Disney+ just debuted Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and surprised fans by race and gender-swapping a famous villain.
Marvel Studios and other Hollywood studios have been criticized as "woke" in the past for making race and gender swaps to existing characters.
Most recently, The Fantastic Four: First Steps got backlash online after casting a female Silver Surfer to serve alongside the villain Galactus.
The Lizard Gets Major Changes in Disney+'s Spider-Man Show
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Episode 2 surprised fans with the introduction of Dr. Carla Connors as a one-armed Oscorp scientist who will be taking up mentoring duties for Peter Parker in the internship program.
Marvel fans will be well aware the name is a spin on Dr. Curt Connors, a scientific genius who researches reptiles' ability to regrow limbs. These studies and a desire to regrow a missing limb of his own leads Connors to transform into the Lizard.
Connors' introduction comes with a surprising spin in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man as not only does Curt become Carla, but she is also portrayed with a darker skin tone, despite the character usually being white.
As such, Marvel Television has both gender and race-swapped Connors and the Lizard for its latest Disney+ series, the reasons behind which are unclear.
Dr. Carla Connor is voiced by Zehtra Fazal, who is Arab-American and of Pakistani descent. The actress has credits in My Adventures with Superman, Young Justice, Big Hero 6: The Series, and Voltron: Legendary Defender.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man similarly gave the race-swap treatment to one of Marvel's most famous villains Norman Osborn. The future Green Golbin is voiced in the series by two-time Oscar nominee and Black actor Colman Domingo, and, as such, both Norman and his son Harry are portrayed as Black.
Domingo was once rumored to be in line to replace Jonathan Majors as Kang before plans for the villain were abandoned in favor of introducing Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday.
Lizard also isn't the first Spider-Man villain to get gender-swapped in recent years, as Into the Spider-Verse set aside Dr. Otto Octavius, aka Doc Ock, for Dr. Olivia Octavius, who was voiced by Agatha All Along actress Kathryn Hahn.
Will the Lizard Appear in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man?
As one would expect in an era where much of Marvel Studios' latest movies and shows are criticized as woke, the online reactions to gender and race-swapping The Lizard in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man have been mixed at best.
Disney+'s new Spider-Man animated series has sought to put a fresh spin on heroes and villains from across the Marvel mythos. The changes surrounding the Lizard are likely just another of these switch-ups that, ultimately, won't have much bearing on the character or story going forward.
For now, Carla Connors is just a one-armed scientist working at Oscorp who will serve as a mentor to Peter Parker. The two ought to build a close bond as the series progresses (with two more seasons already confirmed), making Connors' inevitable downfall into the Lizard only more heartbreaking.
Early photos released from Disney+'s Spider-Man series revealed a line-up of villains who will appear including Doc Ock, Hammerhead, Scorpion, and more, but there was no sign of the Lizard.
This could suggest that Connors' road to reptilian evolution may be saved for Season 2 or 3 unless a surprise twist is coming.
The first two episodes of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man are streaming now on Disney+ with new episodes set to release every Wednesday.
