From the Mouths of the Marvels:

"As for my web, it'll loosen in a minute, and you'll come down. BOY, will you come down!!!"

- -Spider-Man, to J. Jonah Jameson who is hanging from a web by the seat of his pants, page 6

Spidey auditions for the Crocodile Hunter. Crikey!

Amazing Spider-Man #6
November 1963 • 21 pages

Publication Date: August 8, 1963

Letters Page: Currently not in inventory.

Ranked #43 in 100 Greatest Marvel Comics of All Time list

I: Feature Story: "Face-to-Face With...the Lizard!"

Pages: 21

Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Steve Ditko
Inks: Steve Ditko
Letters: Artie Simek

First Appearance: The Lizard/Dr. Curtis Connors, Martha Connors, Billy Connors

Villain: The Lizard

Origin: The Lizard/Dr. Curtis Connors

Guest Appearance: J. Jonah Jameson, Flash Thompson, Liz Allan, Betty Brant, Aunt May, Dr. Curtis Connors, Mrs. Connors, Billy Connors

Setting: Miami, Florida, Everglades Swamp

Synopsis: In Florida's Everglades swamps, a lizard that walks like a man terrorizes the local populace. The story reaches the Daily Bugle, and news headlines scream "THE BUGLE CHALLENGES SPIDER-MAN TO DEFEAT THE LIZARD!" Peter concocts an idea to get Jameson to send him to Florida to get some pictures, allowing him the opportunity to defeat the Lizard as Spider-Man! Jonah, however, seems to think the Lizard is a phony and turns him down.

The next day, at a school field trip at the Natural History Museum, Peter's spider sense tips him off to a couple of thieves who are lurking in the background. He changes into his Spidey costume, but before he can apprehend them, they take Liz Allan hostage. Using his stealth and agility, though, he lands a knockout punch on both of them, rescuing Liz, who instantly falls madly in love with her rescuer.

Peter keeps hearing news reports that wonder aloud why Spider-Man is chickening out on fighting the Lizard, and so he decides to take his case to Jonah Jameson one more time to convince him to send Peter Parker to Florida. As Spider-Man, he pays a visit to JJJ and tells him that he's going to accept the Lizard challenge and he should send somebody down to Florida to photograph the battle. (Since he cannot afford to travel there on his own, Peter feels this is the only way he can get there.) Five minutes later, Peter ducks inside the office of J. Jonah Jameson, and gets the call from the Bugle publisher that he is indeed being sent on an assignment to Florida- with J. Jonah Jameson tagging along!

On their flight to Florida, Peter wonders how he's going to be able to seperate from JJJ to do his job as Spider-Man. He also reads in a newspaper about reptile expert Dr. Curtis Connors, and assumes he should contact him for help in finding the Lizard. When they land, Peter gives Jonah the excuse that has to get some fresh film, and changes into Spider-Man when he finally separates himself from his boss. He wanders into the swamp in a quest to find the Lizard, but it is the Lizard that finds him first! He pulls him underwater and they tussle before taking their battle onto land. The Lizard uses his whip-fast tail to throw Spider-Man across the swamp. Spidey spots what he thinks is Dr. Connor's house, and goes to pay the doctor a visit so he can learn more about the Lizard.

There he meets the sobbing wife of Dr. Connors, who explains to Spidey the whole story: Dr. Curt Connors, who was missing his right arm, developed a serum that would replicate the reptile's ability to regrow lost extremities. He took the serum himself, and it indeed restored him arm, but it also turned him into a raging man-lizard. He stumbled off into the swamps to live out his life away from the family he loved. From outside, they hear a little boy scream. It's Bobby, Dr. Connor's son, and the Lizard has wandered up to him. Spidey swings down and grabs Bobby and takes him to safety. He lands a punch square on the Lizard's jaw, but through his leathery skin he barely seems to notice. The Lizard runs away when he hears the voice of Mrs. Connors.

Spider-Man decides to look over Dr. Connor's lab notes to try and find an antidote, and after some hard work, he develops a cure. Before he can formulate a plan to get the Lizard to drink it, the man-reptile walks in and throws a desk at Spider-Man. The Lizard grabs his reptile serum and plans to feed it to more lizards, crocodiles and alligators to build "a mighty lizard army"! Knowing he cannot permit a reptilian army with the power of the Lizard to take over the planet, Spider-Man goes into action. He goes deep into the swamp to the castle that the Lizard calls home. He climbs the high wall to get a vantage point over the Lizard, watching him as he pulls together an army of alligators.

Spidey accidentally falls from his high perch, and the Lizard spots him and commands his pets to attack! Spidey bounds out of their way and heads into the castle tower, with the Lizard following him. After much fierce close combat, Spider-Man is able to force feed the serum to the Lizard. Slowly, but surely, the Lizard changes back into Dr. Curt Connors, who is thankful to Spider-Man for saving him and returning him to his family, even though he is back to having only one arm. Dr. Connors destroys all his files that relate to the reptile formula he came up with, so as to insure that they will never again be a menace to the world.

Later, JJJ has the police out looking for his "missing photographer" when up walks Peter Parker with shots of the Lizard. But since the pictures do not include Spider-Man, Jameson considers them frauds and tears them up. He also charges Peter for his plane fare to Florida and half his hotel bill for such an indignity! Back home, Peter calls up Liz Allan for a date, but she declines and says she's keeping her line clear for a call from Spider-Man.

--synopsis by Gormuu

Issues Reprinted
Spider-Man from Amazing Fantasy #15 and
Amazing Spider-Man #1-10

Click on cover image to learn more about each issue.

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