WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Gamma Flight #2 from Marvel, available now.
Even though the heroes of Gamma Flight are on the run from the same agency which had only recently employed them, the team hasn't put much effort into laying particularly low. After refusing to bring in the Hulk, they have now stepped up to help Marvel's newest gamma mutate on the scene in her moment of need. In the process, they have come under fire from the local police, been separated from one another in a botched escape attempt and been confronted by the recently returned Skaar.
But in Gamma Flight #2 by Al Ewing, Crystal Frasier, Lan Medina, Antonio Fabela and VC's Joe Sabino, Carl Creel has a new trick up his sleeve that could prove to be just what the heroes need -- even if it costs him his life.
When Doctor McGowan tried to teleport the members of Gamma Flight out of the fray, she only managed to recover Puck and Creel, leaving Doc Sasquatch and Titania alone to try and stave off the threat posed by Skaar. To make matters worse, whatever went wrong with the first attempt at retreating has shorted out the power that their teleporter needs. Carl Creel isn't willing to wait for someone else to come up with an answer while his wife is caught in the path of the Hulk's rampaging son, so he decides to push his powers to the limit and fix the problem as only he can.
Just as the Absorbing Man proved on his last mission with Gamma Flight, his abilities have evolved beyond absorbing the surface-level traits of an object all the way to recreating their inherent purpose. No matter how much Doctor McGowan objects, Creel is sure that he can manage the task of being a living transporter.
When Puck and Creel do their best to put some distance between Skaar and the rest of the team, Creel is caught in the path of Skaar's blade during the fight. Once the United States Hulkbuster Force arrives, the heroes at least have something to distract Skaar. Creel can hardly hold himself together as the wound continues to tear open. His physical form slowly pulls apart in a flash of energy that warps everyone caught in its path, quickly consuming the Absorbing Man and the rest of Gamma Flight gathered around him. The Absorbing Man's control of his powers has been strong enough in the past to let him take on the forms of tech from jet planes to a War Machine, but that didn't prepare him for the effects of being a walking teleporter.
In an instant, Creel and his teammates are seemingly unmade entirely, and all that anyone on any side of the fight can do is watch. The Absorbing Man has suffered due to his own powers going awry on more than a few occasions, but his powers have rarely backfired so spectacularly. And even though Gamma Flight just stepped into action, it may not be long before this Marvel team is looking for new memebers.