Freak (Vagrant) (Earth-616)

A drug addict named "Freak" was chased down by Spider-Man after he attempted to steal from the poor at the soup kitchen Spider-Man's Aunt May worked at. He stumbled into a laboratory owned by Curt Connors and injected himself with animal stem cell fluids, thinking they were crystal meth.^[8]

Freak then began to form a chrysalis around his body, emerging as a skinless monster. After being shot at by the police, he fell into the sewer and formed another chrysalis. Emerging as an animal hybrid, and completely bulletproof, Freak tracked Spider-Man by his scent after killing a hot-dog seller. After a violent confrontation, Freak gave in to his addictions, and found a meth lab. Spidey followed him, and during the ensuing fight, the building was set ablaze.^[9]

Freak was caught under the flaming debris, but survived and created a new chrysalis, which made him fireproof and even stronger. Freak emerged as an armadillo-like creature, and again tried to kill Spider-Man. When Connors arrived with the quicklime necessary to incapacitate Freak, Spider-Man tricked him into thinking Connors had drugs. Freak tore open the bags and was covered in the quicklime. He again formed a chrysalis, with Spider-Man pouring quicklime over it, to permanently incapacitate him. The chrysalis was taken by a hazmat crew, which was later revealed to be an Oscorp research group.^[3]

Freak was next seen cut open and hooked up to machines in an Oscorp lab where scientists were using his unique abilities to cure various diseases. Norman Osborn injected him with a sample of the Anti-Venom antibodies to create "super-venom," a virus capable of killing millions with a single drop. He then used the super-venom to re-power Mac Gargan who was "cured" of his symbiote by Anti-Venom. Norman also mentioned that Freak was now incapable of becoming high now because his body adapted to his drug addiction by removing the pleasure center of his brain. In the confrontation between Spider-Man and Osborn, Osborn activated the building's self-destruction, with Freak still inside. A search afterwards by Oscorp found "no signs of life," which made the team reason that Freak was killed, with Osborn immediately retorting "Idiot. Think about it for a second."^[4]

Months later, he was seen as one of the super villains that Doctor Octopus hired to find Lily Hollister's baby.^[10]

Freed from Ravencroft by Dark Carnage, Freak was recruited into the Cult of Knull alongside Will O' The Wisp and Conundrum; and bonded to an offshoot of the Carnage symbiote. Sent after Deadpool, he was seemingly killed when Deadpool overtaxed his body's ability to adapt, causing him to explode.^[6] Surviving, he was eventually recaptured by the authorities and imprisoned in the rebuilt Ravencroft Institute.^[7]

• Adaptive Physiology: Due to Freak's exposure to animal genetic fluids, his body began to constantly mutate, especially just before he would die, potentially making him immortal. This also improved all his physical abilities, endowing him with a strength and endurance superior to those of an average human. It has been shown that he can survive even when the organs are removed from his body.^[11]
• Mutative Regeneration and Immortality: When Freak dies, his body is surrounded by an acidic chrysalis that gives him the ability to spontaneously return to life mutated, acquiring the ability to survive any danger that has mortally wounded him before, and generally being more powerful. Freak has shown that he can come back to life even in the most extreme conditions, surviving after being shot and incinerated.^[9]
• Superhuman Strength: Initially, he possessed a level of superhuman strength, and he has shown that his strength can increase with each rejuvenation.^[12] He has been measured as being able to lift at least 3 tons.^[13]
• Superhuman Durability: After his first death, Freak became bulletproof. After his second death Freak became fireproof.^[9][4]
• Regenerative Healing Factor: Freak's regenerative capacity allows him to heal himself of serious injuries. Freak is completely invulnerable to most of the poisons, toxins, and drugs of the earth, in addition to acquiring complete immunity to them after being exposed only once, and Freak's brain no longer has pleasure centers, which makes it impossible for him to experience the "high" from recreational drugs.^[11]
• Superhuman Senses: All of Freak's senses have increased since he came back to life due to animal genes and constant mutations. Freak's sense of smell is so good that he even managed to find Spider-Man just because of his smell, even when he was in another part of the city.^[9]
• Poison: After experimenting on him in Oscorp Labs, he acquired the capacity to generate a poison so powerful that it has no comparison with any other created on Earth.^[4]

• Not very smart.
• Initially, extreme cold^{[citation needed]} and quicklime^[3] have significantly delayed his mutations while in chrysalis, but Freak has adapted to that.
• Formerly a drug addict, currently lacks a pleasure center in his brain, making him incapable of getting high.^[4]
• Adaptive ability can be overtaxed.^[6]