No, Abe can only slap in Exoddus. AO (the one in which he can't slap) came out in 1997 and AE (in which he can) came out in 1998.
No, Muds are pretty much emotionless in AO, and hence you can't make them suicidal. AO has its own lovelinesses, though...Personally, even though I have both games, Oddysee is my favourite.
But that's okay though...I've seen used copies on Amazon that sold for under $10. So there's pretty much no hassle in buying one, if your son's heart is that set on seeing the slapfight, as you say
By the way, you can also slap Glukkons.