Trojan Lizard – Review Of “The Amazing Spider-Man” #689

Well, True Believers, The Amazing Spider-Man debuted in theaters this week, and took an astounding $35 million in U.S. and Canadian box offices. In the movie, a young Peter Parker goes through his origin rigamarole to become Spider-Man and, in the process, fights a villain called The Lizard. Coincidentally, this week no, not really a coincidence, I’m sure The Amazing Spider-Man #689 hit comic book stores. In this issue, an older, more world weary Peter Parker fights a “living vampire” named Morbius, while ignoring the larger, more devious threat from a villain called…The Lizard. Frankly, I don’t care if it was planned purposefully or not, but I think the outward similarity is a good thing. Based on the movie’s success this week, I agree with Rob that it’s probably a good idea for a comic book to resemble the movie property during the time of a recent release. If viewers liked the movie, they’ll probably latch onto the book more easily if they see characters they recognize. Apparently, not all fans agreed with me if this tweet from Dan Slott (@DanSlott) yesterday is any indication:

Some fans think I sold out having the Lizard in this arc. Others think I missed an opportunity to bring Gwen back. ‪#CantPleaseEverybody‬ ;-D

The fans that are moaning about wanting Gwen back probably were also the first ones to get their panties in a bunch about Gwen sleeping with Norman Osborn and her freakish look alike clones children running around, ninja style trying to kill Peter under J. Michael Straczynski’s Sins Past arc. Let her lie, people. There’s no good way to bring her back that isn’t going to anger as many people as it pleases. Meanwhile, let’s talk about how Dr. Curt Connors has been brought back to life in this issue by penciller Giuseppe Camuncoli as Too Much Coffee Man. Seriously. That is the bug-eye of a 3 pot a day man. But, I digress.

Beyond surface similarities, why should new readers follow this book, and other questions answered in spoiler-y fashion, after the jump!

First off, new readers to the title should understand that this Dr. Curt Connors is hell and gone from Cartagena to the Connors of the movie. That is to say, while the shell of the man is there, Dr. Connors himself has left the building. Slott hinted at the rationale for it in the previous issue, but ultimately, it doesn’t matter. Spidey and friends have brought back a man who looks like their old companion, but whose mind is still quite firmly that of The Lizard. His entire agenda is based on rage that they found a way to “cure” him and the desire to revert back to reptilian form. However, in his tricky, predatory mind, Connors/Lizard knows that the best way to get access to the lab and materials he needs to accomplish this is to “adapt”, like the cold-blooded creature he thinks he is. Ladies and gentlemen: Curt Connors, Trojan Lizard.

Although Parker was aware that the loss of Dr. Connors’s mind/personality was a strong possibility, he’s distracted by his anger towards Dr. Michael Morbius. Morbius desecrated the grave of Connors’s son to make the cure for Connors and, to make matters worse, he did it for less than altruistic reasons. Not that there’s really ever a good reason to dig up a dead body. As far as I know. But, Morbius really wants to cure his own vampirism. Curt Connors’s cure being a success gets him one step closer to his own treatment. Spider-Man, however, just sees Morbius as a threat that needs to be put away.

Connors/Lizard plays on the bad feelings and tension to get Morbius and Spider-Man locked in battle and out of the picture. I’ll let you read the book to find out how; it’s clever. Camuncoli does a solid job penciling the action scenes in this book. This is a Spider-Man that is far more powerful and in control of his abilities than the young Parker of the movie (and one who is in possession of a little bit of borrowed tech as well):

Look for both the ultraviolet light gun and the garlic grenade launcher soon at Hot Topic! By which, I mean I’ll be bringing them to a Hot Topic. {/emo be gone}

One thing that got my attention in the fight scene is Spidey’s seeming intent to flat out end Morbius, which is a 180 departure from his mantra of “No One Dies” from as recently as…the last issue. I’ll be curious to see how Slott resolves that.

All in all, there’s much for both new and continuing readers to like in this issue. Those who have been following the arc can continue to enjoy the inventive twists and turns on which Dan Slott has taken the characters and the story. New readers will find characters they recognize from the movie and enough exposition to bring them up to speed on past story events so as to not feel lost in the the issue. Hopefully, they will even come back again to read the next issue. I know I will.