Summary
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Spider-Man 2. Proceed at your own risk.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2does a great job of giving many iconic villains in the wall-crawler’s rogues' gallery a chance to shine in its story. One crucial character who stands out as an exciting inclusion is Dr. Curt Connors, also known by his alter ego as the Lizard. While the Lizard is memorable for his horror game-esque tracking mission and epic battle across the sewers and streets of New York City, there is a tragic story behind the creation of this villain which reveals the complexity of Dr. Connors and how the history behind his lost arm is a direct catalyst for the events ofMarvel’s Spider-Man 2.
InSpider-Man 2, Dr. Connors is an employee of Oscorp tasked with finding a cure for Harry Osborn due to his history with regenerative studies. It’s clear that Peter Parker already has a history with theLizard inSpider-Man 2as dialogue implies that he has battled the foe before and helped Dr. Connors get his alter ego under control. However, the revelation as to how Dr. Connors lost his arm inSpider-Man 2shows that his connection to the events of the game go back farther than might originally meet the eye.
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Dr. Connor’s Lost Arm Ties Directly into Spider-Man 2’s Symbiote Storyline
When players first meet Dr. Connors at the Emily-May Foundation inSpider-Man 2, Harry tells Peter that it’s thanks to him that Harry’s condition was treatable. Once Harry’s powers are revealed, he claims it was Dr. Connors who developed the “suit” that healed him, and once the “suit” transfers to Peter after a near-deadlyencounter with Kraven, Peter needs to track down the re-transformed Lizard in order to get Dr. Connors' help in transferring the “suit” back onto Harry.
It’s during themain story mission “It Chose You"that Peter is finally able to track down the Lizard and use the serum to restore Dr. Connors to his old self. After this encounter, Dr. Connors is shocked to see that Peter has bonded with the Symbiote, explaining that it was an alien life form discovered by Oscorp after crashing to Earth on a meteorite. It was this discovery that Dr. Connors used as the basis for his research into the regenerative healing that would later be used for Harry, but became necessary for himself as well after a close call with the Symbiote.
Dr. Connors was a part of the Oscorp team that responded to thediscovery of the Symbiote, and during this encounter, he unwisely reached out to make contact with the alien being. The Symbiote then grabbed a hold of Dr. Connors' arm in an attempt to bond with him, to which he responds by telling the accompanying Oscorp soldiers to shoot his arm off as he’s unsure of what the alien life form is capable of. As a result, Dr. Connors is able to contain the Symbiote specimen at the cost of his arm, setting in motion the events that would lay the groundwork forSpider-Man 2’s story.
This backstory for how Dr. Connors lost his arm differs from his comic book counterpart. That version of Dr. Connors is a military combat medic who loses his arm during the war, and the Symbiote is not involved at all. Insomniac did a great job of combining elements from the comics to create a new, cohesive version of Dr. Connors forSpider-Man 2.
The loss of his arm and fascination with the Symbiote leadsDr. Connors to begin his experimentswith limb regeneration in an attempt to regrow his own arm. Due to his use of reptilian DNA in the creation of his serum, Dr. Connors ends up altering his own DNA when testing the serum on himself, leading to the creation of the Lizard. With this backstory in mind, it’s clear to see how the plot ofSpider-Man 2can be traced all the way back to the story of how Dr. Connors lost his arm.
