WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Gamma Flight #1 by Al Ewing, Crystal Frasier, Lan Medina, Antonio Fabela, and VC's Joe Sabino, on sale now.
After being featured prominently in Immortal Hulk, the Gamma-irradiated members of Gamma Flight have graduated to their own title. In the very first issue, one of their members, Carl Creed the Absorbing Man, demonstrated a new level of control over his already formidable powers, transforming into a veritable war machine in the process.
Like the rest of Gamma Flight, Creel is currently on the run from the authorities ever since they made the decision to help the Hulk instead of hunting him down. While Creel and his wife Titania have been happy to set the team up in their safehouse for the time being, the team is still in dire need of some very specific tech. As such, Creel and Sasquatch head off to search a Shadow Base facility that they believe has been abandoned in search of what the team needs.
Even though the place is supposedly decommissioned, it is still crawling with armed goons who are trained to shoot first and not ask any questions. Creel is able to take the bullets that come his way, but when lasers start flying their need to escape becomes imminent. Sasquatch is the first to be transported out of the firefight, leaving Carl behind until Gamma Flight's teleporter can recharge. Lucky, there is plenty of powerful tech for him to absorb, and his powers appear to have evolved. Creel no longer just becomes the material that the weapons are made of, but rather becomes their essence. In this case, he becomes a literal War Machine and even takes the form of the armored Marvel hero of the same name.
When Creel first became the Absorbing Man in 1965's Journey Into Mystery #114 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, it was after having been put away following his stint as boxer turned enforcer Rocky Davis. While imprisoned for his crimes Creel became an unwitting pawn in Loki's vendetta against his brother Thor. After drinking a serum Loki had slipped him, Creel gained the abilities that he has now, although he was hardly as adept at using them.
During 1975's Thor #235 by Gerry Conway and John Buscema, the titular hero faced off against the Absorbing Man only for the villain to borrow the power of Mjolnir itself. This put Thor at a serious disadvantage, at least until he could get Creel to take hold of a replica of his hammer, thereby reducing the Absorbing Man to an easily crumpled corrugated cardboard form. In the years since then, the Absorbing Man has honed his skills to be able to avoid such humiliating defeats, as well as teaching himself to become more than just the surface of whatever he absorbs.
Even though the Absorbing Man has taken the forms of all manner of material or energy over the years, it is hard to think of another time that he was able to transform himself into something so much more than human. Not even when he had absorbed the power of a Cosmic Cube in 2010's Mighty Avengers #33 by Dan Slott and Khoi Pham did Creel have this level of control over his abilities.
Hopefully, this is a good sign for the future of Gamma Flight, considering how much they could use any and every extra edge available to them, even if one of those edges is best known for being a dangerous villain.