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In a prelude to Sinister War, Doctor Octopus recruits two more Spider-Man villains, using some of his more ruthless methods.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man: The Chameleon Conspiracy #1, by Nick Spencer, Ed Brisson, Marcelo Ferreira, Carlos Gomez, Ze Carlos, Ig Guara, Wayne Faucher, Andrew Crossley, Morry Hollowell, Rachelle Rosenberg and VC’s Joe Caramagna, and recent issues of Mighty Valkyries, on sale now.
As the upcoming “Sinister War” approaches, it seems that Spider-Man’s greatest villains are slowly coming together. Doctor Octopus, in particular, has been wasting no time in reassembling his Sinister Six. Most recently, Octavius has made moves to recruit both Kraven the Hunter and the Lizard.
Doctor Octopus continues his plot to reunite the Sinister Six in the epilogue of Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man: The Chameleon Conspiracy #1. In the Savage Land, both Octavius and Electro approach Kraven the Hunter. Doctor Octopus knows that the only way he can recruit Kraven is if he offers him his other recruit: Curt Connors, aka the Lizard.
In this way, Octavius reveals his intentions to bring the Lizard onto his team, simultaneously using him as an incentive for Kraven to join as well. It’s unclear exactly how or when Octavius recruited the Lizard, and maybe he hasn’t officially brought Connors onto the team yet.
What is very clear, however, is that the Lizard is going to be on the Sinister Six, one way or another. Since Kraven has a deadly eye on the Lizard, tensions within this new Sinister Six have already been established. This Kraven isn’t the original, however, but the “Last Son of Kraven,” a clone crafted by the High Evolutionary.
The Last Son of Kraven originally clashed with the Lizard back in 2019’s Amazing Spider-Man #20, by Nick Spencer and Humberto Ramos. At this time, the original Kraven and his son kidnapped the Lizard’s son, Billy, putting them at odds with both Spider-Man and the Lizard.
Spider-Man, the Lizard and several other animal-themed heroes and villains were captured and hunted in Central Park, setting a precedent for Kraven and the Lizard’s rivalry. Since the events of “Hunted,” the Lizard has resumed his role as a professor at Empire State University. Curt Connors has continued teaching and spending time with his family, all while controlling his transformations into the Lizard.
Connors has even become an ally to Spider-Man, maintaining control of his mind while in his Lizard form. Kraven, on the other hand, has kept busy by pursuing several new conquests. The Last Son of Kraven was recently hired in Mighty Valkyries #2, by Jason Aaron, Torunn Gronbekk and Mattia De Iulis, to hunt down the children of Fenris at the behest of Hela, the Goddess of Death.
Outside of these two, Doctor Octopus has also recruited Sandman and Electro onto his new Sinister Six. Sandman has joined the team so that Doctor Octopus can help him become mortal, as he doesn’t want to live forever. Doctor Octopus practically brought Electro back from the dead just so he could recruit him onto the Sinister Six as well.
It’s quite apparent that Octavius is determined to assemble this team no matter what, giving everyone proper incentive to join. It’s not entirely clear why the Lizard will join the Sinister Six, but Doctor Octopus will probably give him a good reason as well. Octavius himself has been given the incentive to reassemble the Sinister Six by Kindred, when he was selected back in Amazing Spider-Man #64, by Nick Spencer, Federico Vicentini and Mark Bagley.
Octavius is so determined to reassemble the Sinister Six so that Kindred will return him to his old form as the Superior Spider-Man. With this end goal in mind, Octavius has resorted to ruthless tactics, such as offering the Lizard to Kraven.
This is a particularly nasty method since Octavius is offering to sacrifice one of his teammates just so he can recruit another. Once the Sinister Six have completed their mission, it seems that the Lizard will be left to Kraven’s mercy. It appears that this is an acceptable price for Octavius to pay in order to reclaim his previous mantle.
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