After the
Jackal stole the Carrion virus from
Shriek's body who was infected by
Carrion (Malcolm McBride), he used it to create a new version of the virus to infect and kill the population of Springville, Pennsylvania. Upon the Jackal's subsequent death,
S.H.I.E.L.D. assigned Dr. William Allen to study the corpse. He discovered a hidden pouch containing a sample of the virus and deliberately infected himself, becoming Carrion. Though infected with Professor Warren's memories, Allen proved strong enough to resist, learning to control crowds with his red dust and releasing this "zombie plague" on Broadway. With his son one of the victims of the plague, the
Tinkerer agreed to teleport
Spider-Man to
Wundagore Mountain to seek help from the
High Evolutionary. Though he admitted his part in the creation of the Carrion virus, the High Evolutionary dismissed this as beneath him and sent Spider-Man back. Instead Spider-Man retrieved the modified journal of Warren's research, hoping that S.H.I.E.L.D would be able to develop a cure from it. In a subsequent battle, Professor Warren's memories began to reassert themselves and fought with Allen for control of the body, which allowed Spider-Man to defeat them. The
High Evolutionary aided S.H.I.E.L.D. in finding a cure for the zombie plague, but was unable to find a cure for Allen himself who still resides in stasis in a secure S.H.I.E.L.D. facility.
Marvel Universe 
