The Lizard is one of Spider-Man’s most vicious foes, and this April he will have to join forces with the wall-crawler to save Man-Thing. It all goes down in Spider-Man: Curse of the Man-Thing #1 by writer Steve Orlando and artist Alberto Foche, who will be making his Marvel Comics debut. The issue is part of a series of one-shots being released this year to commemorate Man-Thing’s 50th anniversary. Other one-shots will see Man-Thing meet the X-Men and the Avengers.
Both the Lizard and Man-Thing are biochemists in their human forms. When he is human, the Lizard is Dr. Curt Connors, whose experiments with grafting reptilian DNA onto humans turned him into a monster. Man-Thing was once Dr. Ted Sallis, who was trying to duplicate the Super Solider Serum. When his lab was attacked by terrorists seeking his research, he injected himself with the Serum and crashed his car into the swamp, where a combination of natural and mystical forces snuffed out his humanity and turned him into the Man-Thing, a shambling monster with the ability to burn people alive. Both would follow dark paths: the Lizard as a terrifying and ruthless foe of Spider-Man and the Man-Thing as the guardian of the Nexus of all Realities. And now Lizard must come to the aid of Man-Thing when his powers are hijacked by a new villain called the Harrower.
In a post on Marvel’s website, details about the story were revealed: The Harrower has stolen Man-Thing’s powers and is using them to burn humanity away so Earth can start again. She brings the fight to New York City, attracting the attention of not only Peter Parker, but Miles Morales as well. The two realize that the Lizard is their best hope in stopping the Harrower and helping Man-Thing get his powers back.
Seeing as how both Lizard and Man-Thing were once bio-chemists, it makes perfect sense Lizard would be in a position to help. In his human form, the Lizard tries to do the right thing, and to atone for his actions while a monster, so he could see this as an opportunity to help humanity. It is unlikely they would bring the character out and not have him transform, so a throw down between the Lizard and Man-Thing feels inevitable.
Man-Thing gets an undeserved reputation as a Swamp Thing knock-off, but he has managed to survive for 50 years and inspire generations of creators. Now on his anniversary, he is meeting up with some of Marvel’s heaviest hitters, including Spider-Man and the Lizard, and a new generation of fans will meet the character for the first time.
Source: Marvel