Heroes and Villains

A young boy named Ethan is out skateboarding with some other kids. However, he stops to help an old woman who drops her groceries when they skate by. The old woman doesn’t want his help and angrily collects her groceries and leaves. This is seen by an older kid, also named Ethan, who sarcastically asks if Ethan is Captain America. Ethan says he was just trying to help. That’s when the older kid compliments him on his Spider-Man skateboard. Ethan thanks him, saying he designed it himself and invites the older Ethan back to his house.

There, Ethan’s mother tells her son to hurry up and do his homework as his brother is coming home today. Instead, Ethan shows his new friend his Spider-Man action figures. The two Ethans play with the toys together, ignoring Ethan’s mother when she tells them to buckle down and do their homework. When Ethan’s brother is about to arrive, the older Ethan decides to go, realizing that he’s a little old to be playing with toys. That’s when the younger Ethan offers to tell his new friend about the time he actually met Spider-Man.

He says it was a little while ago when he and his brother went to do some groceries. Ethan was told to stay in the car and suddenly the burglar alarm went off at the grocery store. As it turns out, Ethan’s brother tried to rob the store and when he came running out, Ethan locked his brother out of the car, allowing Spider-Man to bust him. After his brother was webbed to the hood of his car, Spider-Man told Ethan that he did the right thing and that he was a hero before leaving. Soon the cops arrived to arrest his brother.

That’s when Ethan’s brother returns home, stil wearing his prison jumpsuit. When he asks if Ethan has a hug for his brother, Ethan shuts the door so he can continue playing with his new friend.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man

Bride of the Lizard

In the ruins of her living room, Martha Connors finds her husband’s dog tags and it causes her to think back….[1] It was years ago when she visited Curt in the hospital, not long after he lost his arm. At first, Curt told his wife that she didn’t need to take him back since he’s not the man he used to be. She says she has all she needs, that all that is important about Curt is still there.[2] However, Curt became obsessed with becoming whole again from this point, vowing that someday he will be able to hold Martha with two arms.

With this recollection over, Martha then finds a ring box on the floor. She thinks about how she kept the shattered remains of Curt’s wedding ring in the box. She remembers the day that Curt found out she kept the ring. Seeing the broken pieces, all Curt could do was remark about how his transformation into the Lizard was so powerful that it would shatter his wedding band. When she asks if that’s all the ring means to him, he tells her it doesn’t and tells her that he was so close to finding a cure and promises he will be able to hold her again. When he hugs her, Martha points out that he is still holding her even though he only has one arm.[3]

That’s when she comes across a baseball and glove and thinks about how Curt got that for Billy as a birthday gift last year.[4] When Billy went outside to play with his new gift, Martha suggested that Curt go out and play with the boy. Curt says he needs to go to his lab and tells Martha to do it instead. When she insists, Curt once again goes back to complain about only having one arm. When he loses his temper, he catches himself and apologizes to Martha and he insists that he is trying to make things better for them.

Lastly, Martha comes up to a box that contained all of these items. She thinks back to a few hours earlier when she asked Curt about having a second child. Curt told her that they can’t have another child, fearing what the Lizard formula would do to the baby’s DNA. Martha then suggests that they adopt, saying she misses when Billy was young. However, Curt refuses, pointing out that stress triggers his transformation into the Lizard. When Martha says she has already sacrificed so much for their marriage. This causes Curt to explode with rage, as he believes he has sacrificed more. This triggered a transformation into the Lizard and Curt crashed out of the apartment.

Martha’s recollection ended when Spider-Man returns with Curt and tells her that he was able to stop her husband before he got too far. He then puts Curt on the couch and reminds her not to let him get stressed out and leaves. When Curt wakes up he tells Martha the same thing he has been saying all these years, that he’ll fix things and soon he’ll be able to hold her again.

Recurring Characters

Martha Connors, Lizard, Billy Connors, Spider-Man

Continuity Notes

1. This story obviously takes place before Martha Connors died of cancer in Spider-Man: Quality of Life #4.

2. The narrative states that this happened “years ago”. Curt Connors lost his arm during military service as explained in Amazing Spider-Man #6. Per the Sliding Timescale, Curt Connor’s began his experiments to become the Lizard that happened roughly 11 years prior to this story. This flashback likely took place roughly 14 years prior, as Billy Connors wasn’t born and, per my calculations, Billy was roughly 3 when he first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #6.

3. Per the Marvel Chronology Project, this flashback takes place shortly after the events of Amazing Spider-Man #6.

4. According to the Chronology Project (again), this birthday flashback happens between Spider-Man Unlimited #19 and Spider-Man: Quality of Life #1. Per the Sliding Timescale, a year has passed between those two stories. So one could assume Billy’s birthday happened shortly after Unlimited #19.