Emil Blonksy and His Gaggle of Soulmates on ‘She-Hulk’ Are Hilarious
The return of Tim Roth to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is fun for a number of reasons—mainly that those of us who missed his take on Emil Blonsky/the Abomination after The Incredible Hulk were hoping by some off chance that he’d return to the MCU, and now, we’ve gotten our wish in the Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Roth, who is known for his work in things like Reservoir Dogs and Lie to Me, played Blonsky opposite Ed Norton in the 2008 movie ,and then appeared again in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as the Abomination.
So when news broke that he’d make an appearance on She-Hulk, questions began to range from whether he’d still be the abomination to whether or not he’d destroy Harlem again in a fight with Bruce Banner. What we ended up getting was a zen version of Blonsky who was remorseful for what he did and willing to change and help those around him. And, honestly, it was hilarious.
**Spoilers for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law episode 3, titled “The People vs. Emil Blonsky” lie ahead.**
Something that I saw going around online after last week’s episode was who Blonsky was referring to as his “soulmates,” and for all the theories I saw, I don’t think anyone was prepared for it to literally be a group of women because Blonsky is maybe a cult leader? The joy of having a character like Blonsky in the MCU again is that he was sort of a nothing villain in The Incredible Hulk. His entire arc was take down the Hulk no matter the cost, which is how he became the Abomination in the first place.
What we see of him in She-Hulk is that he’s revived and repented, and he’s working towards being a better person—just with his soulmates who he met through the prison pen pal program, who all are dressed like Florence Pugh in Midsommar.
Is this a nod to men like Charles Manson, who met a 26 year-old while he was in prison and was going to marry her? Maybe! But while that’s not particularly funny in real life, in She-Hulk, it’s just funny that Blonsky’s entire deal is that he’s just very calm and reassuring now, and as a result, he has a bunch of soulmates (who he maybe just abandons once he gets out of jail if that’s what the court photograph in the credits means).
I’m sure there is someone on the internet mad that they changed Blonsky this much as a character, but I’d argue that they gave him a personality and something worthwhile to see. One of the reasons I wanted Blonsky back was because I love Tim Roth. It had nothing to do with the actual character, because the Abomination was a nothing character to me.
This makes him funny. I’d put him in line with someone like Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) in that he’s fun to have around and a hilarious mess, and not a serious threat to any of our favorite heroes. Does this mean that we’ve seen the last of Blonsky and his soulmates? Hopefully not, because I’d love to see just how far they plan on taking this cult leader vibe with Roth.
(featured image: Marvel Entertainment)
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