'Amazing Spider-Man' Villain A 'Mentor And Adversary'

It's a familiar trend in superhero movies for the protagonist to feel a kinship with the villain. Just look at Batman and the Joker, or Professor Xavier and Magneto. But "The Amazing Spider-Man" director Marc Webb told MTV News that the concept will be taken to the next degree in his film. Curt Connors, a.k.a. the Lizard, will be played by Rhys Ifans in the latest "Spider-Man" incarnation. Connors has lost his arm and, as Webb explained, "That desire to get that arm back corrupts him in some way." But the connection between him and leading man Peter Parker, played by Andrew Garfield, is that Parker is also looking for something that he's lost: his parents. "Curt Connors is both a mentor and an adversary, and that's what I think is fascinating about that villain character," Webb told MTV News at San Diego Comic-Con. "That's what makes this story different." Ifans echoed similar sentiments when MTV News caught up with him in San Diego, saying Connors doesn't see himself as a villain and "wants to save the world," so that element adds an additional layer to his character. But at the film's heart, Connors' relationship with Parker will keep audiences interested. "In the same way as Peter is looking for his parents, Curt is looking to complete the circle in his life," Ifans explained. "They both dance to the tune of the same moral question." Webb said "The Amazing Spider-Man" is definitely going to deal with Parker's missing parents, which is something the previous three "Spider-Man" movies didn't touch upon. There have been many different versions of that story line in the comics, including one where Parker's parents are actually CIA agents, but Webb said they would be telling their own story in "The Amazing Spider-Man." "We're creating a world of our own devising, but we take cues from the comics," he explained. "In terms of the CIA agent thing, we aren't really going down that road in particular, not in this movie anyways, but there's a lot of stuff to explore and define and that was part of the fun of creating this universe in a new and different way." Check out everything we've got on "The Amazing Spider-Man." For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies -- updated around the clock -- visit SplashPage.MTV.com. Andrew Garfield in "The Amazing Spider-Man" Photo: Sony Pictures