The Abomination (Emil Blonsky) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Gil Kane, the character first appeared in Tales to Astonish #90 (April 1967). A former KGB agent, Emil Blonsky was exposed to gamma radiation while spying on the military base where Bruce Banner was attempting to rid himself of the Hulk, and developed similar powers as a result. He has since endured as one of the Hulk's most prominent adversaries and one of his greatest physical threats.
Debuting during the Silver Age of Comic Books, the character has been featured in other Marvel-endorsed products such as arcade and video games, television series, and merchandise such as action figures and trading cards. Tim Roth portrays Emil Blonsky in the live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films The Incredible Hulk (2008) and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), as well as the Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022).
Publication history Stan Lee chose the name "the Abomination", which he realized belonged to no other character, before conceiving the character's background and appearance. Lee recalled that he simply told the artist Gil Kane to "make him bigger and stronger than the Hulk and we'll have a lot of fun with him".
Emil Blonsky first appeared in Tales to Astonish, and was introduced as a KGB agent and spy who became the Abomination after deliberately exposing himself to a greater quantity of the same gamma radiation that transformed Bruce Banner into his alter ego the Hulk, using a machine Banner was planning on using to commit suicide. In his first appearance, Blonsky became a large scaly humanoid even stronger than the Hulk. In accordance with Lee's wishes, the character defeated the Hulk in their first battle.Tales to Astonish #90–91 (April–May 1967)
The character has been featured in a number of Marvel titles, gradually shifting from unthinking, savage brute, to master schemer,The Mighty Thor #178 (July 1970) to tortured soul,The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #382–384 (June–Aug. 1991) and finally repentant villain and occasional defender of the weak,The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #431–432 (July–Aug. 1995) before being killed by the Red Hulk in Hulk (vol. 2), released in 2008.Hulk vol. 2 #1–2 (Feb.–March 2008) He is later resurrected in Hulk (vol. 3), released in 2014.
Fictional character biography Emil Blonsky was born in Zagreb (then part of Yugoslavia, now the capital and largest city of Croatia) and became a KGB agent who infiltrated an Air Force base in New Mexico where Bruce Banner was attempting to kill the Hulk through overexposure to gamma rays. Blonsky triggers Banner turning into the Hulk and is transformed by exposure to the radiation, becoming a hideous lizard-like creature himself.Tales to Astonish #89 (April 1967)
The Abomination reappears when summoned by a coven of witches to briefly battle the cosmic hero the Silver SurferSilver Surfer #12 (Jan. 1970) and uses the Stranger's technology to summon Thor and escape the Stranger's laboratory world. Thor frees the Abomination and the other captives, but, on discovering they are all evil, uses his mystic hammer Mjolnir to time travel several hours into the past to undo his mistake. After defeating the Abomination and placing the Abomination in prison, Thor departs. When the Hulk is defeated by the alien Xeron the Star Slayer and brought aboard a space vessel, the Abomination is revealed to be First Mate of the alien crew. When the captain of the vessel directs Xeron and the crew to battle a creature in space, the Hulk and the Abomination are thrown from the vessel and battle until the pair are drawn into Earth's orbit and separated.The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #136–137 (March–April 1971)
It is revealed in flashback that the Abomination entered into a coma-like state upon impacting with Earth and is buried for two years. Revived by an off-course missile fired from Hulkbuster Base (under Thunderbolt Ross's jurisdiction), the Abomination joins forces with Ross to defeat the Hulk, but is battered into submission by an angered Hulk.The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #159 (Jan. 1973) The Abomination reappears with fellow Hulk foe the Rhino, and the pair activates a gamma bomb at the Hulkbuster base in an attempt to destroy the Hulk. The Hulk's companion of the time, Jim Wilson, deactivates the bomb and the Hulk tricks the villains during combat, forcing them to collide and knock each other unconscious.The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #171 (Jan. 1974) A comatose Abomination is eventually found by soldiers at Ross's direction and has a miniature bomb implanted in his skull, being told to fight and defeat the Hulk or be killed. The Abomination tricks the Hulk into an alliance and betrays Ross by attempting to ransom the Kennedy Space Center. The plan fails when the Hulk turns on the Abomination and the pair fight, with the Abomination being caught on a rocket when it explodes.The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #194–196 (Dec. 1975 – Feb. 1976)
The Abomination eventually reappears as a servant of the Galaxy Master, having been empowered with even greater strength. After another extended battle with the Hulk, the Hulk attacks and destroys the Galaxy Master, causing the Abomination to weaken and apparently become lost in space.The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #270 (April 1982) When MODOK invades Hulkbuster Base, he colludes with Ross to revive the Abomination, who was found in a block of ice above Earth and kept in cryogenic storage for further study. MODOK intends to use the Abomination against his superiors at A.I.M., while Ross wants to use him to destroy the Hulk. The Abomination, however, has become afraid of the Hulk as a result of their past battles and has to be mentally forced by MODOK to even fight the Hulk. MODOK, however, is ousted by A.I.M., and a hesitant Abomination is beaten by the Hulk when he intervenes to save Banner's laboratory assistant. The Abomination refuses to rejoin the fight, and is disintegrated by MODOK.The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #287–290 (Sept.–Nov. 1983)
During the Secret Wars II storyline, the Abomination is restored by the demon-lord Mephisto, who directs the Abomination and other villains against the cosmic entity the Beyonder as a member of the Legion Accursed.Secret Wars II #1–9 (July 1985 – March 1986) The restoration is temporary, as a still-disembodied Abomination's atoms mingle with the disembodied atoms of the villain Tyrannus, who reintegrates the Abomination's body and places it under his mind's control. Tyrannus, as the Abomination, then comes into conflict with the Gray Hulk, and quickly defeats the weaker version of their foe. When the Hulk reverts to Banner, Tyrannus forces him to create a procedure that will remove Blonsky's mind, who is mentally fighting Tyrannus' mind for control of the Abomination's body. The process is successful and Blonsky is restored to his human form, free of Tyrannus, whose mind is still occupying the form of the Abomination. An enraged Gray Hulk defeats Tyrannus, who is placed into custody by the organization S.H.I.E.L.D.The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 Annual #15 (Jan. 1986)
After encounters against Avengers Wonder Man and Hawkeye,West Coast Avengers #25 (Oct. 1987)Solo Avengers #12 (Nov. 1988) the Tyrannus-controlled Abomination reappears during the "Atlantis Attacks" storyline with the Deviant Ghaur freeing Tyrannus from the body of the Abomination by restoring Tyrannus' mind to a duplicate of his own body and placing Blonsky's mind within the Abomination's body once more. The process drives Blonsky insane, and he battles heroes Spider-Man and the She-Hulk, managing to knock both unconscious. The Abomination is eventually driven off when set on fire by the She-Hulk.The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #23 (1989) The Abomination's mental faculties eventually return and the Abomination reappears in the "Countdown" storyline as a pawn of another Hulk foe, the Leader. The Abomination is sent to a toxic waste site to collect samples and encounters the gray version of the Hulk again, who is outmatched and also weak due to being poisoned. The Hulk, however, throws the Abomination into toxic waste that partially dissolves and horribly scars the Abomination.The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #364–367 (Dec. 1989–March 1990)
The Abomination temporarily teams with villains Titania and Gargantua and finds and stalks his former wife Nadia.The Incredible Hulk Annual #19 (Jan. 1991) The Abomination captures her and after taking her into the New York City sewers, reveals his true identity. After a brief skirmish, the Hulk persuades the Abomination to free his wife.
After befriending a woman who finds her way into the sewers,The Incredible Hulk Annual #20 (Jan. 1994) the Abomination battles Namor during an attempt to save his kidnapped former wife.Namor, the Sub-Mariner #58–59 (Jan.–Feb. 1995) The Abomination retaliates against the NYPD when the Police Commissioner orders the sewers be cleared of all homeless, who the Abomination has placed under his protection. After killing several police officers, he is eventually driven away when confronted by the Hulk.The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #431–432 (July–Aug. 1995) The Abomination battles the mutant Nate Grey (who is searching the sewers for his lover and fellow mutant Threnody, who had been one of the homeless followers of the Abomination), who uses his mental abilities to trick the Abomination in thinking that he defeated Grey.X-Man vol. 2 #19–20 (Sept.–Oct. 1996) He battles a delusional HulkThe Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #459 (Dec. 1997) before encountering the Angel when the mutant visits the sewers in which he was once captured and maimed during the "Fall of the Mutants" storyline.X-Men #74 (April 1998)
When Betty Ross dies in the title Hulk, Banner mistakenly thinks her proximity to the Hulk has induced a fatal case of radiation poisoning.The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #468 (Sept. 1998) Using a gamma device, a vindictive Thunderbolt Ross tracks what he believes to be the Hulk to a destroyed town, where the Abomination reveals he was the true culprit. Despite baiting a newly arrived Hulk, the Abomination is unable to force the Hulk to fight and departs.The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #472–474 (Jan.–March 1999)
The circumstances of Betty's death are eventually revealed: Blonsky's transformation into the Abomination apparently alienates his former wife Nadia, driving his hatred of Banner; Blonsky, deciding to deprive Banner of Betty in return, secretly poisons her with his radioactive blood. After hearing the Abomination's admission, Banner eventually discovers the truth and the Hulk defeats the Abomination in a battle. Taken into custody by the military, Blonsky is forced to watch old home movies of him and his wife together prior to his transformation as punishment.The Incredible Hulk vol. 3 #24–25 (March–April 2001) Operatives from a secret organization "Home Base" eventually release the Abomination to battle the Hulk, and although able to taunt the Hulk about Betty's murder, he is defeated once again.The Incredible Hulk vol. 3 #50–54 (March–July 2003) This encounter is later revealed to be a dream generated by Nightmare in an effort to torture the Hulk.The Incredible Hulk vol. 3 #81 (July 2005)