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| “ | I ain't just Crusher Creel, an ordinary con anymore! I'm the Absorbing Man... the most dangerous guy in the world! | „ |
| ~ Absorbing Man |
| “ | Yo-Yo, this piece of shit is Crusher Creel...the Absorbing Man. My father. | „ |
| ~ Jerry Sledge |
Carl "Crusher" Creel, also known as Absorbing Man, is a supporting antagonist in the Marvel Universe. He is a man with the ability to absorb the physical properties of any material he touches and shapeshift into different forms. He was an enemy to Thor and a frequent opponent to the Avengers and Hulk. He somewhat redeems himself in the end-stages of Immortal Hulk by helping to defeat the One Below All.
Biography[]
Past[]
Carl "Crusher" Creel revealed that he had a troubled childhood in Immortal Hulk, saying that he pitied Bruce Banner as his father also beat him regularly until he in turn beat his father in retaliation At some point, "Crusher" Creel was became a heavyweight boxer but eventually left turned into a petty criminal.
Gaining Powers[]
After several run-ins with former, Carl Creel is chosen by Loki to drink an Asgardian potion that gives him the uncanny power to absorb any substance into his own body by touching it. He is sent to battle Thor, but is defeated by overreaching his power by trying to absorb the entire earth and instead explodes. However, because of his unique powers, Creel is not truly dead and Loki magically reassembles his body. Since then, he has battled Thor many times, as well as the Hulk and other superheroes as well as joined the Masters of Evil at one point. Some of the substances he has absorbed are; Thor’s Uru hammer Mjolnir, Odin’s cosmic bolt, Hulk’s (gray) strength, Captain America’s shield, the Thing’s skin, titanium, bronze, Dazzler’s light, iron, diamond, helium, water, earth, granite, bricks, Ultron's metallic armor, the Sentry's energy, cinder-blocks and Quasar’s quantum bands.
Sometime later, Loki enlists the Absorbing Man as an ally in an attempt to overthrow Odin but is banished into outer space by the All Father.
Secret Wars[]
During the first Secret War staged by the Beyonder, Creel meets another supervillain named Titania II and together they serve in Baron Zemo's army when their team take control of the Avenger Mansion. Creel and Titania become partners in crime and eventually marry but have since divorced and the Absorbing Man returns to his criminal career.
At some point in his life as a supervillain, Creel attacked and raped an unnamed woman. Injured but alive the woman discovers that she became pregnant with Creel's son and decides to raise the child alone. One day, Creel returns as he learned of his son and breaks out of a supermax prison. However, the reunion is less than ideal, as the boy tries to defend his mother when Creel threatens to hurt her again. When the two touch, Creel unknowingly passes on his abilities to his son as the young man gains the same powers as him.
Immortal Hulk[]
When confronting a demonic Brian Banner, the Absorbing Man helps to free an imprisoned Bruce, allowing Hulk to attack the One Below All and close the gates of Hell.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Substance Transmutation: True to his name, the Absorbing Man can transform his body into any substance he touches, including stone, metal, brick, concrete, earth, and even more unstable substances like water, light, and electricity. The Absorbing Man can alter the molecular structure of his body and his clothes, to mimic the properties of any material he touches.
- Strength: After absorbing a material, the Absorbing Man gains massively enhanced strength that allows him to throw around a heavy ball and chain with ease and fight hand to hand with heroes like Thor and the Hulk.
- Durability: Due to taking on other materials' properties', the Absorbing Man is able to take full punches from the Hulk and quickly recover.
- Energy Mimicry: If the object mimicked holds some form of energy, such as a battery or a blast furnace, the Absorbing Man absorbs these properties as well.
- Power Mimicry: The Absorbing Man can also absorb/duplicate the powers, strength, and durability of those within a certain distance, without the need for contact, as demonstrated in fights against Thor and the Hulk.
- Shape Shifting: The Absorbing Man has limited shape-changing abilities when absorbing certain objects, such as forming hammer-like fists when touching a hammer.
- Self Growth: The Absorbing Man can grow to enormous size when copying items of massive power or strength.
- Mind Control: More recently, the Absorbing Man has developed the ability to control the mind of another person, even over vast distances.
- Regeneration: The Absorbing Man is shown to be able to "re-grow" his arm when it fell off (in his rocky form) by re-attaching it, then changing back to human form.
- Reassembly: If his body is broken into pieces while in a non-human state, the Absorbing Man can mentally reassemble himself.
Weaknesses[]
- Overextending: Although the Absorbing Man can absorb almost anything, he does have his limits and can overextend with fatal consequences as seen when trying to absorb the Earth made him explode.
Arsenal[]
- Ball and Chain: The Absorbing Man carries a ball-and-chain that was attached to him during the transformation which he uses as his primary weapon.
- Substance Infusion: The Absorbing Man's ball and chain can also absorb the same substance as himself to become stronger and more dangerous.
- Hammer Fists: On numerous occasions, touching Thor's Mijonir allowed the Absorbing Man to turn his hands into hammers to pummel his enemies.
In Other Media[]
TV Appearance[]
The Marvel Super Heroes[]
Absorbing Man appears in the Thor segment of 1966's The Marvel Super Heroes.
The Incredible Hulk[]
Absorbing Man appears in The Incredible Hulk episode "They Call Me Mr. Fixit" voiced by Jim Cummings. This version is an enforcer to Miss Allure.
The Avengers: United They Stand[]
Absorbing Man appears in The Avengers: United They Stand.
The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes[]
Absorbing Man appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
Marvel Cinematic Universe[]
- Main article: Absorbing Man (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
Videogame Appearance[]
- Absorbing Man appears in The Incredible Hulk video game
- Absorbing Man appears as a boss in the PSP, PS2, and Wii versions of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
- Absorbing Man appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes
- Absorbing Man appears in Marvel: Avengers Alliance as one of the villains introduced in Season 2
- Absorbing Man is a playable character in Marvel: Future Fight
- Absorbing Man appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel's Avengers
Trivia[]
- He was one of the inspirations for David Banner in the 2003 film Hulk.
External Links[]
- Absorbing Man on the Marvel Database Wiki
- Absorbing Man on the Hulk Wiki
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 Villains
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Absorbing Man | A.I.M. | Anomaly | Archangel | Beyonder | Black Widow | Blood Brothers | Celestials | Count Nefaria | Crossbones | Death | Deathurge | Enclave | Galactus | Hobgoblin | HYDRA | King Cobra | Klaw | Korath the Pursuer | Korvac | Kree | Lightmaster | Living Laser | Madame Masque | Magus | Mephisto | M.O.D.A.M. | Presence | Punisher | Quicksilver | Red Ghost | Scarlet Witch | Secret Empire | Skrulls | Stranger | Super-Skrull | Terminus | Thanos | Venom | ||
| Dazzler Villains | ||
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