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Amazing Spider-Man #6

Nov 1963
Stan Lee, Steve Ditko

Story Name:

Face to Face With...The Lizard!


Synopsis

Amazing Spider-Man #6 synopsis by Anthony Silvestro
Rating: 4 stars
Image from Amazing Spider-Man #6

This story begins in quite a different location, as we open upon a swamp in the Florida Everglades, where a creature calling itself the Lizard is scaring people away from his domain! Reports start to circulate all over about the mysterious and dangerous Lizard, even reaching New York, where Spider-Man sees that the Daily Bugle has issued a challenge for Spider-Man to stop the Lizard. Spidey decides to swing over to the Bugle and see if J. Jonah Jameson will send him as Peter Parker to Florida to get photos of the Lizard. Jameson however, doesn’t even believe that the Lizard is real and just printed the challenge to sell papers.

The next day, Peter heads to the Natural History Museum to try and learn as much as he can about lizards, just in case, where he runs into Flash Thompson and Liz Allan. While engaging with the exhibit, Peter’s spider-sense suddenly alerts him to two thieves trying to subtly escape the museum after having just stolen something. Peter changes to Spider-Man and finds that the thieves have taken Liz as a hostage. He jumps down before they can see him to knocks the two thugs out, saving Liz and leaving her completely enamored with Spider-Man. After switching back to Pete, he hears on a nearby kid’s portable radio that people are wondering why Spider-Man still hasn’t gone after the Lizard.

Deciding that was the last straw, Peter, as Spider-Man, corners Jameson in his office, webs him to the ceiling, and tells him that he’s accepting the challenge to face the Lizard and that Jameson should send a photographer to Florida to get photos. Peter stops by again as himself and Betty Brant tells him that Jameson’s been looking everywhere for him. Peter tries to ask out Betty but Jameson calls him in and tells him that they’re BOTH going to Florida to get the story on the Lizard. Peter goes home to check with Aunt May, who is skeptical at first, but relaxes when Peter tells her that the “nice” J. Jonah Jameson will be going with him.

Peter and Jonah fly down to Florida, where Peter is able to ditch Jonah and heads to the swamp where the Lizard has been reported, as Spider-Man. Spidey encounters the Lizard, and discovers that he’s much stronger than Spidey anticipated, as Lizard ends up flinging Peter halfway across the swamp. From his landing point, he spots a house in the distance and theorizes that it must be the home of Dr. Curt Connors, an expert on lizards that Peter read about on the flight down. At the house, Peter finds Connors’ wife crying and tells her that it’s not safe here because of the Lizard. Connors’ wife, however, tells Spidey the shocking revelation that Dr. Connors IS the Lizard!

She recounts how Connors was a doctor who lost his right arm in the war. Since then, Connors had been studying lizards and reptiles, theorizing that since lizards can regrow extremities, he could potentially harness that to regrow his own arm and help countless other people as well. His experiments ended up being successful and he was able to regrow his arm, but it then came with the unintended side effect of turning him into a scaly lizard creature. He fled the house after being unable to devise an antidote. After hearing Connors’ backstory, Spider-Man rushes outside after hearing a scream to find Connors’ son, Billy, terrified of the nearby Lizard. Spidey swoops in and saves Billy and tries to fight the Lizard. He finds that the Lizard’s hide to too tough to hurt and that the Lizard can easily tear through his webbing.

The Lizard flees at the sound of his wife’s voice, and she and Billy take Spider-Man back to the house, where Spidey is able to use his science knowledge to create an antidote for the Lizard’s condition. Just then, the Lizard bursts into the room and stuns Spider-Man, knocking a pile of debris on top of him. Thinking he has now disposed of the only one standing in his way, the Lizard leaves, and Spidey comes to not long after. He follows the Lizard through the swamp and finds him at an old, abandoned fort where he finds that the Lizard is planning to use his formula on other reptiles in order to create Super Lizards for an army to take over the earth with. The wall Spider-Man is on gives way and he is suddenly being attacked on all sides by the Lizard and his alligators.

Spider-Man lures the Lizard into a large cylindrical room, where he locks the two of them inside. Spider-Man climbs to the top of the room and then, after the Lizard chases up after him, suddenly drops down and flings the Lizard to the ground below, where he is able to force his antidote into the Lizard’s mouth. The Lizard strikes back, and just as he has Spider-Man at his mercy, the serum takes effect, and he is transformed back into Dr. Curt Connors. Spider-Man takes Connors home to be reunited with his family, where Connors burns his notes so that no one else can use them, and Spider-Man suggests they keep the entire thing a secret, leaving Connors and his wife eternally grateful. Peter makes his way back to Jameson to give him photos of the Lizard he said he bought, but Jameson tears them up, believing they’re fakes. The issue ends with Peter, now home, trying to call up Liz, but she says that she’s waiting for a call from Spider-Man, leaving Peter amused that he’s his own competition.


 

Review / Commentaries


Amazing Spider-Man #6 Review by (November 18, 2023)

Review: We have, yet again, the introduction of a major Spidey Villain! Not only that, we also get a great supporting character, as Curt Connors will show up pretty frequently to assist Spider-Man, even when the Lizard has nothing to do with the story. A great villain, and a great supporting character, all in one. The Lizard is one of Spidey’s more tragic villains, as he’s just a normal, good man trying to do the right thing, and it blows up in his face. I think the first section of the issue, detailing Lizard’s origin and the initial setup, is really good, as his situation makes you sympathize with him more than most other Spider-Man villains. I do think the issue falls off a little bit when the Lizard’s plan becomes, “take over the world with Super Lizards”, as it’s a little dumb, as far as villain motivations go, and reminds me too much of the first Amazing Spider-Man movie. It was pretty dumb there too. Speaking of dumb, although Steve Ditko’s art is generally cool in an old fashioned charming way, unfortunately the way he draws the Lizard kind of makes him look like a Muppet. Another little oddity I noticed was at the end, Peter tries calling Liz but she doesn’t want the line tied up because she’s expecting a call from Spider-Man but…how would Spider-Man know her number? Still, this was another solid intro issue, even if the end section was a little weaker than the setup, and we got to see more of Pete’s science knowledge helping save the day, which is always a plus!

Comments: First appearance, origin, and first encounter with Spider-Man for the Lizard/Curt Connors. Curt Connors is called by his full name of “Curtis” throughout the issue. Connors’ wife, later named Martha, goes unnamed in this issue. First time Peter tries to ask out Betty Brant. The Lizard's coat is colored purple on the cover, though it is white inside.




> Amazing Spider-Man comic book info and issue index

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This comic is in the following collection:
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Collects Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #1-10, material from Amazing Fantasy (1962) #15.

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Preview Pages




Steve Ditko
Steve Ditko
Stan Goldberg
Steve Ditko (Cover Penciler)
Steve Ditko (Cover Inker)
Stan Goldberg (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Art Simek.

Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

J. Jonah Jameson
J. Jonah Jameson

(JJ Jameson)
May Parker
May Parker

(Aunt May)
Spider-Man
Spider-Man

(Peter Parker)

Plus: Billy Connors, Liz Allan (Liz Osborn), Martha Connors.