It's Christmas in Manhattan and all through the house...the Lizard and Stegron the Dinosaur Man are trying to rip Spider-Man limb from limb!

Okay, so it's not exactly Charles Dickens. But it's a pretty accurate summary of where things stand following Amazing Spider-Man #165. Stegron, a villain Spider-Man battled in the Savage Land in Marvel Team-Up #19-20, has come to New York with a plan for world domination. He has reanimated the skeletons of three dinosaurs on display at New York's Museum of Natural History and set them loose on Manhattan. They are to be the first in a planned army of reptile warriors.

Sounds like something the Lizard would dream up, right? Well, in the previous issue, Stegron kidnaps Billy Connors, the son of Dr. Curt Connors (A.K.A. the Lizard) and forces him to build the device that will reanimate the dinosaurs. The stress of seeing his young son kidnapped, combined with a lab accident he suffered helping Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #164, turns Dr. Connors into his lethal alter-ego. While the Lizard still doesn't realize that he is Curt Connors, he apparently has retained a small fraction of Dr. Connors' humanity, as he realizes he needs to track down Stegron and find Billy Connors.

Spider-Man encounters the Lizard at the very start of this story when he drops by the Connors family apartment. Of course, the two of them battle. "My quarrl is with Stegron, not with you -- but I'll not hesitate to destroy you if you get in my way!" the Lizard says. However, before the battle can reach a conclusion, the Lizard ducks down a manhole and escapes into the sewers. After the battle, Spider-Man finds Martha Connors, Curt's wife, in their apartment. She was getting ready for Christmas when her son was kidnapped and her husband transformed into a savage monster. "I'll get your boy and your husband back to you safe and sound," Spider-Man tells the tearful woman. "I owe Doc Connors that much -- and a whole lot more!"

Meanwhile, Stegron has come up with a "retro-generation ray" which will temporarily turn the animated dinosaur skeletons back into flesh-and-blood dinosaurs. He doesn't attempt to explain the technology here and it's probably for the best. But the Lizard crashes the party. "We could make a good team, you and I -- once I teach you who isss massster here!!" Stegron tells him as they fight. It's true; both have a lot in common. Both Stegron and the Lizard were scientist transformed into monsters through science. They have almost identical powers and both hate Spider-Man. But here, they are rivals. Stegron gets the better of the fight when the Lizard turns his attention to save Billy Connors from an oncoming dinosaur.

Spider-Man sees the commotion the dinosaurs are causing in Central Park (why does every Spider-Man battle of the 1970s seem to wind up in Central Park? Just curious). "That Godzilla gang will turn this park into a charnel house unless yours truly lends a hand in a hurry!" he says. Spider-Man webs up the dinosaurs' eyes, allowing police to subdue them. He then tracks down the Lizard and Stegron. The villains put aside their differences for a moment to go after the Web-Slinger, but Spider-Man shoots a stream of webbing right into the Lizard's mouth. The Lizard gets dizzy and collapses to the floor. It turns out that Spider-Man has mixed the serum that transforms the Lizard back into Curt Connors into his web fluid.

But now comes the tricky part. Stegron still has Billy Connors and is fleeing on the back of a tyrannosaurus rex. Spider-Man has to rescue Billy without hurting him -- and to make things worse, a heavy snow is falling outside. "Don't you realize you haven't a prayer of defeating me or my long-tailed brothersss?" Stegron says. Love how his "s" sounds become hisses - very nice touch.

Spider-Man rescues the boy from Stegron's clutches, but they find themselves surrounded by the three dinosaurs. However, before the dinosaurs can act, they crumble back into inanimate skeletons. It turns out that Dr. Connors has reversed the device Stegron used to animate them in the first place. That just leaves Stegron, who is trying to escape Spider-Man in Central Park. However, the cold winter weather is rapidly sapping his strength, since, as a reptile, he is cold-blooded. Kind of makes you wonder why the Lizard would ever leave his Florida home. Anyway, the exhausted Stegron falls through the ice into a frozen pond before Spider-Man can find him. "How absssurd...to be beaten thus...by the weather," Stegron thinks. "If only I had ssstayed hidden till the ssspring...I could have been massster...of...the...world....." The story ends with the Connors family enjoying a happy Christmas and Spider-Man leaving a gift outside their window. "Merry Christmas, New York -- you great big shiny apple you! And God bless us...every one!" A nice, happy ending if there ever was one.

We've got some other news in the secondary storylines. Flash Thompson and Harry Osborn throw a Christmas party (which Peter Parker can't attend because he's too busy looking for the Lizard and Stegron). At the party, Harry announces that he and Liz Allen are now engaged.

Also, Dr. Marla Madison, J. Jonah Jameson's associate and soon-to-be love interest, has a surprise for Jonah. She unveils the newest Spider-Slayer, which looks a lot like the original Spider-Slayer introduced way back in Amazing Spider-Man #25.

Overall, this was a fun story. Introducing Stegron into the mix was a neat twist to the traditional Spider-Man vs. the Lizard dynamic. In fact, Stegron probably is somewhat of an underutilized Spider-Man villain. The ending is great, as Stegron's own impatience proves to be his undoing. However, the Lizard gets beaten too easily for my liking. He should always be seen as one of Spider-Man's most deadly foes and he really isn't here. The Lizard makes his next appearance in Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #32-34. Stegron won't turn back up again the limited series Lethal Foes Of Spider-Man #1-4.

Next issue: Spider-Man fights Jonah's newest Spider-Slayer, plus the introduction of a strange new character, Will-o-the-Wisp!

Reviewed by Bruce Buchanan.