First announced back in 2021, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has finally given fans their very first look at gameplay, and by all accounts, it was worth the wait. Over the course of 13 minutes, Marvel's Spider-Man 2's first gameplay trailer confirmed a plethora of features and new additions coming to the sequel, from the ability to play as both Miles Morales and Peter Parker, to the prevalence of the iconic Symbiote suit in both the story and gameplay, to brand new traversal mechanics like the Web Wings.
But by far some of the most intriguing moments from the recent Marvel's Spider-Man 2 gameplay trailer were those focused around the game's new villains. While Kraven the Hunter is likely the most noteworthy adversary revealed in the trailer, he wasn't the only villain to rear his head, with The Lizard also making quite the splash.
The Lizard's Potential Role in Marvel's Spider-Man 2
Making his comic debut all the way back in 1963, The Lizard is one of Spider-Man's most iconic, and often most sympathetic villains. A renowned scientist, Dr. Curt Connors spends his life researching genetics in hopes to regrow his arm, and to help those in a similar position to himself. When his experiments go awry, Connors turns himself into a hulking Lizard. Though Spider-Man is able to fashion a cure, he still suffers from sudden and severe transformations.
The Lizard has been a staple of Spider-Man video games for decades now, appearing in almost every big Spidey game from the PS1 Spider-Man game, all the way up to 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man. It was only a matter of time before The Lizard would turn up in Insomniac's Spider-Man series in full force, having already been teased twice in the series so far.
In 2018's Marvel's Spider-Man, players can find a number of hidden backpacks across New York City, with Peter having left them over the course of his 8-year-long Spider-Man career. These backpacks are masterfully used by Insomniac to give the player vital pieces of lore on its own Spider-Man universe, providing an abridged history of the hero's adventures so far.
One of these backpacks, titled "The Lizard's Blood," confirms that Peter Parker has already run into the Lizard at least once during his crime-fighting career, giving him an antidote to turn him back into Curt Connors. In Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Dr. Curt Connors is spotted for the first time in the series. During Spider-Man: Miles Morales' post-credits scene, Connors is working for Norman Osborn, trying to cure his son, Harry, of his mysterious life-threatening illness.
While Curt Connors has been seen already, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 offers the first on-screen debut of Insomniac's Lizard. In the recently released gameplay trailer, Peter and Miles are trying to chase down the Lizard, while also defending him from Kraven's relentless gang of hunters. During the chase, Peter tells Miles that they need to catch up with the Lizard as "Harry's dying, and he's the only one that can help."
Based on this, it seems as though Curt Connors/The Lizard might play more of a pivotal role in Marvel's Spider-Man 2's story than some might have thought. With Connors working under Norman to help Harry, it seems likely that he is involved with the Symbiote's origin in some way. Thus, he could be instrumental in not only saving Harry Osborn's life, but also helping Peter to overcome the Symbiote suit's aggressive, parasitic hold over him.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 launches fall 2023 on PlayStation 5.
