Ethan Edwards is his name, and if he acts like he’s from another planet, that's cause he is. See, years ago, when Galactus decided to make the Skull home planet a late-night snack, a top scientist sent his infant son hurtling across the galaxy in a high-tech space pod. That spacecraft eventually found safe haven on Planet Earth, where Ethan was discovered and raised to maturity by a kindly Midwestern couple; all the while unaware of his true identity, his true heritage.

Ethan has always known he was special – the endless array of super-powers kind of gave it away. But he's never known why. That's about to change. Question is, can Ethan handle the truth?

This is where this issue picks up.

ACT 1: The story opens up with a bunch of drug addicts who have managed to get their hands on some of the dope that used to be part of the Absorbing Man (After taking drugs last issue, the Absorbing Man transformed into dope so the Owl "cut him up" and put him up for sale). Ten minutes later, the three dope-head have passed out. When the first one awakens, he is freaked out when he realizes that his hand has turned into wood. He heads to the bathroom, leaving the other two to figure out why one of them has suddenly sank into the couch, or actually became part of the couch. The first dope-head reaches the bathroom and finds another dope-head sitting on toilet unconscious. Realizing that he must have overdosed, the first dope-head kicks him and tells him to move out of the way. As he does so, he shatters the arms of the dope-head sitting down and immediately freaks out.

ACT 2: Meanwhile at the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson calls for Ethan Edwards and Peter Parker to come into his office immediately. As they sit down, Jameson cuts right to the chase and asks Ethan to tell him everything right now. Ethan starts stuttering and tries to explain to Jonah that he doesn't know everything. When Jonah puts pressure on him, Ethan suddenly dives through the office window and takes flight. On Jameson's order, Peter takes off after Ethan.

ACT 3: Seconds later, as Spider-Man, Peter catches up to Ethan to try and calm him down. Spidey tells him that they need to head back to his hometown to meet with the Fantastic Four who are already there. Ethan refuses to go, telling Spidey that his dad will finds out he's been using his powers. Spidey is confused and asks why his dad doesn't like superheroes. Ethan replies that his father thinks they're false idols who set themselves up as gods to be worshipped and goes on saying that the picture of him is going to get out on the national news feed and everybody in his hometown is going to talk about that. He adds that his dad is going to blow his top when he finds out. Again, Spidey tries to calm Ethan down but Ethan takes off before Spidey can finish his sentence. Just then, someone screams from the street down below. Spidey swings down and saves some guy from being run over by a car. When he drops him back on the ground, the man complains that Spidey broke one of his finger, which was made up of glass. Spidey tells the man that when he comes down off his illegal drug induced high, he may want to rethink that. Nearby, another man screams that he cannot move, as his feet have now turned into concrete. Upon seeing that, Spidey realizes that this is a job...for somebody else.

ACT 4: Meanwhile in Hicksville, Iowa, the Fantastic Four have located Ethan's adoptive dad. After a rather rough introduction – Ethan's dad fired his rifle at Mr. Fantastic, who was saved by his quick-thinking wife, Sue Storm, Invisible Woman – Reed asks him to tell him about how he found Ethan. Ethan's dad replies that he was driving home, there was a flash of light from the heaven, and there he was. He then asks Reed what all this has to do with UFOs. Reed replies by asking him if he would be willing to have a look a something to see if he remembers seeing it before.

ACT 5: A few minutes later, Ethan's dad, Reed and Sue join Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, and Ben Grimm, the Thing, who are standing near the spaceship that brought Ethan to Earth. As Ethan's dad tries to remember if he's seen it before, a booming sound is heard; Ethan is coming their way. Within seconds, Ethan swoops down, yells at them to stay away from his dad, grabs hold of the Thing and takes off flying across the fields. Johnny "flames on" and takes off after them. As they fly across countless miles of fields, the Thing tells Ethan to stop or else. Ethan doesn't seem to want to stop so the Thing slaps his two giant hands on either side of Ethan's head, knocking him out in the process.

ACT 6: A short time later, Johnny and the Thing return with Ethan. Just then, some kind of program activates itself in the spaceship and begins downloading information into Ethan's head. Reed tries to shut it off, but to no avail. Johnny flames on and tells everybody to stand back, as he will attempt to melt the spaceship. Reed intervenes and tells Johnny that it won't work because the spacecraft is most likely designed to withstand rigors of space and atmospheric re-entry heat. Realizing what he must do, the Thing grabs hold of the spacecraft and throws it into outer space.

ACT 7: Meanwhile in New York City, the Owl and the mysterious woman are discussing the rather excellent result of selling the Absorbing-Man-turned-into-drug-dope on the streets. The Owl revels in the fact that with the money and clout he’ll get off, he will be the undisputed kind of the underworld.

ACT 8: Elsewhere, on a City bus, a dope-head, who obviously snorted some of the Absorbing-Man drug (he's grown metal claws), is attempting to rob other passengers. Unfortunately for him, Spidey crashes through one of the bus windows and engages the would-be robber into battle. A few punches and broken teeth later, the man is on his knees, vowing that he'll rip Spidey apart with his metal claws. Just then however, the robber's drug induced high comes to an end and his claws disappear. Spidey tells him that he only has one chance to tell him who his supplier was. The man begs Spidey not to hit him and tells him that his supplier will kill him if he rats him out. Spidey continues to pressure him, making him weep like a little schoolgirl. Finally, the thief tells Spidey that he bought the drugs from a guy named Lester, who got his supply from the Owl. As the man weeps, his tears fall to the floor of the bus and suddenly become alive, making their way into the sewer system, where they start forming a pair of legs. Could these legs belong to the Absorbing Man?

ACT 9: Meanwhile back in Hicksville, Ethan lies on the ground unconscious, surrounded by the Fantastic Four. Suddenly, he awakens and grabs the Thing in a chokehold. Using his amazing abilities, Ethan manages to somehow reverse the Thing into his human self, and prepares to administer a deadly blow. The Invisible Woman and Mr. Fantastic intervene and grab hold of Ethan before he does the unthinkable. Johnny transforms into the Human Torch and tries to blast Ethan with a fireball but Ethan manages to blow his flames out. Just then, Ethan's adoptive father approaches Ethan and asks what he's doing. Ethan turns to face his dad and sees his dad as half-Skrull, half-human. Freaking out, Ethan takes flight, screaming at the top of his lungs.

ACT 10: Meanwhile in New York City, Spider-Man arrives at the Owl's headquarters and incapacitates every henchmen he encounters. He then makes his way into the heart of the building and finds his nemesis along with the mysterious woman, whose name is still unknown at this time (even after 5 issues). He puts the mysterious woman out of action within seconds and confronts the Owl. The Owl seems pleased to have the opportunity to battle Spidey.

Meanwhile in the sewer system, the rebirth of the Absorbing Man is complete. He is ticked off and vows to kill everybody.

To be continued.