As a former MIT scientist working for the Kingpin, Dr. Johnathon Ohnn was assigned to reproduce the radiation levels of the superhero Cloak and artificially mimic his powers. Working late one night, he succeeded in creating a solid black circular portal. In doing so, however, the drain on the city's power became so great, a blackout washed over the city, causing the portal to shimmer and destabilize. Fearful of losing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Ohnn stepped into it. The shock of the transition caused him to pass out. He awoke floating weightlessly in a dimension which he initially assumed was Cloak's dark dimension. He soon realized that the power shortage caused the portal to send him to a different dimension, a place of half darkness and half light. A seemingly infinite number of portals surrounded him in this place. Making swimming motions, he found the original portal that brought him there and slipped back through it. When Ohnn emerged back in his lab, his body had undergone a radical transformation. The portals from the other dimension had adhered to his skin, covering him with black spots acting as portals. When Spider-Man and Black Cat arrived to confront Kingpin, he appeared before them and announced himself as the Spot. Spider-Man collapsed on the roof, laughing at the name. The Spot ended up winning that first confrontation and warned the heroes to leave the Kingpin alone. He later lost a second battle against Spider-Man, because he was tricked into throwing too many of his spots as weapons and not keeping enough to defend himself with.