The Amazing Spider-Man: Lizard - No Turning Back

The Amazing Spider-Man (1999) (Collected Editions) #48

by Dan Slott, Giuseppe Camuncoli (Illustrator)

Spider-Man must wrangle the reptilian rage of one of his greatest foes! Spidey finds himself stuck between two monsters when Morbius the Living Vampire attempts to cure the Lizard and restore Curt Connors. But if Connors is cured, who or what is that new Lizard creature? It's definitely someone Spider-Man knows, and he might notice - if only he wasn't so busy trying to save everyone from a crazed Morbius! Plus: new developments for the Kingpin, Madame Web, Horizon Labs and the Hobgoblin! Collecting AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1963) #688-691 and UNTOLD TALES OF SPIDER-MAN #9.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Spider Man, Marvel, Superheroes, Comic Book, Fiction

120 pages, Hardcover

First published October 10, 2012

About the author

Dan Slott is an American comic book writer, the current writer on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, and is best known for his work on books such as Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, She-Hulk, Silver Surfer, The Superior Spider-Man, and Ren & Stimpy.

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the first Amazing Spider-Man movie, the Lizard planned to turn the entire city into Lizardville, but was thwarted by a bad screenplay. If he was able to carry through with his nefarious scheme he would have, according to this book, led them into the sewers, where he would have eaten them. I’m guessing the citizens of New York don’t taste like Aunt May’s wheat cakes.

Here, Dr. Connors inner lizard has taken over, so no matter whether he’s a lizard or a hairy human mammal – lizard brain rules.

The ever helpful, Morbius, the Living Vampire tries to work up a serum to cure Dr. Connors of his lizard fetish. He needs some of Connor’s DNA, so where does he find it? He digs up Connors dead son. Very helpful. In a creepy ghoulish kind of way.

Complications ensue and for Spider-Man it’s alternately: “Get your scaly claws off me, you damn dirty lizard!” or “Get your fangs off me, you damn dirty vampire!” Lousy Parker luck.

There’s also an old timey 1970’s comic included here. Note: Peter Parker was still wearing a coat and tie to school in this issue. No wonder he was routinely getting his head dunked in the toilet. Loser.

[RG · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story with Dr Connors. Good fun!!

[Gavin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was OK, that about sums it up. Spidey seems a little more angry here than usual, but I assume that has to do with the events of Spider Island or whatnot. At least I know the bad guys this time...Lizard and Morbius. They have more of the usual want to be normal/don't want to be normal existential crises and people get hurt. The best bit in this for me is the scene where the cops arrive and Spidey is about to leave and one cop stops him and gives him his NYPD jacket because the costume is so ripped up. For some reason that was the part that stuck with me out of this, I couldn't really care too terribly much about the rest of it. (Lots of action makes not much chance for character).

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Starts off with a nice twist, and ends off pretty much... Not there. Not even close. Not terribly satisfying, moving or fun. Slott's usually good for two out of three or at least one - what went wrong here?

It's weird and definitely verbose - and that's part of the problem. When it gets weird, better to lay off the exposition and let the artists go wild. The artist here wasn't exactly a wild man - pretty much stuck with the standard layouts and action sequencing. (The faces were pretty good if off-model - but if you're talking about the set decorating, there's usually a fundamental problem or three with the movie.)

Pity Curt Connors and Michael Morbius. Sure, I'll get right on that. Boy are these guys running out of second chances - or new ways to be bad-yet-good. I much preferred how Sandman or Rhino have gone - they actually have a new reason to be dicks, and I can respect them for it.

What, is this a sign of when Slott is playing script catch-up? Churning out three books a month ain't easy, especially when you're mining the same sub-verse of one character and his menagerie. I'm sure I couldn't do any better, but whether it was boring art or weak writing, this really didn't do it for me.

[Tesutamento · Rating 3 out of 5]

Farklı bir hikayeydi. Çocuk mezarı kazıp, çıkarılan cesetten DNA toplamak gibi garip bir kısım vardı. Kitabın öncesindeki olaylar yüzünden Peter hem kederli hem de öfkeli fakat bu öfkesini kendisine karşı koymayan ve sadece kaçmaya çalışan Morbius'u döverek çıkarması çok çirkindi. Bir noktada "ben ne yapıyorum" demesini bekledim ama nafile. Bunun dışında asıl problemin Lizard değil de Connors çıkması fikri güzeldi. Madame Web keşke aralarda girmese hikayeye.

[Robert Reiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m kinda hooked on Spidey right now. This was great. Spidey vs. The Lizard and a vampire named Morbius. Classic comic book storytelling

[Logan Harrington · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10:
The main arc of this collection revolves around Lizard returning to New York City with Spider-Man, Morbius, and Horizon Labs attempting to cure him (and eventually Morbius). We get some really cool moments of humanity between Dr. Connors and his alter-ego Lizard, but ultimately it feels like a constant rehashing for these supervillains (Lizard and Morbius).

What I really liked about this collection is how fluidly other characters were incorporated and how future storylines were setup (Kingpin, Hobgoblin, Madame Web, Devil-Spider, etc.).

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been getting so-so reviews but I have to admit to liking it a lot. Despite the somewhat mediocre movie version, Slott has treated us to a Lizard reinvention in the last couple of years. Here, he brings Connors back to the fore, setting things off with a new dynamic that (to me at least) felt fresh. The weakest link for me was Morbius - I've never liked the character that much, frankly he's a weaker version of Connors, and he just comes across as goofy here, sitting at odds with the rest of the tone.

Biting someone mid conversation and responding with an 'oh, sorry' response didn't sit right. No wonder Pete's so angry. Still, we get more foreshadowing from Madame Web and MJ and Pete continue to have a nice relationship.

Not a big fan of the art this time round though it grew on me. Saying that, I don't like the final version of the lizard.

Anyway, it's all rounded off with a classic Untold Tales reprint from Busiek involving Batwing none the less!

Not a bad collection though probably nonsensical if you've not been reading recently.

[Fizzgig76 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reprints Amazing Spider-Man (2) #688-691 and Untold Tales of Spider-Man #9 (May 1996-October 2012). For years, the Lizard has been a thorn in Spider-Man’s side. Now, the old Curt Connors is gone and only the Lizard persona is left. When Morbius reveals that a cure for the Lizard could mean a cure for himself, Dr. Curt Connors is restored…but the Lizard has a way of creeping back into Spider-Man’s life. Plus, Madame Web has a vision of the future, and Spider-Man isn’t going to like it.

Written by Dan Slott, Spider-Man: Lizard—No Turning Back is a follow-up to Spider-Man: Ends of the Earth. The collection features art by Giuseppe Camuncoli and Mario Del Pennino. The collection also contains a Lizard story from Kurt Busiek’s Untold Tales of Spider-Man #9 (May 1996) with art by Ron Frenz. The issues in this collection were also collected in Spider-Man: Big Time—The Complete Collection Volume 4.

I was always a fan of the Lizard. Of Spider-Man’s villains, he might have been my favorite (of course Green Goblin was up there as well). It is hard to do anything new with the Lizard character. It feels like he’s lost his humanity over and over again, and Spider-Man: Lizard—No Turning Back just feels like another Lizard story.

I never was a fan of the whole Horizon Labs story of Slott’s run on Spider-Man. I thought the characters weren’t very interesting and though it made sense to have Peter as part of a think tank, it feels very distant from the heart of the character. In this collection, you have a lot of Horizon Labs, and characters I don’t really care about. I kind of wish they had all just been turned into lizards and stayed that way.

I do like the portion of the story which has the Lizard “hiding” in Curt Connors and trying to pretend to be human. The Lizard has so little intelligence in the beginning of the collection, that it doesn’t seem possible that he’d be able to pull it off. If the Lizard had been in a more “human” state of mind, I’d believe it, and the ending with the regained humanity seems cheesy and cliché.

There are a lot of secondary stories going on in the collection as well. You have Morbius the Vampire essentially getting framed (Curt Connors doesn’t feel like confessing his part in that near the end) and you have the Kingpin’s ultimate plans to get Spider-Man colliding with the Hobgoblin and influencing Madame Web’s visions. It feels like a good set-up for future stories.

Spider-Man: Lizard—No Turning Back is a short Slott story that feels like a typical Slott story. I like it a bit better than some of his outings in the fact that I like the villain and it feels more like a traditional Spider-Man story. The back-up story from Untold Tales of Spider-Man stings a bit however because I really enjoyed that series and it has me wishing that it was ongoing and not this version of Spider-Man. Spider-Man: Lizard—No Turning Back was followed by Spider-Man: Danger Zone.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes! This is why Spider-Man is my favorite character, and why I never lose faith in my favorite titles even after a few so-so issues in a row. Dan Slott turns things completely around here. We see the Lizard shown in a new, even more disturbing light. We get to see Morbius the Living Vampire throw down with Spider-Man in a battle reminiscent of Gil Kane's brilliant action sequences. All of the threads and loose ends of the past two collected editions are tied up neatly here. In short, I'm satisfied and happy.

Giuseppe Camuncoli and Klaus Janson are an artistic force to be reckoned with. I enjoyed their artwork quite a bit. I like the developments with the Kingpin and am anxious to see where that is going. I also like the supporting cast developments with the budding Mary Jane/ Carly Cooper friendship/ love triangle, and Peter's co-workers at Horizon Labs. The issues in this book offer some of the most well-rounded Spider-Man stories in a while.

My only gripe, and this is a very minor one, is that Spider-Man says “damn” twice. It doesn't offend me, and I am all about freedom of speech, but in the back of my naïve mind I'd like to think that there is a new generation of kids reading this stuff. I'd like to think of Spider-Man as some sort of example to young kids. Mind you, this criticism is from someone who reads and enjoys Crossed. Then again, my 6 year old son isn't asking me to buy him Crossed t-shirts and toys at Target. I can already here the basement dwelling fanboys shouting “Grow up! Characters should change with the audience.” Which in this case is an ever shrinking base of 30+ year olds. There's a moral to this story in there somewhere.

Untold Tales of Spider-Man No. 9 is just an extra layer of icing on this cake. It features the Lizard and is a lot of fun. I have the Untold Tales of Spider-Man Omnibus buried in my backlog and am looking forward to reading it someday. I have only read the first 7 or 8 issues of that title, whatever was collected in the old '90s trade paperback.

[Matt J · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unofficial follow up to Shed. Shed is a fantastic story and easily the best Lizard story. I’m always leery when someone follows up on a masterpiece but this is a solid effort that moves the Lizard story forward and has no interest in retreading well-worn ground. Raises interesting questions about exactly what it is about Curt Connors that made the Lizard so aggressive in the first place. While the story is lighter and the emotional beats are less visceral than Shed, this is still a sad story of someone that changed too late.

[Doug · Rating 1 out of 5]

I generally like Slott, I think in his run he’s give us some classic Spidey stories. Spider Island and Superior at the top of that list. It sucks having just read Ends of the Earth to come into this, cause I just don’t like his take on the Lizard. For me, it ruins what was great about the character to begin with and I find his writing a little lacking during the Lizard arcs. This is his second (?) Lizard story and both are the low points for me during his run.

[Stewart D. Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an enjoyable story about Curt Connors and his dealing with his “lizard brain” but something fell flat on this one for me.

I felt like Spider-Man and Peter Parker kind of were just there for the ride and the events would have unfolded and been taken care of even if he wasn’t there.

The Dr. Morbius parts were interesting too I guess.

I don’t know, this one gets like three and a half stars from me. It wasn’t bad but I just didn’t love it as much as some other arcs during this time.

[Mr. Stick · Rating 4 out of 5]

"DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A CHARITY WARD, PARKER? TODDLE OFF TO THE MALT SHOP, OR WHEREVER YOU TEENAGERS GO -- AND DON'T COME BACK TILL YOU HAVE SOME PHOTOS FOR ME!"
- J. Jonah Jameson (back when he was cuddly) to the always broke Peter Parker.

With the help of Morbius and Horizon Labs, the Lizard is finally human again. But he's more than just a bit weird about it. Poor Morbius isn't feeling any love.
Sooooo good. Smart concept. Four stars.

[Amanda Shepard (Between-the-Shelves) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad Spider-Man story! Though mostly focused on the story with the Lizard and Dr. Connors, this does set up some events that are about to come up in the future. Some of the same old conflicts come up, but Peter is also struggling with deaths from previous issues. There's also an old Lizard comic included at the end, which is always kind of fun to see!

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the way this comic deals with the Lizard as much as I dislike the way it's been dealing with Morbius, that seems REALLY unfair. That said, nice art, nice pacing and a nice old Spidey comic that tells a pretty similar story with a very different outcome and pacing. So, nice reading overall.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really have not liked any of the Lizard stories so far. They all just kind of suck. My only good memories of him were from the 90s cartoon and since the last time I watched that I was like 6 I can’t really say those memories are reliable.

[Eldon Farrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing twist on a classic villain and another fun story.

[Alexis Mendoza · Rating 5 out of 5]

The comic is very interesting and it had me hooked all the way. I would really recommend this book

[ilham · Rating 3 out of 5]

i know the lizard is one of the legends from spiderman, an iconic character, but i'm getting a bit tired of how much they repeat this story ://

[Trevor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much to say about this one. Dan Slott has a weird take on the Lizard that definitely feels like a retcon but to be fair the last Lizard comic I read was written in the 60s.

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just some regular-ass Spidey comics, nothing too exciting.

[No_One · Rating 3 out of 5]

Noting here that i’ve read all of Slott’s ASM.

Also noting that Spider-verse was the best thing about his run with Brand New Day being second.

[David Sarkies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spiderman and the Humanoid Reptiles
25 December 2013

I noticed that there are a few people who have commented on this particular graphic novel, though they tend to be short one paragraphs affairs, which is probably because (and I haven't checked yet) their bookshelves are full of graphic novels. I'm not sure if there is much that I can really add upon these short, single paragraph reviews because while Spiderman (the Amazing Spiderman to be correct) is generally teenage entertainment there is hardly much in the way of deep and thought provoking ideas.

Or is there?

Anyway, this graphic novel contains numbers 688 to 691 of the Amazing Spiderman comics, and these are pretty much the later issues of a series that date back to March 1963 which has undergone one attempted reboot (though I am unsure as to how the series, or the reboot, works). Apparently this line of comics has now been discontinued, but Spiderman does continue on in a number of other comic book series.

As I suggested, this graphic novel is quite advanced in the storyline as we have Spiderman dealing with a laboratory which seems to always get themselves into trouble, a living vampire, and the Lizard, who has been turned back into a human but whose mind is still that of the lizard. The lizard, who is so desperate to become the lizard again, tries to create a serum which turns half of the lab into lizards, but not so much himself because the serum does not seem to working (which is due to the serum that Mobius, the living vampire, created) on himself.

We have a couple of things here with Spiderman and that is his refusal to kill anybody, as he does not believe that he has the right to be the executioner. Mind you, in this graphic novel he is not actually a vigilante because he is a card carrying member of the Avengers, but he does seem to have that same thing that other 'good' superheroes hold: the desire not to be the executioner (though collateral damage in their line of work is always going to happen). Then we have the lizard, with the idea that having been the lizard for so long there is a fear that his mind will be permanently that of the lizard, however as it turns out it is not because he has been the lizard, because all of the other lizards are passive but it is just that he is a monster, namely because of the psychological baggage that has been draging around.

There is another, older, Spiderman comic included at the end, which also has Spiderman battling the lizard (though I am not sure of the age of this one). The interesting thing is that the comic seems to have a really dark undertone, though not as dark as some of the other comics that I have not read. I still have an X-men, and a Nightwing graphic novel sitting on my bedside table, though I am not sure whether I am going to go and borrow more from the local library (there are other things that I probably should be reading as opposed to a bunch of superhero comics).

[Cameron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always excited to see The Lizard show up in Spider-Man comics. He's great for both dramatic action and tense psychological thrills when handled right. Fortunately, The Lizard is handled very well here, but other elements keep this volume from becoming anything great.

The story starts with Spider-Man in the middle of a brutal battle with the Lizard in the sewers. Interestingly, Spider-Man isn't just stopping a crime in progress, but is actually hunting Curt's alter ego. With the help of the Horizon Labs staff and Dr. Morbious, Spidey's out to put an end to The Lizard and rescue Curt Connors (or what's left of him) once and for all. Not everything is as it seems though, and soon, Curt is yet again battling against his alter ego, but not in the way we're used to.

What strength this volume has comes from the inner battle taking place in the psyche of The Lizard. Normally, we see Curt try with all his might to keep the Lizard at bay, but, without spoiling anything, Slott averts and inverts this scenario in a great way that keeps things both exciting and fresh. The inner battle is just as exciting as all the fisticuffs in the book (and they're nothing to sneeze at).

The last time The Lizard was the main focus of a story arc in Amazing Spider-Man, Zeb Wells created my personal favorite story with the character by not playing it safe. He wrote game changing events that gave the story weight. No Turning Back gives the impression that it's going to do the same for most of the book. Spider-Man has a no nonsense and dead serious approach to the whole situation (which is scary, given how animated he normally is) and all signs point toward him making decisions that would have lasting consequences in the book. Before anything so entertaining can happen though, Madame Webb, whom I loathe so much, comes in and spouts her usual "web of life" crap and brings everybody back to "playing it safe" territory, which deflates all the momentum that the story builds up.

Had this story not been so scared to do anything of consequence with Spider-Man, it wouldn't be so frustrating. It's still good, but all of the quality comes from The Lizard. That would be fine too, as it's The Lizard's story, but when so much momentum is built for Spidey only to have it lead to nowhere, it really hampers the quality of the book. Lizard fans will definitely want to check this out, but just don't be fooled by false promises.

[Michael Emond · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a modest effort from Slott. It's really his own darned fault for setting the bar so high on what we expect from him n previous issues. This is soon before the story-arc that set Doc Ock up in Spider-man's brain and breathed fresh life (for a time) into the series. And you can see Slott is running out of steam. It's only four issues and the story involves Morbius the vampire trying to help Spider-man cure The Lizard. The twist Slott gives us is even after he is cured Dr. Connors keeps the lizard brain. Slott is trying to say it isn't turning in to the Lizard that made Connors evil it was Connors himself who was evil...which doesn't exactly make any sense from the past stories involving Dr. Connors who has always been a friend to Spider-man. The art is good but I really hate the way Camuncoli and inker Klaus Janson do eyes to make everyone look like they are ready to pop out of their sockets all the time. A minor point perhaps, but it is grating to me.
I think what put me over the top to give this a lower rating was the inclusion of an old Spider-man Lizard tale from Kurt Busiek. I love Busiek's Astro City but this tale was out of place and unengaging. There was a boy who looked like Man-Bat's son who seemed out of place and we don't understand who he is...and it was an "Untold Tale" from the past so even though it was done in 1999 they put it in the timeframe of Stan Lee's early Spider-Man stories and it does not work at all.
I will always say the early issues from Slott's run on Spider-Man are a favorite of mine but as it progressed I found the stories growing weaker and weaker. This is one of the weakest so far.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This trade contains the Amazing Spider-Man issues #688-691 and Untold Tales of Ends of Spider-Man #9.

The titular four issue story takes up the majority of this collection. In the aftermath of facing down the Sinister Six and the high cost of victory a depressed Peter faces another harsh situation. The Lizard is back and more twisted and evil than ever, but some extreme and questionable research by one of Peter's Horizon colleagues might hold the key to curing Dr. Connors once and for all.

There are a lot of layers and reversals to this story and it raises some interesting questions about responsibility and redemption. It doesn't come together perfectly and there are some character moments that felt forced, but for the most part it's a tense, solid tale of Spider-Man dealing with monsters of various types.
The art is serviceable, but didn't really impress me. In particular I didn't care for the renditions of Dr. Connors in either form.

A single issue classic style Lizard story by Kurt Busiek from Untold Tales of Spider-Man closes out this trade. It shows a similar situation but somewhat reversed as Spider-Man consults a cured Dr. Connors to try to help a mutated friend named Batwing. This is ok for what it is but feels rather paint-by-numbers. There's a nice character beat for Peter towards the end and the story is a decent companion piece for No Turning Back but at the same time it's nothing special.

Call this firmly middle of the road overall. It's not bad by any means but also not anything really worth going out of your way for.

[Mouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Lizard is a good villain for Spidey and I'm glad this book focused on him. It's an interesting premise actually. The Lizard killed Connor's son Billy so he could fully be the Lizard and get rid of his human side. So in this Spidey and Morbius manage to purge all the reptilian cells and thus cure him. But what if the mind is already too far gone? In this case it's stuck in Lizard mode and we have the Lizard in a human body. I like it!
There's kind of a Frankenstein type vibe going on here as the Lizard experiences things in new ways through a human body.
Who's this Uatu guy? I mean that's a really unusual name isn't it and as far as I know there's only ever been one Uatu, and that's the Watcher, right? Hmmm?
Personally I've never been a big fan of Morbius and even less a fan of him being in Spidey's books taking up space!
Then Madame Web shows up but apparently she's no longer an old crone-like seer. This one is young and a small part of the book focuses on her and her home life.
Then we've got the Kingpin and Hobgoblin! Kingpin seems to have been working out and he's bashing Ninjas all over the place! I have no idea who this new sword wielding Hobgoblin is but he seems like he's channeling a little inner Joker.
All in all this book isn't great, but it is quite a bit of fun as not just the Lizard but a whole group of them run rampant throughout the book.

[Maddsurgeon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings about this one. I really like #688; Slott's treatment of Mary Jane just keeps getting better. The Lizard/Morbius stuff is passable, though those characters are sort of stuck in their own ruts. There's plenty of humor and excitement and the moral themes play out well throughout the story, but it kind of feels forced and padded at times.

What really bothers me, though, is the art. The way Camuncoli draws the human characters/alter egos bothers me. I don't know what's going on with Peter, if he's supposed to be stronger/more conventionally handsome, but it doesn't work for me, and the only thing that distinguishes him from Connors is Connors' missing arm and beard stubble (which seems to vary in thickness from page to page). Most characters suffer from this lack of distinctiveness, unless they already had a recognizable design (like Max Modell). And did Sajani suddenly become a lot whiter? Hoping his stint as penciller is a short one, because I do not think his style fits the Spideyverse.

[Christina Nightengale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the story, but have never hated Spiderman like I did after reading this! He is hypocritical, judgmental, self righteous, arrogant and viscous to Morbius in this story! The Lizard as done WAY worse things than Morbius ever did, like eating his own kid, but Spiderman is WAY more forgiving to him. He constantly looks for reasons to attack Morbius in this. Whenever he does attack Morbius, he whales on him! I get he's mourning Silver Sable, but he's kicking the dog MAJORLY in this! I liked to see some people appreciating Spiderman, but he was being such a MAJOR jerk, I couldn't really appreciate it. Morbius and the Horizon lab people were all great except that Uatu Jackson and Sajani. They came off a bit like annoying know it alls at times and very self righteous. Seeing how Connors and the Lizard think was cool. I felt so terrible for Morbius at the end of this! I could see some of the Horizon Lab people did too. It was an interesting story with great art!