PREVIOUSLY: In Spectacular Spider-Man #235, Peter Parker is busy tying up loose ends and severing ties with Portland, as he and Mary Jane are moving back to New York. While doing so, he suddenly is hit by another wave of violent spasms, which have been recurring a lot as of late.

At the end of Spider-Man Volume 1 #70, Peter Parker passes out on the floor of his apartment, after rushing home to tell his wife, Mary Jane, about his exciting evening. As he is not breathing, MJ frantically dials 911.

In Spectacular Spider-Man #236, Peter is rushed to the hospital where doctors work hard to try and find what is wrong with him. But they are helpless, as his condition continues to deteriorate.

In Sensational Spider-Man #7, Peter Parker goes into cardiac arrest, though the doctors are able to "bring him back". At issue's end, Dr. Curt Connors is called in to have a look at Peter, whose condition continues to worsen by the second.

In Spectacular Spider-Man #237, Peter Parker ends up being not dead after all. He somehow goes through some sort of rebirth and unknowingly trashes his hospital room, alerting Mary Jane and Ben Reilly, who are mourning out in the hall. Needless to say, they are utterly shocked to find him alive and well.

Ecstatic about this great news, Ben goes out swinging as Spider-Man and runs into the Lizard, after being alerted of his presence along the waterfront. In the ensuing battle, the Lizard takes off towards the hospital where Peter is recovering. Ben follows him and the two of them continue their battle on the hospital rooftop. Inside the hospital, Peter Parker is visited by Dr. Curt Connors when they become aware of Ben and the Lizard fighting each other. Apparently frightened, Dr. Connors takes off without explanation. Wanting to find out if his spider-like powers have returned, Peter makes his way to the rooftop to help his "brother". Though he makes it to the rooftop and helps Ben to a certain extent, Peter is accidentally pushed off the ledge of the building and Ben is forced to abandon his battle with the Lizard to save him. At issue's end, as they regain their strength, Peter informs Ben that the Lizard he was fighting was not Dr. Connors since he was just with him minutes earlier.

Also in the issue, Joe Robertson and Gloria Grant investigate the disappearance of J. Jonah Jameson, who has been missing for more than 48 hours.

In Spectacular Spider-Man #238, Dr. Curt Connors returns to his home in Florida. Unbeknownst to him, the new Lizard has been making his way through the eastern states, terrorizing and killing all in his path, to its final destination: Florida. The surprising coincidence is explained when it is revealed that Dr. Connors and his new lab assistant were accidentally responsible for the creation of this new Lizard – a creature devoid of anything but its own primal brutal instincts.

The Lizard comments to Spidey that Dr. Connors chose to release him in order to protect his son and he commends him on his sacrifice. With that said, he launches himself at Spidey. Spidey dodges his attack and lands on one of the walls inside the lab. As he "sticks" there, we are given a summary of the two previous issues and how he – Spider-Man – made his way to Florida after finding out that a new Lizard, whom he had confronted back in New York City, was now heading for Florida, most specifically, the home of Dr. Curt Connors. The Lizard rips one of the building’s concrete columns off the floor and hurls it at Spidey. Spidey dodges the concrete "missile", which keeps on going and smashes through one of the lab's walls, inadvertently knocking out all the support and causing the ceiling to start buckling under its own weight. Realizing that Billy and Martha Connors are still trapped in the building, Spidey uses the dead body of the new Lizard, which lies behind the Lizard, to trip him. Totally infuriated, the Lizard tackles Spidey and proceeds to take him out of the lab and into a swampy area quite far from the lab.

Though Spidey had planned for the Lizard to take him out of the lab, he sure as hell had not planned for the Lizard to take him right to a swampy area, his turf, which can only spell trouble for the wall-crawler. Using his telepathic connection o other reptiles, the Lizard summons an assortment of alligators and snakes to join him in his battle against Spidey. Realizing the importance of taking the Lizard down immediately, Spidey steps his attack up a notch and delivers some solid punches. Yet, the Lizard is more vicious and tougher than before and he retaliates by sending Spidey slamming into a large tree with a spin of his long scaly tail. Before Spidey can regain his full strength, dozens of poisonous reptiles surround him and attack mercilessly. Spidey tries to fend them off, as poison seeps through his bloodstream.

Just then, Billy Connors arrives on the scene and begs the Lizard (his dad) to stop and explains that Spidey is trying to help him. Spidey tells Billy to get the heck out of there before he gets hurt but Billy replies that he's not in danger, explaining that his dad will not allow any harm to come his way. Billy could not be more wrong because the reptiles suddenly start to surround him too. Totally infuriated with the Lizard's cold-bloodedness, Spidey gets rid of all the reptiles that were piling up on him and stands ready to attack. The Lizard spins his tail towards him but he dodges the attack by jumping out of harm's way. As he does so, the Lizard's tail – having missed Spidey – comes crashing through a nearby tree, causing it to start falling towards Billy Connors. Still dazed from being poisoned by the reptiles, Spidey is unable to react in time. Thankfully, the Lizard has a change of heart and he tackles the falling tree. Though the act is courageous, the outcome is life-threatening: the Lizard is pinned under the tree in the middle of the stream bed and the water is rising. The only one that can help him – Spidey – is too weak from the venom coursing through his veins and his feet keep sinking in the swamp, making it impossible for him to get any leverage. Realizing that the Lizard will drown if he doesn’t get out from underneath the tree, Spidey tries to convince him from reverting back to his human self. The Lizard is not receptive to his suggestion so Spidey explains to him that once the telepathic connection between the reptiles and him is severed – the result of him drowning in the stream – the reptiles are going to tear his son apart, piece by piece (they are still surrounding Billy threateningly). As the Lizard disappears into the ever rising water, his response regarding the likely demise of his offspring is rather disconcerting: "So be it". Realizing that he has but seconds to save Billy, Spidey tries to gather his strength to get him out of there, but the poison coursing through his bloodstream is too much for him to handle and he passes out atop the tree that was pinning the Lizard down. Surrounded by the reptile, Billy gets a surge of courage and prepares to fight them off. Suddenly however, the reptiles decide to leave. It takes Billy but a moment to realize that the only possible reason for the reptile's sudden retreat is that his father is not dead after all. On cue, his father surfaces from the stream and he's reverted back to his human self. The two Connors hug each other and the elder tells his son to quickly run to the house and get something that will help Spidey.

The next day, on a flight bound to New York, Ben Reilly's thoughts reveal how Dr. Connors concocted and administered anti-venoms into his bloodstream to rid him of the poison that almost killed him. Ben's thoughts also reveal that he admires Dr. Connors and respects his values and beliefs and knows that he cares about humanity, though the last page of the issue seems to indicate that the Lizard may not be buried very deep beneath the surface of Dr. Curt Connors.

The end...for now.