The first trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings revealed that The Incredible Hulk villain Emil Blonsky, aka Abomination, would be making his return to the MCU, as we saw him doing battle with Wong in what was believed to be some kind of tournament. However, this sequence - and Abomination's reintroduction - don't play out quite the way we expected.
As it turns out, the "tournament" is actually an underground fight club run by Shang-Chi's sister Xialing, and we only see a few brief shots of Abomination and Wong throwing down. The latter wins by using his foe's brute strength against him, but we later find out that they're actually pals!
Wong and Emil seemingly entered the tournament together (possibly to win a few quid?), and when we catch up with the pair afterwards, the sorcerer is chiding his monstrous companion for not "pulling his punches." With that, Wong opens a portal, which they both step through.
So, it looks like Abomination has turned over a new leaf - or at the very least, is trying to work out his anger issues! What this means for the character's involvement in the Disney+ She-Hulk series remains to be seen (we just assumed he'd be an antagonist), but based on what we saw in Shang-Chi, there's a good chance he'll actually be an ally to Jennifer Walters.
Tell us, have you been to see Shang-Chi yet? If so, were you surprised by Abomination's role in the movie? Let us know in the usual place, and be sure to check out our review HERE.