The Incredible Hulk villain Abomination will return to the MCU in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and there are a few reasons why the new movie is much more fitting for the character. Tim Roth will return to play the monstrous character, joining a cast led by Simu Liu and including Awkwafina, Tony Leung, Meng'er Zhang, Fala Chen, Michelle Yeoh, and Benedict Wong. Given how relatively insignificant The Incredible Hulk has become to the overall MCU story, the return of Abomination has been a source of excitement among fans.

After injecting himself with both a variant of the Captain America super-soldier serum and Bruce Banner’s own gamma-irradiated blood, special-ops soldier Emil Blonsky became the monster known as Abomination and proceeded to rampage through New York City before finally being stopped by the Hulk. The character was portrayed as little more than a power-hungry sociopath with little interest in anything other than violence and conquest. After the events of the film, Abomination was imprisoned in a cryostasis prison by SHIELD.

Related: What Happened To Abomination Between Incredible Hulk & Shang-Chi

How exactly Abomination managed to escape from his captivity has yet to be revealed, but he’s most certainly back and ready for battle in Shang-Chi. The trailers show him competing in the film’s fighting tournament, where he faces off against Doctor Strange’s Wong. While such an appearance might feel a bit random to some, it actually may be a far better way to utilize Abomination than The Incredible Hulk. In the prior film, Blonsky was essentially the main villain, having to carry a significant amount of the dramatic and narrative load. And while Roth did a fine job with the material he was given, a giant, monstrous abomination just doesn’t open up a ton of interesting opportunities when it comes to the actual story.

The abomination MCU changes The incredible Hulk Shang Chi Blonsky

Put simply, Abomination is a challenging character to place at the center of a movie. But as a big bad boss character who only appears for some cool fights? That’s a much more fitting role. By bringing Abomination back into the MCU through Shang-Chi's tournament, the movie can focus on what he’s best at – being a giant, terrifying foe. He doesn’t have to talk much or shoulder major chunks of the story, and that’s probably for the best.

In the era of the franchise, where great characters like Killmonger, Thanos, and Kang the Conqueror exist, more simplistic and brutish villains don't hold up quite as well. In the MCU's early days, before the full universe had been established and before the winning formula had been worked out, one-dimensional villains with little nuance didn't feel so out of place. Abomination still has his place in the MCU, but that role is at the center of the action, not the story, which is exactly where he’ll be in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Next: Abomination's MCU Future In Phase 4 (Shang-Chi & She-Hulk)

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