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Absorbing Man

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Absorbing Man
The Absorbing Man (background) on the cover of Thor #376 (Feb. 1987).
Art by Walt Simonson.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceJourney into Mystery #114 (March 1965)
Created byStan Lee (Writer)
Jack Kirby (Artist)
In-story information
Alter egoCarl "Crusher" Creel
Team affiliationsMasters of Evil
They Who Wield Power
Legion Accursed
Worthy
Lethal Legion
Astonishing Avengers[1]
PartnershipsTitania
Notable aliasesRocky Davis, Lightningbolt, Greithoth: Breaker of Wills, Harold
AbilitiesAbility to mimic any form of matter or energy via physical contact

The Absorbing Man (Carl "Crusher" Creel) is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in Journey into Mystery #114, cover dated March 1965, created by writer Stan Lee and writer/artist Jack Kirby. Over the years he has played a part on several Marvel Comics crossovers such as the original Secret Wars and Fear Itself.

Creel was given the power to take the form of any material he touched, "absorbing" the property of the material itself. Over the years the power has worked both for and against him, such as being turned into water, then mixed with dirt to become mud, or once when he became cocaine and had to reassemble himself. The Absorbing Man was given his powers by the Asgardian god Loki in a plot to defeat Loki's brother Thor. During the Secret Wars storyline Creel became romantically involved with the super villain Titania and the two were linked for decades afterwards. During the Fear Itself storyline, Creel comes into possession of a divine Asgardian hammer, granting him amplified powers and turning him into Greithoth: Breaker of Wills.

Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books, the Absorbing Man has featured in over four decades of Marvel continuity and other Marvel-endorsed products such as animated television series, video games, and merchandise such as trading cards.

The character has seen a live-action adaptation in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. portrayed by Brian Patrick Wade.

Publication history

The Absorbing Man first appears in Journey into Mystery #114 (Mar. 1965) and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.[2]

Fictional character biography

Carl "Crusher" Creel was a boxer and jailed criminal who becomes the Absorbing Man when he drinks a liquid which the Asgardian god Loki laced with a magic potion. Discovering that he could absorb the properties of anything he touched, Creel escapes prison by absorbing metal from the guards' bullets and goes on to battle Thor. When he escapes, he takes with him the ball and chain to which he was shackled, and uses the ball and chain as a weapon. Although he is only mortal, Creel's fantastic abilities make him a worthy opponent for Thor, who is later forced to end the battle due to Loki's kidnapping of Jane Foster. Creel then breaks into a house and attacks the occupants. Thor comes to the rescue and tricks Creel into changing his atomic structure into pure helium. Thor accomplishes this by using his hammer's powers to transform the ground's molecular makeup. As Creel is acquiring additional mass from direct contact with the Earth when this happens he ends up drifting harmlessly into the atmosphere.[3][4]

A short time later, Loki retrieves Creel from space using Asgardian technology after he has knocked out an Asgardian warlock and sends Creel back to battle Thor. After Creel is nearly beaten due to Thor's fighting skill, Loki transports him to Asgard and reveals the true source of his "absorbing" powers. After being humbled by Loki, Creel agrees to act as his agent, and he is directed to take over the city. The Absorbing Man defeats the Asgardian legions without too much trouble and eventually confronts Odin himself. Creel absorbs Odin's attacks and then the properties of Asgard itself, hoping to rule the Universe, and he towers over Odin as Loki arrives to gloat. Thor is ordered by Odin not to keep attacking. Loki and Creel are then beaten by trickery; once given Odin's Rod of Rulership the two quarrel over it, the Absorbing Man trying to absorb the rod, and the two find they cannot let go. Odin then advises them that his power lies not in a mere object, but deep within himself. The pair are then banished to space.[5]

The Absorbing Man eventually returns on a comet and battles the Hulk. Bruce Banner had been sent to divert the comet, as it was feared it was radioactive, but the Absorbing Man leapt aboard and began absorbing the Hulk's strength. He tries to bury the Hulk under a mountain, but when the Hulk turns back to human form, the Absorbing Man is unable to support the great weight and was buried.[6]

However, Creel goes on to battle many other heroes, such as the Avengers,[7] Daredevil,[8] Dazzler,[9] the Hulk,[10] and Spider-Man.[11] He is one of the villains who participates in the Secret Wars, and also develops a romantic relationship with the super-strong villainess Titania.[12] The pair also join the reformed fourth version of the Masters of Evil.[13] Creel has several more battles with Thor[14] (and the Eric Masterson Thor)[15] and a skirmish with cosmic hero Quasar.[16] Although he assisted Crossbones in a plan to attack Captain America, when Absorbing Man learned that Crossbones intended to detonate a bomb in New York, he absorbed the properties of Captain America's shield to contain the blast, declaring that he was not a murderer.[17]

Creel is later incarcerated in New York's experimental "Ant-Hill" prison called the Big House, where all prisoners are reduced in size via Hank Pym's "Pym Particles". An escape attempt is thwarted by She-Hulk.[18]

The Absorbing Man escapes prison and allies with the Owl as an enforcer,[19] but finds himself opposed by Spider-Man and new hero Ethan Edwards (later revealed to be a disguised Skrull). He is briefly trapped and converted into a new form of cocaine by one of the Owl's operatives when they become frustrated with his unprofessional approach,[20] with the new drug briefly giving those who snort him a degree of his powers, but he eventually manages to reassemble himself in a sewer and goes after the Owl for revenge.[21] Spider-Man manages to defeat Creel by tricking him into running a gauntlet where he absorbs multiple objects thrown at him, culminating in Creel absorbing two different chemicals that cause him to explode.[22]

The Absorbing Man later battles and is apparently killed by the hero Sentry during the events of Civil War.[23] However, he later appears at the funeral of the villain Stilt-Man.[24]

Creel and Titania later come into conflict with the heroine She-Hulk and her Skrull partner Jazinda after they attempt to arrest Creel's cousin Rockwell "Hi-Lite" Davis.[25]

During the Dark Reign storyline, Creel joins a new version of the Lethal Legion led by the Grim Reaper.[26] After a defeat, Creel escapes prison and absorbs a shard of the Cosmic Cube.[27]

The Absorbing Man suffers a setback when villain Norman Osborn uses an enchanted sword—provided by Loki—to remove his absorbing powers completely.[28]

Creel is also revealed to be the father of the hero Stonewall.[29]

Creel regains his powers and storms Avengers Tower to recover his ball and chain. He is defeated by Avengers' coordinators Maria Hill, Sharon Carter, and Victoria Hand after absorbing the latter's cold.[30]

During the Fear Itself storyline, Creel and Titania encounter two of the divine hammers that contain the essences of the Worthy, generals to Odin's brother and adversary, Cul Borson. Coming into contact with the hammers, Titania and Creel were transformed into Skirn: Breaker of Men[31] and Greithoth: Breaker of Wills,[32] respectively. They later went on a rampage depicted in a number of Fear Itself tie-in books, most prominently Avengers Academy #15–19 and Iron Man 2.0 #5–6, as well as that storyline's core miniseries.

During the AXIS storyline, Absorbing Man appears as a member of Magneto's unnamed supervillain group during the fight against Red Skull's Red Onslaught form.[33] He is briefly converted to heroism when everyone on the island experiences a moral inversion as Doctor Doom and Scarlet Witch attempt to bring out the Charles Xavier in Red Skull, joining the new Astonishing Avengers assembled by Steve Rogers and Spider-Man to oppose the inverted heroes.[1] Absorbing Man later reverts to villainy when the inversion is undone.[34]

When Absorbing Man and Titania were robbing an armored car, the female Thor appeared to thwart their plans. Upon meeting the female Thor, Creel mocked her for being a woman and for having taken Thor's name for herself, which she answered by breaking his jaw. Titania then appeared to confront her but, in respect for what she was doing, she knocked out her husband with his own weapon and surrendered.[35]

During the Secret Wars storyline of 2015, Absorbing Man is among the villains attending Kingpin's viewing party of the incursion between Earth-616 and Earth-1610.[36]

During the Avengers: Standoff! storyline, Absorbing Man was an inmate of Pleasant Hill, a gated community established by S.H.I.E.L.D.. Using Kobik, S.H.I.E.L.D. transformed Absorbing Man into a man named Harold.[37] During his time as Harold, Absorbing Man ran an ice cream parlor and was in love with Sheriff Eva. When Baron Zemo and Fixer restored the memories of the inmates, Absorbing Man joined in on their uprising with Whirlwind. Illuminati members Hood and Titania arrived at Pleasant Hill to retrieve Absorbing Man. Although he was shaken from having a S.H.I.E.L.D.-induced normal life, Absorbing Man sides with the Illuminati as they work to assemble the other inmates to get revenge on S.H.I.E.L.D..[38]

During the "Opening Salvo" part of the Secret Empire storyline, Absorbing Man is recruited by Baron Helmut Zemo to join the Army of Evil.[39]

At some point, Absorbing Man was imprisoned in a deep space torture prison. He was defeated by Black Bolt in combat.[40] Absorbing Man later made an acquaintance with Black Bolt and fellow inmates Blinky, Metal Master, and Raava.[41] Upon taking in Black Bolt's sonic scream, Absorbing Man seemingly sacrifices himself to help destroy the torture prison's Jailer, enabling Black Bolt and the other inmates to escape.[42] At the time when Jailer has possessed Blinky's mind in order to kill Black Bolt, Lockjaw took Titania to Parkwood Cemetery where Absorbing Man suddenly emerged from his grave.[43] Absorbing Man and Titania helped Black Bolt fight a Jailer-possessed Blinky until they managed to drive Jailer out of him.[44]

Powers and abilities

Courtesy of a magical potion, Crusher Creel has the ability to duplicate the properties of anything he touches—gas, liquid, solid, or even energy sources. This transformation also extends to the clothing and ball and chain that Creel was wearing when the potion took effect (for example, if Creel touches the metal titanium, his body, clothing, and ball and chain take on the appearance and properties of titanium). If the object is large (e.g., a building), Creel can absorb sufficient mass to attain the same height. Creel also retains his intellect and capacity for speech and full physical movement (although his first attempt at absorbing water cost Creel his sanity when he tried to keep himself from drifting apart)[45] and can reform if his body is damaged in any way while in altered form, which he discovered when Wolverine cut his arm off during the Secret Wars while he was in a stone form and he held it in place as he deactivated his powers.[46]

Creel's overall power increases in direct proportion to the strength of the material absorbed. There is almost no limit to what Creel can absorb, as he has absorbed the properties of bronze;[47] cocaine;[48] Odin's Cosmic Bolt and later cyclonic storm;[49] diamond;[50] glass;[51] light;[9] rock, silk, soil;[52] spikes;[53] steel;[54] Thor's uru hammer Mjolnir;[55] water;[45] and even the properties of Asgard itself,[49] although absorbing the Sentry's power proved too much for Creel, causing him to become overloaded with energy and nearly killing him.[23]

Creel is now also capable of combining previously absorbed abilities.[56]

Other versions

Age of Apocalypse

In the Age of Apocalypse reality, Absorbing Man (alongside Diablo) works as a prison camp warden in Mexico.[57]

Earth X

In the limited series Earth X, set in the alternate universe Earth-9997, Creel is also capable of absorbing knowledge which he did upon absorbing Ultron's knowledge and was eventually able to remember everything previously absorbed and to display any of these properties at will.[58]

House of M

In the House of M reality, Absorbing Man is seen as a member of the Hood's Masters of Evil.[59]

Marvel Zombies

In the Marvel Zombies reality, Creel, as a zombie, works for the zombie Kingpin. He battles the interloper Machine Man while in stone form. He is tricked into absorbing the weak physicality of the zombie Karnak and Machine Man swiftly destroys his head.[60]

Old Man Logan

In the Old Man Logan reality, an elderly Hawkeye reveals to Logan that Absorbing Man and Magneto were responsible for killing Thor.[61]

A flashback also showed that Mysterio used an illusion of him amongst other villains to trick Wolverine into killing his fellow X-Men.[62]

Marvel Apes

In the Marvel Apes reality, this version of Absorbing Man is a mandrill called Absorbing Mandrill. He is a member of the Master Brotherhood of Evil Apes.[63]

JLA/Avengers

The Absorbing Man is among the mind-controlled villains defending Krona's stronghold when the heroes assault it.[64]

In other media

Television

Animation

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Main article: Marvel Cinematic Universe
  • Carl "Crusher" Creel appears in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., portrayed by Brian Patrick Wade.[74] First appearing in season two, Creel is a former boxer who can turn his body into whatever substance he touches, and comes to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention when it is revealed he was recruited into Hydra while a captive of S.H.I.E.L.D. He is dispensed by Hydra to acquire a rare Kree artifact, and kills several agents working for S.H.I.E.L.D.[75] Using a special device, Phil Coulson paralyzes Creel and hands him over to Glenn Talbot and the military.[76] The character appears in season three, where he works for Glenn Talbot, who is the newly appointed head of the Advanced Threat Containment Unit.[77] He returns in the season five episode "All the Comforts of Home" trying to live an unassuming life in Philadelphia, but is recruited by General Hale during his jogging after S.H.I.E.L.D. returns. When he comments that he is not becoming a "lap dog" like last time, General Hale states that she is putting together a team. Creel then gets into her van.[78] Creel begins to work alongside Hale and Anton Ivanov as a part of the new Hydra.[79] In the episode "Inside Voices," Creel then tests absorbing the Gravitonium in Hydra's possession, but it causes him to have visions of Dr. Franklin Hall and, as revealed later, Ian Quinn. He helps Coulson and Talbot escape the hidden base in an as-yet-unidentified mountain range while he stays behind and is captured by Ruby.[80] When General Hale and Candice Lee go to check up on Carl Creel, he states that he still hears the voices of Franklin Hall and Ian Quinn in him as he absorbs part of a wall and starts hitting his head. After General Hale surrenders to Melinda May and Daisy Johnson in order to prevent Ruby from being subjected to the Gravitonium experiment, it was mentioned by Daisy that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents with her have sedated Creel.[81] He is soon visited in his hospital room by a newly empowered Talbot who absorbs him into the Gravitonium.[82]
  • Creel is mentioned in a flashback in season 1 of Daredevil. He is defeated off screen by "Battlin'" Jack Murdock, father of main character Matt Murdock. Jack was expected to throw the fight at Roscoe Sweeney's suggestion, but decided to be an example to his young son instead.[83] Producer Jeph Loeb confirmed that this is the same Creel that appears in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. before gaining his abilities.[84]

Video games

References

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