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| Publisher |
Marvel |
| Published | June 1987 |
AMONG US LURKS... A LIZARD! Spider-Man is out on patrol in the pouring rain cursing himself for being foolish enough to be out in this weather. Not far away, a crook named Eddie Fasolino is being stalked by a creature. Trying to flee, the man is ambushed by the creature. His screams are heard by Spider-Man who rushes to the scene. He arrives too late to catch Fasolino's attacker and finds him clinging to life. Examining the body, Spider-Man discovers that Eddie has been savagely clawed. He then rushes the mobster to a nearby hospital. Returning home, Spider-Man changes out of his wet costume. Fearing that the Lizard may be on the loose again, Peter calls Curt Connors. Connors tells Spider-Man that everything is fine and ends the call. This satisfies Peter, however, Connors has decided to keep the hero out of his current predicament as the wall-crawler has saved his life far too many times in the past. Later that evening, in the Bowery, Harry Niceza and Teddy Vinchenzo are leaving an Italian restaurant. Teddy is taken down by the Lizard who then demands that Harry tell him what he wants to know, or else. When Harry insists that he doesn't know anything, the Lizard savagely attacks him as well. Back at Peter Parker's apartment, Peter is watching the evening news. There is a report of a giant lizard-like creature that has been responsible for attacking five people that evening. After seeing a police sketch of the assailant, Peter fears that the Lizard may be on the loose again after all. Attempting to call Curt Connors again, Parker gets no answer. He then changes back into Spider-Man and heads out into the rainy weather to investigate the situation. The web-slinger hitches a ride on a subway train to Long Island, the location of Curt Connor's lab. He worries about the Lizard returning, figuring that Connors had been cured after their time on Battleworld. Arriving at Curt's lab, Spider-Man is shocked to discover that Curt has continued his experiments with lizards. Searching the premises, he finds a ransom letter from someone threatening to harm Curt's wife and son if he does not hand over a formula. Suddenly, the Lizard arrives in the lab, prompting Spider-Man to attack. The Lizard dodges the wall-crawlers blows, telling the hero that it is the mind of Curt Connors that is in control of the Lizard's form. To prove this, the Lizard willingly returns to human form. The transformation briefly weakens Curt. After he recovers, Connors explains that once they returned home from Battleworld, his wife Martha had enough of his disappearances and left with his son. The separation from his wife caused Curt to suffer a breakdown. At one point, he was shocked when he transformed into the Lizard again, however this time he retained his human mind and that he could change back and forth between forms at will. He explains that he realized that the Lizard represents the resentment he felt toward the outside world after he lost his arm in combat. Realizing that he and the Lizard are two sides of the same person, he gained the ability to control his transformations. After hearing this, Spider-Man asks Curt about the ransom note he found in the lab earlier. Connors explains that the criminal known as the Owl learned of Connor's formula and demanded it. When Curt refused, the villain kidnapped Martha and Billy and is holding them hostage in exchange for the formula. Spider-Man offers his aid, but Connor's refuses the wall-crawler's help. Transforming into the Lizard again, Connors easily knocks Spider-Man aside and heads out into the night to continue his search for his family. Recovering from the Lizard's blow, Spider-Man goes to the place where the Owl demanded to meet with Connors. He arrives just in time to witness the Lizard pop out of the sewers and capture the two thugs that had come for the formula. Spider-Man catches up just in time to hear the hired thug tell the Lizard where the Owl's hideout is located. Spider-Man offers his assistance again, but the Lizard tells him to stay out of this and flees the scene. When word gets back to the Owl about the Lizard, the villain is prepared to deal with Connors when he arrives. Spider-Man arrives on the scene shortly after the Lizard gets there. He witnesses as the Lizard is held at bay due to the fact that the Owl has Martha and Billy at gunpoint. When the Lizard orders his family released, the Owl instead has the man-monster sprayed with extreme cold, forcing the Lizard to enter a state of hibernation. It's then that the Owl spots Spider-Man spying on them, prompting the wall-crawler to swing into action. Spider-Man grabs Martha and Billy then tries to escape. However, the Owl closes off all the windows, trapping them inside. Surrounded by armed guards, Spider-Man notices as the Lizard begins to recover. When the Lizard leaps at the armed men, Spider-Man puts Billy and Martha aside and joins in the brawl. With the hired men defeated, the Lizard storms at the Owl, who begins to panic and begs to be left alone. Ripping aside the villain's desk, they discover that the Owl is confined to a wheelchair. Suddenly, Spider-Man realizes that the Owl sought out Connor's regeneration formula to repair his damaged immune system. At first, the Lizard is ready to kill the Owl for threatening his family. However, he decides against it as that is what the old Lizard would have done. He throws the defenseless Owl to the side and, reverting back to human form, reunites with his family. Back at Curt's home on Long Island, he and Spider-Man are thanked for the rescue. However, Martha still needs time to herself to sort out her feelings of her husband and his double life. Although this breaks Curt's heart, he understands and watches forlornly as his wife and son depart.
