The Super Soldier Serum was developed by Weapons Plus, led by Josef Reinstein (real name Abraham Erskine) during World War II. The serum provided the subject with increased stamina, speed and strength, however the serum was only successfully used by the program once before the program was "put on ice" by the United States government, with the test subject Steve Rogers.
The serum's effect on the body is to increase the molecular density of cellular fibers (skin and muscle) through synthetic proteins, as well as a healing factor. However, the serum not only enhances the the body and mind, but also brings out and enhances what the person is. These personality traits are brought to the surface and manifest physically on the subject.
Steve Rogers. Erskine's insistence to find a "good man" is an understatement, in Steve Rogers he found someone with unquestionable moral value who only wanted to be the best he could be, and his physical transformation is a reflection of that. The originally frail and sickly Rogers was given micro-injections of the serum and then doused with "vita-rays" via a chamber constructed by Howard Stark. The serum metabolized and enhanced Rogers' strength, speed, agility, durability, reflexes and mentality. The cold tempartures of the Arctic combined with the effects of the serum on Steve's body is what kept him alive but in hibernation for decades, until he was found by S.H.I.E.L.D. in the modern era and defrosted. It is theorized that the serum dramatically slowed Rogers' aging due to extensively healthy cells, enabling him to retain his youthful appearance.
Johann Schmidt. This power-hungry Navi officer took the prototype serum, and his external transformation is that of a living Red Skull. Schmidt has always wanted to be seen as removed from the mere ordinary men around him, his appearance is a reflection of that. As a result of the formula developed by Abraham Erskine, he obtained incredible attributes, such as enhanced strength, speed, stamina and reflexes, and even got his intelligence increased, becoming a war mastermind. But the serum was still incomplete and imperfect when Schmidt hastily used it on himself. According to Erskine, because the serum wasn't ready, "good becomes great, bad becomes worse". As a result, his entire head became horribly disfigured, resembling a red skull, and his insanity and megalomania became magnified. Schmidt considered his grotesquely inhuman face as proof that he has left humanity behind and has truly 'become a god'.
In the 2000s, General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross of the US Army revived the Bio Force Enhancement Project, a secret project set-up after the relative failure of Project Rebirth. A failed attempt to reproduce the serum with added bouts of Gamma Radiation led to the accident that turned Bruce Banner into the Hulk. Five years later, Emil Blonsky, a captain in the British Royal Marines, was given low dosages of the serum. Blonsky's extra physical manifestations (protruding skeletal structure) takes a while to materialize. Blonsky underwent the first of two treatments, consisting of deep muscle and painful bone marrow shots. In his second encounter with the Hulk at Culver University, Blonsky diplayed increased speed, endurance, and agility. However as the fight went on, he became more agressive and rashly stood before the Hulk challenging him. The Hulk kicked Blonsky into a tree, shattering almost every bone in his body.
It appeared that Blonsky was near death, however he underwent a miraculous full recovery less than 24 hours later. Not only was he healed, but his muscle mass had increased, and his overall body fat decreased. His encounter with the Hulk has made him power hungry, obsessed, and desperate to obtain the Hulk's "god-like" power. After helping General Ross capture Banner, Blonsky later forced Dr.Samuel Sterns to transform him into something similar to the Hulk; Dr. Sterns reluctantly agreed to administer the gamma charge, though he warned Blonsky that the resulting mixture could lead to an abomination.
Due to the replacement of the vita-rays with the gamma radiation in the Hulk's blood, the serum kicked into overdrive, transforming Blonsky into The Abomination, a giant sized version of himself with a green tinge, with the external bone structure being a reflection of the tough monstrous fighter that he shows himself to be. Consequently, his strength does not increase with his anger, his healing factor works at a slower rate than the Hulk's, and he is unable to revert back to his human form.
