[roshan]

Hey guys, I'm going to start posting a spotlight piece on random figures from the past or past and present comparisons on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays here on the Ark. Sometimes it'll be looking back at obscure toy lines or canceled figures, and others will be more timely new figures where we look back at the history of the figure in plastic form. Hopefully I'll be able to show you guys some cool stuff you've never seen before or wanted to know more about. Today's spotlight will be the Absorbing Man and a look at his figures throughout the years.



It took until 1997 for Absorbing Man to finally get a figure in plastic despite being a core villain for both Thor and Iron Man for a couple decades.



This has always been my favorite version of Absorbing Man because it captures his attitude perfectly. But it is lacking in articulation and scale. He was put in the oversized Hulk series and he just doesn't fit in as a normal sized human with the rest of the Toy Biz line, but at the time, scales were all over the place so it isn't that big a deal. The figure also came with a safe, but I can't find it at the moment.




The second incarnation is a lesser known and hard to find version from the Hulk Classics line. This Creel has more accessories than any other with three different detachable arms (including a variant version with either a small hulk or a large hulk arm). A great version, but an expensive one in the secondary market. He was also released in an even more expensive two-pack with a Spider-Man Classics Spidey.




OK, it says Absorbing Man on the package, but really, this is a joke of an Absorbing Man. Nick Nolte does not equal Creel. But in the spirit of having every version in the article....here he is. The worst absorbing man ever, and not just because he's the only one who doesn't come with a ball and chain.



From the Fin Fang Foom series, this Absorbing Man is the only one that has a sculpt absorbing two things at once. A good looking figure, but I wouldn't mind an update with a better paint job in a multi-pack someday down the road.


Finally, the Marvel Universe scale Absorbing Men. We have three versions now. The Secret Wars 2-pack and the variant and non variant versions that were just released last month. The only down I see from this group is that I wish they had kept the same paint applications on the pants because then we could have had been able to create a diorama animation of him absorbing an object and transforming into it.

Creel doesn't change costumes much or allegiances, so there's not much left to do with future incarnations (with the exception of his possessed persona in Fear Itself). But given his unlimited ability to absorb different objects, the possibilities of some really cool new sculpts are always on the horizon.