The 'She-Hulk' Series Sees the Return of the Abomination — Here's a Refresher on Who He Is

The new Disney Plus show She-Hulk: Attorney at Law reaches wide across the Marvel Cinematic Universe when it comes to its characters. The series will feature bottom-of-the-barrel comics characters, long-awaited reappearances of heroes from the far reaches of the Marvel shows formerly of Netflix, and the return of villains from the very beginning of the film franchise. Before the likes of Thanos and Agatha Harkness, there was the Abomination.

Tim Roth, who played the Abomination in 2008, reprises his role as the villainous adversary of the Hulk. Though the character had a small cameo in 2021's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, he will make a more substantial appearance in the upcoming lawyer-slash-superhero show. Unless you're a dedicated MCU watcher, you may not remember who the Abomination is right away. Here's a quick refresher on his story arc.

The Abomination first appeared in the film The Incredible Hulk long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe became the juggernaut franchise it is today. The movie follows Bruce Banner (Edward Norton), a scientist who is unwittingly given the ability to become a rage-fueled green giant. Five years later, he remains on the run from the U.S. government, which wants to experiment on him and essentially create more Hulks. One of the soldiers pursuing him is special forces leader Emil Blonsky.

After witnessing the Hulk's might, Blonsky agrees to an injection of an experimental super-soldier serum developed with Bruce's remaining research. The serum grants him enhanced speed and strength while also altering his physical appearance and anatomy.

Emboldened by this new serum, Blonsky attempts to take on the Hulk himself. While he is violently defeated, he recovers almost instantaneously from his severe injuries. Worse yet, he desires more power in order to become stronger than the Hulk.

After meeting with Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), a scientist who had been researching Bruce's blood samples, Blonsky persuades Sterns to inject him with his synthesized blood. The injection proves too successful, turning Blonsky into a grotesque, muscle-bound giant aptly referred to as "an abomination."

Bruce attempts to use the Hulk's power to stop the Abomination from destroying Harlem. Thankfully, he succeeds, resulting in the Abomination's arrest.

Aside from his Shang-Chi cameo, that's the last we see of Blonsky for quite some time. Now, he's set to fully reappear in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law as a major character. He becomes a client of Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany), a lawyer for powered individuals who becomes a Hulk after receiving a blood transfusion from her cousin Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo).

While she has her own qualms about representing the man who tried to kill his cousin, this conflict of interest apparently doesn't impede her ability to build his case for him.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law streams exclusively on Disney Plus starting Aug. 18.