Peter Parker, also known as Spider-Man, gave Doctor Curt Connors permission to experiment with his blood samples in the interest of science. Fascinated by the possibilities and disregarding the consequences, Doctor Connors later spliced Peter's DNA with his own mutated DNA and the substance that created the Venom symbiote, unknowingly creating the creature known as Carnage. The creature escaped the Empire University lab where it was created, ultimately going on a killing spree in search of Peter Parker. One of it's victims was Gwen Stacy, high school student and houseguest of the Parkers. Peter later defeated the monster by tossing it into an industrial smoke stack. His revulsion at what the creature had done, coupled with his sense of helplessness to prevent it, caused the troubled teen to temporally give up being Spider-Man.