William "Billy" Connors is a fictional character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. He is usually depicted as a supporting character of

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

, and the son of Dr. Curt Connors, 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 author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

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 ac ...

and first appeared in ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...

'' #6 (November 1963).

Fictional character biography

Billy was born in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

to Curt 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 charac ...

, the former of whom is a biologist. After Curt transforms into the Lizard, he attacks and attempts to eat Billy before

returns him to normal. In subsequent appearances, Billy is menaced by the Lizard and other villains before moving in with his aunt after Martha dies from cancer. During ''

The Gauntlet and Grim Hunt "The Gauntlet" and "Grim Hunt" are 2009–2010 comic book 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 ...

'' storyline, the Lizard kills and eats Billy in an attempt to suppress Curt Connors' personality. In the '' Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy'' storyline,

Ben Reilly Benjamin "Ben" Reilly (), also known as the Scarlet Spider, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Grown in a lab by Jackal (Marvel Comics character), Miles Warren/Jackal, he is a Human cloning, clone of Spi ...

resurrects Billy and Martha in clone bodies. They are later infected with the

Carrion Carrion (), also known as a carcass, is the decaying flesh of dead animals. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures ...

virus, which threatens to degrade their bodies, and are transformed into lizard hybrids to save their lives. During the " Hunted" storyline,

Kraven the Hunter Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Nikolaevich Kravinoff; Russian: Сергей Николаевич Кравинов) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, th ...

captures Billy, among other animal-themed characters, to test his clone the Last Son of Kraven in Kraven the Hunter's "Great Hunt" sponsored by

Arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

's company Arcade Industries. An amnesiac Billy later appeared as a member of Squid Kid's

Sinister Six The Sinister Six are a group of supervillains in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, mainly those featuring Spider-Man. The members are drawn from the character's list of enemies, with the original members forming the team in ''T ...

as Lizard Boy Billy and Martha were later brought into the Sewer Enclave by

Miles Morales Spider-Man (Miles Gonzalo MoralesAhmed, Saladin (w), Garrón, Javier (a). ''Miles Morales: Spider-Man'' #1 (2018) Marvel Comics (New York). ) is a superhero and the third predominant Spider-Man to appear in American comic books published by M ...

' clone Shift.

Other versions

Ultimate Marvel

An alternate universe variant of Billy Connors from Earth-1610, renamed Timothy Connors, appears in ''

Ultimate Marvel Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe, later known as the ...

''.

What If

An alternate universe variant of Billy Connors who became a separate incarnation of the Lizard appears in '' What If?'' vol. 2 #53.

In other media

Television

* Billy Connors, renamed Billy Conner, appears in ''

'' (1967), voiced by

Billie Mae Richards Billie Mae Richards (née Dinsmore, November 21, 1921 – September 10, 2010) was a Canadian actress who also appeared onstage and on television. She was the voice of Rankin/Bass' version of the Christmas character Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reinde ...

. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. * Billy Connors appears in '' Spider-Man: The Animated Series'', voiced by Toby 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. He is 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 ...

Film

Billy Connors appears in a deleted scene that was cut from ''

'', portrayed by Miles Elliot.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine

References

External links

Billy Connors
at Marvel Wiki {{DEFAULTSORT:Connors, Billy Anthropomorphic lizards Characters created by Stan Lee Characters created by Steve Ditko Comics characters introduced in 1963 Fictional characters from Florida 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 durability or invulnerability Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics hybrids Marvel Comics mutates Spider-Man characters