While Spider-Man|Peter Parker was assisting his Aunt May at the FEAST Project (Food, Emergency, Aid, Shelter and Training) soup kitchen, an unnamed heroin addict snatched the donation box and fled for the streets en-route to purchase China White (heroin). Parker quickly donned his Spider-Man costume and pursued the addict. Seeing that he was about to be captured the addict quickly caused the crowed of on lookers to panic frantically, creating a diversion that allowed him to escape into the alley way. Spider-Man was able to entrap him in webbing and recover the money, but the slippery addict was able to free himself by taking off his clothing, and fleeing the New York City, police officers who were in the processing of arresting him, by taking to the city’s rooftops. Frantic and scared he fell through the skylight of Professor Curtis Connors' laboratory, where he found several syringes that he use to sedate his heroin addiction, however the drugs that he used transformed him into a monstrous flesh cocoon chrysalis.
While picking up the trash, a streets and sanitation worker stumbled upon the flesh cocoon chrysalis hung between two buildings. Forensic Specialist Carlie Cooper performed a rudimentary examination of the thing, discovering that it dissolved anything it came into contact with. When he returned to his office, Professor Connors revealed that the syringes contained several months of animal stem-cell research. The addict emerged from the chrysalis as nothing but flesh and bones. Spider-Man arrived on the scene, just as the police shot him in the head and the body fell in the sewer, which led everyone to believe that he was dead. Although, as Freak floats downstream, his blood, infested with Professor Connors' experimental animal stem-cells formed another chrysalis around him. When he emerged from the chrysalis in the sewer, Freak had mutated once more. He had manifested web feet and hands, his body had changed so much that he could not even feel the extreme cold of the sewer water. He realized that his sense of smell was also very acute and he felt much stronger.
Freak was totally surprised and shocked by the miraculous transformation of his body, to the point that he became enraged with Spider-Man, who he swore he would make pay for this tragic atrocity. However, the transformation into a monster did not cure the Freak's addiction, he went in search of a Crank lab ran by his friend Raymond. Freak tracked Spider-Man's scent to the Mayoral campaign event of Candidate Randall Crowne, which was being covered by Peter Parker for the Daily Bugle. Freak battled Spider-Man to a standstill, leaving Ramdall's property of Crowne Plaza rally in shambles. His drug obsession eventually led him the Meth lab where he killed Raymond. Spider-Man traced Freak to the lab, where they fought once more ending with them blowing up the building. Freak was able to survive once again by forming a chrysalis around himself.
The Opiate addicted monster Freak remained cocooned in his protected chrysalis, due to the extreme cold brought on by the supernatural snowstorm created by the Mayan god of mischief Wayep and his minions. Professor Connor theorized that Freak would remain in hibernation as long as the temperature remained freezing. However, after Spider-Man defeated Deity and the irrational Doctor Rabin, the temperature began to rise and so did Freak. This time Spider-Man and Connors combined their efforts to defeat the fiend and he was taken away by operatives of Norman Osborn, disguised as a municipal hazmat team. Once he re-emerged from his chrysalis, he was vivisected and injected a variety of pathogens, for which his body produced cures. While on a visit to New York with the Thunderbolts, Norman Osborn injected Freak with a fluid sample from the Anti-Venom (Eddie Brock), producing a serum that counteracted the damage done to Venom (Mac Gargan). Venom later used the serum against Anti-Venom in a battle.
