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Billy Connors (character)

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Billy Connors
Billy Connors as Lizard Jr. as seen in The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #16 (April 2019).
Art by Alberto Jiménez Alburquerque (penciller/inker) and Laura Martin, Brian Reber, and Carlos Lopez (colorists).
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceThe Amazing Spider-Man #6 (Nov. 1963)
Created byStan Lee (writer)
Steve Ditko (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoWilliam Connors
SpeciesHuman mutate
Notable aliasesLizard Jr.
Lizard Boy
AbilitiesAs a lizard:
  • Superhuman strength, speed, agility, stamina, durability, and reflexes
  • Regenerative healing factor
  • Hardened scale-like skin
  • Razor-sharp claws and teeth
  • Powerful tail

William Connors is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is usually depicted as a supporting character of Spider-Man, and the son of Dr. Curt Connors, also known as the Lizard. Much of his character's story deals with the trauma of his father's uncontrollable powers. Billy was later injected with Curt's Lizard Formula to cure him of a deadly virus, which mutated him into a lizard-like form.

Publication history

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The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #6 (November 1963).

Fictional character biography

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Billy was born in Florida to Curt and Martha Connors. The family move to New York City so that Curt can continue his research in limb regrowth. Curt's research leads him to transform himself into a reptilian creature called the Lizard, who attempts to kill Billy. Curt eventually chooses to leave his family, saddening Billy and Martha. Curt later returns and turns Billy into another lizard creature dubbed Lizard Jr., but the two are captured and returned to normal by Spider-Man.[1]

Sometime later, Martha and Billy contract cancer after being exposed to carcinogenic chemicals. Martha dies, while Billy survives and is forced to live with his aunt.[2][3] During the storyline The Gauntlet and Grim Hunt, Curt loses custody of Billy, who the Lizard kills in an attempt to suppress Curt's personality.[1][4]

In the Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy storyline, Ben Reilly resurrects Billy and Martha in clone bodies to motivate Curt to work for him. The two are later infected with the Carrion virus, which threatens to degrade their bodies. Curt injects them with his Lizard formula, transforming them into reptilian creatures like himself, to save their lives.[2][3]

While Billy and his family live peacefully in the sewers, getting occasional friendly visits from Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson, he longs to return to the surface and attend a regular school. Despite this, his father angrily rebuffs his pleas and he, in turn, has started to rebel.[5] An amnesiac Billy joins Squid Kid's Sinister Six as Lizard Boy.[6]

In other media

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Television

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Film

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Billy Connors appears in a deleted scene that was cut from The Amazing Spider-Man, portrayed by Miles Elliot.[8]

References

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  1. 1 2 Davison, Josh (May 1, 2020). "Spider-Man: The 13 Worst Things That The Lizard Has Ever Done". CBR. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Harn, Darby (November 19, 2021). "10 Things Only Spider-Man Comic Book Fans Know About The Lizard". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on November 20, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2025. Billy Connors, Dr. Connors' son, eventually gained the powers of The Lizard after a long and tragic sequence of events. Billy initially got cancer from exposure to toxic chemicals from a lab where Dr. Connors worked. His mother died, but Billy lived and was eventually mutated into a form of The Lizard.
  3. 1 2 Harn, Darby (November 21, 2021). "10 Most Powerful Versions Of The Lizard In Spider-Man Comics". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on April 13, 2025. Retrieved March 14, 2025. Billy Connors is the son of Dr. Curt Connors who possesses all the powers and abilities of his father. These include superhuman agility and reflexes, making him as fast and deadly as the original Lizard... Billy Connors acquired his powers when he was injected with the same special Lizard formula that his father developed and used on himself, after a series of tragic events that included Billy developing cancer.
  4. ↑ Wilding, Josh (August 16, 2023). "SPIDER-MAN: 10 Of The Most Notorious (And Controversial) Comic Book Moments In Peter Parker's History". ComicBookMovie.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2025. Zeb Wells and Chris Bachalo's "Shed" storyline took place in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #630 and #631. Taking a deep dive into the mind of Dr. Curt Connors and what it means for him to share his psyche with the Lizard, we watch as the mild-mannered scientist is eventually overwhelmed by his other side, and murders his son in the process.
  5. ↑ The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #14 (March 2019)
  6. ↑ Avengers Academy: Marvel's Voices #5 (July 2024)
  7. 1 2 3 "Billy Connors Voices (Spider-Man)". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on August 17, 2024. Retrieved August 17, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  8. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "DR CURT CONNORS AND HIS SON BILLY [DELETED SCENE] THE AMAZING SPIDER MAN". YouTube. July 2013.
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