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Onslaught (comics)
Encyclopedia
Onslaught is a fictional character
that appears in comic book
s published by Marvel Comics
. The character first appeared in X-Man
#15 (May 1996), and was co-created by writers Scott Lobdell
, Mark Waid
, and artist Andy Kubert
.
The character of Onslaught has also been featured in video games and toy merchandise.
. "Onslaught" is first mentioned when the Juggernaut
crashlands in Hoboken, New Jersey
, having been hit hard enough by Onslaught to send him across the country. The character fully appears when it communicates with Jean Grey
on the astral plane
. Onslaught then imprisons Juggernaut within the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak
and defeats the X-Men
.
Onslaught is a psionic entity, revealed to have been created from the soul of Professor X
and Magneto
, when the dark part of Magneto's soul leapt into its counterpart in Xavier's soul when Xavier wiped Magneto's mind after Magneto's latest attack on Wolverine
culminated in him tearing the adamantium out of Wolverine's body, overloading Wolverine's healing factor
to the point where it shut down. It was eventually able to manifest itself as an independent entity from Xavier after an encounter with Nate Grey
resulted in Xavier's astral form being 'forced' into the real world, thus 'teaching' Onslaught how it could give itself its own body. The villain intends to pursue Magneto's goal of saving mutantkind and giving them control over the planet. However, upon seeing the truth from Dark Beast
's memories of his Earth in what happens if mutants controlled the world
, Onslaught decides neither humans nor mutants should rule, and intends to destroy both races. After kidnapping Franklin Richards
and Nate Grey
, usurping their psionic powers to greatly increase his own, changing his physical form, Onslaught fights the Avengers
, Fantastic Four
, the Hulk
, and the X-Men (Spider-Man
attempted to get involved in the fight, but he was kept occupied by fighting Onslaught's Sentinel forces).
When the Hulk is able to destroy Onslaught's armor, however, the villain then exists as pure psionic energy. This results in many of the non-mutant superheroes sacrificing their lives by entering Onslaught's form, disrupting the villain from within and weakening it, enabling the X-Men to finally destroy Onslaught. In the aftermath of the battle, all the combatants are presumed dead except Franklin Richards, Nate Grey, Quicksilver
, the Hulk (who was physically separated from his alter ego Bruce Banner during the fight), the Magneto clone known as Joseph
, and the X-Men.
Onslaught remained dormant for some time. Gradually, Xavier's frustration with his dream of mutant-human harmony began to increase, exacerbated by the daily growth of anti-mutant hysteria, the deaths of dozens of mutants from the lethal Legacy Virus, and his own failed attempt to rehabilitate Sabretooth. Xavier reached his breaking point when anti-mutant humans killed a young mutant near the grounds of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, the secret base of the X-Men. It was at this point that Onslaught awakened within Xavier and began to manifest himself to others.
Following an encounter with Juggernaut, Onslaught invaded a government-sanctioned Sentinel base. He downloaded the current specifications for the mutant-hunting androids and erased portions of the memories of the employees working in the clandestine factory. Soon after, while hiding in Xavier's mind, Onslaught encountered X-Man. He pulled the Professor's body from the astral plane. Through X-Man's actions, Onslaught was able to escape Xavier's mind and move independently. After taking full possession of the Professor's mind and body, Onslaught-as-Xavier called together the X-Men. When they resisted his plan to turn them into soldiers fighting a total war against humans, Onslaught revealed himself to the X-Men and attempted to destroy the outlaw adventurers. Bishop, remembering childhood stories of a traitor betraying and killing the X-Men, began to realize that the guilty party was Xavier as Onslaught. Bishop rescued his teammates. Taking Xavier's body with him, Onslaught escaped.
Once free, Onslaught created a childlike psionic projection named Charles to gain the trust of Franklin Richards. Onslaught succeeded in capturing the child despite a rescue attempt by Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman. Now carrying Franklin and Xavier, Onslaught captured X-Man, intending to use his raw psionic power to fuel Onslaught’s plans to transform the human race into a collective consciousness. Onslaught returned to New York, reprogramming the Sentinel robots to obey his commands and form a protective circle around Manhattan, sealing off the island from the rest of the world.
The X-Men, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, Earth's Heroes, challenged Onslaught. Their first confrontation with the entity and his minions resulted in the rescue of Xavier. Onslaught now existed as psionic energy contained within his armor. A second and final confrontation occurred at his Central Park citadel. After a number of attempts to free Franklin and X-Man from Onslaught's armor, the heroes regrouped. During their next assault, X-Man Jean Grey used her telepathy to turn off the part of the monstrous Hulk's mind that contained the rationality of his alter ego, Dr. Bruce Banner. Hulk, possessed of a nearly animalistic intelligence and unbelievable strength, battled Onslaught and tore apart his armor. The resulting explosion of psionic energy separated Banner and the Hulk, and Onslaught was left as an energy being, immune to most physical harm. Onslaught then used Franklin's powers to create a second sun that would destroy the heroes and Manhattan.
Thor flew into the energy being, disrupting Onslaught's form. Realizing that Thor's efforts alone were insufficient to destroy their adversary, the non-mutant members of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four entered the energy field. The X-Men were unable to do likewise, as it was theorized that if Onslaught, a being of mutant origin, came to possess a mutant host, he would become unstoppable. Onslaught dissolved, seemingly destroyed, along with the heroes who had thrown themselves into the rift. The remaining Sentinels were disabled, Franklin and X-Man were rescued, and Manhattan was returned to normal. Later, it was revealed that the Avengers and the Fantastic Four did not die, as had been surmised. Rather, the heroes were reborn in a pocket universe created by Franklin. The Avengers and the Fantastic Four returned to their rightful home months later, possessing only hazy memories of their time on Counter-Earth.
and artist Rob Liefeld
, features the return of the villain and addresses unresolved plot threads; this event is set after "Decimation
" and "Civil War
".
After Scarlet Witch used her powers to de-power most of Earth's mutants, the powers of Charles Xavier and Magneto collided to reform Onslaught, whose consciousness lingered after his defeat. Onslaught swore revenge on the young Franklin Richards, and any other hero that he despised. He appeared as a large, ugly monster with a skull face. He first takes control of both the Human Torch and Mr. Fantastic to try and kill Franklin. He is soon interrupted by Invisible Woman and the Thing, who save Franklin. Franklin then runs to Counter-Earth, but Onslaught had followed him.
As he appeared in Counter-Earth, he became larger, and gained his Magneto-like mask. He soon encountered the Avengers and was presumed defeated after he fell into the ocean. Instead of worrying about Onslaught, the Avengers questioned Franklin's credibility as he claims to be the son of both Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman. On Counter-Earth they are not married and do not have children. Shortly after this, Thor is assaulted by an Onslaught-possessed Hulk, who battled Thor to see who was more powerful. Onslaught switched between the bodies and ended up as Thor, who struck Hulk with lightning. As Thor was about to strike again, he dropped his hammer, as Onslaught was not worthy. He switched bodies to Hulk, and punched Thor into the atmosphere. He was then about to pick up the hammer when he was assaulted by the Avengers. Captain America had ordered the Human Torch and Iron Man to rescue Thor, telling them they had about sixty seconds. They raced to save him, and Johnny took Thor back to the Baxter Building where Mister Fantastic found that Franklin really was his son. In the battle, Cap orders Hawkeye to go and find Onslaught, and confronts him that he knows that under Hawkeye's costume is Wolverine. They continue to battle the Hulk, while Captain America is thrown into a building. Iron Man, from the atmosphere, charges down at Hulk at full speed, regarding that he hopes Bruce would forgive him someday. He punches Hulk, knocking him out. He and Cap then assess their next move until Onslaught possesses Iron Man and attacks Cap. Back at Avengers Mansion, Rikki Barnes is babysitting Franklin when Loki, Executioner, Scarlet Witch, Enchantress, and Ultron V surprise them with an offer to help defeat Onslaught. On a balcony, an invisible Ant-Man and Invisible Woman let themselves be known as Sue refuses to let the villains cause Franklin any harm.
After a brief skirmish, the heroes and villains decided to work together to defeat Onslaught, but it was Rikki "Bucky" Barnes who defeated him, using a Fantasticar to send them both through the Negative Zone barrier in the Fantastic Four's lab, trapping them. Franklin returned home, Bucky found herself on Earth 616, and Onslaught was last seen floating outside the Area 42 Prison in the Negative Zone.
revealed that Onslaught will return in an event called "Onslaught Unleashed", slated for February 2011.
Nomad began having strange and vivid nightmares from deep in the jungles of South America, the problem appears to be that they may not be dreams at all when her teammate Toro is kidnapped just like she dreamed. Later while investigating Corporate Conglomerate Roxxon for illegal weapons systems, the Secret Avengers come across the plans for Project Power, a new and incredibly deadly power source being secretly developed in the Colombian rainforest. As the Secret Avengers investigate the facility, Beast and Ant-Man find the source of the mysterious energy source to be from the Negative Zone. As Rikki races inside the facility to locate Toro, she stumbles into the control room instead, where the sinister voice of her dreams beckons, clawing his way out of exile in the Negative Zone, the psychic beast known as Onslaught returns to the main universe.
, Magneto
, Franklin Richards
, and Nate Grey
. At its prime, Onslaught is capable of telepathy, telekinesis, energy projection, sensing mutant presences, manipulating magnetic fields, and affecting reality itself. Onslaught can also enhance its physical size and strength.
Onslaught's powers were well over that of Omega Level. In his first form (when he was one with Xavier), Onslaught showed a wide variety of abilities including nearly limitless strength, and near indestructibility. Onslaught's psionic powers appeared limitless, appearing to surpass even that of Xavier in his right mind. He was especially powerful in the Astral Plane, where he appeared to have god-like abilities. Even Jean Grey's powers were completely useless against him. From what has been seen, he seems to have total mental control over anyone or anything he wishes, ranging from altering one's perception to believe they are someone or somewhere else (he demonstrated this by making Wolverine believe he was a wolf pup, and making Storm think she was a child), to most conceivable forms of telekinesis. Onslaught also possessed many forms of energy projection, all of which at high levels of power.
After fully evolving into his own, separate consciousness and having Professor X ripped from him in the Astral Plane, Onslaught evolved into a second form, less resembling Magneto and looking more like a cybernetic monster. In this form, his powers were increased to virtually godlike levels, including the ability to mass-manipulate (his complete takeover of all the Sentinels), create and reshape matter at will (shown when he created his citadel, and when he created a second sun to destroy Earth), and an apparent omniscience (as evidenced when he easily thwarted an attempt to sneak into his citadel). His physical strength was also shown to be at obscenely high levels; so much so he was able to literally rip the Crystal Gem of Cytorrak out of Juggernaut and throw him across North America and go toe-to-toe in a physical fight with the Hulk even after the Hulk's mind had been blanked and his strength and rage set to incredible levels thanks to Jean Grey 'shutting down' the subconscious influence that Bruce Banner normally exerted over the Hulk to stop him going too far.
For a time, Onslaught had these powers while still in his first form; the majority of these came from the absorption of Nate Grey and Franklin Richards. In the end, Onslaught's true body was revealed to be a mass of pure, psionic energy that was immune to all forms of physical attacks.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
that appears in comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. The character first appeared in X-Man
Nate Grey
Nathaniel "Nate" Grey is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular those related to the X-Men franchise...
#15 (May 1996), and was co-created by writers Scott Lobdell
Scott Lobdell
Scott Lobdell is an American comic book writer.-Early Career:Scott didn't begin to read comics until he was 17 years old, while lying in bed after lung surgery....
, Mark Waid
Mark Waid
Mark Waid is an American comic book writer. He is well known for his eight-year run as writer of the DC Comics' title The Flash, as well as his scripting of the limited series Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and his work on Marvel Comics' Captain America...
, and artist Andy Kubert
Andy Kubert
Andrew "Andy" Kubert is an American comic book artist, son of Joe Kubert, and brother of Adam Kubert, both of whom are also artists...
.
The character of Onslaught has also been featured in video games and toy merchandise.
Publication history
The character is first alluded to when a shadowy figure with Onslaught's distinctive word-balloon coloring and design is seen speaking with a frightened MystiqueMystique (comics)
Mystique is a fictional character associated with the Marvel Comics' franchise X-Men. Originally created by artist David Cockrum and writer Chris Claremont, she first appeared in Ms...
. "Onslaught" is first mentioned when the Juggernaut
Juggernaut (comics)
The Juggernaut is a fictional character that appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in X-Men #12 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby....
crashlands in Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
, having been hit hard enough by Onslaught to send him across the country. The character fully appears when it communicates with Jean Grey
Jean Grey
Jean Grey-Summers is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. She has been known under the aliases Marvel Girl, Phoenix, and Dark Phoenix and is best known as one of five original members of the X-Men, for her relationship with Cyclops, and for her...
on the astral plane
Astral plane
The astral plane, also called the astral world, is a plane of existence postulated by classical , medieval, oriental and esoteric philosophies and mystery religions...
. Onslaught then imprisons Juggernaut within the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak
Crimson Gem of Cyttorak
The Crimson Gem of Cyttorak is a fictional artifact created by the mystical entity known as Cyttorak in the Marvel Comics Universe. It serves as the source of the Juggernaut's power.-History:After being banished to the Crimson Cosmos, Cyttorak wanted to keep his influence on earth...
and defeats the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
.
Onslaught is a psionic entity, revealed to have been created from the soul of Professor X
Professor X
Professor Charles Francis Xavier, also known as Professor X, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero known as the leader and founder of the X-Men....
and Magneto
Magneto (comics)
Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...
, when the dark part of Magneto's soul leapt into its counterpart in Xavier's soul when Xavier wiped Magneto's mind after Magneto's latest attack on Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
culminated in him tearing the adamantium out of Wolverine's body, overloading Wolverine's healing factor
Healing factor
A healing factor is a term used to describe the ability of some characters in fiction to recover from bodily injuries or disease at a superhuman rate...
to the point where it shut down. It was eventually able to manifest itself as an independent entity from Xavier after an encounter with Nate Grey
Nate Grey
Nathaniel "Nate" Grey is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular those related to the X-Men franchise...
resulted in Xavier's astral form being 'forced' into the real world, thus 'teaching' Onslaught how it could give itself its own body. The villain intends to pursue Magneto's goal of saving mutantkind and giving them control over the planet. However, upon seeing the truth from Dark Beast
Dark Beast
Dark Beast , sometimes known as the Black Beast, is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an alternate reality evil version of the X-Men’s Beast...
's memories of his Earth in what happens if mutants controlled the world
Age of Apocalypse
"Age of Apocalypse" is a 1995 - 1996 comic book crossover storyline published in the X-Men franchise of books by Marvel Comics. The Age of Apocalypse briefly replaced the universe of Earth-616, although it was later retconned as having occurred in the alternate universe of Earth-295, it had...
, Onslaught decides neither humans nor mutants should rule, and intends to destroy both races. After kidnapping Franklin Richards
Franklin Richards
Franklin Richards is a fictional comic book character appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in Fantastic Four.Franklin is an Omega-Level mutant with vast psionic and reality-manipulating powers...
and Nate Grey
Nate Grey
Nathaniel "Nate" Grey is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular those related to the X-Men franchise...
, usurping their psionic powers to greatly increase his own, changing his physical form, Onslaught fights the Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
, Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
, the Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
, and the X-Men (Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
attempted to get involved in the fight, but he was kept occupied by fighting Onslaught's Sentinel forces).
When the Hulk is able to destroy Onslaught's armor, however, the villain then exists as pure psionic energy. This results in many of the non-mutant superheroes sacrificing their lives by entering Onslaught's form, disrupting the villain from within and weakening it, enabling the X-Men to finally destroy Onslaught. In the aftermath of the battle, all the combatants are presumed dead except Franklin Richards, Nate Grey, Quicksilver
Quicksilver (comics)
Quicksilver is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in X-Men #4 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby...
, the Hulk (who was physically separated from his alter ego Bruce Banner during the fight), the Magneto clone known as Joseph
Joseph (comics)
Joseph was a Marvel Comics character who was briefly a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Roger Cruz, he first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #327 ....
, and the X-Men.
History
Onslaught was a sentient psionic entity created from the consciousness of Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto. During a battle between the X-Men and Magneto's Acolytes, Xavier used his telepathic powers to shut down Magneto's mind, rendering him catatonic. During the psionic contact, Magneto's anger, grief and lust for vengeance entered Xavier's consciousness; commingling with every long-suppressed negative feeling Xavier had endured during the last 30 years. This aggregation resulted in the being known as Onslaught.Onslaught remained dormant for some time. Gradually, Xavier's frustration with his dream of mutant-human harmony began to increase, exacerbated by the daily growth of anti-mutant hysteria, the deaths of dozens of mutants from the lethal Legacy Virus, and his own failed attempt to rehabilitate Sabretooth. Xavier reached his breaking point when anti-mutant humans killed a young mutant near the grounds of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, the secret base of the X-Men. It was at this point that Onslaught awakened within Xavier and began to manifest himself to others.
Following an encounter with Juggernaut, Onslaught invaded a government-sanctioned Sentinel base. He downloaded the current specifications for the mutant-hunting androids and erased portions of the memories of the employees working in the clandestine factory. Soon after, while hiding in Xavier's mind, Onslaught encountered X-Man. He pulled the Professor's body from the astral plane. Through X-Man's actions, Onslaught was able to escape Xavier's mind and move independently. After taking full possession of the Professor's mind and body, Onslaught-as-Xavier called together the X-Men. When they resisted his plan to turn them into soldiers fighting a total war against humans, Onslaught revealed himself to the X-Men and attempted to destroy the outlaw adventurers. Bishop, remembering childhood stories of a traitor betraying and killing the X-Men, began to realize that the guilty party was Xavier as Onslaught. Bishop rescued his teammates. Taking Xavier's body with him, Onslaught escaped.
Once free, Onslaught created a childlike psionic projection named Charles to gain the trust of Franklin Richards. Onslaught succeeded in capturing the child despite a rescue attempt by Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman. Now carrying Franklin and Xavier, Onslaught captured X-Man, intending to use his raw psionic power to fuel Onslaught’s plans to transform the human race into a collective consciousness. Onslaught returned to New York, reprogramming the Sentinel robots to obey his commands and form a protective circle around Manhattan, sealing off the island from the rest of the world.
The X-Men, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, Earth's Heroes, challenged Onslaught. Their first confrontation with the entity and his minions resulted in the rescue of Xavier. Onslaught now existed as psionic energy contained within his armor. A second and final confrontation occurred at his Central Park citadel. After a number of attempts to free Franklin and X-Man from Onslaught's armor, the heroes regrouped. During their next assault, X-Man Jean Grey used her telepathy to turn off the part of the monstrous Hulk's mind that contained the rationality of his alter ego, Dr. Bruce Banner. Hulk, possessed of a nearly animalistic intelligence and unbelievable strength, battled Onslaught and tore apart his armor. The resulting explosion of psionic energy separated Banner and the Hulk, and Onslaught was left as an energy being, immune to most physical harm. Onslaught then used Franklin's powers to create a second sun that would destroy the heroes and Manhattan.
Thor flew into the energy being, disrupting Onslaught's form. Realizing that Thor's efforts alone were insufficient to destroy their adversary, the non-mutant members of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four entered the energy field. The X-Men were unable to do likewise, as it was theorized that if Onslaught, a being of mutant origin, came to possess a mutant host, he would become unstoppable. Onslaught dissolved, seemingly destroyed, along with the heroes who had thrown themselves into the rift. The remaining Sentinels were disabled, Franklin and X-Man were rescued, and Manhattan was returned to normal. Later, it was revealed that the Avengers and the Fantastic Four did not die, as had been surmised. Rather, the heroes were reborn in a pocket universe created by Franklin. The Avengers and the Fantastic Four returned to their rightful home months later, possessing only hazy memories of their time on Counter-Earth.
Onslaught Reborn
In late 2006, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Onslaught event, a five-issue miniseries titled Onslaught Reborn, by writer Jeph LoebJeph Loeb
Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III is an American film and television writer, producer and award-winning comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV series Smallville and Lost, writer for the films Commando and Teen Wolf and was a writer and Co-Executive Producer on the NBC TV show Heroes from its...
and artist Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....
, features the return of the villain and addresses unresolved plot threads; this event is set after "Decimation
Decimation (comics)
Decimation is the late 2005 Marvel Comics storyline spinning off from the House of M limited series. It focuses on the ramifications of the Scarlet Witch stripping nearly all of the mutant population of their powers, thereby reducing a society of millions to one of scant hundreds.This event, which...
" and "Civil War
Civil War (comics)
Civil War is a 2006-2007 Marvel Comics crossover storyline built around a self-titled seven-issue limited series written by Mark Millar and penciled by Steve McNiven, which ran through various other titles published by Marvel at the time...
".
After Scarlet Witch used her powers to de-power most of Earth's mutants, the powers of Charles Xavier and Magneto collided to reform Onslaught, whose consciousness lingered after his defeat. Onslaught swore revenge on the young Franklin Richards, and any other hero that he despised. He appeared as a large, ugly monster with a skull face. He first takes control of both the Human Torch and Mr. Fantastic to try and kill Franklin. He is soon interrupted by Invisible Woman and the Thing, who save Franklin. Franklin then runs to Counter-Earth, but Onslaught had followed him.
As he appeared in Counter-Earth, he became larger, and gained his Magneto-like mask. He soon encountered the Avengers and was presumed defeated after he fell into the ocean. Instead of worrying about Onslaught, the Avengers questioned Franklin's credibility as he claims to be the son of both Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman. On Counter-Earth they are not married and do not have children. Shortly after this, Thor is assaulted by an Onslaught-possessed Hulk, who battled Thor to see who was more powerful. Onslaught switched between the bodies and ended up as Thor, who struck Hulk with lightning. As Thor was about to strike again, he dropped his hammer, as Onslaught was not worthy. He switched bodies to Hulk, and punched Thor into the atmosphere. He was then about to pick up the hammer when he was assaulted by the Avengers. Captain America had ordered the Human Torch and Iron Man to rescue Thor, telling them they had about sixty seconds. They raced to save him, and Johnny took Thor back to the Baxter Building where Mister Fantastic found that Franklin really was his son. In the battle, Cap orders Hawkeye to go and find Onslaught, and confronts him that he knows that under Hawkeye's costume is Wolverine. They continue to battle the Hulk, while Captain America is thrown into a building. Iron Man, from the atmosphere, charges down at Hulk at full speed, regarding that he hopes Bruce would forgive him someday. He punches Hulk, knocking him out. He and Cap then assess their next move until Onslaught possesses Iron Man and attacks Cap. Back at Avengers Mansion, Rikki Barnes is babysitting Franklin when Loki, Executioner, Scarlet Witch, Enchantress, and Ultron V surprise them with an offer to help defeat Onslaught. On a balcony, an invisible Ant-Man and Invisible Woman let themselves be known as Sue refuses to let the villains cause Franklin any harm.
After a brief skirmish, the heroes and villains decided to work together to defeat Onslaught, but it was Rikki "Bucky" Barnes who defeated him, using a Fantasticar to send them both through the Negative Zone barrier in the Fantastic Four's lab, trapping them. Franklin returned home, Bucky found herself on Earth 616, and Onslaught was last seen floating outside the Area 42 Prison in the Negative Zone.
Onslaught Unleashed
At the New York Comic Con 2010, Sean McKeeverSean McKeever
Sean Kelley McKeever is an American comic book writer.-Career:Since the end of his creator-owned teen drama series The Waiting Place, which was published from 1997 to 2002, McKeever has written several series for Marvel Comics, including The Incredible Hulk, Sentinel, Mary Jane, Inhumans and...
revealed that Onslaught will return in an event called "Onslaught Unleashed", slated for February 2011.
Nomad began having strange and vivid nightmares from deep in the jungles of South America, the problem appears to be that they may not be dreams at all when her teammate Toro is kidnapped just like she dreamed. Later while investigating Corporate Conglomerate Roxxon for illegal weapons systems, the Secret Avengers come across the plans for Project Power, a new and incredibly deadly power source being secretly developed in the Colombian rainforest. As the Secret Avengers investigate the facility, Beast and Ant-Man find the source of the mysterious energy source to be from the Negative Zone. As Rikki races inside the facility to locate Toro, she stumbles into the control room instead, where the sinister voice of her dreams beckons, clawing his way out of exile in the Negative Zone, the psychic beast known as Onslaught returns to the main universe.
Powers and abilities
Onslaught is a psionic entity with superior physical and mental power, possessing the combined abilities of Professor XProfessor X
Professor Charles Francis Xavier, also known as Professor X, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero known as the leader and founder of the X-Men....
, Magneto
Magneto (comics)
Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...
, Franklin Richards
Franklin Richards
Franklin Richards is a fictional comic book character appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in Fantastic Four.Franklin is an Omega-Level mutant with vast psionic and reality-manipulating powers...
, and Nate Grey
Nate Grey
Nathaniel "Nate" Grey is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular those related to the X-Men franchise...
. At its prime, Onslaught is capable of telepathy, telekinesis, energy projection, sensing mutant presences, manipulating magnetic fields, and affecting reality itself. Onslaught can also enhance its physical size and strength.
Onslaught's powers were well over that of Omega Level. In his first form (when he was one with Xavier), Onslaught showed a wide variety of abilities including nearly limitless strength, and near indestructibility. Onslaught's psionic powers appeared limitless, appearing to surpass even that of Xavier in his right mind. He was especially powerful in the Astral Plane, where he appeared to have god-like abilities. Even Jean Grey's powers were completely useless against him. From what has been seen, he seems to have total mental control over anyone or anything he wishes, ranging from altering one's perception to believe they are someone or somewhere else (he demonstrated this by making Wolverine believe he was a wolf pup, and making Storm think she was a child), to most conceivable forms of telekinesis. Onslaught also possessed many forms of energy projection, all of which at high levels of power.
After fully evolving into his own, separate consciousness and having Professor X ripped from him in the Astral Plane, Onslaught evolved into a second form, less resembling Magneto and looking more like a cybernetic monster. In this form, his powers were increased to virtually godlike levels, including the ability to mass-manipulate (his complete takeover of all the Sentinels), create and reshape matter at will (shown when he created his citadel, and when he created a second sun to destroy Earth), and an apparent omniscience (as evidenced when he easily thwarted an attempt to sneak into his citadel). His physical strength was also shown to be at obscenely high levels; so much so he was able to literally rip the Crystal Gem of Cytorrak out of Juggernaut and throw him across North America and go toe-to-toe in a physical fight with the Hulk even after the Hulk's mind had been blanked and his strength and rage set to incredible levels thanks to Jean Grey 'shutting down' the subconscious influence that Bruce Banner normally exerted over the Hulk to stop him going too far.
For a time, Onslaught had these powers while still in his first form; the majority of these came from the absorption of Nate Grey and Franklin Richards. In the end, Onslaught's true body was revealed to be a mass of pure, psionic energy that was immune to all forms of physical attacks.
Video games
- Onslaught is a boss character and the main antagonist of Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super HeroesMarvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroesis the fifth Marvel Comics-licensed fighting game by Capcom and the third game in the Marvel vs. Capcom series. In contrast to X-Men vs. Street Fighter and Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, the game features characters from numerous Capcom franchises such as Mega Man and Strider, rather than...
voiced by Maurice Dean WintMaurice Dean WintMaurice Dean Wint is a British-born, Canadian-based actor who has starred in several television shows and movies; the most notable ones include "Cube", "Hedwig and the Angry Inch", RoboCop: Prime Directives, Psi Factor and the TekWar movies and television series.Wint moved to Canada in 1969 with...
. In this game, he appears as the final boss, and he has two forms the player must defeat.
Toys
- Toy BizMarvel ToysMarvel Toys is the toy division of Marvel Entertainment, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company....
has released two action figureAction figureAn action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
s of the character, the first in the "X-Men Onslaught" series, which came with attachable armor to emulate his final transformation; the second was the Build-A-Figure in the 13th series of the "Marvel Legends" series, and bore more of a resemblance to his final form.
Miniature gaming
- An Onslaught miniature is part of the HeroclixHeroClixHeroClix is a collectible miniatures game that uses the Clix system. Originally designed and produced by WizKids, it is now owned and marketed by NECA. Players construct teams of comic book heroes, villains, and other characters from popular video games such as Street Fighter, Gears of War, and Halo...
Giant-Size X-Men set. This miniature is randomly found in the newly created "Super Booster" which contains larger size figure.