Fans of The Amazing Spider-Man will recall that the Lizard, Dr. Curt Connors, made a significant show of compassion towards the film’s end. That show of compassion was saving Spider-Man’s life, but the moment meant a lot more in the grand scheme of things.
Dr. Connors was Richard Parker’s partner and served as a mentor to Peter Parker. Parker worked under Connors and their relationship always had that deeper connotation of a tie between Parker and his father. Connors himself was a man with a moral code, but as tales often go, things went awry when he got a taste of something that could change his life for the better.
The events of the The Amazing Spider-Man were primarily impacted by the fact that Connors had become a creature physically and an obsessed man mentally. The “cure” gave him his arm back, and even as he transformed into a lizard, he saw the strength and the power as something he never wanted to part with. Connors began experimenting on himself, and it was clear that he was losing his sanity in the process.
When the Lizard found out that Spider-Man was Parker, he tried to attack him at school. Of course, Parker had the inkling that Connors was the Lizard, and when it was confirmed, he knew he had to stop him. Saving him meant saving the people around them, but maybe saving Connors in a way, too.
However, before any saving could be done, Connors wanted to turn as many people into lizards as possible. He released a chemical from Oscorp’s tower that would infect those who breathed it in. Chaos ensued, and Spidey was up against quite an opponent⏤many opponents, actually.
As Parker released an antidote for the Lizard’s strength, Connors began to shake from the fog he’d been in to realize what he’d done. In the nick of time, he saved Parker using his remaining superhuman strength before turning himself in.
So the Lizard/Dr. Connors survived The Amazing Spider-Man, but he was asked a question during a post-credits scene that had fans talking. Connors was being monitored in a facility when he was asked by an unidentified person if he told Parker the truth about his father. Connors responded that he hadn’t and told the man to leave Parker alone.
When the Lizard was seen in the trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home, many fans had a feeling of excitement mixed with dread, leaving them to wonder if his return has to do with the secret he’s keeping from Parker. Could he come back as a friend or a foe of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man? Will Peter Parker find out the truth about his father?
Answers to those questions and more will be answered when Spider-Man: No Way Home hits theaters on Dec. 17.