Overlooked Gems: “The Terrible Turnabout”

Today we will be taking a look at The Terrible Turnabout in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN vol. 1 #40 by Bill Mantlo and Frank Springer from 1980.

Ah, The Lizard a.k.a. Curt Connors. A brilliant, good-natured scientist who transforms into a sinister, uncontrollable beast hell-bent on the destruction of the human race. In many respects, The Lizard is the ultimate “Jekyll and Hyde” character.

Since appearing in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN vol. 1 #6 from 1963, this Stan Lee and Steve Ditko creation has gone on to become one of the wall-crawler’s most prominent foes.

Yet with so many Lizard comics out there, it’s quite surprising how few of them are actually memorable. This might be because most of them follow the same formula: Curt Connors transforms into The Lizard, battles Spider-Man, is changed back into his human form by the end and reunites with his wife and son. Rinse and repeat. With such a repetitive formula, it’s no wonder that the majority of his appearances tend to blend together.

Sadly, even the arcs that try something different with his character tend to not be very good as they end up straying too far from The Lizard’s initial appeal.

In short, standout Lizard stories (good ones, I mean) tend to be needles in haystacks. Thankfully, the entire point of Overlooked Gems is to find those needles. Enter today’s topic.

During the time in which this story takes place, Spider-Man had begun acting rather…strangely to say the least. Instead of our usual sarcastic swashbuckler, he had become prone to violent outbursts and irrational anger; even going so far as to nearly beat someone to death!

Before the readers have time to grasp what is going on, we’re treated to this doozy of a cliffhanger:

As it turns out, Spider-Man had been accidentally exposed to the same formula that turned Curt Connors into his reptilian alter-ego–leading us straight into The Terrible Turnabout.

Our tale officially begins with the newly-transformed Spider-Lizard coming across a group of would-be car thieves.

The hoodlums fight back and actually manage to defeat the scaly beast. Just kidding, they get thoroughly trounced.

As the narration indicates, the Spider-Lizard is far more feral than Curt’s counterpart was. This is due to the Lizard formula mixing with his arachnid DNA, creating a far more primal creature that lacks higher intelligence and operates off of base instinct.

This effectively serves to make The Spider-Lizard even more menacing and unpredictable than the actual Lizard. By completely removing his ability to speak and reason to any degree, what we are left with is a savage animal whose only concern is to survive–as demonstrated by his reaction when he spots Curt pursuing him.

Curt survives the monster’s unprovoked onslaught and realizes that mere words will not have any affect on the man who was once his friend.

As Curt ponders his next move, The Spider-Lizard continues to stalk the streets of Manhattan.

Scenes like this make this story all the more uncomfortable, as we’re shown that somewhere inside this bestial abomination still lurks the soul of Peter Parker.

Our scene then shifts to Empire State University, as Curt makes a breakthrough that he hopes will save the man who has risked his own life for him so many times before.

How will Curt manage to convince the deadly Spider-Lizard to take the antidote though? How can he even be sure that the half-crazed creature won’t immediately decimate him on sight? If you really think I’m going to give the entire story away at this point, then you must be a brand new reader. If so, welcome!

What really makes this tale so refreshing and engaging is the fact that it’s essentially the inverse of the established formula: Curt Connors has to find a way to cure Spider-Man of his animalistic ailment instead of vice-versa. This puts a clever spin on a plot thread that had begun running its course quite some time ago.

The Spider-Lizard itself also helps make this story so memorable. Turning our hero into a raging, mindless animal is both intriguing and frightening at the same time, effectively lending a sort of horror vibe to the comic–one that isn’t overdone and comes off unintentionally silly as a result (I’m looking at you again, Shed).

You can track down the individual issue or obtain the black and white version collected in MARVEL COMICS ESSENTIALS: THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN VOL. 2.

Any self-respecting Lizard fan owes it to themselves to give this comic a read. It’s easily one of the best Lizard stories in the character’s long history.