10 things you didn’t know about Abomination’s time in the MCU
In 2008, The Incredible Hulk introduces Emil Blonsky to the MCU. A former British Royal Marine, he volunteered for a dose of Super Soldier Serum in order to be potent enough to defeat the Hulk. Mad about power, Blonsky lost control of his dosage and ended up becoming a threat to the world.
After the Hulk defeated him, he was incarcerated and his fate became unknown. However, although Tim Roth believed his character would never see the light again, he recently made an appearance in Shang-Chi and the legend of the ten rings. It turned out to be the start of a new era for him in the MCU as part of the she-hulk series.
ten Emil Blonsky is played by Tim Roth
Tim Roth is an English actor with a long career spanning almost 40 years. He is widely known for his roles in several Tarantino films such as Tank dogs, pulp Fiction, Four bedrooms, and The Hateful Eight. He played the role of Emil Blonsky in The Incredible Hulk and provided vocals and motion capture for Abomination.
Roth is one of the three actors of The Incredible Hulk that are in other MCU movies. William Hurt, who plays General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross was in The Incredible Hulk and Captain America: Civil War; and Martin Starr was Roger Harrington in The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Spider-Man: Far From Home.
9 Abomination could have been played by Ray Stevenson
Before deciding that Tim Roth would play Emil Blonsky in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ray Stevenson (The Theft Theory, King Arthur) was in discussion for the role of Abomination. However, negotiations collapsed and Tim Roth was officially chosen.
Either way, Ray Stevenson appeared in the MCU after that as Volstagg in Thor, Thor: The Dark World, and Thor: Ragnarok. On top of that, he portrayed Frank Castle, also known as the Punisher, in Punisher: War Zone, which was the last Punisher movie before the rights reverted to Marvel Studios.
8 His origin story in the MCU is slightly different
In the MCU, Blonsky is a former British Royal Navy agent who works with Thaddeus Ross to capture the Hulk. He volunteers to get a new version of the Super Soldier serum injected. However, this makes him so greedy for power that he ends up injecting Bruce Banner’s blood into his own veins.
In the comics, Emil Blonsky is a Croatian KGB agent who infiltrates the air base where Dr. Bruce Banner was experimenting with gamma rays. It is he who triggers the accident that creates The Hulk, which also transforms him into a monster. After that, the two monsters become sworn enemies. This change was made to remove the Cold War angle that Blonsky’s character has in the comics.
seven Abomination first appears in The Incredible Hulk
Emil Blonsky’s origin story as a villain unfolds during The Incredible Hulk in 2008, which is fixed a few months later Iron Man – the first official MCU movie to be released. In it, he is a British Royal Marine who works in the Hulkbuster unit and undergoes a process using the Super Soldier Serum to power up and defeat Banner’s alter ego.
As this is only the second movie in the MCU, The Incredible Hulk is often overlooked by fans and the media. However, this film sets a precedent for certain storylines in the future. For example, it introduces the existence of the Super Soldier Serum used by Blonsky, which ultimately emerges as a key element for Captain America.
6 He’s a bad mix of Captain America and the Hulk
Emil Blonsky accepted the Super Soldier Serum Injection, which was created with Captain America’s serum for inspiration. This substance gave him super speed, super reflexes and super agility. However, unlike Steve Rogers, he became addicted to power, which led him to inject Bruce Banner’s blood after being exposed to gamma rays.
Although Samuel Sterns warned him that the combination would have an unpredictable result, Blonsky didn’t care – already mad for power. After combining the mutations of Captain America and the Hulk, he transformed into the Abomination, who was a destructive force of chaos.
5 It is not known if Blonsky is able to resume his human form.
In the comics, Blonsky is not able to return to his human form after transforming into the Abomination. Unlike Bruce Banner’s experience, Blonsky retains his rational intellect as the Abomination, but he no longer has a human body. However, this is not necessarily true for the MCU version.
Louis Leterrier, The Incredible Hulk ‘s director, originally wanted a post-credit scene that showed Blonsky in lockdown as a human. This scene was never filmed, but it did raise questions about the canon of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that will hopefully be answered soon.
4 The abomination almost appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron
In an interview in December 2014, Tim Roth commented on his experience in The Incredible Hulk like fun. Unlike many other actors, Roth said he enjoyed it very much and it was an experience that “doesn’t come your way too often.”
When asked if he would return as the Abomination, he revealed that Marvel had contacted him to reprise his role “in The Avengers 2 or something,” but plans fell through. There’s no more information on that, but Abomination was likely seen as a future villain in the MCU at one point, though not necessarily as part of Avengers: Age of Ultron.
3 Blonsky was considered to become an Avenger
Before the lineup of the Avengers was official, Emil Blonsky was considered by the World Security Council as a future team member due to his recently acquired superpowers. In the Marvel One-Shot short The consultant, Agents of SHIELD Phil Coulson and Jasper Sitwell meet to come up with a plan to avoid the situation. This is because Nick Fury disagrees with the idea of releasing Abomination.
Coulson and Sitwell both agree to send Tony Stark to sabotage the meeting with General Ross where SHIELD will demand Blonsky’s freedom. This obviously works really well considering Tony’s charm and cunning. The reunion between Iron Man and General Ross can be seen in a post-credits scene in The Incredible Hulk.
2 Many haven’t noticed his most recent cameo
After years without news from Emil Blonsky, fans have received an update on his current status in the film Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings. In the film, Abomination appears as a mutated version of the monster he once was – now with gills and webbed ears – who engages in cage-fighting tournaments in the Xialing club.
Although Blonsky first appears as a villain in The Incredible Hulk, in Shang-Chi and the legend of the ten rings, he seems more friendly and even leaves with Wong after their fight. This character has been confirmed to be the same Abomination from The Incredible Hulk, and it was announced that Tim Roth provided the character’s voices, although he was not credited with any.
1 Abomination will be back in the MCU soon
It has been officially announced that Tim Roth will reprise his role as Emil Blonsky / Abomination in the upcoming Marvel series. She-Hulk. The TV show is slated to air in 2022 and follows Jennifer Walters, a lawyer specializing in superhuman cases and able to transform into a Hulk version of herself.
So far, there is no information on Abomination’s role in the she-hulk story. While some believe he will play the villain of the series, others can’t help but assume that his change of nature in Shang-Chi’s cameo is proof that he will be one of the good guys.
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