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Quote1 Foolish rabble! Your pitiful display is nothing to my new-found power! Quote2
The Abomination[src]

History

Origins[]

Emil Blonsky was a communist Croatian Yugoslavian spy who infiltrated the U.S. Air Force base in New Mexico that was commanded by General "Thunderbolt" Ross and where Dr. Bruce Banner, the nuclear physicist who became the Hulk, conducted many of his experiments with gamma radiation. Blonsky made three attempts to sabotage missiles at the base that were vital to the defense of the United States. Although each attempt was narrowly thwarted, the Air Force still did not know who the saboteur was until Blonsky's transformation.[2]

Emil Blonsky (Earth-616) from Tales to Astonish Vol 1 90 002

Human Form

The enigmatic alien known as the Stranger decided that the people of Earth were not responsible enough to use their nuclear weaponry wisely. He therefore presented a threat of the other civilizations of the universe. The Stranger put the Hulk under his control and intended to use him to destroy humanity. However, the Stranger's control did not extend to Bruce Banner's persona. When the Hulk next changed back into Banner, the scientist decided to commit suicide in order to save the world from a Stranger-controlled Hulk. Banner made his way into his laboratory on the Air Force base and prepared to activate a machine that would bombard him with enough gamma radiation to kill him.

Unknown to Banner, Blonsky was hiding in the laboratory, where he had been photographing Banner's gamma radiation equipment. Security officers burst in and carried Banner off. Unaware of the nature of the machine that Banner was about to use on himself, Blonsky stood in front of the machine and activated it. It bombarded him with a more concentrated and intense dosage of gamma radiation than Banner himself had received from the nuclear explosion that had first turned him into the Hulk. Like Banner, Blonsky had some unknown genetic factor in his body that saved him from being killed by such a great dose of gamma radiation. Instead, the radiation had an immediate mutagenic effect upon Blonsky, transforming him into the green-skinned, Hulk-like monster whom General Ross's daughter dubbed the Abomination.[10]

Emil Blonsky (Earth-616) from Tales to Astonish Vol 1 90 001

The birth of the Abomination

The Abomination gained greater strength than the Hulk at the latter's "normal" level of strength, and, unlike the Hulk, Abomination retained his full human intelligence. However, Abomination could not transform back into a normal human form. Infatuated with his new found power, the Abomination beat the Hulk nearly to death and kidnapped Betty Ross. General Ross was so fearful for his daughter's safety that he ordered that the Hulk be revived in order to pursue the Abomination. When Banner's confidante, Rick Jones, pleaded with the Hulk for help, the Hulk broke free from the Stranger's mental control and reverted once more to Banner. Acting with General Ross' cooperation, Banner activated a powerful gamma radiation generating device he had invented directly upon the Abomination, thereby causing the Abomination's strength to diminish rapidly.[11]

However, Banner grew so excited that he became the Hulk and smashed the weapon's controls, causing it to shut down before the Abomination's strength had been reduced below superhuman levels. The Abomination's strength was left at the level he has possessed since, which was greater than that normally possessed by the Hulk, but which the Hulk could exceed upon becoming sufficiently enraged. The angry Hulk attacked and defeated the Abomination. The Stranger, watching from afar, was so impressed by the heroism of Banner/Hulk that he decided that there might indeed be hope for humanity. The Stranger transported the Abomination to his base on another planet, intending to use him as an agent in future endeavors.[11]

In Space[]

The Abomination next appeared as a result of a spell cast by a coven of witches. The witches sought to prove their power by killing the alien Silver Surfer and hoped to summon a "tool" capable of doing so. Blonsky refused to obey the coven's commands, however, and left with plans to subjugate and rule the world. The Silver Surfer similarly escaped the coven and battled Blonsky. Eventually defeated, Blonsky was returned to the witches and returned to the Stranger's planet.[12]

Back on the Stranger's planet, Blonsky tried to free the rest of the prisoners and unite them into a conquering force under his leadership. He succeeded in part by using the Stranger's devices to transport the god Thor to the planet, but once Thor learned of Blonsky's true motives, he defeated Blonsky and left him.[13]

The Stranger came up with few missions for the Abomination. Eventually, the Abomination was rescued from the Laboratory World and taken aboard an alien starship, the Andromeda, where he became first mate. After many months, he was returned to Earth. He battled the Hulk several more times but in the outcome was beaten soundly each time.

After one of these battles, the Abomination was saved from defeat by the Galaxy Master, a powerful non-humanoid being which enslaved civilizations and forced them to produce the energy it required to exist. The Galaxy Master employed the Abomination to precede it in attacking civilizations that might offer particular resistance to conquest. Empress Daydra of the Sagittarian race recruited the Hulk to defeat the Abomination, who had become known as the "Ravager of Worlds." The Hulk eventually succeeded in defeating both the Galaxy Master and the Abomination.

Somehow, Blonsky made his way to a drifting asteroid, where he was rescued by the alien Xeron the Starslayer and conscripted to be one the oarsmen of Captain Cybor. Blonsky quickly beat his way into becoming first mate to Cybor, who was searching for the monstrous Klaatu. Klaatu made his way to Earth, and Xeron encountered and conscripted the Hulk as well. The Hulk and Blonsky would continually clash until Cybor's ship encountered Klaatu. During the battle with the beast, the ship was damaged and Blonsky and the Hulk tumbled to Earth separately.[14] The impact to earth buried the Abomination in the desert and he was in a coma for two years. Revived, he again fought the Hulk[15] and later other super heroes.

M.O.D.O.K.[]

After yet another defeat by the Hulk,[16] a U.S. space shuttle found the Abomination frozen in ice, once again in suspended animation, in orbit around Earth. He was brought to the attention of General Ross, and revived by former A.I.M. leader M.O.D.O.K., with whom Ross had formed a treasonous alliance.[17] The Hulk, temporarily possessing Banner's intelligence, had been granted a presidential pardon. Ross, who disagreed with the pardon, made a deal with M.O.D.O.K. that the latter would revive the Abomination and take him as a servant in exchange for having the Abomination kill the Hulk. However, the revived Abomination, as a result of having been defeated by the Hulk in the last few times they had encountered, had a pathological fear of facing the Hulk. M.O.D.O.K. subjected the Abomination to painful psychological conditioning to make him more afraid of M.O.D.O.K. than of the Hulk, and sent him against the Hulk. The Abomination failed to defeat the Hulk, however, and so M.O.D.O.K. used his mental power to disintegrate the Abomination.[18]

Tyrannus[]

Despite his seeming destruction, the ethereal being known as Tyrannus reconstructed the Abomination, who had continued to exist as a cloud of free atoms. Tyrannus, who was in a similar state, decided to merge his atoms with those of the Abomination. He transferred Blonsky's consciousness into a human body. The former spy finally found himself able to lead a normal life, albeit briefly. Trapped in the Abomination's form, Tyrannus attempted to switch bodies with Blonsky. The process failed and the Abomination became a mindless, rampaging beast. Tyrannus, as the Abomination, kidnapped Betty, now Banner's wife, in order that Banner might use the special nutrient bath that had separated the Hulk from Banner, on the Abomination to make Tyrannus whole once more. The Hulk and the government agency known as SHIELD stopped the process, but in doing so seemingly destroyed Blonsky's consciousness.[19]

Tyrannus' allies, the Deviant Ghaur and Lemurian Llyra, arranged for Tyrannus to be freed, and the Abomination became a savage mindless brute. The heroes She-Hulk and Spider-Man confronted him, and the Abomination escaped. [20]

Sentinels[]

Somehow making his way to Philadelphia where Blonsky had previously lived, Emil Blonsky's personality suddenly resumed itself. Almost as suddenly, Blonsky was kidnapped by the robotic Sentinels. The Sentinels hoped to use the Abomination (and gamma-powered scientist Doc Samson) in a test to see if they could sterilize human beings and thus end a perceived mutant menace. The Abomination helped the similarly-kidnapped mutant heroes X-Men defeat the Sentinels but was confronted by their creator, Doctor Cynthia Chalmers. Promising Blonsky the Sentinels after she has used them to destroy the mutants, Abomination helped Chalmers rebuild the Sentinels but was ultimately betrayed by her and both he and the robots were defeated by the X-Men.[21]

Stalker[]

The Abomination again clashed with the Hulk, this time as a pawn of the gamma-spawned super-genius called the Leader. The Hulk doused the Abomination in toxic waste, melting the Abomination's epidermis into mush. When he next surfaced, Blonsky had begun stalking his wife, Nadia, who believed he had died. A miniaturized Hulk, now possessing Banner's intelligence, convinced him to move on.[22]

Homeless Community[]

Blonsky remained in the sewers of New York, and began to attract followers of misfits and outcasts, humans and mutants. One of these mutants included at one point the one called Threnody, who was a victim of her own recently-emerged mutant powers. The misfits called themselves the Forgotten (later, the Abominations), and created their own community underneath New York. Blonsky served as their protector more than once. For example, when the New York sewers became a focal point between the police and drug traffickers, with the Abomination's homeless community caught in the middle. The Hulk arrived to help the police and battled Blonsky. The Hulk was unable to defeat the Abomination and Blonsky killed most of the police and news reporters before escaping.[23]

Threnody returned to Blonsky's sewers when escaping Mister Sinister. She was followed by her boyfriend at the time, the X-Man, and Blonsky fought him, seeing this as a betrayal of his community. X-Man used his psychic powers to allow him and Threnody to leave.[24]

Later, travelers arrived from an alternate future ruled by a villainous Hulk named the Maestro. The travelers helped the Forgotten against the police, and revealed the Abomination's fate in their reality.[25]

The Murder of Betty Banner[]

Blonsky had come to regard his relationship with the Hulk as one of equal status-- they were both ugly and psychologically scarred and alone. However, when Blonsky learned of Banner's marriage to his life-long love, Betty, Blonsky felt that now he was worse off than the Hulk. Blonsky learned that Betty was hospitalized, and he killed her by injecting his gamma-irradiated blood into Betty's dialysis machine, although the world thought that the Hulk was responsible. Betty's father, General Ross, discovered this fact by tracking the Hulk and instead, found Blonsky. Blonsky, apparently abandoning his homeless community, had gone on a rampage, destroying a town before being confronted by Ross. The Hulk had somehow tracked the Abomination as well, and Blonsky revealed that Nadia is "gone" to him as well. The Hulk walked away from a confrontation with Blonsky, knowing that his forgiveness would be the one form of retaliation his enemy could not endure. The Abomination could not comprehend and endure his enemy's absolution, and his moment of triumph was twisted into crushing defeat. Blonsky realized he had become what he abhorred the most - it was he who was the rampaging, inhuman monster; not the Hulk as he had religiously believed all these years.[26]

Incarcerated[]

Months later, Blonsky was working as creative writing teacher, although he soon quit the job. After revealing to Banner his late wife's cryogenically preserved corpse, the still-grieving General Ross manipulated the Hulk into attacking and almost killing Blonsky. He convinced his son-in-law it was time to bring Blonsky to justice. The no-holds-barred battle between the Abomination and the Hulk destroyed a town and ravaged the surrounding countryside, finally resulting in the Abomination's being placed in military custody. As punishment, Blonsky was forced to watch a film loop of himself and his wife prior to his transformation, making his incarceration a constant reminder of what he has lost.[27]

Home Base & a Wife's Vengeance[]

When Bruce Banner was on the run from the mysterious underground organization known only as Home Base, he unexpectedly encountered Blonsky's wife Nadia living in an isolated desert home. Nadia offered Banner shelter and the two struck up an intimate friendship. At the same time, agents of Home Base infiltrated Blonsky's prison and made with him a deadly bargain -- the promise of release and reunion with his wife Nadia in exchange for the defeat and capture of the Hulk. Despite the apparent betrayal of Agent S-3, Blonsky was inadvertently set free and he soon confronted Banner and Nadia. Nadia then revealed her true purpose for coming to the United States, to find her husband and to wreak her vengeance for the years suffered in a physically abusive marriage to him. In the confrontation, Banner transformed into the Hulk and the two beasts battled, with Hulk emerging victorious.[28]

Facing She-Hulk[]

Some time later, the Hulk was launched into space,[29] and it didn't take long for Blonsky to realize his nemesis was missing. Feeling no one on Earth could stop him now, he figured he was free to do whatever he pleased, starting by taking over a small establishment and forcing all the waitresses to serve him enormous amounts of food. S.H.I.E.L.D. quickly got to the scene and She-Hulk was tasked with facing Abomination. She was clearly more agile and the better martial artist of the two, but that wasn't enough to overcome the Abomination's strength and endurance. It wasn't until Abomination momentarily let his guard down, that She-Hulk managed to throw a decisive punch and knock him out.[30]

He was then place under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s custody and was experimented on alongside other villains, so S.H.I.E.L.D. could develop nanotechnology capable of controlling them.[31]

Death[]

Thaddeus Ross (Earth-616) and Emil Blonsky (Earth-616) from Hulk Vol 2 1 001

Abomination dies at the hands of Red Hulk

Abomination eventually ran afoul of the Red Hulk (actually a mutated Thunderbolt Ross) in Russia who, after savagely beating the Abomination within an inch of his life, subsequently shot him dead in retaliation for his hand in Betty Ross' "death."[6] During the Chaos War, Blonsky was resurrected by the Chaos King and sent alongside Zom to locate and revive Death and defeat the Hulk Family. After combating the group who were unprepared to his new power-set and severely injuring Rick Jones, he found Death's host, Marlo Jones. After being beaten by the Hulks and their resurrected allies, Emil summoned Brian Banner. After Brian Banner's defeat, Blonsky was killed by Marlo when she became empowered by Death.[32]

Mindless Rebirth[]

The remains of the Abomination were recovered by the Ancient Order of the Shield,[33] after Bruce Banner had escaped their captivity. Using gamma blood and gamma glands taken from Banner, the agency managed to rebuild and reanimate Abomination's corpse, although no longer with a mind of his own, to use him to hunt down the Hulk. Abomination tried to track the Hulk, but he ultimately lost track of him.[34] Abomination was later sent to retrieve the Hulk when Hulk went on another rampage, but Abomination found interference from the Avengers. Iron Man aided Hulk using technology left behind by Order of the Shield agents to finally defeat the Abomination by teleporting him into outer space. Iron Man estimated that Abomination was sent into the orbit of the planet Jupiter.[35]

Project Green Spring[]

As part of their efforts to capture the Hulk, the covert Shadow Base recovered gamma-activated tissue from Blonsky's corpse. While initially bonded to Rick Jones,[36] the tissue was ultimately co-opted by Shadow Base's leader, General Fortean, turning him into a creature similar to the Abomination.[37] Following Fortean's death at the hands of the Hulk,[38] Blonsky resurrected into Fortean's mutated body, presumably through the Green Door, gaining Fortean's memories as well as the ability to switch back and forth between his original look and Fortean's Abomination form. Posing as Fortean, Blonsky established the insurrectionist Project Green Spring. He allied himself with gamma expert Dr. Alba, who used slivers of Blonsky's skin to make grafts that turned test subjects into gamma monsters. Green Spring's efforts also included the distribution of low-level gamma grafts to the population of Thomasville, Texas, which were marketed as a supplement called Fortify.

Two of Green Spring's test subjects were the Hulk's son Skaar and Fortean's daughter Dionne. She ran away when she learned of Green Spring's experimentation with the townspeople,[9] and crossed paths with the gamma-focused task force Gamma Flight.[39] Blonksy sent Skaar after her, but she escaped with Gamma Flight. Joining the team, Dionne helped raid Thomasville, where Gamma Flight hijacked Green Spring's Cathexis Ray to reverse the effects of Fortify on the townspeople. The Abomination confronted Gamma Flight and Skaar, who Dionne turned against Blonsky, but he was driven away following Dr. Alba's defeat.[40]

Thunderbolts[]

The Abomination would join New York mayor Wilson Fisk's Thunderbolts during Fisk's campaign against New York's super heroes. Blonsky would participate in the capture of the Purple Man's children, but his whereabouts after this event are as of yet unknown.[5]

Attributes

Power Grid[47]
:Category:Power Grid/Fighting Skills/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Energy Projection/None:Category:Power Grid/Durability/Superhuman:Category:Power Grid/Speed/Superhuman:Category:Power Grid/Strength/Incalculable:Category:Power Grid/Intelligence/Learned

Powers

  • Gamma Mutate Physiology: The gamma radiation that mutated the Abomination's body fortified his cellular structure and added, from some as yet unknown source, over 800 pounds of bone marrow and tissue to his body. Unlike the Hulk's, the Abomination's transformation has proved stable; he cannot change back and forth between his human state and his superhuman state.[2]
    • Superhuman Strength: The Abomination possesses vast superhuman strength enabling him to lift approximately 100 tons.[2][41] Although the Abomination's strength surpasses that of certain classic incarnations of the Hulk,[2][41] such as Mr. Fixit (Class 70) or the Green Savage Hulk (Class 90), the Abomination's strength does not fluctuate like the Hulk's. Hence, while the Abomination may be stronger than a "calm" Hulk, when enraged Hulk's strength level rapidly reaches and exceeds the Class 100 level possessed by Blonsky. Blonsky incredible strength has allowed him to battle and defeat powerful foes and has once knocked out Doc Sasquatch with a single blow and broke one of Skaar's arm without much effort.[40]
      • Superhuman Leaping: The Abomination's great strength also extends into the highly developed and powerful muscles of his legs, enabling him to leap over two miles.[42]
    • Superhuman Stamina: The Abomination's highly advanced musculature produces vastly less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of an ordinary human. He is capable of physically exerting himself at peak capacity for several days before the build up of fatigue toxins in his blood begins to impair him.[2]
    • Superhuman Durability: In addition to great strength, the Abomination's bodily tissues are substantially harder and more resistant to injury than the tissues of an ordinary human. The Abomination's skin is capable of withstanding great heat without blistering, great cold without freezing, and great impacts without injury. His body is also capable of withstanding tremendous impact forces, such as artillery shells and powerful energy blasts, without sustaining injury.[2]
    • Superhuman Speed: Aside from his immense strength and durability the Abomination can also move at superhuman speed.[43]
    • Regenerative Healing Factor: Despite his great physical resilience, it is possible to injure him. However, he possesses an accelerated healing factor similar to that possessed by the Hulk. As a result, he is capable of regenerating great amounts of damaged or destroyed tissue with much greater speed and efficiency than an ordinary human. While the full extent of his healing powers are unknown they are inferior to those of the Hulk since the Hulk's healing powers, much like his strength, increases as he becomes angrier. The Abomination is also immune to all known Earthly diseases and infections.[2]
    • Gamma Radiation/Energy Manipulation and Emission: After his reconstitution by the Order of the Shield, the cloned Abomination was given the ability to generate varying levels of Gamma Radiation of an incredibly toxic variety. It is enough to overwhelm the Hulk, Captain Marvel, and Sunspot; heroes all known for absorbing energy.[35]
    • Underwater Breathing: The Abomination's lung capacity is higher than the Hulk's, allowing him to breathe underwater for longer periods of time.[2]
    • Suspended Animation: Extreme pain, cold, or extended lack of oxygen can cause the Abomination to enter a coma-like state of suspended animation, in which he can survive, perhaps indefinitely.[44]
    • Hulk Tracking: According to the Order of the Shield, they added a feature that enables Abomination to track down the Hulk.[34]

Abilities

Emil Blonsky was a skilled spy prior to his transformation into the Abomination. He is also a formidable hand to hand combatant, preferring to use street fighting techniques that enable him to make full use of his great strength.[citation needed]

Weaknesses

Blonsky is unable to change back into human form.

Notes

  • Leonard Samson believed that, due to the fact that a Gamma exposed being takes a form reflective of their inner self, that Blonsky's Abomination form is hideous and repulsive as a physical expression of his self hatred. Blonsky believes himself to be "Ugly on the inside. Unworthy of true love, affection, companionship."[30]

See Also

Links and References

References

  1. Gamma Flight #3
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #1
  3. Defenders (Vol. 2) #10
  4. Immortal Hulk #14
  5. 5.0 5.1 Devil's Reign: Villains for Hire #3
  6. 6.0 6.1 Hulk (Vol. 2) #1
  7. Incredible Hulks #618
  8. Incredible Hulks #620
  9. 9.0 9.1 Gamma Flight #4
  10. Tales to Astonish #90
  11. 11.0 11.1 Tales to Astonish #91
  12. Silver Surfer #12
  13. Thor #178
  14. Incredible Hulk #137
  15. Incredible Hulk #159
  16. Incredible Hulk #270
  17. Incredible Hulk #287
  18. Incredible Hulk #290
  19. Incredible Hulk Annual #15
  20. Amazing Spider-Man Annual #23
  21. Marvel Super-Heroes (Vol. 2) #68
  22. Incredible Hulk #383384
  23. Abominations #13
  24. X-Man #20
  25. Incredible Hulk #431432
  26. Incredible Hulk #459
  27. Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #2425
  28. Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #5054
  29. Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #91
  30. 30.0 30.1 She-Hulk (Vol. 2) #15
  31. She-Hulk (Vol. 2) #1618
  32. Incredible Hulks #618620
  33. Hulk (Vol. 3) #8
  34. 34.0 34.1 Hulk (Vol. 3) #2
  35. 35.0 35.1 Hulk (Vol. 3) #34
  36. Immortal Hulk #17
  37. Immortal Hulk #21
  38. Immortal Hulk #24
  39. Gamma Flight #1
  40. 40.0 40.1 Gamma Flight #5
  41. 41.0 41.1 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #1
  42. Marvel Encyclopedia New Edition #1
  43. Marvel Avengers: The Ultimate Character Guide #3
  44. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Hulk 2004 #1
  45. Incredible Hulks #618619
  46. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #1
  47. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol 1 1
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