As one of Spider-Man's classic foes, the Lizard is also one of his most iconic and recognizable. A Jekyll and Hyde story of a scientist forced to grapple with a savage alter ego, the Lizard represents both the tragedy of Spider-Man's world and the twisted side of the science that Peter Parker admires so much.
Despite this central premise, Dr. Curt Connors isn't the only Lizard to ever face off with Spider-Man. The '90s brought a sea of change to the Webslinger, much of which was very controversial. One of these changes was a brand new Lizard, far more bestial and inhuman than Spider-Man's classic enemy. Here's how Spider-Man and Curt Connors fought against the new Lizard, and how the monster ironically showed up in the biggest intercompany crossover ever.
This new Lizard was created by Terry Kavanagh, Mike Lakcey and Phil Gosier, debuting in Amazing Spider-Man Super Special #1. Appearing in the Florida Everglades at the tail end of the story "Ghosts," this creature was more monstrous than how the Lizard had previously appeared. His scales were a different color, and the frills under his arms made him seem to be a different species of reptile entirely. The initial belief was that this was a further mutated version of Curt Connors, who had been thought to have died about a year beforehand. After all, Connors had ties linking him to Florida, having been born there. This more savage take on the creature would have also fit the trend of the Lizard taking on a more horrifying appearance and demeanor, such as in the "Torment" storyline.
Perhaps yearning to return to some semblance of his original life, this Lizard made his murderous way back to New York. This made him an even bigger threat than he was originally, especially since this version of the creature could not be reasoned with. Taking hostages and attacking innocents, the new and not quite improved Lizard finally came face to face with the Scarlet Spider. He was eventually captured and returned to Florida where he encountered Curt Connors, proving that he wasn't the original Lizard.
The Lizard creature attacked Connors and his family, forcing Connors to transform into the real Lizard to save them. He killed his doppelganger in the skirmish, and it was discovered that the creature was the result of a formula used on some of the original Lizard's severed genetic material.
This Lizard clone wasn't the only copy vexing Spider-Man at the time, as he was knee deep in the infamous "Clone Saga." Beyond the clone aspect, he also fit another trend at the time. A recurring villain in the saga was a mysterious killer named Kaine, who had a vendetta against Ben Reilly and made his rounds by slaughtering Spider-Man's old villains. These villains would be subsequently replaced by more modern and many times darker versions of the classic characters, such as the female Doctor Octopus. The Lizard was one such nastier version of a pre-existing villain, and like most of his contemporaries, he didn't last long.
He did, however, show up in the Marvel Vs. DC crossover. He doesn't do much in the story, but it's pretty incredible that a failed replacement for a classic villain, namely one with such little character, made enough of an impact to show up in the '90s' biggest crossover. As mentioned, however, he was quickly killed off, leaving Curt Connors the one true Lizard ever since.
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