Is Abomination stronger than Hulk?

*Warning: This article contains some mild spoilers for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law*

Abomination has long been a significant threat in the Marvel multiverse. With a power derived from gamma-radiation, the Hulk’s super-strong adversary shares the natural green appearance of his nemesis, but he also carries scales and spine fins. Physically, he towers over Marvel’s more famous gamma-infused creation. Does that mean Abomination is stronger than the Hulk? Is the reformed bad guy stronger than the reformed might-have-been bad guy? 

In the MCU

Chronologically, Abomination is the MCU’s second major villain, providing the big third-act threat in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. It took a while, but Phase Four has finally picked up the villain’s story, and it looks like it’s reforming him.

The Abomination of the MCU is a real mixture, a gamma cocktail, if you will. Before transforming, Tim Roth’s Emil Blonsky was already a highly regarded soldier, even if he does say so himself. He was seconded from the British Royal Marines to General Thaddeus Ross’ Hullkbuster unit as an expert marksman and military thinker. As part of Ross’ attempts to bring in Bruce Banner’s Hulk, he took a form of Super-Soldier Serum that enhanced his physique, speed, stamina, strength, and reflexes. It also helped him recover from a savage beating when the Hulk finally managed to get a boot to him. 

Later, gamma exposure from Banner’s blood mutated Blonsky into the big green menace we all know. His strength and durability were further enhanced in a gigantic gamma form with skeletal spikes that gave away Blonsky’s twisted psyche inside. In a rage, propelled by envy and the need to prove himself a Hulkbuster, the serum, and radiation combined to twist the soldier’s reasoning. When they met at the climax of The Incredible Hulk during a Harlem smackdown, Abomination bested Hulk fist to fist several times. He took out the Big Green with his greater mass and power when they first collided. 

Hulk finally took Abomination down thanks to some improvisation, a well-timed, “Hulk smash!,” and some disturbing strangling. However, it was a freak move against the flow of the battle.

When Blonsky transforms, at will, into Abomination during the third episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, he looks even larger — something that must have taken whoever built his cell by surprise. That episode explains his odd appearance in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, where he both fought and was apparently mentored by Sorcerer Supreme Wong. Like the Hulk, Wong outsmarted his bigger opponent in a Macau fight club by using the Abomination’s power against him. In Phase Four, Abomination’s larger size is only part of his increased mutation. He also sports a darker, scaly hide and comics-accurate fetching head-side gills and ears.

Things are looking up for the big bad. If Abomination could work his way around freak accidents and magical opposition to make his strength count, could he prove stronger than Hulk?

In Marvel Comics

Abomination has been troubling Hulk in the comics since Stan Lee and Gil Kane introduced him in Tales to Astonish in 1967. The legendary writer apparently chose the name first, telling his artist to create a villain bigger and stronger than Hulk. The origin of this more reptilian character was dark. KGB agent Blonsky mutated into a scaly gamma-giant through a machine Banner developed to kill himself and end the Hulk. Lee and Kane always intended Abomination to quickly and conclusively beat the Hulk in battle. Although the character hasn’t developed too much over more than half a century, there’s been a slow journey from monster to tragic anti-hero.

Abomination is another vehicle to explore the Jekyll and Hyde implications of gamma-transformation. That’s particularly acute as he retains his intellect during his permanent transformation, but he cannot revert to human form. True to comic book form, Abomination has died several times, including once at the hands of Red Hulk. Of course, he’s also been resurrected just as often, and the mantle has passed between multiple characters. 

Is Abomination stronger than Hulk?

Fresh out of the gamma traps, there’s no doubt Abomination has the upper hand, as seen in the pair’s first scraps in comic books and the MCU. However, the Hulk has one significant advantage — his rage boost. The transformed Banner traditionally becomes more powerful the angrier he gets. Abomination has a stable power level, so while he may win a quick bout, the chances of Abomination winning any scrap with Hulk decrease the longer the fight continues. 

There are environmental concerns, of course. The Abomination’s Phase Four mutations suggest he’s developed his comic ability to breathe underwater, a timely skill considering it’s a phase set to take adventures underwater. The MCU version can transform between gamma and Blonsky forms, depending on a parole board inhibitor. In a land-based fight, Abomination’s steady power level remains generally double Hulk’s straight after transformation. That’s something that could cause problems for the MCU’s current Hulk. Smart Hulk may be likelier to outwit Abomination in a fight, but punch-for-punch Banner’s hybrid form would struggle with the rage power boosts that generally give him the edge.