India Officially Has the Ultimate Version of 1 MCU VIllain

Warning: Spoilers for Spider-Man: India #1 and #2!The newly fan-favorite Spider-Man India is preparing to take on the strongest version of a classic Spidey rival. Following a surge in popularity after appearing in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Pavitr Prabhakar is back with his own solo miniseries, which will introduce his own arch-nemesis, that puts a new and dangerous spin on the classic Spider-Man villain, Lizard.

Courtesy of League of Comic Geeks, readers now have a preview of what to expect in Spider-Man: India #2 by Nikesh Shukla, Abhishek Malsuni, Scott Hanna, and VC’s Joe Caramagna. The solicit for the next issue teases that this version of The Lizard poses a threat to all of Mumbai. This Lizard also appears to have an array of new abilities that make for what could possibly be “the most powerful version yet” of the monster. Readers can also catch a glimpse below of the issue’s cover art from Adam Kubert and Brad Anderson.

Spider-Man India’s New Villain Is The Lizard

Pavitr Prabhakar is Spider-Man India, who made his debut in Marvel Comics’ 2004-05 miniseries Spider-Man: India, taking place on Earth-50101, which saw Prabhakar gain spider-like powers similar to Earth-616’s Peter Parker. In Spider-Man: India #1, the first issue of his most recent series, Pavitr gets a taste of his first big threat. After an adventure with Peter Parker and Miles Morales, Pavitr returns to Mumbai and meets Dr. Kushal B. Kumar. Kumar is a genius-level scientist who researches reptile brains and primal instincts. Kumar is obsessed with his research to the point that he tries to ambush Pavitr into becoming an unwilling test subject for one of his experiments. His plan backfires, transforming him into a humanoid lizard, a.k.a. The Lizard of Earth-50101.

The Lizard moniker is most commonly associated with Dr. Curt Connors in Peter’s world. The original Lizard has proven to have a bevy of abilities: standard super strength and agility, regeneration, and the ability to telepathically control other reptiles. If Kumar has these same abilities alone, he is destined to provide a formidable threat to Pavitr. With the implication that this Lizard has new abilities of his own, either in addition to or replacing the ones that Lizard is known for, then it’s easy to see how Kumar has the potential to be Marvel’s most powerful Lizard.

This Could Be The Strongest Lizard Ever

One has to wonder if these new abilities will manifest as some sort of supernatural, demonic force. The precedent has already been set with Spider-Man India’s demonic Mysterio, and the same could be the case for Kumar. Only time will tell how this Lizard lives up to the long history of an iconic Spider-Man villain, as well as how Spider-Man India will be able to fend off this new threat.

Sources: League of Comic Geeks