Warning: This article contains spoilers for Captain America: Brave New World.An unexpected Hulk character makes a cameo in Captain America: Brave New World, which makes him a serious MCU villain again despite his limited screentime. Captain America: Brave New World revisits Thaddeus Ross, Samuel Sterns, and Betty Ross seventeen years after their introduction in The Incredible Hulk. Thanks to President Ross and Samuel Sterns’ feud, Captain America finds himself in the middle of a conflict between Gamma mutates, which in turn triggers international tension that puts the world on the brink of war.

Captain America: Brave New World is the first MCU installment to address Tiamut’s interrupted Emergence directly after the events of Eternals, and it’s also the first тιтle to bring back Samuel Sterns and Betty Ross after The Incredible Hulk. With at least three Hulk characters in key roles, Captain America: Brave New World doesn’t feature Bruce Banner or Hulk, but does remind viewers how important Hulk has been to the franchise. Additionally, Captain America: Brave New World clarifies that Hulk’s first MCU battle holds greater in-universe significance than previously portrayed.

Captain America: Brave New World Makes Abomination’s Harlem Attack An Important Part Of MCU History

Captain America: Brave New World Owes Its Story To Abomination’s MCU Debut

Captain America: Brave New World opens with a brief glimpse at Thaddeus Ross’ presidential campaign. According to flashbacks, Ross’ role in Abomination’s rampage was brought to light at some point, even though Ross pinned the blame on Samuel Sterns. Captain America: Brave New World‘s opening news clips, taken from The Incredible Hulk‘s final battle, depict Hulk and Abomination’s Harlem fight as a major disaster worth a campaign controversy, though Ross manages to turn it around and win the presidency anyway.

Abomination’s rampage is also a defining moment in Thaddeus Ross’ MCU story, being the event that kicks off a chain of events that lead directly to Captain America: Brave New World‘s plot. Ross vented out his anger and embarrᴀssment over Abomination’s creation on Samuel Sterns, forcing research, weapon manufacturing, and life-saving medicine out of the scientist through questionable means. In Ross’ eyes, Sterns’ influence on Emil Blonsky’s transformation into Abomination almost lost him his career and led Betty to abandon him.

Abomination Can Still Be A Relevant Villain Over Seventeen Years After His MCU Debut

Captain America: Brave New World Proves Abomination Still Has Potential For Future MCU Stories

Despite the MCU’s conspicuous lack of Hulk stories and characters since Phase 1, Captain America: Brave New World makes the events of The Incredible Hulk a relevant part of the MCU’s history again. Samuel Sterns, Betty Ross, and Thaddeus Ross all play key roles in Captain America: Brave New World‘s plot, and the movie has Emil Blonsky’s ambitious attempt to become the next best Super Soldier to thank for that. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and She-Hulk: Attorney At Law brought Abomination back, but they underplayed his influence on the MCU.

Taking into account how Samuel Sterns managed to awaken Red Hulk within Thaddeus Ross from a high-security prison in the middle of nowhere without Ross even realizing it, it’s safe to say that Emil Blonsky’s peaceful persona wouldn’t be an obstacle for Sterns if he wanted to reawaken the original Abomination. Sterns could craft a new villainous plan involving Abomination and Red Hulk in the future. The fact that the Leader is held at the Raft in Captain America: Brave New World‘s post-credits scene wouldn’t be an obstacle, as no amount of security measures can contain his intellect.

An MCU Show Proves She-Hulk’s Changes To Abomination Could Be Temporary

She-Hulk’s Comical Abomination Might Only Be A Phase

After a brief cameo in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law revealed that Abomination has left his rage behind, as Emil Blonsky founded a self-healing support group called “Abomaste” and sought a life of meditation and self-acceptance. Abomination’s small role in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law is purely comedic, and Emil Blonsky’s only transformation into Abomination in-battle is used as a self-referential joke. However, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law may not disqualify Abomination from future serious appearances, as his Captain America: Brave New World cameo suggests.

Charlie Cox’s Daredevil also appeared in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law in a very lighthearted capacity. Daredevil helped out She-Hulk sporting his lighthearted gold-and-brown costume, and Matt Murdock gave Jennifer Walters her cherished short-lived romance without it. Daredevil was even dropped from the sky inexplicably at the end, and he attended Jennifer Walters’ family reunion right afterward. Just one appearance later, Daredevil stars in the mature and ultra-violent Daredevil: Born Again, which takes Matt Murdock to the edge — probably even more so than his already dark three-season Daredevil Netflix series. Likewise, Abomination’s next MCU appearance could make him just as scary as he was in The Incredible Hulk.

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