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 HYDRA assassin with the ability to absorb the properties of anything he touches.

Boxing Career
"Creel goes down! He's not getting up; it's over!"

- Fight Announcer

Carl Creel was a boxer who used the moniker "Crusher" in his bouts. During this time, he fought "Battlin' Jack Murdock" and lost, despite the fact the fight had been fixed by Roscoe Sweeney in Creel's favor.

Sometime in the many years following, during his boxing career, Creel gained the ability to absorb any element and turn his skin into that same element. He gained a high victory status by using his talent to hide steel-skinned fists under his boxing gloves when he fought.

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

- Melinda May

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, chose instead to fake Creel's death and recruit him to HYDRA as a brainwashed assassin.

Hunting the Obelisk
"I'm happy to comply."

- Carl 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. Creel snuck up behind Browning and snapped his neck. When the agents fired upon him, he absorbed the bullets and escaped after jumping from a window twenty-five feet high before he could be captured by S.H.I.E.L.D..

Returning to his hideout, Creel gave the information about the 0-8-4 to his HYDRA employer, Sunil Bakshi. Bakshi told him that his employer Daniel Whitehall was pleased with the update and rewarded Creel by giving him a sample of the extremely rare diamond musgravite, which HYDRA had searched and found specifically for him to absorb. Creel took the diamonds and transformed his hand, enjoying the sensation that his power gave him.

Arrest and Escape
Creel was then ordered to capture Brigadier General Glenn Talbot to force him to tell him the location of the Obelisk. He snuck up behind Talbot, who was out with his family, but Talbot had been warned about the upcoming attack by S.H.I.E.L.D. and defended himself against Creel. Although Creel initially began to gain the upper hand in the fight, Talbot was assisted by Melinda May. Creel grabbed a steel ball and chain and attempted to kill the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, but was thwarted and subdued by the combined might of May, Skye who shot him with a Taser Projectile Launcher before members of the military arrested Creel.

Creel was taken into military custody to the Government Storage Warehouse with two arms guards watching his cell. Creel easily escaped his cell by turning into glass and tricking the guards. When the guards attempting to locate Creel, he killed them both before searching the Warehouse. When Creel encountered a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, arriving to search the facility, Creel hid by turning into the concrete wall and followed the agents as they searched for the Obelisk.

Stealing the Obelisk
"You don't know what it's doing to me. I can't keep it off." "Once we have the Obelisk, you will be taken care of the way HYDRA has always taken care of you. Please proceed to the secondary drop site, and I shall meet you at the appropriate time."

- Carl Creel and Sunil Bakshi

He encountered Isabelle Hartley, who had recovered the Obelisk, she spotted Creel and attempted to kill him with a knife, but he was able to turn his skin into steel. When she attempted to use it to defend herself, the Obelisk began to engulf her hand. Seeing the effects of the Obelisk, and Lance Hunter appearing caused Creel to flee. When Hunter and Idaho attempted to get Hartley medical attention, Creel managed to get in front of the speeding car, turn into concrete and cause their vehicle to crash, killing Hartley and Idaho, and he retrieved the 0-8-4.

Despite attempting not to allow his skin to touch the surface of the Obelisk, Creel was affected by the 0-8-4 and felt his skin absorbing it's deadly powers. At a restuarant, Creel waited for Sunil Bakshi to meet him. When the waitress attempted to clear his table while he waited, Creel accidentally touched his arm, causing her body to turn to stone within minutes due to the Obelisk's power in Creel's skin. Creel then ran away before S.H.I.E.L.D. could arrive and capture him again.

Back in his hideout, Creel attempted 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.

Defeat
"I'm not gonna sugar coat it pal, this is really gonna hurt."

- Carl Creel to Lance Hunter

Creel had a meeting with Sunil Bakshi, where Creel informed him that he was still struggling to control the deadly powers of the Obelisk. Bakshi was able to help Creel overcome the effects of the 0-8-4 when he used the trigger phrase from the brainwashing method used on him, which helped Creel calm down and concentrate on his arm, allowing him to safely absorb the effects of the Obelisk. Creel informed Bakshi that he was happy to comply to HYDRA's wishes and he prepared to hand over the Obelisk to him.

However, Creel came under fire by Lance Hunter but was able to deflect the bullet, Creel then chased after Hunter. Creel managed to trap Hunter in a corner, just as he was about to kill Hunter using the Obelisk's power in his hand, 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 that touches him. Certain items, such as flawless diamonds, are enjoyable for Creel to absorb, 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 over 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. He also turned his fists into steel during his boxing matches.
 * : 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 struggles with Melinda May, and later Lance Hunter, Creel sought materials to duplicate, instead of fighting equally.

Allies

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

Enemies

 * Jack 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.

Behind the Scenes

 * Jeph Loeb, the head of televison production for Marvel Studios, was the first to put Creel in a boxing match against Jack Murdock in the comic, Daredevil: Yellow.