Billy Connors (comics)
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William "Billy" Connors is a
fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
appearing in
American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
. He is usually depicted as a supporting character of
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
, and the son of
Dr. Curt Connors The Lizard (Dr. Curtis "Curt" Connors) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, he first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #6 (November 1963) as an enemy of ...
, 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 also mutated him into an anthropomorphic lizard.


Publication history

The character was created by
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
and
Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...
and first appeared in ''
The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bim ...
'' #6 (November 1963).


Fictional character biography

Billy was born in
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
to
Curt Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt means "Wolf" and i ...
and
Martha Connors Martha Connors is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is usually depicted as a supporting character of Spider-Man, and the wife of Dr. Curt Connors, also known as the Lizard. Much of her char ...
, the former of whom is a biologist. The family moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
so that Curt could continue his research in limb regrowth. The result was that Curt transformed into the Lizard and chased Billy in an attempt to eat him. Luckily, Billy was rescued by
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
who turned his father back to normal with the antidote to the Lizard Formula. During a major story arc, Martha and Billy were kidnapped by the Maggia branch led by
Silvermane Silvermane (Silvio Manfredi) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A notorious crime boss and prominent figure in the Maggia, a fictional organized crime syndicate, he is usually depicted as an adversary ...
who wanted Curt to decipher an ancient tablet. Once again, Curt transformed into the Lizard and it took the combined effort Spider-Man and the
Human Torch The Human Torch (Jonathan "Johnny" Storm) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and artist Jack Kirby's reinvention of ...
save Martha and Billy who were happily reunited with a cured Curt. At one point, Billy was kidnapped by the villain
Stegron Stegron the Dinosaur Man is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Gil Kane, the character first appeared in ''Marvel Team-Up'' #19 (March 1974). Fictional chara ...
who demanded that Curt aid him in reviving a dinosaur army. Spider-Man and Lizard fought Stegron and saved Billy from a terrible fate. Curt eventually chose to leave his family greatly saddening Billy and Martha. However, Curt came back and turned Billy into another lizard creature dubbed Lizard Jr., but the two were captured and turned back to normal by Spider-Man. Sometime later, Curt mentions that Martha and Billy contracted cancer. Martha died while Billy survived, but was forced to live with his aunt. During ''
The Gauntlet and Grim Hunt "The Gauntlet" and "Grim Hunt" are 2009–2010 storylines published by Marvel Comics. Despite being more issues, "The Gauntlet" was solicited as leading up to the "Grim Hunt" story, and the two storylines are interconnected. Written by ''The Amazi ...
'' storyline, Lizard finally devoured Billy resulting in Lizard becoming a creature called the Shed. In a lead-up to the '' Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy'' storyline, Billy was revived by
Miles Warren The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...
, along with Martha, to motivate Curt to work for him. When New U Technologies suddenly breaks out in a melee, Billy and Martha are taken away by Curt, who claims that he can cure them of the Carrion Virus. Billy and Martha are injected with the Lizard Formula, which saves their lives, but also mutates them into anthropomorphic lizards. While Billy and his family have begun to live peacefully in the sewers, getting occasional friendly visits from Peter Parker and
Mary Jane Watson Mary Jane "MJ" Watson is a Character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and made her first appearance in ''The Amazing Spider-Man' ...
, he has started to openly talk of his longing to visit the outside world and attend a regular school; adding that kids with unusual appearances and abilities have begun going as well. Despite this, his father angrily rebuffs his pleas and he, in turn, has started to rebel. He is later captured and used as a hostage by Kraven the Hunter as part of Kraven's efforts to test his cloned 'offspring' and provoke Spider-Man into becoming the 'hunter' Kraven feels his enemy should be. When trapped in a cage with Curt, Spider-Man learns that Curt took Billy to
Doctor Strange Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...
after his resurrection, who confirmed that, for reasons he cannot understand, Billy is not 'just' a clone of the original one, but is actually Billy's soul reborn in his cloned body, driving Curt to be willing to take any measures necessary to protect his son.


Other versions


Ultimate Marvel

In the
Ultimate Marvel Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring re-imagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe. Those characters in ...
Universe, Billy lives with his mother due to her divorcing Curt.


What If?

In an issue of What If? that asks "What If Spider-Man Killed the Lizard?", Billy learns that his father was the Lizard and swears revenge on Spider-Man for murdering him. Billy intentionally amputates his arm to be like his father and is later visited by Calypso who gives him an elixir that transforms him into another lizard monster.


In other media


Television

* Billy appeared in the 1960s ''
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
'' series, voiced by
Billie Mae Richards Billie Mae Richards (née Dinsmore, November 21, 1921 – September 10, 2010) was a Canadian voice actress, who also appeared onstage and on television. She was the voice of Rankin/Bass' version of the character Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer fr ...
. Here, he is named Billy Conner. * Billy Connors appears in the 1990s ''
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
'' series, voiced by Toby Scott Ganger. * Billy Connors appears in ''
The Spectacular Spider-Man ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' is a comic book and magazine series starring Spider-Man and published by Marvel Comics. Following the success of Spider-Man's original series, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', Marvel felt the character could support ...
'', voiced by
Max Burkholder Maxwell Henry Wolf Burkholder (born November 1, 1997) is an American actor most notable for his role as Max Braverman in the comedic television drama on NBC, '' Parenthood''. Prior to that, he became known as a voice actor for his roles as Chom ...
. This version is a young kid with a very positive view on life, who often hangs out at the lab where his scientist parents work. Billy is the first to realize that his father is transforming into a lizard and fears that his father would forget him. When Connors finally transforms into the Lizard, Billy tries to appeal to his human side which is enough for Spider-Man to feed him the formula to change him back. In the episode "Final Curtain", Billy and his family are forced to move to Florida after
Miles Warren The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...
blackmails Curt by threatening to reveal his Lizard experiments to the board of education if Curt revealed Miles' involvement with the supervillain community.


Film

* Billy Connors appears in a deleted scene of ''
The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bim ...
'', played by Miles Elliot. In the scene, Curt visits Billy at the bus stop to inform him that he is "going away for a while" and tells him that he and Martha were wrong about "not striking back", causing some confusion for Billy.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine


References


External links


Billy Connors
at Marvel Wiki {{Steve Ditko Characters created by Stan Lee Characters created by Steve Ditko Comics characters introduced in 1963 Fictional characters from Florida Fictional characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability Fictional human–animal hybrids Fictional reptilians Marvel Comics animals Marvel Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds Marvel Comics characters with accelerated healing Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics hybrids Marvel Comics mutates Spider-Man characters