MCU Phase 5 Sets Up The Avengers Candidate Iron Man Rejected For Avengers 5

Marvel Studios seems to have been setting up a new candidate to join the Avengers team in Phase 6’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, one who was previously rejected from the premiere superhero team of the MCU. Since first forming to battle Loki during his attack on New York City in 2012’s The Avengers, the titular team have been a staple of the MCU, though their current status in the wake of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame is unclear. Six prominent superheroes, Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, Thor, Hawkeye, and the Hulk, comprised the first Avengers team, though this line-up was almost very different, and much more dangerous and unpredictable.

Over the duration of the MCU’s initial projects, SHIELD worked hard to assemble the MCU’s original Avengers team. While some heroes, such as Black Widow and Hawkeye, were an easy catch, as they were already employed by SHIELD, others weren’t so simple to bring into the fold. Perhaps the most difficult proved to be Bruce Banner, a.k.a. the Hulk, although even he was tracked down to his hiding place in Kolkata and recruited for the prospective superhero team. Nevertheless, Bruce Banner wasn’t the World Security Council’s first choice to join the Avengers, and his replacement could soon find a new role in the Avengers during the MCU’s Phase 6.

Abomination’s Avengers Role Is More Possible Than Ever (Despite Iron Man’s Phase 1 Plot)

Following the events of 2008’s The Incredible Hulk and 2010’s Iron Man 2, Marvel Studios’ The Consultant One-Shot revealed that Emil Blonsky, a.k.a. the Abomination, was actually the World Security Council’s choice to join the Avengers Initiative. The Council intended to deem Blonsky a war hero, and blame the battle between the Abomination and the Hulk in Harlem on the latter, yet SHIELD agents Phil Coulson and Jasper Sitwell recruited SHIELD’s new consultant, Tony Stark, to influence this choice in Bruce Banner’s direction. After so many years, however, the Abomination may have finally been teased to join the Avengers team for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.

After several years of absence in the MCU, Tim Roth returned as the Abomination in 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, shown to be sparring with Benedict Wong’s Wong at Xu Xialing’s Macau fight club. Emil Blonsky then reappeared in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law on Disney+, and proved that he had achieved redemption in the MCU’s Phase 4. Despite being re-imprisoned in She-Hulk, Wong broke Blonsky out of prison in the series finale, giving him safe haven in Kamar-Taj. With Blonsky now free from captivity, and presumably free to transform into the Abomination whenever he pleases, he could be a valuable asset to a future Avengers team.

Why Abomination Would Be A Good Addition To The Avengers 5 Roster

Emil Blonsky’s freedom in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga sets him up perfectly to join the cast of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and he could prove himself to be a valuable asset to the emerging New Avengers team. Not only would the Abomination add another physically powerful addition to the Avengers’ roster, but his involvement would make for some interesting interactions with Bruce Banner and Jennifer Walters, a.k.a. She-Hulk. Many new heroes have been introduced to the MCU in Phases 4 and 5, so it would be great to see Avengers: The Kang Dynasty tying back to older storylines, and the Abomination’s inclusion on the Avengers team could achieve this perfectly.