Death on the Hudson!

The Avengers have been summoned to the peer where the Absorbing Man is on the rampage. Their battle has taken them aboard one of the docked vessels where Crusher Creel absorbs the properties of the ship’s engine. This not only turns him to metal but causes him to grow in size and begin crackling with energy.

Creel then grabs Ms. Marvel and tosses her into the Hudson River, prompting to Beast to leap in after her. Ultimately, it is Ms. Marvel who has to save Hank from the water. By this time, Iron Man has entered the frey and, while absorbing Creel’s energy, manages to knock the Absorbing Man into a nearby warehouse where he resumes his human form. However, this causes his armor to build up an unstable amount of energy, forcing him to fly high above the city to safely discharge it before his armor explodes.[1]

Back at Avengers Mansion, NSA agent Henry Gyrich is annoyed that it is taking so long for Captain America to recruit the Falcon in the Avengers. The pair arrive a moment later, and Falcon — who is not impressed at being forced into joining the Avengers to fill an employment equity quota — begins mockingly answering Gyrich’s orders in the voice of a plantation slave. That’s when Jarvis informs them that the other Avengers are battling the Absorbing Man on the pier and they race off to join the battle, leaving Gyrich frustrated over the lack of protocol.

When Cap and Falcon arrive at the scene, they find that the Absorbing Man is being twirled around by the Beast. This works until Creel absorbs the Beast’s powers and breaks free. That’s when Captain America makes the mistake of throwing his shield at their foe, allowing Absorbing Man to take on its indestructible qualities. By this time, the woman Absorbing Man kidnapped — Sandy Herkowitz — gets off the boat to Punta Del Rey. Spotting his would-be prisoner, Absorbing Man drops his indestructible form to snatch her and tries to flee the scene. However, the Avengers corner him at the edge of a pier.

With no other way out, is forced to fight the Vision. When he absorbs the android’s phasing abilities, Crusher falls through the pier into the water below. Trying to swim away Creel inadvertently takes on the properties of the water and disbursed in the churning waters of the Hudson River, ending his threat. In the aftermath of the battle, Sandy feels sympathetic toward Crusher Creel and wonders if he’d turn his life around had the Avengers just let him leave.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, the Wasp, Hawkeye, the Vision, the Beast, the Falcon), Absorbing Man, Sandy Herkowitz, Henry Gyrich, Edwin Jarvis

Continuity Notes

1. Iron Man states here that his armor has been malfunctioning recently. This is a reference to Iron Man #118 when his armor fired its uni-beam unintentionally. Iron Man #120 reveals that Justin Hammer is responsible for these malfunctions. According to most indexes and the Chronology Project, those stories take place after this one. One could assume that Tony’s armor has been malfunctioning earlier in ways that had not been depicted.

Topical References

• Dated pop-culture references: George Jessel, Juan Veldez