How to beat the Lizard in Spider-Man 2

Spider-Man 2 the Lizard boss stood on a skyscraper
Credit: Insomniac Games

Spider-Man 2 the Lizard boss stood on a skyscraper
Credit: Insomniac Games

Find yourself unable to beat the Lizard in Spider-Man 2, no matter what you try? Worry not, as we've got all the information you'll need to take down Dr Curt Connors' monstrous form. We'll also be providing tips throughout our guide on what abilities you should be utilising in the Lizard fight, in order to give yourself the best chance at success.

Fighting against the Lizard is an amazing spectacle in Spider-Man 2, with the fight progressing through three different stages that scale in difficulty, as well as a brief chase sequence to top things off. Use this guide to become a master at fighting the Lizard, and make the fight a breeze.

For more Spider-Man 2, we've got everything you need to know about the game in our Spider-Man 2 walkthrough hub! There, you'll find information on all our Spider-Man 2 guides, such as how long the game takes to beat and how to do tricks.

Spider-Man 2 the Lizard boss
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Credit: Insomniac Games

How do you beat the Lizard boss in Spider-Man 2?

Before starting the fight with Lizard, you'll have to track him down first. Your showdown with the Lizard takes place in the It Chose You mission, which you'll trigger after slipping down a manhole cover where the Lizard is currently lurking.

After making your way through the sewers and an old subway line, you'll arrive at an Oscorp lab. It's here you'll encounter the Lizard, while you search for clues in the abandoned facility. For this fight, you'll want to have the symbiote suit equipped, alongside all the powers you've unlocked, as the symbiote powers seem to deal the most damage to the Lizard.

Phase One

The first phase of the Lizard fight is also the easiest. You'll be fighting the Lizard exclusively on the ground, so you can make use of skills like swing kicking. At this point in the fight, the Lizard has four different attacks: a tail swipe, two different claw attacks, and a devastating bite that will deal huge damage. Of these attacks, only the bite cannot be parried and must be dodged. You'll know a bite is incoming when blue rings appear around the Lizard's head, so prepare to dodge away immediately.

Each of the claw attacks and the tail swipes can however be parried immediately. Of these, the tail swipe is the most damaging of the three, and if you're not confident parrying then you should focus on just dodging this attack.

With the claw attacks, the Lizard will either use a charging attack to close the distance between you and him, or a standing attack with multiple swings if you're standing close by. Neither of these should give you much trouble to parry, but if in doubt you can always dodge.

Take some time to learn the moveset of the Lizard if you're struggling to make progress, particularly at this phase of the fight. You'll want to make sure you're adept at dodging all of these attacks, as things are only getting tougher from here.

You can also use different items and features of the room you're in to stun or damage the Lizard. Using L1+R1, you're able to fling the yellow vent doors at the Lizard, stunning him for a long period of time. This gives you the perfect opening to get some heavy hits in and whittle down that huge health bar.

Spider-Man pinned against a metal fence by the Lizard boss
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Credit: Insomniac Games

Phase Two

Once you've beaten down the Lizard's first health bar, you'll trigger the start of phase two. The Lizard will jump up onto the wall of the room you're in, before flinging pieces of concrete at you from range. To add insult to injury, he'll have a full health bar once more.

Focus on dodging the projectiles when the Lizard is on the wall: you'll not be able to deflect them back at him. Equally, you can take the fight to the Lizard when he's up on the wall. Fire your Web-Shooters at the Lizard's face to distract him, allowing you to get up close and personal to get a few hits in.

Upon doing so, you'll be able to knock him back down to the ground and continue the fight as before. Take this section of the fight as slow as you need, as the Lizard's attacks are faster than they were in phase one. As before, you'll fight until the Lizard's health bar is almost depleted, which will then trigger a cutscene and the chase segment of the fight.

For the chase, you'll have to tail the Lizard through the streets of New York City before ultimately catching up to him. While in the later stages of the pursuit, the Lizard will hurl debris and flaming cars at you. When the projectiles glow red, you'll have to dodge out of the way to keep pace with the Lizard.

The final stage of the chase will see the Hunters join the chase for the Lizard, resulting in more explosions and more projectiles being sent your way. Once they've slowed the Lizard down and you've caught up to him, you'll have to complete a section where you'll be traversing up the side of a skyscraper, dodging a flaming vehicle that's hanging off of the Lizard. Make sure to dodge whenever the vehicle gets close to you, and you'll reach the end of phase two.

Spider-Man stood on the lizard boss's stomach as he falls from a building
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Credit: Insomniac Games

Phase 3

Congratulations, you've finally made it to Stage 3. Unfortunately, this is where things get really tough. The Lizard is now armed with a tedious roar attack that will cause you to be stunned if you're caught up in it. Additionally, the Lizard will be making use of all the previously mentioned attacks and abilities in this fight, so you'll have to use all the skills you've built up to this point to achieve success.

To counter the roar attack, you'll need to dodge out of its way. Failing to dodge the roar will lead to you becoming stunned, and you'll be open to the Lizard's more devastating attacks.

You'll once again be able to make use of the vent doors like you could in phase one of the fight, in order to stun the Lizard and get some free hits in. Lure the Lizard over to stand next to one, before using L1+R1 to trigger the stun.

Now's also the time to make sure you utilise Symbiote Surge if you've got enough charge: this is measured in the top-right of the screen, and you'll deal huge damage to the Lizard by using this ability.

Aside from the addition of the roar attack, the third and final phase of the Lizard fight is very similar to the previous phases, and provided you made it through those stages you'll probably not have much trouble here. Once you've emptied the Lizard's final health bar, the fight will end and you will be victorious.

That's all there is to know about how to defeat the Lizard boss in Spider-Man 2! For more Spider-Man 2 guides like this, why not check out whether the game has New Game Plus, or what is the maximum level you can be in Spider-Man 2? Also, we've got guides on how to do a stealth takedown and how to perform finishers, if you're looking to become an expert in combat.