‘Shang-Chi’ brings back a classic Marvel villain. Here’s what to know about Abomination.

• "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" features a curious cameo: Abomination.
• Abomination was a villain played by Tim Roth that appeared in 2008's "The Incredible Hulk."
• Here's everything you need to know about the character and his future in the MCU.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

"Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" introduces a brand new superhero into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the A+ movie also re-introduces one of the MCU's first-ever villains: Abomination.

Played by Tim Roth, Abomination's real name is Emil Blonsky – and he was the big bad guy in 2008's "The Incredible Hulk."

Here's everything to know about the character, and what his future in the MCU looks like now that he's joined rejoined the movie series.

Who is Abomination?

In "The Incredible Hulk," Blonsky is a Russian-born soldier who is part of the United Kingdom's Royal Marines Commandos. He is loaned out to William Hurt's General Ross, helping the general to track down and confront the Hulk.

After a confrontation goes awry, Blonsky lets Ross and his team inject him with a serum similar to that which made Bruce Banner turn into the Hulk. He gains heightened abilities such as strength, agility, speed, and durability but he slowly begins to lose his mind while his skeleton starts to deform.

Later, Blonsky, his judgement impaired, demands that Dr. Samuel Sterns injects him with Banner's blood, which Sterns had been using in an attempt to create an antidote to Banner's condition.

Blonsky then mutates completely into the Abomination - a huge, hulking creature with tremendous strength even greater than that of the Hulk.

And thus, the Abomination was born.

What happened to the Abomination?

At the end of "The Incredible Hulk," Blonsky, as Abomination, wreaks havoc in Harlem. Banner is released by Ross, and he transforms into the Hulk to stop him. Eventually, the Hulk wins and almost kills Abomination but stops just before he does. Abomination is then arrested by Ross and his forces.

We briefly saw Abomination again in 2011 in the Marvel One-Shot short film "The Consultant."

In this, it is revealed that the World Security Council want Blonsky to be released from prison and recruited into Nick Fury's Avengers Initiative. Viewing Blonsky as a war hero, and blaming the damage to Harlem on Banner, they demand that an agent be sent to General Ross asking him to release Blonsky into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.

However, Fury does not want this, so agents Jasper Sitwell and Phil Coulson come up with an idea to send a "patsy" (a scapegoat) to sabotage the meeting with Ross. This ends up being Tony Stark - and it is revealed that this meeting is actually the scene that took place between Stark and Ross in a bar at the end credits of "The Incredible Hulk."

The meeting goes terribly and the idea of recruiting Abomination into the Avengers is scrapped. This is the last we ever saw or heard of Blonsky/Abomination in the MCU.

Why is Abomination in "Shang-Chi?"

Sadly, there aren't many answers to this question. It's unknown how or why Blonsky is fighting in Xialing's underworld fighting organization, but he doesn't seem to live in that complex.

Instead, after his fight, he goes with Wong through his sling-ring into another location. It is unclear where this location is, but there seems to be some sort of tank in the background - perhaps similar to the one Loki was imprisoned in in "The Avengers." Or maybe Wong is taking him to the Sanctum Sanctorum or Kamar-Taj? It remains to be seen but, in any case, he doesn't seem to be a prisoner still.

Indeed, Abomination and Wong fight each other in the ring in "Shang-Chi," but they aren't genuine enemies. Instead, they look like they've been friends for some time. Wong even makes a quip about practising fight moves after they finished their fight, so they've clearly been sparring partners for a while.

Did Abomination get blipped?

It is not clear whether or not Abomination got snapped, but his friendship with Wong seems to be fairly new either way, since Wong did get blipped.

It was previously thought that Wong survived the Snap, but the "Avengers: Endgame" screenplay confirmed that Wong did in fact get the dust treatment.

We will likely find out whether Abomination was blipped or not in the future.

What is Abomination's future in the MCU?

Blonsky's appearance in "Shang-Chi" seemed to be an organic way to re-introduce the character into the MCU, so audiences can re-familiarize themselves with him before he makes his proper return.

That proper return will come in 2022. Roth is reprising his role as Blonsky in the upcoming Disney+ TV show "She-Hulk." Producer Kevin Feige confirmed the casting in December 2020, but it is unclear how big his role will be in the show.

Based on his friendly relationship with Wong, however, it seems like Blonsky could be more of a blurred good guy rather than an outright villain.

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