Absorbing Man

"Government is one of the lesser evils... so they've got the weapon in a locked box, and now they've got this Absorbing Man in a locked box, too."

- Isabelle Hartley about Carl Creel

Carl "Crusher" Creel is a former boxer turned assassin with the ability to absorb the properties of anything he touches.

Recruitment by HYDRA
"He must have faked Creel's termination, recruited him."

- Melinda May

Carl Creel was a former boxer who used the moniker "Crusher" in his bouts. His high victory status came from his using his talent of duplication to hide steel-skinned fists under his boxing gloves when he fought. During this time he fought "Battlin Jack Murdock".

When S.H.I.E.L.D. learnt of his dangerous powers, he became an Index candidate and S.H.I.E.L.D. sent John Garrett to terminate him. Garrett, an undercover HYDRA agent, instead used the opportunity to fake Creel's death and chose to recruit him to HYDRA as an assassin.

Obelisk
"I'm happy to comply."

- Creel

Creel interrupted an undercover operation where S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents Idaho, Lance Hunter, and Isabelle Hartley were attempting to procure from Roger Browning information on where a level ten 0-8-4 was being held. When the agents fired upon him, he escaped after jumping from a window twenty-five feet high.

Later, Creel gave the information about the 0-8-4 to his HYDRA employer, Sunil Bakshi, who rewarded him by giving him a musgravite which he enjoyed absorbing. Creel was then ordered to capture General Glenn Talbot to force him to tell him where the Obelisk was; however, he was thwarted and subdued by the combined might of Skye, Melinda May, and members of the military and taken into military custody to the Government Storage Warehouse. Creel easily escaped his cell and encountered Hartley who had recovered the Obelisk. When she attempted to use it to defend herself, the Obelisk began to engulf her hand causing Creel to flee. When Hunter and Idaho attempted to get Hartley medical attention, Creel caused their vehicle to crash, killing Hartley and Idaho, and retrieved the 0-8-4. However, Creel was affected by the 0-8-4. At a restuarant, Creel accidentally incinerated a waitress who touched his arm. Creel then ran away and tried to absorb items that could help remove the effects with little success. He was then contacted by Sunil Bakshi, who wanted Creel to give him the Obelisk and promised that HYDRA would help him with his problem. When approached by Raina, who offered a ring that would allow him to absorb its power in exchange for the 0-8-4, he refused her offer, telling her to stay away or his HYDRA employers would harm her. He ran off, taking the ring with him. Creel then met up with Bakshi. Creel was able to overcome the effects of the 0-8-4 by Bakshi when he used the trigger phrase from the brainwashing method used on him, managing to stabilize Creel. However, Creel came under fire by Lance Hunter but was able to deflect the bullet. Creel then went after Hunter. Just as he was about to kill Hunter, the Absorbing Man was stopped by Phil Coulson who used the Overkill Device which made him unable to control his power, allowing the 0-8-4 to take over his body and turn him into stone.

Creel was then taken in by Coulson and placed in a Cryostasis Chamber. He was turned over to General Talbot as a peace offering from Coulson in exchange for breathing room.

The Gifted
Phil Coulson realized that Creel was not the only gifted asset that HYDRA had acquired when his mole Jemma Simmons informed him that HYDRA was after Donnie Gill.

Powers
"He can turn any body part into any material."

- Skye


 * Elemental Mimicry: Carl Creel is able to duplicate at will the physical properties of anything he touches or touches him. Certain items, such as flawless diamonds, are enjoyable to Creel for absorption, causing a euphoric effect in him. Similar to a chameleon, he can use this power to blend into his surroundings.
 * Petrification: After absorbing the effects of the Obelisk, Creel gained the ability to turn people to stone. Originally, he had no control of this ability, but, after compliance to Sunil Bakshi's words, Creel gained control to the point of desiring to use it against Lance Hunter.

Duplicated Materials

 * : Creel transformed his body upon contact into the lead from the bullets that Isabelle Hartley, Lance Hunter and Idaho shot at him while he retrieved Roger Browning's file about the Obelisk.
 * : Creel received a rare musgravite as payment for his services to HYDRA, as Daniel Whitehall knew that his structure would give Creel pleasure when he absorbed its properties.
 * : Following a successful assignment, Creel stayed in the truck he used as hideout, where he stored a collection of materials in order to absorb their properties.
 * : Being attacked by Melinda May during his attempt to capture Glenn Talbot, Creel took a piece from a guard rail to use it as a ball-and-chain weapon, absorbing the properties of the metal into his arm to increase his strength.
 * : Creel absorbed the properties of the reinforced glass from the walls of his cell in the Government Storage Warehouse, becoming both durable and transparent, and leading the privates tasked with guarding the cell to believe he had escaped.
 * : Creel absorbed the properties of the concrete from the walls of the warehouse to conceal himself and ambush Isabelle Hartley, using this material to protect himself against Hartley's stabs.
 * : Creel transformed himself into pavement to make the vehicle where Hartley, Hunter and Idaho had escaped suffer an accident and retrieve the Obelisk that Hartley had touched.
 * : Creel absorbed the properties of the rubber from S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicle's wheels to isolate himself from the Obelisk as he took it from Hartley's amputated arm.
 * Obelisk: Creel unintentionally absorbed the properties of the Obelisk as he touched it, killing whoever touched his arm with the same petrification effects that the original device had. Thanks to Sunil Bakshi, Creel managed to control this material, using it as a weapon.
 * : Creel tried to absorb the properties of the steel from a lighter to counteract the effects of the Obelisk he unconsciously absorbed, but he was unable to keep the absorption.
 * : Creel also tried to absorb the properties of clay to counteract the effects of the Obelisk, thinking it would be an insulating material, but the absorption failed too.
 * : Creel finally tried to absorb the properties of a piece of cloth to counteract the effects of the Obelisk, but as the two previous absorption, it was futile.
 * : Raina tried to persuade Creel into giving him the Obelisk by offering him a ring made of carbyne, describing it as an allotrope of carbon found in stardust, three times harder than diamond and with the ability of storing energy. Creel took the ring from Raina, and later absorbed its properties to shield himself from a direct shot to his head made by Lance Hunter and to attack him as Hunter tried to run.

Abilities

 * Combatant: Though Creel was a boxer, he never learned to fight without using his powers to give him an advantage. When he heard a gunshot, he instinctively transformed into a bulletproof material. During his struggle with Melinda May, and later with Lance Hunter, Creel sought materials to duplicate, instead of fighting equally.

Allies

 * HYDRA
 * Daniel Whitehall - Superior
 * Sunil Bakshi - Handler
 * John Garrett † - Recruiter

Enemies

 * Johnathan Murdock - Opponent
 * S.H.I.E.L.D.
 * Phil Coulson
 * Melinda May
 * Skye
 * Antoine Triplett
 * Lance Hunter
 * Isabelle Hartley † - Victim
 * Idaho † - Victim
 * United States Armed Forces
 * Glenn Talbot
 * Roger Browning † - Victim

Trivia

 * In the comics, Carl Creel received his powers from Loki so he could challenge Thor.
 * The ball-and-chain ripped from the guard rail that Creel uses in Washington, D.C. is an homage to the weapon he was carrying during his original transformation in the comics, and has the same duplication powers as he does.
 * Carl Creel closely resembled Groot when he absorbed a piece of wood.
 * The petrification power of Creel is similar to that of the Grey Gargoyle.
 * Seeming as how Creel has previously fought Jack Murdock he may appear in Netflix Daredevil series either in a flashback or in some other capacity.