13 greatest Spider-Man villains ranked from worst to best

6. Lizard

Before transforming into a monster, Doctor Curtis Connors was a husband, a father, and a hero. He became a surgeon in the U.S. Army with the hopes of helping wounded soldiers. Unfortunately, everything comes with a price, and Connors had to pay with his right arm during the war. Ever since that moment, he’s done everything to recover what was lost. He even went as far as injecting himself with lizard DNA in an attempt to regrow his missing arm, and we all know how that story ends.

There’s a certain contradiction when discussing this beloved Spider-Man villain. On the one hand, the Lizard has been an extremely dangerous threat to the wall-crawler and New York throughout the years. On the other, Doctor Connors has been an ally and even a mentor for Peter Parker. There’s still a good man trapped somewhere within the Lizard, but sometimes that isn’t enough for the monstrous beast to pull its punches. When the Lizard takes control, bad things will happen, and believe me; they can be heartbreaking.

One perfect example of this is The Amazing Spider-Man #630 (1999), which might be one of Curtis’ most tragic stories. In it, the brilliant doctor lost his composure after finding his romantic interest was sleeping with another man. This act alone was enough to let The Lizard loose and brutally kill six people in the process, all while Connors had to watch trapped behind the beast’s eyes. Unfortunately, the worst part came when The Lizard devoured his own son, Billy. As if it wasn’t tragic enough, Billy’s last words to his father were: “You’re going to kill me, aren’t you? I knew it. I’ve always known it”.

Connors is a good man, but the Lizard can be an unforgiving force of nature, making him one of Spider-Man’s most popular enemies ever. He was the main antagonist in The Amazing Spider-Man live-action movie and was also one of the highlights in the gameplay reveal of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. The mutated reptile was even a part of the Sinister Six for some time, and Doctor Connors appeared as a recurring character in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy. This all goes to show how beloved this character is, and we wouldn’t want it any other way.

First appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #6 (1963)

Notable appearances:

• Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
• The Amazing Spider-Man #630 and #631 (1999)