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WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man #70, by Nick Spencer, Federico Vicentini, Alex Sinclair and VC’s Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
Over the course of his comic book history, the Lizard has undergone quite a few changes. At times, Curt Connors has maintained control of his Lizard persona, while on other occasions, the Lizard has been the dominant persona. Recently, however, things changed drastically when Curt Connors was physically separated from the Lizard.
Doctor Connors’ separation from his reptilian persona came in Amazing Spider-Man #70. At the beginning of this issue, Connors was working on the isotope-genome accelerator, a device capable of isolating and separating unwanted illnesses from a host.
In the middle of his work, Connors was attacked by Doctor Octopus and his newly-reformed Sinister Six. Octavius used the isotope-genome accelerator on Connors, separating him from the Lizard. In this way, Doctor Octopus could recruit the Lizard onto his Sinister Six, without worrying about Doctor Connors getting in the way. Unfortunately for Doctor Connors and and the Lizard, this separation is probably for the worse.
Back in 2018’s Amazing Spider-Man #2, by Nick Spencer and Ryan Ottley, the isotope-genome accelerator also separated Spider-Man from Peter Parker, with nearly catastrophic results. Peter was fairly liberated without Spider-Man, but Spider-Man completely lost the meaning of responsibility. Moreover, the separation nearly killed both of them, until Peter and Spider-Man finally came back together.
It’s likely that Connors and the Lizard won’t be able to survive without one another, since they were also separated by the isotope-genome accelerator. Even worse, the Lizard is probably even more dangerous without Doctor Connors’ influence, much like the Hulk when he’s been separated from Bruce Banner. For example, in 1986’s Incredible Hulk #315, by John Byrne, Doc Samson succeeded in separating the Hulk from Banner. Without Banner’s influence, however, the Hulk became even more dangerous and destructive than before.
This is very similar to the Lizard without Doctor Connors sharing his consciousness. Additionally, Bruce Banner and the Hulk slowly started dying, since they lost their molecular stability. In 1986’s Incredible Hulk #323, by Al Milgrom, Hulk and Banner were remerged, saving both their lives. Similarly, remerging the Lizard with Doctor Connors would probably save both of their lives.
In another example, at the end of 1996’s Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1, by Scott Lobdell, Mark Waid, Adam Kubert and Joe Bennett, the Hulk was separated from Banner again. This time, however, the two were separated across universes, as Banner went with several other heroes to Counter-Earth. Stranded on Earth-616, the Hulk became insanely dangerous, both to himself and others.
Not only was the Hulk radioactive, but he was channeling excess energy from an alternate dimension, threatening to destroy the universe. It wasn’t until 1998’s Heroes Reborn: The Return #4, by Peter David and Salvador Larroca, that the Hulk and Banner were remerged, saving themselves and the universe. Years later, at the end of 2011’s Fear Itself #7, in a scene by Jason Aaron and Mike Choi, the Hulk was separated from Banner yet again.
It wasn’t until 2012’s Incredible Hulk #5, by Jason Aaron and Whilce Portacio, that it was revealed that the Hulk asked Doctor Doom to physically remove Banner from his mind. The mind of the once brilliant scientist was placed in the body of a clone, and without the Hulk, Banner went mad, trying desperately to get the Green Goliath back. This was an interesting twist, and a possibility for Doctor Connors as well.
Eventually, a gamma bomb merged Hulk and Banner together once again. After an internal war between the two, Banner stopped trying to control the Hulk, realizing he was a better person with the Hulk than without him. It may be strange to think, but perhaps Doctor Connors might have a similar realization. Considering Connors’ recent time in control of his reptilian form, maybe he’s come to appreciate the Lizard. Additionally, Connors is probably dying without the Lizard, and the Lizard is far more dangerous without Connors’ influence.
During 2010’s Amazing Spider-Man #630-633, by Zeb Wells and Chris Bachalo, for example, the Lizard completely drowned out Connors’ influence, making him a true monster who ate his own son, Billy. Much like the Hulk and Bruce Banner, the Lizard and Doctor Connors need each other in order to survive. Separated, the two won’t last very long.
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