She-Hulk Episode 3 Finally Explains What Wong Was Doing With The Abomination In Shang-Chi
Contains spoilers for "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" Episode 3
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is more connected than ever, and "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" revels in the middle of it all while being completely self-aware of its place in the franchise. One of the biggest surprises in the series is the return of Emil Blonsky, aka the Abomination (Tim Roth). Fans will remember that he was the main villain in 2008's "The Incredible Hulk" opposite Edward Norton's Bruce Banner before Mark Ruffalo was recast as the hero for 2012's "The Avengers." Blonsky is a British soldier on loan to the United States in the movie when he's dosed with an experimental version of the Super Soldier Serum and turns into the behemoth the Abomination to go toe-to-toe with the Hulk.
Over a decade later, Roth has stepped back into Blonsky's shoes for "She-Hulk," with Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) representing the supposedly reformed supervillain as he tries to get parole from a supermax prison. However, fans will recall that the Abomination briefly returned to the MCU before "She-Hulk" — he shows up in a cage fight against Wong (Benedict Wong) in "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," although it isn't clear why. Thankfully, "She-Hulk" Episode 3 explains why the two were battling it out in front of an audience.
The Abomination was helping Wong with his training
After Jen joins a high-flying legal firm, GLK&H, she's tasked with running its superhuman law division, which is how she ends up representing the Abomination in the first place. The show quickly establishes that Blonsky is far from the rampaging monster that he used to be and that he's at peace with himself after spending years locked away following the Harlem incident at the end of "The Incredible Hulk." He's gone on a similar journey of self-discovery as Bruce Banner, who's obviously been able to find the middle ground between his intellect and the Hulk's powers to create Professor Hulk.
But when Jen discovers the clip of Blonsky fighting Wong in Macau, it obviously means that he's escaped prison — which is another criminal charge in itself. Thankfully, Walters' plucky paralegal-slash-best friend, Nikki Ramos (Ginger Gonzaga), tracks Wong down to help explain the situation. It turns out that it's all down to the sorcerer's new position in the MCU. Wong explains, "I extracted him from the prison against his own wishes because I required a worthy opponent as part of my training to become Sorcerer Supreme. And as Sorcerer Supreme, I insist that he not be punished for my actions."
Marvel fans will recall that Wong becomes the Sorcerer Supreme because Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) disappears in the Snap at the end of "Avengers: Infinity War." So Wong's training must be to help him maintain his title since "Shang-Chi" takes place after "Avengers: Endgame." His unique training regime makes sense since fighting huge monsters is a key part of the job. After all, Wong fights Gargantos during "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."