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9632_25 | Geophysical exploration
Air- and ship-borne magnetic surveys can be affected by rapid magnetic field variations during geomagnetic storms. Such storms cause data interpretation problems because the space-weather-related magnetic field changes are similar in magnitude to those of the sub-surface crustal magnetic field in the survey area. Accurate geomagnetic storm warnings, including an assessment of storm magnitude and duration allows for an economic use of survey equipment. |
9632_26 | Geophysics and hydrocarbon production
For economic and other reasons, oil and gas production often involves horizontal drilling of well paths many kilometers from a single wellhead. Accuracy requirements are strict, due to target size – reservoirs may only be a few tens to hundreds of meters across – and safety, because of the proximity of other boreholes. The most accurate gyroscopic method is expensive, since it can stop drilling for hours. An alternative is to use a magnetic survey, which enables measurement while drilling (MWD). Near real-time magnetic data can be used to correct drilling direction. Magnetic data and space weather forecasts can help to clarify unknown sources of drilling error. |
9632_27 | Terrestrial weather
The amount of energy entering the troposphere and stratosphere from space weather phenomena is trivial compared to the solar insolation in the visible and infra-red portions of the solar electromagnetic spectrum. Although some linkage between the 11-year sunspot cycle and the Earth's climate has been claimed., this has never been verified. For example, the Maunder minimum, a 70-year period almost devoid of sunspots, has often been suggested to be correlated to a cooler climate, but these correlations have disappeared after deeper studies. The suggested link from changes in cosmic ray flux cause changes in the amount of cloud formation. did not survive scientific tests. Another suggestion, that variations in the EUV flux subtly influence existing drivers of the climate and tip the balance between El Niño/La Niña events. collapsed when new research showed this was not possible. As such, a linkage between space weather and the climate has not been demonstrated. |
9632_28 | Observation
Observation of space weather is done both for scientific research and for applications. Scientific observation has evolved with the state of knowledge, while application-related observation expanded with the ability to exploit such data.
Ground-based
Space weather is monitored at ground level by observing changes in the Earth's magnetic field over periods of seconds to days, by observing the surface of the Sun and by observing radio noise created in the Sun's atmosphere.
The Sunspot Number (SSN) is the number of sunspots on the Sun's photosphere in visible light on the side of the Sun visible to an Earth observer. The number and total area of sunspots are related to the brightness of the Sun in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and X-ray portions of the solar spectrum and to solar activity such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). |
9632_29 | 10.7 cm radio flux (F10.7) is a measurement of RF emissions from the Sun and is approximately correlated with the solar EUV flux. Since this RF emission is easily obtained from the ground and EUV flux is not, this value has been measured and disseminated continuously since 1947. The world standard measurements are made by the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory at Penticton, B.C., Canada and reported once a day at local noon in solar flux units (10−22W·m−2·Hz−1). F10.7 is archived by the National Geophysical Data Center.
Fundamental space weather monitoring data are provided by ground-based magnetometers and magnetic observatories. Magnetic storms were first discovered by ground-based measurement of occasional magnetic disturbance. Ground magnetometer data provide real-time situational awareness for post-event analysis. Magnetic observatories have been in continuous operations for decades to centuries, providing data to inform studies of long-term changes in space climatology. |
9632_30 | Dst index is an estimate of the magnetic field change at the Earth's magnetic equator due to a ring of electric current at and just earthward of the geosynchronous orbit. The index is based on data from four ground-based magnetic observatories between 21° and 33° magnetic latitude during a one-hour period. Stations closer to the magnetic equator are not used due to ionospheric effects. The Dst index is compiled and archived by the World Data Center for Geomagnetism, Kyoto.
Kp/ap Index: 'a' is an index created from the geomagnetic disturbance at one mid-latitude (40° to 50° latitude) geomagnetic observatory during a 3-hour period. 'K' is the quasi-logarithmic counterpart of the 'a' index. Kp and ap are the average of K and a over 13 geomagnetic observatories to represent planetary-wide geomagnetic disturbances. The Kp/ap index indicates both geomagnetic storms and substorms (auroral disturbance). Kp/ap is available from 1932 onward. |
9632_31 | AE index is compiled from geomagnetic disturbances at 12 geomagnetic observatories in and near the auroral zones and is recorded at 1-minute intervals. The public AE index is available with a lag of two to three days that limits its utility for space weather applications. The AE index indicates the intensity of geomagnetic substorms except during a major geomagnetic storm when the auroral zones expand equatorward from the observatories.
Radio noise bursts are reported by the Radio Solar Telescope Network to the U.S. Air Force and to NOAA. The radio bursts are associated with solar flare plasma that interacts with the ambient solar atmosphere. |
9632_32 | The Sun's photosphere is observed continuously for activity that can be the precursors to solar flares and CMEs. The Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) project monitors both the surface and the interior of the Sun by using helioseismology, the study of sound waves propagating through the Sun and observed as ripples on the solar surface. GONG can detect sunspot groups on the far side of the Sun. This ability has recently been verified by visual observations from the STEREO spacecraft. |
9632_33 | Neutron monitors on the ground indirectly monitor cosmic rays from the Sun and galactic sources. When cosmic rays interact with the atmosphere, atomic interactions occur that cause a shower of lower energy particles to descend into the atmosphere and to ground level. The presence of cosmic rays in the near-Earth space environment can be detected by monitoring high energy neutrons at ground level. Small fluxes of cosmic rays are present continuously. Large fluxes are produced by the Sun during events related to energetic solar flares. |
9632_34 | Total Electron Content (TEC) is a measure of the ionosphere over a given location. TEC is the number of electrons in a column one meter square from the base of the ionosphere (approximately 90 km altitude) to the top of the ionosphere (approximately 1000 km altitude). Many TEC measurements are made by monitoring the two frequencies transmitted by GPS spacecraft. Presently GPS TEC is monitored and distributed in real time from more than 360 stations maintained by agencies in many countries.
Geoeffectiveness is a measure of how strongly space weather magnetic fields, such as coronal mass ejections, couple with the Earth's magnetic field. This is determined by the direction of the magnetic field held within the plasma that originates from the Sun. New techniques measuring Faraday Rotation in radio waves are in development to measure field direction. |
9632_35 | Satellite-based
A host of research spacecraft have explored space weather. The Orbiting Geophysical Observatory series were among the first spacecraft with the mission of analyzing the space environment. Recent spacecraft include the NASA-ESA Solar-Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) pair of spacecraft launched in 2006 into solar orbit and the Van Allen Probes, launched in 2012 into a highly elliptical Earth-orbit. The two STEREO spacecraft drift away from the Earth by about 22° per year, one leading and the other trailing the Earth in its orbit. Together they compile information about the solar surface and atmosphere in three dimensions. The Van Allen probes record detailed information about the radiation belts, geomagnetic storms and the relationship between the two. |
9632_36 | Some spacecraft with other primary missions have carried auxiliary instruments for solar observation. Among the earliest such spacecraft were the Applications Technology Satellite (ATS) series at GEO that were precursors to the modern Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) weather satellite and many communication satellites. The ATS spacecraft carried environmental particle sensors as auxiliary payloads and had their navigational magnetic field sensor used for sensing the environment. |
9632_37 | Many of the early instruments were research spacecraft that were re-purposed for space weather applications. One of the first of these was the IMP-8 (Interplanetary Monitoring Platform). It orbited the Earth at 35 Earth radii and observed the solar wind for two-thirds of its 12-day orbits from 1973 to 2006. Since the solar wind carries disturbances that affect the magnetosphere and ionosphere, IMP-8 demonstrated the utility of continuous solar wind monitoring. IMP-8 was followed by ISEE-3, which was placed near the Sun-Earth Lagrangian point, 235 Earth radii above the surface (about 1.5 million km, or 924,000 miles) and continuously monitored the solar wind from 1978 to 1982. The next spacecraft to monitor the solar wind at the point was WIND from 1994 to 1998. After April 1998, the WIND spacecraft orbit was changed to circle the Earth and occasionally pass the point. The NASA Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) has monitored the solar wind at the point from 1997 to present. |
9632_38 | In addition to monitoring the solar wind, monitoring the Sun is important to space weather. Because the solar EUV cannot be monitored from the ground, the joint NASA-ESA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft was launched and has provided solar EUV images beginning in 1995. SOHO is a main source of near-real time solar data for both research and space weather prediction and inspired the STEREO mission. The Yohkoh spacecraft at LEO observed the Sun from 1991 to 2001 in the X-ray portion of the solar spectrum and was useful for both research and space weather prediction. Data from Yohkoh inspired the Solar X-ray Imager on GOES. |
9632_39 | Spacecraft with instruments whose primary purpose is to provide data for space weather predictions and applications include the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) series of spacecraft, the POES series, the DMSP series, and the Meteosat series. The GOES spacecraft have carried an X-ray sensor (XRS) which measures the flux from the whole solar disk in two bands – 0.05 to 0.4 nm and 0.1 to 0.8 nm – since 1974, an X-ray imager (SXI) since 2004, a magnetometer which measures the distortions of the Earth's magnetic field due to space weather, a whole disk EUV sensor since 2004, and particle sensors (EPS/HEPAD) which measure ions and electrons in the energy range of 50 keV to 500 MeV. Starting sometime after 2015, the GOES-R generation of GOES spacecraft will replace the SXI with a solar EUV image (SUVI) similar to the one on SOHO and STEREO and the particle sensor will be augmented with a component to extend the energy range down to 30 eV. |
9632_40 | The Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite is a NOAA Earth observation and space weather satellite that launched in February 2015. Among its features is advance warning of coronal mass ejections.
Models
Space weather models are simulations of the space weather environment. Models use sets of mathematical equations to describe physical processes.
These models take a limited data set and attempt to describe all or part of the space weather environment in or to predict how weather evolves over time. Early models were heuristic; i.e., they did not directly employ physics. These models take less resources than their more sophisticated descendants.
Later models use physics to account for as many phenomena as possible. No model can yet reliably predict the environment from the surface of the Sun to the bottom of the Earth's ionosphere. Space weather models differ from meteorological models in that the amount of input is vastly smaller. |
9632_41 | A significant portion of space weather model research and development in the past two decades has been done as part of the Geospace Environmental Model (GEM) program of the National Science Foundation. The two major modeling centers are the Center for Space Environment Modeling (CSEM) and the Center for Integrated Space weather Modeling (CISM). The Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is a facility for coordinating the development and testing of research models, for improving and preparing models for use in space weather prediction and application. |
9632_42 | Modeling techniques include (a) magnetohydrodynamics, in which the environment is treated as a fluid, (b) particle in cell, in which non-fluid interactions are handled within a cell and then cells are connected to describe the environment, (c) first principles, in which physical processes are in balance (or equilibrium) with one another, (d) semi-static modeling, in which a statistical or empirical relationship is described, or a combination of multiple methods.
Commercial space weather development
During the first decade of the 21st Century, a commercial sector emerged that engaged in space weather, serving agency, academia, commercial and consumer sectors. Space weather providers are typically smaller companies, or small divisions within a larger company, that provide space weather data, models, derivative products and service distribution. |
9632_43 | The commercial sector includes scientific and engineering researchers as well as users. Activities are primarily directed toward the impacts of space weather upon technology. These include, for example: |
9632_44 | Atmospheric drag on LEO satellites caused by energy inputs into the thermosphere from solar UV, FUV, Lyman-alpha, EUV, XUV, X-ray, and gamma ray photons as well as by charged particle precipitation and Joule heating at high latitudes;
Surface and internal charging from increased energetic particle fluxes, leading to effects such as discharges, single event upsets and latch-up, on LEO to GEO satellites;
Disrupted GPS signals caused by ionospheric scintillation leading to increased uncertainty in navigation systems such as aviation's Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS);
Lost HF, UHF and L-band radio communications due to ionosphere scintillation, solar flares and geomagnetic storms;
Increased radiation to human tissue and avionics from galactic cosmic rays SEP, especially during large solar flares, and possibly bremsstrahlung gamma-rays produced by precipitating radiation belt energetic electrons at altitudes above 8 km; |
9632_45 | Increased inaccuracy in surveying and oil/gas exploration that uses the Earth's main magnetic field when it is disturbed by geomagnetic storms;
Loss of power transmission from GIC surges in the electrical power grid and transformer shutdowns during large geomagnetic storms.
Many of these disturbances result in societal impacts that account for a significant part of the national GDP. |
9632_46 | The concept of incentivizing commercial space weather was first suggested by the idea of a Space Weather Economic Innovation Zone discussed by the American Commercial Space Weather Association (ACSWA) in 2015. The establishment of this economic innovation zone would encourage expanded economic activity developing applications to manage the risks space weather and would encourage broader research activities related to space weather by universities. It could encourage U.S. business investment in space weather services and products. It promoted the support of U.S. business innovation in space weather services and products by requiring U.S. government purchases of U.S. built commercial hardware, software, and associated products and services where no suitable government capability pre-exists. It also promoted U.S. built commercial hardware, software, and associated products and services sales to international partners. designate U.S. built commercial hardware, services, and products as |
9632_47 | “Space Weather Economic Innovation Zone” activities; Finally, it recommended that U.S. built commercial hardware, services, and products be tracked as Space Weather Economic Innovation Zone contributions within agency reports. In 2015 the U.S. Congress bill HR1561 provided groundwork where social and environmental impacts from a Space Weather Economic Innovation Zone could be far-reaching. In 2016, the Space Weather Research and Forecasting Act (S. 2817) was introduced to build on that legacy. Later, in 2017-2018 the HR3086 Bill took these concepts, included the breadth of material from parallel agency studies as part of the OSTP-sponsored Space Weather Action Program (SWAP), and with bicameral and bipartisan support the 116th Congress (2019) is considering passage of the Space Weather Coordination Act (S141, 115th Congress). |
9632_48 | American Commercial Space Weather Association
On April 29, 2010, the commercial space weather community created the American Commercial Space Weather Association (ACSWA) an industry association. ACSWA promotes space weather risk mitigation for national infrastructure, economic strength and national security. It seeks to:
provide quality space weather data and services to help mitigate risks to technology;
provide advisory services to government agencies;
provide guidance on the best task division between commercial providers and government agencies;
represent the interests of commercial providers;
represent commercial capabilities in the national and international arena;
develop best-practices.
A summary of the broad technical capabilities in space weather that are available from the association can be found on their web site http://www.acswa.us.
Notable events |
9632_49 | On December 21, 1806, Alexander von Humboldt observed that his compass had become erratic during a bright auroral event.
The Solar storm of 1859 (Carrington Event) caused widespread disruption of telegraph service.
The Aurora of November 17, 1882 disrupted telegraph service.
The May 1921 geomagnetic storm, one of the largest geomagnetic storms disrupted telegraph service and damaged electrical equipment worldwide.
The Solar storm of August 1972, a large SEP event occurred. If astronauts had been in space at the time, the dose could have been life-threatening.
The March 1989 geomagnetic storm included multiple space weather effects: SEP, CME, Forbush decrease, ground level enhancement, geomagnetic storm, etc..
The 2000 Bastille Day event coincided with exceptionally bright aurora.
April 21, 2002, the Nozomi Mars Probe was hit by a large SEP event that caused large-scale failure. The mission, which was already about 3 years behind schedule, was abandoned in December 2003. |
9632_50 | The 2003 Halloween solar storms, a series of coronal mass ejections and solar flares in late October and early November 2003 with associated impacts |
9632_51 | See also
Citations
General bibliography
Daglis, Ioannis A.: Effects of Space Weather on Technology Infrastructure. Springer, Dordrecht 2005, .
Lilensten, Jean, and Jean Bornarel, Space Weather, Environment and Societies, Springer, .
Moldwin, Mark: An Introduction to Space Weather. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge 2008, .
Schwenn, Rainer, Space Weather, Living Reviews in Solar Physics 3, (2006), 2, online article. |
9632_52 | Further reading
Bothmer, V.; Daglis, I., 2006, Space Weather: Physics and Effects, Springer-Verlag New York, .
Carlowicz, M. J., and R. E. Lopez, 2002, Storms from the Sun, Joseph Henry Press, Washington DC, .
Clark, T. D. G. and E. Clarke, 2001. Space weather services for the offshore drilling industry. In Space Weather Workshop: Looking Towards a Future European Space Weather Programme. ESTEC, ESA WPP-194.
Daglis, I. A. (Editor), 2001, Space Storms and Space Weather Hazards, Springer-Verlag New York, .
Freeman, John W., 2001, Storms in Space, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, .
Gombosi, Tamas I., Houghton, John T., and Dessler, Alexander J., (Editors), 2006, Physics of the Space Environment, Cambridge University Press, .
Odenwald, S. 2006, The 23rd Cycle;Learning to live with a stormy star, Columbia University Press, . |
9632_53 | Reay, S. J., W. Allen, O. Baillie, J. Bowe, E. Clarke, V. Lesur, S. Macmillan, 2005. Space weather effects on drilling accuracy in the North Sea. Annales Geophysicae, Vol. 23, pp. 3081–3088.
Ruffenach, A., 2018, "Enabling Resilient UK Energy Infrastructure: Natural Hazard Characterisation Technical Volumes and Case Studies, Volume 10 - Space Weather"; IMechE, IChemE.
Song, P., Singer, H., and Siscoe, G., (Editors), 2001, Space Weather (Geophysical Monograph), Union, Washington, D.C, . |
9632_54 | External links
Real-time space weather forecast
Utah State Univ SWC Real-time GAIM Ionosphere - (real-time model of ionosphere)
Space Weather and Radio Propagation. Live and historical data and images with a perspective on how it affects radio propagation
Latest Data from STEREO, HINODE and SDO (Large bandwidth)
Other links
Space Weather FX - Video podcast series on Space Weather from MIT Haystack Observatory
ESA's Space Weather Site
Space Weather European Network - (ESA)
Q-Up Now (Q-up)
Space Weather For Today and Tomorrow (SWFTT)
Space Weather Today - Space Weather from Russian Institute for Applied Geophysics
1950s neologisms
Branches of meteorology
Planetary science
Radio frequency propagation
Solar System
Space medicine |
9633_0 | Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) is a private, non-sectarian institute of education located in Manila, Philippines. It runs under the management of the Yaman Lahi Foundation Incorporated.
History
Emilio Aguinaldo College began with a man who envisioned the Filipino youth to be totally educated and trained through arts, sciences, and technology.
That man, Dr. Paulo C. Campos, one of the few Filipino National Scientists noted for his work on nuclear medicine, has been recognized and awarded for his numerous researches and publications. He is also credited for establishing the first and best known Radioisotope Laboratory in the Philippines, the first Research Laboratory in the Department of Medicine, University of the Philippines, and the Thyroid Clinic of the UP-PGH Medical Center.
It was in 1957 when the Marian School of Midwifery, the forerunner of Emilio Aguinaldo College, was established under the management of Marian Clinics, Inc. |
9633_1 | Two years after Dr. Crisanto S. Vito Cruz and Gregorio T. Delgado together with Mrs. Lolita R. Vito Cruz established the first Medical Secretarial School in the Philippines, the founding of the Marian School of Nursing and Midwifery immediately followed.
In 1973, the University Physicians’ Services Incorporated (UPSI) took over the school management. From Marian School of Nursing and Midwifery, its name was changed to Marian Junior College. Its level was elevated to full-fledged College with new courses being offered such as Food Service and Technology and the Dietetic Internship Program.
After a year, medical arts and photography (innovative academic program) and the four-year Bachelor of Science in Secretarial Administration earned government recognition. |
9633_2 | College of Arts and Sciences was added to the list of colleges in 1976, offering Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science programs. Both Bachelor of Science in nursing and BSN supplemental course were also given government recognition, thus, establishing the College of Nursing.
Marian College began building the first school units at Dasmariñas, Cavite in 1977 to support the government's policy on dispersal and decongestion of student population in Metro Manila particularly in institutions of higher learning. The policy also aimed to introduce regional development and the democratization of opportunities in rural areas.
In September 1977, the name Marian College was changed to General Emilio Aguinaldo College, to apply to both Manila and Cavite campuses. This was in consonance with the new direction of the government in recognizing and honoring national heroes. Eventually, the title “General” was dropped. |
9633_3 | All courses offered in Manila were given permit to be offered in Cavite, with the addition of BS Criminology, Master of Arts in teaching, Master of Arts in education, and Master of Science in nursing.
EAC Manila offered BSN supplemental for graduates in nursing (GN), who wanted to pursue Bachelor of Science in nursing, and BS foods and nutrition and industrial cafeteria management.
On the other hand, Cavite campus offered technical courses in agricultural technology, electrical and electronics technology and refrigeration, and air conditioning technology.
On October 21, 1979, EAC Foundation Inc. was established at Dasmariñas, Cavite, thus giving birth to the Emilio Aguinaldo College of Medicine with Dr. Lourdes E. Campos as Dean. In Manila, the College of Business Administration was given permit to operate.
In 1980, UPSI formed the Yaman Lahi Foundation, Inc. to manage and operate Manila and Cavite campuses. |
9633_4 | Within the next five years, the focus was on curricular program development, which paved the way to more courses being given government recognition.
The College of Medicine and the University Medical Center of EAC Cavite was sold to De La Salle University, now known as De La Salle University Medical Center (DLSUMC) under the division of De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute (DLSMHSI). After that, the EAC administration focused on the development of EAC-Manila.
Campuses |
9633_5 | Emilio Aguinaldo College has two campuses. The main Campus is in Ermita, Manila and the other is in Dasmariñas, Cavite. A teaching hospital was established in both campuses. The main campus' teaching hospital is known as Medical Center, Manila. It is one of the best hospitals within reach of people of all economic status. The sports facilities of this college consist of a Basketball Court, Gymnastics area, Running Track, Swimming Pool, Tennis Court, etc. An in-campus student dormitory is available for foreign students.
External links
Emilio Aguinaldo College
References
Educational institutions established in 1957
Universities and colleges in Manila
Universities and colleges in Cavite
Education in Ermita
Education in Dasmariñas
1957 establishments in the Philippines |
9634_0 | Kwai Chang Caine () is a fictional character and the protagonist of the ABC 1972–1975 action-adventure western television series Kung Fu. He has been portrayed by David Carradine as an adult, Keith Carradine as a younger Caine and Radames Pera as the child Caine, and Stephen Manley as the youngest Caine. |
9634_1 | In the late 19th century China, Kwai Chang Caine was the orphaned son of an American man and a Chinese woman. He was raised in a Shaolin Monastery in Hunan Province, and was trained by the monks to be a Shaolin master. Kung Fu follows his adventures as he travels to the American Old West (armed only with his skill in martial arts) as he seeks his half-brother, Danny Caine. Although it was his intention to find his brother Danny in a way which would escape notice, the demands of his training as a priest in addition to the sense of social responsibility, which was instilled within him during his childhood, forced Caine to repeatedly come into the open to fight for justice. He would then leave his new surroundings in a further search for anonymity and security. |
9634_2 | In the Shaolin arts, monks live in temples and most stay their entire life. Once they become masters and leave the temple, they are referred to as Priests. In real-world Shaolin, both monks and priests shave their heads and some remain celibate. However, Caine grew his hair long and occasionally had intimate relations with women in the series.
Development
Regarding the origins of the character and the series concept, see Kung Fu: Bruce Lee's involvement
Regarding the issue of the actor's casting, see Kung Fu: Casting controversy
A May 1973 interview by Black Belt Magazine to John Furia Jr., the series story editor, expresses his view of the character: “Essentially, the story is one of contrast. It is about a man of peace and love placed in a violent time and place – the 1870s of the American West. It is parallel to today’s atmosphere. We emphasize love and peace, yet we are experiencing violent times. |
9634_3 | “The point of view of the series is enormously appealing to all people. Caine avoids violence as much as he can. When he does occasionally get involved, it is not glamorized. On the contrary, it is depicted as sad and unglamorous.
“The story also deals with inner serenity which comes from a person being in touch and in communion with his own senses and his own self and, hopefully, in touch with his entire universe; or, putting it simply, one with the universe, one with nature. It is tremendously contemporary.
“People today are attempting to live in communes. They want to get away from the clutter, pressure and brutality of contemporary society. They feel they are depersonalized. There is tremendous similarity between Caine and them.” |
9634_4 | Synopsis
Orphaned after his maternal grandfather's death, Caine eventually found himself outside the local Shaolin temple along with other hopeful candidates. After waiting patiently for several days, Caine and the few other remaining candidates were taken inside the temple where only Caine passed a subtle test in manners. Although taking a student of mixed parentage into the order was unprecedented, the head monk Master Kan (Philip Ahn) sagely noted, "There is a first for everything," and welcomed Caine. |
9634_5 | Following his induction into the order, Caine then lived in the temple until adulthood, mastering many of the fighting forms and lessons taught by the Shaolin monks (Crane, Snake, Praying Mantis, Tiger, and Dragon). At one point during his training he was shown the various forms and Master Kan explained that it may take half a lifetime to master one of the forms. Later, while in the US, when asked by a student which forms he teaches, Caine's response was, "All of them" (a tribute to Master Kan, who had answered young Caine similarly when asked the same question). |
9634_6 | One of his first instructors was the blind master named Po (Keye Luke). Po considered Caine his favorite pupil and behaved more like an elderly grandfather. Caine was given the nickname "Grasshopper" by Master Po; the reference was from an exchange where the still ignorant young Caine asked the old blind master how he could function without seeing. Po asked Caine to close his eyes and describe what he could hear. Caine explained that he could hear the water flowing in a nearby fountain and birds in a nearby cage. Po then asked if Caine could hear his own heartbeat or the grasshopper at his feet (Caine hadn't noticed the insect until that moment). Incredulous, Caine asked Po, "Old man – how is it that you hear these things?" Po's reply was, "Young man, how is it that you do not?" From that point on, Po affectionately called Caine "Grasshopper". |
9634_7 | Years after his graduation, Caine traveled to the Forbidden City to meet Po, whose lifelong ambition had been to travel to a festival at the Temple of Heaven on that date, the full moon of May - the 13th day of the 5th month in the Year of the Dog. While they were talking together in the street, the Emperor's nephew and his entourage came along and an altercation ensued when a guard tried to push Po aside and was sent sprawling by the blind Shaolin. While defending himself from the other guards, Master Po was shot by the Emperor's nephew. Before the nephew could reload his pistol, the enraged Caine seized a guard's fallen spear and killed the Imperial nephew. With his dying words, Po gave Caine his pouch containing his few worldly possessions and instructed Caine to flee from China as there would be both no place to hide and a price on his head. Before he fled China, Caine returned to the temple to confess his deed to Master Kan. Later, Imperial guards attacked and stormed the temple, |
9634_8 | only to find it deserted (the monks having fled before the army's arrival); in retaliation, they burned the temple to the ground. |
9634_9 | At first, Caine tried to flee to Tibet but was unsuccessful. He then escaped to the American Old West and in the first-season episode "Dark Angel" discovered from his grandfather Henry Caine (Dean Jagger) that he had a half-brother named Daniel. While he searched for Danny, he was on the run from a steady stream of bounty hunters and Chinese agents, some of whom were also Shaolin priests like himself, searching for him. In the pilot episode when another priest arrived to take him into custody, telling Caine that he had been searching for him for many weeks and that it had long been known he had fled to the US, Caine said to him, "For money? A Shaolin monk does not sell himself for a handful of rice." The monk's reply was, "You are more than a handful of rice" (the price placed on Caine's head by the Imperial government being $10,000 alive, $5,000 dead). Caine's hanfu was seen as gold with a red belt and the symbol of an open hand on the back (indicating that he is a master of all five |
9634_10 | forms), while his opponent's was black with a maroon belt and the symbol of a snake on the back. In the ensuing fight, Caine killed the monk. |
9634_11 | The conflict between a desire for anonymity and a sense of social responsibility is conveyed through the frequent use of flashbacks. In these flashbacks, the adult Caine (Carradine) recalls a particular lesson during his training in the monastery, taught to him by Master Po and Master Kan.
During the concluding four episodes of the third and final season, Caine found not only his brother Daniel, but his nephew Zeke as well.
Characteristics and skills |
9634_12 | Caine's training involved both armed and unarmed combat. He was also tutored in eastern philosophy and herbal medicine. Upon graduation he attained the rank of Shaolin Master. Caine exited the school via a special corridor designed as a last test. Barring the exit was a hot iron cauldron with the figures of a dragon on one side and a tiger on the other. By lifting the cauldron with his forearms, the graduate branded himself with the figures. The newly initiated master thus bore an imprint on the inside of each of his forearms, signifying his new status. On several occasions these scars identified him as a Shaolin monk to those familiar with Chinese culture.
Caine is humble, intelligent, inquisitive, and usually very soft-spoken. His only known pastimes are the playing of a bamboo flute and meditation. Caine is fluent in both Cantonese and English. He is also skilled in herbalism and healing. |
9634_13 | Love life
As Caine explained to his brother in the fourth-to-last episode of the series, "Full Circle", the Shaolin life "is not one of restriction". Caine frequently had romantic relationships with women and even contemplated marriage on at least two occasions.
In the first episode, "King of the Mountain", Lara Parker plays a widowed ranch owner with whom Caine finds employment. She offers him money for his labors, but he refuses saying that all he needs is food and place to sleep. She presses him and insists there must be more he needs (i.e., sex). It is subtly implied that she eventually supplies what he needs. It is also implied that she is attracted by the "tattoos" on his forearms. |
9634_14 | In the episode "The Tide", Caine falls in love with Su Yen, played by Tina Chen, the daughter of a philosopher and author with whom Caine is familiar. The town Sheriff recognizes Kwai Chang from the Wanted Poster. While in custody, Kwai Chang is wounded. He escapes, and Su Yen hides him in a cave at the beach. There are scenes of passionate kissing, after which Su Yen is shown waking on the sleeping mat and reaching out for Kwai Chang, only to find that he is not there. The scenes strongly indicate that Kwai Chang and Su Yen had made love. It turns out that Su Yen, however, seeks to trade Caine to the Emperor in exchange for her father who is imprisoned in China. |
9634_15 | The two-part second-season episode, "Cenotaph", relates an episode from Caine‘s past, when the Emperor's favorite concubine, Mayli Ho (played by Nancy Kwan) takes Caine's virginity. Caine falls in love with her, even contemplating marriage. It is because she truly loves him that Mayli ultimately rejects a devastated Caine, knowing her lifestyle and ways would eventually destroy him and all that he stands for. The third season episode, "The Forbidden Kingdom", depicts Caine's first days on the run after killing the Emperor's nephew. In his efforts to flee China and escape the Emperor's men, Caine meets Po Li, played by Adele Yoshioka. At first, Po Li betrays Caine in order to save her brother who is the Emperor's prisoner. Eventually, she redeems herself and aids in Caine's escape, telling him, "I will have much to remember". Caine will not learn until many years later that this brief, one-time union resulted in the conception of a son, Chung Wang, played by Brandon Lee (Bruce Lee's |
9634_16 | son) in the 1986 made for TV movie, Kung Fu: The Movie. |
9634_17 | In the waning days of her relationship with David Carradine, Barbara Hershey appeared in a season three two-part episode, "Besieged". She played the role of Nan Chi, a half-Chinese, half-Caucasian woman who wanted to become a disciple of the Shaolin. She and Kwai Chang clearly fall in love, but the relationship is never consummated as Kwai Chang, still a disciple in this flashback episode, did not lose his virginity until after he had left the monastery, as previously depicted in the second season. Nan Chi is mortally wounded while saving Kwai Chang's life. As she lies dying, she asks Caine to pretend with her that they are married and have a child. He says, "Only live, Nan Chi, and it will be true." |
9634_18 | Caine takes employment from Ellie, a widowed ranch owner who does not feel that food and a place to sleep is enough compensation for all that Caine has done for her. Thus, Caine has sexual relations with her. In this third-season episode, "A Small Beheading", Ellie is played by Rosemary Forsyth.
Teachers
Master Chen Ming Kan: (Philip Ahn)
Master Po: (Keye Luke)
Master Sun: (Richard Loo)
Master Teh: (John Leoning)
Master Ling: (Victor Sen Yung)
Master Ywang Kyu: (James Hong)
Master Hake Tao: (Sam Hiona)
Master Kwan Li: (James Shigeta)
Known relatives
Kung Fu
Father: Thomas Henry Caine (Bill Fletcher)
Mother: Kwai Lin
Half brother: Daniel "Danny" Caine (Tim McIntire)
Uncle: American farmer
Grandfather: Henry Rafael Caine (Dean Jagger)
Grandmother: Elizabeth Hale Caine
Nephew: Ezekiel "Zeke" Caine (John Blyth Barrymore)
Cousin: Margit Kingsley McLean (Season Hubley)
Cousin: John "Johnny" Kingsley McLean (Edward Albert)
Kung Fu: The Movie
Son: Chung Wang (Brandon Lee) |
9634_19 | Kung Fu: The Next Generation
Great-Grandson: Kwai Chang Caine (David Darlow)
Great-great-grandson: Kwai Chang "Johnny" Caine (Brandon Lee). The youngest Caine in the family line wished to be known as "Johnny" to break the tradition of all the male descendants of the original Caine being named "Kwai Chang". His father is initially reluctant to do so, but eventually accepts his son's wishes.
Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
Distant ancestor: Kwai Chang (the first of the line, 1500 years before the Old West time in which Kung Fu is set, about 350 AD)
Son: Matthew Caine
Grandson: Kwai Chang Caine
Grandson: Damon Caine
Grandson: Martin Bradshaw (half-brother of Kwai Chang Caine and Damon Caine)
Great-grandson: Peter Caine (the last of the line; played as a boy by Nathaniel Moreau and Robert Bednarski, and as an adult by Chris Potter) |
9634_20 | Caine's name
The character was called Kwai Chang Caine in the original feature movie script by Ed Spielman, and it was written that way in Caine's wanted poster that appeared in the series from the pilot onwards and until Kung Fu: The Movie.
However, in s3e04 episode A Small Beheading, Captain Brandywine Gage (played by William Shatner) presents Caine with a scroll written in Chinese. As the camera pans down the scroll, the Chinese characters for Caine's name appear for the first time in the series:
note: in Chinese, the surname is written first
The Zhangzhou accented Amoy pronunciation of the characters most closely matches the English spelling of Caine's name. However, in the series, Caine attended the Shaolin Temple in Henan province, where the priests likely spoke Mandarin. |
9634_21 | This discrepancy, caused by the series prop department, adds to the mistakes the series writers made regarding Chinese names in general and Caine's in particular. In episode s2e20 Arrogant Dragon, Caine talks with a man called Wu Chang:
"I am Caine. In China, I am called Kwai Chang."
"Of what province?"
"My mother’s family is from Hebei province."
"Then we are both Changs of Hebei. Five hundred years ago, we were of the same family."
Suggesting that "Chang" was a sort of maternal family name, which is not a concept in Chinese surnames. On the other hand, in episode s3e20 The Brothers Caine, the first time Caine meets his brother Danny and this one has him at gunpoint, Caine explains:
"If you cannot believe me, please listen. Our father was Thomas Henry Caine. Our grandfather was Henry Raphael Caine, a maker of stone images. Your mother was Elizabeth Chambers. My mother was Kwai Lin, a Chinese woman our father met on his travels in the East." |
9634_22 | This time it is "Kwai" which appears as a maternal surname, contradicting both the other episode and Chinese usage. At any rate, both "Kwai" and "Chang" are Chinese names, and both have a presence as surnames. |
9634_23 | Spin-offs
In 1986, Kung Fu: The Movie premiered as a made-for-TV movie. In reality, the movie was the pilot for a new series in which Caine finds himself hunted by the father of the royal nephew killed by Caine in the original pilot. The royal's primary weapon against Caine is a young man named Chung Wang, who is (unknowingly) Caine's adult son (played by Brandon Lee).
In 1987, a second series called Kung Fu: The Next Generation was supposed to be launched. It was set in the present day telling the story of Kwai Chang Caine's grandson (played by David Darlow) and great-grandson, played by Brandon Lee. Throughout this series, Caine would teach his rebellious son Shaolin ways. The series idea never took off beyond the pilot, however, and was not launched. |
9634_24 | In 1993 a third series was begun, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, wherein Carradine played the grandson of the original Caine. Identical in appearance to and named after the first Kwai Chang Caine, this Caine was reunited with his son from whom he was separated fifteen years previously (when each thought the other had died in an explosion). Raised by a Los Angeles policeman, the son is now a police detective who has long since abandoned his boyhood Shaolin training. This series ran for four seasons and 88 episodes.
David Carradine made one final appearance as Caine in The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw, part of The Gambler telefilm series, which starred singer Kenny Rogers and was inspired by his hit song, “The Gambler”. Luck of the Draw also featured the final appearance of Chuck Connors as Lucas McCain, Hugh O'Brian as Wyatt Earp, and Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick. |
9634_25 | Notes
References
Pilato, Herbie J. The Kung Fu Book of Caine: The Complete Guide to TV's First Mystical Eastern Western. Boston: Charles A. Tuttle, 1993.
Television characters introduced in 1972
Fictional Shaolin kung fu practitioners
Fictional Shé Quán practitioners
Fictional male martial artists
Kung Fu (1972 TV series)
Fictional Buddhist monks
Western (genre) heroes and heroines
Fictional vigilantes
Fictional musicians
Fictional orphans
Fictional adoptees
pt:Kwai Chang Caine |
9635_0 | 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 the superhero Spider-Man. While the character has retained this role throughout most of his subsequent appearances, he has also been portrayed as a tragic antihero and occasional ally of Spider-Man. Connors is sometimes an ally of Spider-Man just as himself, and not necessarily as his alter ego. |
9635_1 | In the original version of the story, Curt Connors was a geneticist researching the ability of certain reptiles to regrow missing limbs. He developed a lizard DNA-based serum that would allow humans to do the same, and tested it on himself, hoping to regain his missing right arm; instead, he transformed into a feral anthropomorphic lizard. Although Spider-Man was able to undo the transformation, the Lizard remained a part of Connors' subconscious, and would resurface time and time again; often retaining Connors' intelligence and attempting to replace mankind with a race of reptilian creatures like himself. Many stories featuring the Lizard deal with the effects he has on Connors' life and psyche, as the latter lives in constant fear that the Lizard will one day completely and irreversibly take over his body. Because of this, he works tirelessly to find a permanent cure for his alternate personality, much to the worry of his wife, Martha Connors, and son, Billy. |
9635_2 | The character has appeared in numerous Spider-Man adaptations, including films, animated series, and video games. In live-action, he was portrayed by Dylan Baker in Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007), and by Rhys Ifans in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). In 2009, the Lizard was ranked IGN's 62nd Greatest Comic Villain of All Time.
Publication history
The Lizard first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #6 (November 1963), and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
Fictional character biography
Origin
Curtis "Curt" Connors was born in Coral Gables, Florida. He was a gifted surgeon who enlisted in the U.S. Army. He performed emergency battlefield surgery on wounded GIs. However his right arm was terribly injured in a wartime blast, resulting in its amputation. |
9635_3 | After his return to civilian life as a research technologist, Connors became obsessed with uncovering the secrets of reptilian limb regeneration. Working from his home in the Florida Everglades with the help of war buddy Ted Sallis, he finally developed an experimental serum taken from reptilian DNA. The serum successfully regrew the missing limb of a rabbit, so then Connors chose to test the serum on himself. He ingested the formula and he did indeed grow a new arm. |
9635_4 | However, the formula had an unfortunate side effect: Connors was subsequently transformed into a reptilian humanoid monster. Spider-Man discovered this situation during a trip to Florida to investigate newspaper reports of the Lizard after his employer the Daily Bugle challenged him. After discovering the Lizard's true identity and origin, Spider-Man used Connors' notes to create an antidote to restore him to his human form and mentality. Another attempt to develop this serum for safe use again resulted in Connors transforming into the Lizard, but on this occasion he was saved thanks to his former colleague Professor X and his first team of X-Men, the Beast and the Angel tracking the Lizard down in the swamps so that the Iceman could send him into hibernation long enough to develop a cure. |
9635_5 | Life in New York
Later, Curt Connors relocated to New York City. He was able to repay Spider-Man by developing a formula to save May Parker's life after Peter Parker had given his aunt his radioactive blood during a transfusion, unintentionally putting her in mortal peril. It later became clear that the success of Connors' apparent cure from the Lizard persona was short-lived. A repeating pattern soon occurred, with stress or a chemical reaction turning Connors into the Lizard, Spider-Man fighting him, and then forcing him to swallow the antidote in order to reverse the transformation until the next time. A second personality had formed with the Lizard, one with the familiar goal shared by many villains of taking over the world. The Lizard envisioned a world where all humans had been transformed into (or replaced by) super-reptiles like himself. Despite the Lizard's overall hatred of humans, he was often shown to be unwilling to harm his wife Martha or young son Billy. |
9635_6 | As Connors, he aided Spider-Man in defeating the Rhino by developing a formula to dissolve the Rhino's bulletproof hide, but accidentally transformed himself into the Lizard due to exposure to the chemicals needed to create the formula and was restored by Spider-Man. Connors was later kidnapped and forced to create a rejuvenation serum for Silvermane. However, the stress from this caused Connors to again transform; the Lizard then battled Spider-Man and the Human Torch, and was restored to normal once again by Spider-Man. |
9635_7 | During another encounter with Spider-Man after Peter's attempts to remove his powers resulted in him growing four extra arms, a bite from Morbius endowed the Lizard with Connors' personality via the infection of a strange enzyme. Connors then synthesized an antidote for himself and Spider-Man using the Morbius enzyme. Curt Connors later aided Spider-Man, Ka-Zar, and the Black Panther against Stegron the Dinosaur Man. After the apparent death of the Jackal, Dr. Connors determined that Spider-Man was not a clone. Later, the Lizard battled both Stegron and Spider-Man after Stegron kidnapped Billy Connors. For a time, Peter Parker worked as a teaching assistant to Dr. Connors at Empire State University, although Connors had no idea that Peter was actually Spider-Man. During this time, Spider-Man and Connors dealt with one of Connors' previous experiments in the form of the Iguana. |
9635_8 | During the first of the Secret Wars, the Lizard refused to participate on either side of the conflict. Although he was collected by the Beyonder along with other villains, he broke away from the main group after the first battle to settle in a swamp, where he befriended the Wasp, who had helped him treat an injury that he had sustained in the first battle. After the Lizard was blasted by the magic of the Enchantress, he reverted to human form. |
9635_9 | After Connors' return from this event, his wife Martha, unable to take it anymore since Connors had said that he had been permanently cured, only to disappear for many days and then return home in tattered clothing with no plausible explanation as to where he had been, took their son Billy and separated from Curt. The Lizard had apparently been affected by inter-dimensional teleportation so that Connors' mind presided over the Lizard, and he battled the Owl alongside Spider-Man. However, mystical activity during the Inferno crisis once again brought the Lizard's bestial nature to the fore, and Spider-Man cured him again. |
9635_10 | The 1990s through 2007: Civil War |
9635_11 | Connors then tried to straighten out his life and control the Lizard, with some degree of success. This ended when the villainess Calypso used her voodoo magic to take control of the Lizard (during the Torment storyline) for her own purposes, reducing him to a mindless, savage state. After a series of bloody battles, the Lizard and Calypso were defeated by Spider-Man, and Spider-Man assumed that he perished under Calypso's spell. Connors once again gained control of the Lizard's mind and body, although it was very weak. Curt carried out a plan to cure himself temporarily, after which he voluntarily submitted to incarceration in the supervillain prison the Vault. When Calypso forced the transformation and attempted to control the Lizard once again, the creature killed her and escaped from the Vault. After this escape, the Lizard fell and sank into a quicksand pit during a battle in the Everglades with Spider-Man and the bounty hunter Warrant and was believed to have died. |
9635_12 | Later, a huge bestial Lizard appeared, shortly after Connors was called in to investigate Peter Parker's sudden sickness (the result of Peter's recently lost spider-powers returning). Spider-Man (Ben Reilly) realized that not only had the Lizard survived, but revealed later his new monstrous transformation seemed to be permanent and the personality of Curt Connors appeared completely lost. However, when this savage mindless Lizard later unexpectedly encountered Dr. Connors himself while Connors was helping Peter, Curt became the true Lizard once again and saved his family by killing the "Lizard-clone". It was revealed that the Lizard-clone was a scientific accident resulting from an experimental formula being tested on a piece of the original Lizard's tail, which had then grown into a fully formed second creature. |
9635_13 | Although reunited after Curt's apparent death, Martha and Billy were diagnosed with cancer after being exposed to carcinogens from living near an industrial lab in Florida. Spider-Man assisted Curt in successfully forcing Monnano, the lab's owner, to admit culpability, but Martha died from her cancer. Billy recovered but remained bitter towards his father. Curt's guilt and internalized anger led him to become the Lizard once again, and once human, Curt attempted a bank robbery so that he would be sent to prison. After a short-lived term, Connors was released and changed into the Lizard once more, this time due to a scheme by Norman Osborn to form the Sinister Twelve to kill Spider-Man. The Sinister Twelve were defeated and captured by the combined forces of Daredevil, the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers. |
9635_14 | The Lizard resurfaced to face Spider-Man with the aid of Billy Connors, who was changed into an adolescent Lizard by his father. Both the Lizard and his son were captured and reverted. Billy's transformational ability has been ignored since. A new Sinister Six team, including new member the Lizard, appeared during the superhero Civil War, but it was stopped by Captain America and his Secret Avengers.
Post-Civil War, Curt Connors aided Spider-Man in developing a cure for the victims of Mister Hyde who were mutated with unstable versions of Spider-Man's powers. Dr. Connors has also monitored the progress of the hero Komodo, a female grad student who stole a sample of Connors' Lizard formula. She modified the formula for her own DNA to grow back her missing legs and to give herself reptilian powers. |
9635_15 | Brand New Day (2008) and beyond
Doctor Curt Connors appeared in the 2008 Brand New Day storyline, where he experimented with animal stem cells as well as aiding forensic specialist Carlie Cooper. The third Freak mistook Connors' stem cells experiment for drugs. Connors helped Spider-Man defeat the Freak during their second encounter. |
9635_16 | During the events of The Gauntlet, Curt Connors was working for the pharmaceutical company Phelcorp under executive Brian King. Connors had lost custody of his son, Billy, and started hearing the voice of the Lizard persona goading him to let it have control. After Connors' assistant slept with King, Connors began struggling to contain the Lizard, ultimately losing control when King stopped him from taking a dose of his Lizard suppressing antidote. When Connors changed into the Lizard, he devoured King as a rival male. Knowing that the Lizard has targeted Connors' son Billy in the past, Peter Parker decides to protect Billy and swings to his foster parents' home. There, he finds that Billy was kidnapped and his new parents are being held hostage by Ana Kravinoff. Ana had left Billy in an alley, where the Lizard ate him, the trauma of which functionally destroyed the Connors persona. Without Connors internally warring with the Lizard, he enters a metamorphasis, emerging in a new form, |
9635_17 | sporting a leaner physique, long brown spikes on its head, spikes on its right forearm, human intelligence, and the ability to telepathically communicate with the underdeveloped "lizard hindbrain" portion of human brains. He demonstrated the latter ability by triggering the instinctual prey response of Spider-man's lizard brain, temporarily overwhelming the superhero and causing him to flee in terror. Back on the street, the Lizard mentally triggered the lizard portion of numerous people's brains, causing them to behave in savage and often violent ways. Away from the Lizard, Spider-Man ingested Connors' Lizard suppressant formula, temporarily making him immune to the Lizard's mind controlling powers. Spider-Man then injected the Lizard with some of the formula, hoping that Connors would be able to resume control. Although Connors is no longer present, the formula does increase the prominence of the Lizard's "monkey brain", aka the human intelligence portion of its brain. This causes |
9635_18 | him to consider (and regret) some of his actions, including killing Billy and trying to make people embrace their lizard instincts. Reverting most of the people he had affected with his telepathic powers, The Lizard disappeared into the sewers after the fight. |
9635_19 | During the Origin of the Species, the Lizard joined Doctor Octopus's supervillain team and stole Menace's baby. As Doctor Octopus and Spider-Man fought within the Lizard's hideout, the Lizard at first attacked Spider-Man, but then gladly returned the baby. He revealed that he already took a blood sample from the baby and found out that Norman Osborn was not the father; therefore, the baby was useless to him and all of the villains. Doctor Octopus, angry about the Lizard's hypnotism obstructing his intellect, attacked him while Spider-Man escaped with the baby. Both Doctor Octopus and the Lizard survived this fight. |
9635_20 | A short time later, while investigating kidnappings in New York, the X-Men found themselves working with Spider-Man after they discovered that the abductor is the Lizard, who had been turning the victims into lizard people, while maintaining his control over the city's reptile population. The X-Men and Spider-Man discovered that the Lizard was being used by the Dark Beast, who had given the Lizard his 'reptilian shift' abilities by using a machine. During the battle, the Lizard shifted Gambit, Storm, and Wolverine into lizard people. Emma Frost and Spider-Man escaped the machine's effects, released the Lizard and used him to defeat the Dark Beast, who was arrested while the Lizard escaped. |
9635_21 | Sometime later, Dr. Michael Morbius discovered that the Lizard had used DNA samples from Billy Connors' corpse to restore Curt Connors to humanity. Unfortunately, the Lizard's psyche was still present and was pretending to be Connors so that he would be left alone. The Lizard/Connors released blood into the air supply to provoke Morbius into attacking the other lab workers. The Lizard/Connors then tried to recreate his original Lizard formula so that he could change again, but Morbius' cure instead only allowed him to regrow his missing arm. The Lizard/Connors then injected Max Modell and other Horizon Lab personnel with his formula to discover how to "cure" himself. Attempting to appear to be the "normal" Connors, the Lizard/Connors cut off his regrown limb, but the Lizard began to appreciate human life, to the point that when he found the correct Lizard serum, he contemplated remaining human, but he took the cure when Spider-Man arrived and threatened him with custody. This resulted |
9635_22 | in yet another streamlined, new form. A new cure was developed for the lab employees that he had changed, but this formula failed on the Lizard's new form; he was instead knocked out and taken to the Raft. Visiting him in the Raft, Spider-Man was unaware that the serum had restored Connors' psyche and Connors remained in prison willingly, as he felt that he deserved it for his actions as the Lizard. |
9635_23 | During the "Dying Wish" storyline, Peter Parker (whose mind was trapped within Doctor Octopus' dying body) was freed from the Raft by the Trapster, Hydro-Man, and the Scorpion. The Trapster offered to free the Lizard, but Connors declined. When Morbius the Living Vampire managed to escape his cell, the Lizard pointed out that he still had nowhere to go. For unknown reasons, Morbius then freed the Lizard. |
9635_24 | The Lizard was then seen back in his cell, being one of the few inmates left to be transported out of the decommissioned Raft. When Alistair Smythe attempted an escape from the Raft, he temporarily shut down the Raft's power, letting the Lizard out of his cell. The Lizard protected J. Jonah Jameson from the Scorpion, revealing that he had the mind of Curt Connors, and that he "will never let the monsters win again." Jameson defended the Lizard from the Raft's warden, calling him a hero, and protesting the use of a restraining device, though the Lizard himself preferred to be cautious. During Smythe's final escape attempt, the Lizard was impaled through the shoulder, but survived. |
9635_25 | As part of the "All-New, All-Different Marvel" as part of the lead-up to the "Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy" storyline, the Lizard was shown at the Andry Corrections Facility. He was escorted to the visitor's room and his restraints were removed. After the guards left the visitor's room, the Lizard met the mysterious red-suited man where he claimed to have met Curt Connors before. The Lizard detected familiar scents accompanying the man, scents that could not be there, and warned him not to toy with the Lizard. The red-suited man replied that he was not the Lizard; inside he was Curt Connors, a model prisoner who saved Mayor J. Jonah Jameson and various civilians before and was trapped in a monster's body. The Lizard lashed out at him, demanding to know how can the people that he was smelling be there. The man said that the Lizard had abilities that he could use and if he escaped and joined him, he could give him anything. He snapped his fingers and Martha Connors and Billy |
9635_26 | Connors stepped forward, where they were somehow alive. The red-suited man asked if they have a deal. The Lizard tearfully accepted his deal. It was revealed that the revived Martha Connors and Billy Connors were clones that the red-suited man had gathered to grow clones with false memories that span all the way to their deaths. The Lizard and a depowered Electro were later sprung from Andry Corrections Facility by the Rhino on the red-suited man's behalf. The Lizard worked with the Jackal on a procedure that would repower Electro. The first time it was interrupted, the Lizard was present when the Jackal summoned a somehow-revived Francine appears in order to convince Maxwell to go through with it. The second time it was interrupted was when Martha Connors informed everyone present about a fire in Edmond, Oklahoma that neither of them was responsible for. While escaping from New U Technologies, Spider-Man and Spider-Woman of Earth-65 quickly incapacitate the Lizard. When Doctor |
9635_27 | Octopus pulled a switch which activated the Carrion Virus in all of the clones and caused them to start rapidly decaying, the Lizard saw that Martha Connors and Billy Connors were affected. During the ensuing battle, the Lizard escaped with Martha and Billy as he vowed to find a way to keep them from dying. In the sewers of San Francisco, the Lizard saved Martha and Billy Connors from the Carrion Virus by injecting them with the Lizard formula, turning his wife and son into lizard people like himself. |
9635_28 | Connors was later shown having returned to Empire State University, now using a special chip implanted in the back of his neck to control his Lizard persona, with the chip acting as an inhibitor that stopped him from attacking humans. Teaching once again, Connors offered to support Peter Parker's efforts to re-apply for his doctorate after he was academically disgraced by accusations of plagiarism of Otto Octavius' thesis since Doctor Octopus' mind was in Peter's body at the time. The inhibitor proved to be a disadvantage when Connors' class was attacked by the Taskmaster and the Black Ant and he could not defend himself. |
9635_29 | When Connors was captured by Kraven the Hunter as part of his organized hunt for various animal-themed villains, he was locked in a cell with Spider-Man while the two of them watched live footage of the Black Cat and the Lizard-esque Billy Connors being hunted, with Billy admitting that he actually remembers his original death (Connors also reveals that he had visited Doctor Strange to confirm that Billy was actually his son reborn in the cloned body created by the Jackal, even if Strange could not explain this event). Faced with a threat to his son, Connors asked Spider-Man to tear out the inhibitor chip so that he could rescue his son, despite the risk of this action leaving Connors paralyzed at best, the two unaware that Kraven had set the situation up precisely to force Spider-Man into a position where he would become the ruthless warrior that Kraven believes that he 'should' be. However, Connors managed to maintain control and retrieve Billy without killing anyone. |
9635_30 | In a prelude to the "Sinister War" storyline, Doctor Octopus coerced Curt Connors into using the Isotope Genome Accelerator on himself which separates him from his Lizard side. Kindred then completed the Sinister Six by having Mysterio join him as Kindred notes that his endgame with Spider-Man is approaching. Spider-Man found Connors in his wrecked lab as he was informed on what happened. Peter then took Connors home in the sewer to recover with his family. Spider-Man suspects that Doctor Octopus is forming his latest incarnation of the Sinister Six.
Powers and abilities
Dr. Curtis Connors gave himself superhuman powers as a result of exposure to the Lizard Formula, allowing him to transform into the Lizard. In human form, he has none of his superhuman powers, but he is highly intelligent and a well known scientist in fields of genetics, physics, biochemistry and herpetology. |
9635_31 | When Connors is transformed into the Lizard, his strength is increased to superhuman levels. Likewise, his speed, stamina, agility, and reflexes are also raised to a level equivalent to that of Spider-Man. He can also scale walls using a combination of his sharp claws and micro-scales on his hands and feet that create molecular friction like those of a gecko. He is highly resistant to injury due to his thick scaly hide, allowing him to resist punctures and lacerations from ordinary weapons and lower-caliber firearms. In addition, the Lizard has highly enhanced healing abilities which allow him to quickly recover from grievous wounds, including regenerating lost limbs. He also has a powerful tail which he can whip at high speeds. The Lizard has razor-sharp teeth set in muscular jaws that can deal a lethal bite (the latter is established in the Lizard's later appearances; in his earlier appearances he seems to have no teeth at all). Like a reptile, he has cold-blooded characteristics |
9635_32 | and is therefore sensitive to drops in temperature; a sufficiently cold environment will cause his metabolism to slow drastically and become dormant if he is exposed to cold temperatures for too long. |
9635_33 | The Lizard can mentally communicate and command all reptiles within a mile of himself via limited telepathy. He has also on at least one occasion secreted powerful pheromones which caused nearby humans to behave violently. Post-Brand New Day, a further enhancement of his telepathy granted him the power of telepathically compelling humans to act out their primal urges, by suppressing emotional control in their amygdala (the "lizard brain"). |
9635_34 | Based on various physiological and environmental factors, the Lizard's intelligence can range from bestial and animalistic to normal human intelligence. The Lizard personality has most often manifested with human intelligence, capable of speech and higher reasoning, although some versions have been more feral than others. During the "Secret Wars" in particular, he appeared less ruthless than his normal portrayal, showing concern for Volcana and the Wasp after they showed him kindness despite his usual disdain for humans. However, even when operating at the level of a human, the Lizard is rarely as intelligent as Dr. Connors, showing on many occasions an inability to understand his human self's work and use it to further his own ends despite his best efforts. |
9635_35 | The Lizard has apparently "destroyed" the Curt Connors persona, but has subsequently begun to display some of Connors's human emotions. In contrast to his previously feral nature, he has also shown sufficient intellectual capabilities to replicate Connors' work for himself, although he is still hampered by his inability to fully comprehend human emotions. |
9635_36 | Continuity |
9635_37 | In a 2004 story arc entitled Lizard's Tale, written by Paul Jenkins in the Spectacular Spider-Man comic book, it was revealed that the Lizard persona was not a separate personality from Dr. Connors after all — Curt had been consciously controlling his reptilian alter ego all along. Furthermore, Connors was shown to know that Peter Parker was Spider-Man, despite the discovery of the secret identity never being explained or depicted. The story ended with Dr. Connors deliberately getting himself sent to prison and hoping the Lizard would not be unleashed again. The Lizard's next appearance after this was as a member of the Sinister Twelve, where he showed no indication of being controlled by the mind of Dr. Connors. Although the idea of Connors controlling the Lizard was subsequently ignored, when the Lizard's mind was briefly trapped in Connors' human form, he attempted to mutate the staff of Horizon Labs into lizard people like himself, with none of the other lizards demonstrating the |
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