Spider-Man Unlimited #19
Where Monsters Dwell
Curt Connors is giving a lecture on the r-complex, the “lizard gene”, that exists in all humans and how it drives man’s need for self-preservation and how it also the link for man’s capacity for evil. He knows this better than others as he was responsible for transforming himself into the Lizard. He says that he wasn’t the only one responsible, recounting his time as a military medic in the middle of a senseless conflict when lost his arm.[1] Curt says he is now cured of being the Lizard, but it gave him a unique perspective on how humans are destroying the planet they live on.[2] Among those watching in the crowd are Mary Jane Watson and Curt’s wife Martha. When Mary Jane comments that Curt is a great public speaker, Martha cryptically says there is a lot about her husband she doesn’t know. After the speech is over, Mary Jane tells Curt that she and her husband Peter Parker are in town on business and decided to pay him a visit.[3] When they invite Curt to join them on a night out on the town, he politely declines, saying that he has work to do in his lab.
Later that evening, a group of young thugs meet with the Lizard in the Florida swamps to buy more of a drug the creature has them hooked on. Injecting themselves with the Lizard’s formula trigged their r-complex. The Lizard sends them out, ordering them to prove to the rest of humanity that there are really no differences between man and reptile.
Meanwhile, back in the city of Maimi, Spider-Man does some sight-seeing by swinging across the city. He is glad to have time to enjoy himself as he has been sent out with Ben Urich to cover some crimes that have been occurring in the Florida area. This is good because after everything he and Mary Jane have been dealing with recently they can use the downtime.[4] That’s when Spider-Man hears some young hoodlums breaking into a store. Swinging in to stop them, Spider-Man manages to nab one of the kids and is shocked to discover that it’s Billy Connors. When Spider-Man asks what he’s doing, Billy tells the wall-crawler that he does whatever he wants now and his parents don’t seem to care because they are too busy. When he tries to talk sense into Billy, the boy tells Spider-Man to stay out of it and runs off as police begin to arrive on the scene.[5] Not wanting to take the blame for the break-in either, Spider-Man decides to leave as well. As he leaves, Spider-Man’s hopes Ben Urich is doing better with his investigation.
At that moment, Urich has arrived the Shanahan, a dive bar on Maimi’s waterfront. He comes in and tells some of the thugs playing pool that he has come to see their boss. When Urich is recognized, they are about to rough up the reporter when the Slug enters the room and orders them to stand down, saying that Ben Urich is here at his behest. Ben gets down to business and starts asking the Slug why there has been a surge in crime in Maimi. Off the record, the Slug says there is a new synthetic drug on the market that is responsible. The Slug doesn’t like someone dealing in his market as the chaos caused by the use of this drug is hurting his bottom line. He tells Urich that if the authorities can’t resolve the issue, he intends to use his own resources. By this point, Spider-Man has returned to his hotel room to change back to Peter Parker so he can meet up with Mary Jane and Martha Connors. While at a local dance club, Mary Jane gets Martha Connors to talk about the problems she has been having recently. She says that while her husband seems to be cured of being the Lizard, he has shut himself in his lab and avoids people while their son Billy has been acting out and getting into trouble. That’s when Peter arrives and when he asks what’s going on, Martha tells him it’s nothing and tells him and Mary Jane to have fun on the dance floor.[6]
The following day, Peter and Mary Jane are spending time on the beach waiting for Ben Urich to meet with them. When Urich arrives he shows them that daily paper includes headlines about a congressman caught in a sex scandal and that the police commissioner is being investigated by the Internal Affairs Board. Mary Jane remembers that the commissioner and congressmen attended Curt Connor’s lecture the night before. Urich suspects that this is all connected to the new synthetic drug that has appeared on the scene. He has heard about a drug deal going down at the Maimi Zoo that evening and he intends to be there to get the story. After Urich leaves, Peter doesn’t know what to make of all of this but thinks he needs to pay Curt Connors a visit. When he visits Curt at his lab, he is invited in.[7] He offers Peter some water and when he is told about the congressman and police commissioner, Connors isn’t surprised as it proves the point he was making during his lecture. When Peter goes to drink the glass of water his spider-sense begins going off, warning him that it has been tainted with something. Peter then says he’s not that thirsty and hands it back. Surprisingly, Curt drinks the water instead with no ill effect. Curt then starts ranting and raving about how mankind is polluting the drinking water. Peter interjects to try and talk about the problems they have been having with Billy, but Curt says that it’s not Peter’s place to comment, saying until Peter has children of his own he’ll never know what it’s like. This is a sore subject considering Peter and Mary Jane recently lost their baby and Peter storms out. The fact that Curt would say something so hurtful convinces Peter that something is going on and intends to find out what that is. Back inside, Curt Connors begins to scream in pain as the Lizard begins reasserting his control, telling Connors that they have an appointment to keep.
Later that evening, Ben Urich is searching the zoo and happens upon the Lizard and the young punks who have been taking his new drug. The youths have started turning into lizard-men and are ordered to attack Urich when he is discovered. Thankfully, Spider-Man arrives to help round up these mutated punks. That’s when the Slug’s men come crashing to try and shoot up the place, but they too are stopped. Seeing the lizard-like features on the youths, Spider-Man wonders if the Lizard is back and decides to investigate this further.[8] While at the Connor’s house, Martha Connors is continuing to tell Mary Jane about her family problems and wonders when the shadow the Lizard will stop haunting her and her loved ones. That’s when a police officer arrives with BIlly and tells Martha that he caught the boy vandalizing buildings downtown. When Martha asks Billy what he was thinking the boy suddenly collapses. They are joined at the hospital by both Ben Urich and Peter Parker. By this time, the doctors have looked at Billy and determined that the cause of his blackout was due to a some kind of artificial stimulant that he has been injecting into himself. Getting a close look at Billy’s hand, Peter can see that it is developing a green hue and realizes that Billy has been doing the drugs that the Lizard has been unleashing on the city.
Changing back into Spider-Man, Peter goes back to the Connors home to confront him about what’s going on. He is ambushed by the Lizard and beaten into unconsciousness. When Spider-Man wakes up he is at a water processing plant and have just been injected by one of the Lizard’s loyal minions. The Lizard explains that he is going to pour his lizard serum into the city water supply to turn everyone into a humanoid lizard. Spider-Man can feel his aggression increasing and tries to fight off the effects of the serum, hoping his enhanced metabolism can work it out. Spider-Man quickly webs up the Lizard’s minions and begins fighting his foe. They splash into the water, Spider-Man can feel his aggression spinning out of control as he tries to drown the Lizard. That’s when Martha and Mary Jane arrive. Hearing Martha beg him to stop trying to kill her husband allows Spider-Man to snap out of it, but also leaves him open to attack from the Lizard. When the Lizard confronts his wife, Martha informs him that Billy has been hurt because of his recent plan. This is what it takes to finally stop the Lizard. Returning to human form, Curt Connors administers cures to everyone, including his son Billy. He then admits to his family that he has a problem and is going to get treated so the Lizard stays buried forever.
With the danger now over, Ben Urich asks the Parkers if they are ready to go back to New York, but they want to make the most of their last night in Florida before heading home.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Slug, Lizard, Mary Jane Watson, Ben Urich, Martha Connors, Billy Connors
Continuity Notes
Curt Connors is recounting his origins as and transformation of the Lizard. This was first depicted in Amazing Spider-Man #6.
Connors last transformation into the Lizard was detailed in Spectacular Spider-Man #239, this is also when he decided to become an environmentalist.
Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple here.
There is a lot of exposition dumped on the reader during Peter’s internal monologue here. Here are the details:
He mentions how he and Mary Jane recently lost their baby. Mary Jane discovered she was pregnant in Spectacular Spider-Man #221. Tragically, the baby was stillborn in Amazing Spider-Man #418.
He mentions how Norman Osborn has returned and taken control of the Daily Bugle. Norman Osborn was believed to have died in Amazing Spider-Man #221. However, he survived and went into hiding for years as detailed in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1. He revealed to Peter that he was still alive in Spider-Man #75. He later purchased part ownership of the Bugle in Spectacular Spider-Man #249.
Lastly, he mentions how Norman Osborn has managed to make Spider-Man a wanted outlaw. He did this by goading Spider-Man into attacking him on Spectacular Spider-Man #250.
Spider-Man says that he’s known Billy’s family for years. Per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, Spider-Man has known the Connors for roughly ten years at the time of this story.
When Peter complains about not liking Techno music, Mary Jane says she wasn’t a fan of the Cigar Indian he had in his old apartment. Mary Jane is referring to the apartment located at 410 Chelsea Street where Peter lived from Amazing Spider-Man #139 to Amazing Spider-Man #300.
Connors mentions the last time he saw Peter Parker, which was in Spectacular Spider-Man #237 when he was suffering from a life-threatening illness. Thanks to Connor’s medical help, Peter survived this ordeal.
Peter recalls how Ben Reilly encountered another Lizard creature that was brought to life after being exposed to Connor’s DNA. This creature first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man Super Special #1 and was later killed by the real Lizard in Spectacular Spider-Man #239.
