Warning: contains spoilers for Defenders Beyond #2!The Abomination is one of the Hulk’s premiere villains, and his dark origin shows how the MCU gets him wrong. Although the Abomination is best known for his lighter turn in the recently concluded She-Hulk show on Disney Plus, his comics' origin is much darker, and as seen in the recent series of Defenders books, it stretches back into previous cycles of creation. Defenders Beyond #2 established that the Abomination is connected with Marvel’s version of the Devil. The issue is on sale now in print and digital.
The Abomination, also known as Emily Blonsky, first appeared in 1967’s Tales to Astonish #90, created by Stan Lee and Gil Kane. The Abomination was a product of the Cold War, a KGB agent who exposed himself to gamma radiation, in an attempt to gain more power; Blonsky exposed himself to even more of the radiation than Banner was, rationalizing it would make him stronger. Since then, the Abomination and the Hulk have been mortal enemies. The character made the leap into live action in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, the second entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where he was played by Tim Roth. The character briefly returned in 2021’s Shang-Chi before appearing on Disney+’s recent She-Hulk series, which featured a reformed Abomination, more intent on helping people than hurting them. It is a neat transformation, and a compelling arc for the character–but it betrays his dark comic book origins, as seen in both Defenders #4 and Defenders Beyond #2.
In Defenders #4, the team, led by Doctor Strange, is traveling through previous incarnations of the Marvel Universe, arriving in the mysterious Fourth Cosmos. It was in the cycle of creation that the concepts of heroism and villainy were formed, expressed in abstract characters with analogues in the current-day Marvel Universe. The characters of the Fourth Cosmos were not given names in the book, but in Defenders Beyond #2, the Abomination is seen in a fight, and he is identified as “Of-Below.” Both books were written by Al Ewing and illustrated by Javier Rodriguez.
The Abomination of the Comics is Not a Nice Guy.
The name “Of-Below” connects the Abomination with the One-Below-All–Marvel’s true equivalent to the Devil. A counterpoint to the benevolent One-Above-All, this creature resides in the Below-Place, the lowest level of Hell. The entity accesses our reality through “Green Doors” which are opened due to gamma radiation–such as the type that created both the Hulk and the Abomination. However, the Hulk is identified as the “One Who is Four”--a name with no connection to the One-Below-All. As a matter of fact, only the Abomination is mentioned in connection with the evil entity. In the comics, the Abomination was a wife beater who tortured people in the KGB–a far cry from the films. The comic book Abomination’s lack of redeeming values stems from the fact that his origin is bound up with the One-Below-All, who represents destruction and violence.
The Abomination’s origin also, unexpectedly, adds a tragic layer to the character–his evil can be traced back to previous universes. The legacy of the One-Below-All is of chaos, which the Abomination represents. Emil Blonsky never stood a chance–he was destined to be evil from the start, with no redeeming value. This is as far from his MCU interpretation as fans can get. The comic book Abomination has a much darker origin, giving this Hulk foe a connection with the darkest depths of Hell.