Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) #12
The Lizard’s Tale Part 2
A Peter Parker’s apartment, Curt Connors calls his sister and tells her that he needs her to look after Billy for a few more days while he attends to some business, telling her that it can’t be helped. His sister, however, is less than enthusiastic to hear this, telling Curt that he needs to be there for his son who is still coming to terms with the death of his mother.[1] After getting off the phone, Connors once again assures Peter Parker that he did not blow up the Richardson Industries building as the Lizard, despite appearances. Peter explains that it’s not a matter of believing Curt or not, but making sure he can accurately remember what happened. Peter knows that although Connors has insisted that he’s been taking his anti-anxiety medication, he has really been taking herbal supplements and demands to know the truth. Connors admits that he was hoping that the next time he turns into the Lizard he decided that he does not want to change back because being the Lizard feels safe to him, saying that it’s easier being the Lizard now than it is being Curt Connors. Despite this, Connors insists that he did nothing to Richardson, even though he despises the rival scientist with a passion. He explains that when he went to confront Richardson about stealing a research grant they had a heated argument. When Richardson tried to punch Connors, Curt ducked and the wild swing knocked over a flask full of a chemical that landed on a Bunson burner. Contact with the flame caused the volatile chemicals to explode, He tried to get Richardson out of the fire, but he insists the heat was unbearable. He then got scared and turned into the Lizard and escaped the exploding building. He admits that he isn’t sure he has as much control over the Lizard as he’d like, and he knows the Lizard would have enjoyed killing Richardson, but he insists that he didn’t do anything to harm him. Peter decides that he is going to take Connors someplace safe. As he turns to grab their jackets, he doesn’t see Curt dump the sedatives he gave him earlier onto the floor.
Peter takes Curt down into the sewers where he has access to an old routing station he got from one of his neighbors. Peter tells Curt that he’ll be locked in there while he has to go to work the next morning to make sure everyone stays safe. He then hands Curt a bottle of sedatives just in case. After Peter locks Curt inside the routing station, Connor’s begins to grin and tells himself that he’s a bad lair.
Later that evening, at the Daily Bugle, Joe Robertson and J. Jonah Jameson have a meeting with a man named Bob Saunders. Saunders is a security guard at the Loveland paper company and has brought them security footage of the explosion at the Richardson Institute and Spider-Man’s subsequent battle with the Lizard. The video footage captures the Lizard as he reverts back to human form. However, instead of getting a huge pay off like he hoped, Bob learns that Jonah had called the cops instead. The video footage is stolen property that belongs to Bob’s employers and he committed a crime by withholding this evidence from the police. Jameson then tells him to get lost before the police arrive to collect their information. After Bob Saunders leaves, Jonah asks Joe if he has any idea who the man in the video is. Joe doesn’t know, but he’s certain that Spider-Man does.
The next day, Peter Parker and Mary Jane are out buying supplies for Curt, Peter can’t help but feel sorry for Connors. When Mary Jane asks Peter if he belives Curt’s accounting of the events. Peter is certain that Curt believes what he is saying, but given his state of mind, he might not be remembering events correctly. He is also concerned over how Connors will react when he learns that the explosion made the news. Later that evening, Spider-Man pays a visit to Detective Neil Garrett to exchange notes on the Lizard situation. Spider-Man tries to convince Garrett that the Lizard was in the wrong place at the wrong time and had nothing to do with the explosion. He then suggests that Neil investigate Richardson, suggesting that he may be involved in some shady business practices. Feeling like he’s missing an important piece of the puzzle, Spider-Man returns to where he has stashed away Curt Connors. When he tells Curt about how they made the front page news, but nobody has been able to identify him yet, Curt becomes upset. Spider-Man tells Curt begins to transform into the Lizard but suddenly collapses. When Spider-Man rushes to his side, he is slapped with the Lizard’s tail. Accusing the Lizard of being responsible for the explosion, a partially transformed Curt Connors tells Peter to be quiet, as he’s already said too much.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Lizard, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Mary Jane Watson, Neil Garrett, Billy Connors
Continuity Notes
Martha Connors died of cancer during the events of Spider-Man: Quality of Life #1-4.
Topical References
Peter jokingly states that the sedatives he is giving Curt are Aunt May’s to treat “Mad Cow Disease or something”. Mad Cow Disease, aka Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is a neurogenerative disease that originated in cattle. A variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, it can be passed on to humans through tainted meat. This should be considered a topical reference as, by 2017, the illness has been deemed nearly eradicated as there were only four new cases of the illness recorded that year.
Bob Saunders provides the security footage to the Daily Bugle on a VHS tape. The video is also watched on CTR televisions. These should be considered topical references as both technologies are obsolete.
Errors
It’s odd that J. Jonah Jameson and Joe Robertson don’t know who the Lizard is since Connor’s double-identity has been public since at least Amazing Spider-Man Annual #27, when Connors went on trial for the crimes he committed as the Lizard and even spent time in jail for them. I guess you could say that the video footage isn’t clear enough and they aren’t single out Connors until they can confirm his identity.
