’t want to fund his cancer research. Losing his temper, Connors accuses the board of being stupid and storms out. His rage growing, Connors calls Peter Parker and blames him for not getting the grant. Suddenly, Curt begins transforming into the Lizard, but remembering Richardson’s offer, Connors reasserts control. Concerned for his friend, Peter changes into Spider-Man and goes searching for Curt.

Meanwhile, Connors has arrived at the Richardson Institute where he confronts Richardson, accusing him of stealing his funding. Richardson brushes off these accusations and mocks Connors and his career as a scientist, saying that he is a relic of the past. This inspires Connors to give in to his rage and moments later the Institute building explodes just as the Lizard flees the scene. Spotting the explosion, Spider-Man swings to the scene and spots the Lizard making a run for it on the rooftops. The wall-crawler ambushes the Lizard. After a brief struggle, the pair fall over the edge of a rooftop and come crashing down on tin shack. Digging through the rubble, Spider-Man finds Curt Connors, back in human form, and calling Spider-Man by his real name, Connors insists that this wasn’t his fault.[4]

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, the Lizard, Mary Jane Watson, John Anderson, Caryn Earle, Randy Robertson, Billy Connors

Continuity Notes

1.Martha Connors died of cancer in Spider-Man: Quality of Life #4. Per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, Martha Connors had been dead, at most, for a few months at the time of this story.

2.The psychiatrist says that Billy is 10 years old at the time of this story. However, this does not track. since Sensational Spider-Man #24 states that he was 12 years old. Per the Sliding Timescale, that story took place two years prior to this one. This would make Billy’s actual age 14 years old at the time of this story. The age given here should be considered an error.

3. Yep. Another Uncle Ben reference. Amazing Fantasy #15.

4. You haven’t missed an issue, this is the first time that Curt Connors has deduced that Peter Parker and Spider-Man are the same person.

Topical References

• When Peter complains about the catcher in their baseball game, One of the other players says the guy thinks he’s Bull Durham. Bull Durham is a 1988 romantic baseball comedy starring Kevin Costner. The main character isn’t actually named Bull Durham, but “Crash” Davis, a 12 year veteran of a minor league baseball team, the Durham Bulls.

• The type of cancer that Connors is trying to research is lymphoma. This should be considered topical as advances in medical science have made it possible for people to survive lymphoma.