====== Onslaught ======
===== Part 1: The Dossier: An At-a-Glance Summary =====
  *   **Core Identity:** **Onslaught is a sentient psionic entity of nearly unlimited power, born from the repressed consciousness of Professor Charles Xavier after it merged with the darkest aspects of Magneto's psyche.**
  *   **Key Takeaways:**
  * **Role in the Universe:** Onslaught serves as a catastrophic "doomsday" villain, representing the ultimate corruption of Professor X's dream. It is the physical manifestation of the internal darkness within one of Marvel's greatest heroes, unleashed with the power of his greatest rival. [[professor_x]], [[magneto]].
  * **Primary Impact:** Its rampage during the "Onslaught Saga" forced the non-mutant heroes of the [[avengers]] and the [[fantastic_four]] to sacrifice their lives to defeat it, leading directly to the controversial "[[heroes_reborn]]" era of the late 1990s and fundamentally altering the Marvel landscape for years.
  * **Key Incarnations:** In the prime comic universe (Earth-616), Onslaught is a complex, long-gestating entity with a detailed backstory rooted in decades of X-Men history. While it has not yet appeared in the live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), its animated debut in ''X-Men '97'' presented a streamlined, but thematically faithful, version of its origin.
===== Part 2: Origin and Evolution =====
==== Publication History and Creation ====
Onslaught was conceived as the central antagonist for a massive, line-wide crossover event in 1996 designed to shake up the status quo of the Marvel Universe. The entity was first subtly teased in ''X-Men: Prime #1'' (July 1995) before making its first partial appearance in ''X-Man #15'' (May 1996) and its full, terrifying debut in ''X-Men (Vol. 2) #53'' (June 1996).
The character was created by a stable of prominent 1990s Marvel writers and artists, including Scott Lobdell, Mark Waid, Jeph Loeb, Andy Kubert, and Joe Madureira. The "Onslaught Saga" was a response to several factors: a desire for a major event to rival DC Comics' recent crossovers, a need to streamline the increasingly complex X-Men and Avengers titles, and a bold, if controversial, plan to outsource several flagship titles (like ''Avengers'' and ''Fantastic Four'') to former Marvel artists who had founded Image Comics, namely Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld. Onslaught was the perfect narrative device to achieve this: a threat so immense that it could believably "kill" Marvel's most iconic non-mutant heroes, providing a clean slate for their "Heroes Reborn" relaunch.
==== In-Universe Origin Story ====
The origin of Onslaught is one of the most significant and tragic events in X-Men history, representing the catastrophic failure of Charles Xavier's deepest principles. Its genesis is directly tied to the volatile, decades-long relationship between Xavier and his friend-turned-foe, Magneto.
=== Earth-616 (Prime Comic Universe) ===
The seeds of Onslaught were planted during the 1993 crossover event **"Fatal Attractions."** Following a series of devastating acts by Magneto, including ripping the adamantium from Wolverine's skeleton, a furious and morally exhausted Professor Xavier made a fateful decision. He used his immense telepathic power to launch a direct, overwhelming assault on Magneto's mind, shutting it down completely and leaving him catatonic.
This act, while intended to stop a global threat, was a profound violation of Xavier's own ethics. In the process of dismantling Magneto's psyche, the darkest, most vengeful and megalomaniacal parts of the Master of Magnetism's consciousness latched onto Xavier's own long-repressed frustrations. For years, Xavier had carried the burden of his dream for peaceful coexistence, enduring hatred, violence, and the loss of his students. This hidden well of negativity—his anger, his pride, his moments of doubt—merged with Magneto's rage, creating a new, parasitic consciousness within the Professor's mind.
This dark entity lay dormant for a time, growing in strength and influence. It began to manifest subtly, influencing Xavier's behavior and occasionally surfacing as a malevolent psychic presence. The first to truly sense its existence was Nate Grey (X-Man), a powerful psychic from the "Age of Apocalypse" reality, who felt the dark mind during a psionic encounter.
The entity finally revealed itself after Jean Grey uncovered the psychic block Xavier had placed on his own mind to contain it. Breaking free, it dubbed itself **Onslaught**. Initially a purely psionic being, it created a massive suit of psionic armor, its helmet eerily echoing the design of Magneto's iconic helmet—a visual representation of its dual parentage.
Onslaught's goal was a twisted amalgamation of its progenitors' ideologies: it believed that humanity would never accept mutants and that Xavier's dream was a naive failure. However, instead of Magneto's goal of mutant supremacy, Onslaught sought the complete annihilation of all non-mutant life and any who would stand in its way. To achieve this, it sought to absorb the powers of the two most powerful psychics on the planet: the aforementioned [[nate_grey]] and the reality-warping child of Reed and Sue Richards, [[franklin_richards]]. Its subsequent rampage would unite every hero on Earth in a desperate battle for survival.
=== Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) ===
To date, **Onslaught has not appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Earth-199999).** The character's origin is deeply intertwined with a long and complex history between Professor X and Magneto, a history that has not yet been established within the core MCU timeline.
However, the MCU has laid potential groundwork and thematic parallels that could be used to introduce a version of the entity in the future.
  *   **Multiversal Variants:** The film ''Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness'' introduced a variant of Professor X (from Earth-838), portrayed by Sir Patrick Stewart. This version was part of the Illuminati and demonstrated a willingness to telepathically probe and influence others, as seen with Wanda Maximoff. While he was killed by the Scarlet Witch, the concept of a more morally gray or aggressive Xavier has been established. A future storyline could feature an MCU variant of Xavier who makes a similar "Fatal Attractions"-style decision against a Magneto variant, leading to the birth of Onslaught.
  *   **Thematic Echoes in Wanda Maximoff:** The arc of the [[scarlet_witch]] in ''WandaVision'' and ''Multiverse of Madness'' shares thematic similarities with Onslaught's origin. Wanda, a hero corrupted by grief and immense power, becomes a world-threatening antagonist. This narrative of a hero's psyche breaking under pressure and unleashing god-like power could serve as a template for how the MCU might approach Onslaught, focusing on the psychological horror of a beloved mentor becoming a monster.
An MCU adaptation of Onslaught would likely need to heavily streamline its origin. It might not be a literal fusion of two minds, but rather a psychic schism within Xavier himself, a "dark half" unleashed by a traumatic event, perhaps related to the emergence of mutants on Earth-199999. The core concept—the failure of a great hero's dream turning into a psychic apocalypse—remains a potent idea for future MCU sagas.
===== Part 3: Powers, Abilities & Manifestations =====
Onslaught is classified as an Omega-Level psionic entity, placing it among the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe. Its abilities evolved throughout its existence, starting at a planetary-threat level and ascending to a cosmic, god-like scale.
=== Earth-616 (Prime Comic Universe) ===
Onslaught's power set is a terrifying fusion and amplification of the abilities of Professor X and Magneto, further augmented by the absorption of other powerful mutants.
  *   **Core Psionic Powers (Baseline):**
  * **Telepathy:** Onslaught possesses telepathic abilities on a scale far beyond even Charles Xavier. It can read, control, and erase the minds of virtually any being on the planet simultaneously. It can create flawless illusions, project its consciousness across vast distances, and perform psychic surgery. Its psychic attacks were powerful enough to overwhelm Jean Grey even while she was augmented by the Phoenix Force entity.
  * **Telekinesis:** It can move and manipulate matter with its mind on a colossal scale, capable of leveling cities, creating impenetrable force fields, and assembling its own physical body from raw psionic energy and surrounding materials.
  * **Astral Projection:** Onslaught can project its consciousness onto the Astral Plane, a dimension of pure thought, where it is effectively omnipotent. It trapped numerous psychics, including Doctor Strange, within this plane during their conflict.
  *   **Absorbed Powers (Augmented State):**
  * **Reality Warping:** After successfully kidnapping and absorbing Franklin Richards, Onslaught gained his latent, god-like ability to manipulate reality itself. With this power, it could alter the fundamental laws of physics, create matter and energy from nothing, and even generate a second sun to destroy the Earth. This elevated it from a psychic threat to a cosmic one.
  * **Psionic Power Amplification:** By absorbing Nate Grey, Onslaught gained access to his raw, untamed psionic power, using him as a "psychic battery" to fuel its already immense abilities to an even greater degree.
  *   **Physical Manifestations:**
  * **Phase One (Psychic Entity):** Initially, Onslaught was a non-corporeal being existing only in Xavier's mind and on the Astral Plane.
  * **Phase Two (Armored Form):** Upon manifesting, it created a massive suit of psionic armor. This armor was incredibly durable, withstanding direct attacks from characters like Thor and the Hulk. It could also alter its size and shape at will.
  * **Phase Three (Pure Energy):** After the Hulk's rage-fueled assault managed to crack its physical armor, the psychic consciousness of Xavier was separated from the entity. Without Xavier's subconscious restraint, Onslaught devolved into a being of pure, malevolent psionic energy, becoming even more powerful but also more unstable.
  *   **Weaknesses:**
  * **Internal Duality:** The entity's greatest weakness was its origin. The lingering sliver of Charles Xavier's consciousness within it acted as a subconscious restraint, occasionally creating moments of hesitation or vulnerability that the heroes could exploit.
  * **Arrogance:** Onslaught's immense power bred supreme arrogance. It often underestimated its foes, particularly the raw, non-psychic power of beings like the Hulk.
  * **Psychic Composition:** In its final form as pure energy, it became vulnerable to non-physical attacks and absorption. This was the key to its defeat, as the non-mutant heroes were able to throw themselves into the energy field, absorbing its essence and dissipating it.
=== Potential MCU Manifestation ===
If Onslaught were adapted for the MCU, its powers would likely be visualized in a manner consistent with other high-tier reality warpers and psychics seen in the franchise.
  *   **Power Scaling:** To avoid making the character //too// powerful for a cinematic narrative, his abilities might be scaled down from the comic's "create-a-second-sun" level. The focus would likely be on his telepathic dominance, creating planet-wide psychological horror and illusions akin to a global version of Scarlet Witch's Westview Anomaly, but with a more malevolent and destructive intent.
  *   **Visual Representation:** His armor would likely be a CGI creation of shifting, dark energy, reflecting its psionic nature. The visual language would emphasize its connection to Xavier, perhaps with corrupted versions of Cerebro's visual effects or the iconic "psionic waves" used to depict telepathy.
  *   **Weaknesses:** An MCU version would likely retain the core weakness of its dual nature. The plot would hinge on heroes needing to "reach" the good person trapped inside the monster, a common and effective trope in MCU storytelling (e.g., Bucky Barnes, Wanda Maximoff).
===== Part 4: Key Relationships & Network =====
Onslaught is not a character defined by alliances, but by its components, its targets, and its enemies. Its network is one of conflict and consumption.
==== Core "Components" and Captives ====
  *   **Professor Charles Xavier:** Onslaught is, fundamentally, Xavier's dark reflection. It represents every repressed doubt, fear, and flicker of rage Xavier ever felt. The entire Onslaught crisis is the ultimate consequence of one good man's single greatest moral failing. The struggle to free Xavier from the entity's core was a central theme of the saga.
  *   **Magneto:** As the other "parent," Magneto's ideology and rage form the bedrock of Onslaught's motivations. Onslaught's emergence forces Magneto to confront the consequences of his own hatred. During the crisis, a depowered Magneto (known as Joseph at the time) was forced to fight alongside the X-Men against the monster he inadvertently helped create.
  *   **Franklin Richards & Nate Grey:** These two characters were not allies but fuel. Onslaught viewed them as nothing more than power sources required to achieve its apotheosis. It kidnapped Franklin from the Fantastic Four and captured X-Man, integrating them into its being to gain the power of reality warping and near-infinite psionic energy. Their eventual liberation was key to its defeat.
==== Arch-Enemies ====
Onslaught's enemy was, quite literally, everyone. It declared war on all life that it deemed unworthy.
  *   **The X-Men:** As Xavier's children and students, the X-Men were Onslaught's first targets and the ones who felt its betrayal most keenly. The battle was deeply personal, forcing them to fight their mentor's corrupted form. Jean Grey, in particular, was instrumental in uncovering and first confronting the entity.
  *   **The Avengers & The Fantastic Four:** Representing the pinnacle of humanity's heroism, these teams were a direct affront to Onslaught's belief that non-mutants were worthless. They formed the main line of defense during the final battle in New York City and ultimately made the sacrifice that ended the threat.
  *   **The Hulk:** In a pivotal moment, Jean Grey telepathically "switched off" the Bruce Banner persona within the Hulk, unleashing a wave of pure, savage rage unlike any seen before. This untethered fury was the only force capable of physically shattering Onslaught's armor, a crucial turning point in the final battle. It proved that raw physical power, something Onslaught disdained, was necessary to crack its psychic shell.
==== Targets and Manipulated Factions ====
Onslaught was a master manipulator, using fear to turn humanity against its heroes. Its primary pawn was the United States government and its anti-mutant technology.
  *   **Sentinels:** Onslaught seized control of a massive fleet of government-sanctioned Sentinels. It reprogrammed them and unleashed them on New York City, not to destroy the city itself, but to form an impenetrable perimeter. This act of "protection" was a strategic move to isolate Manhattan, trapping all of Earth's heroes in a single kill box for the final confrontation.
===== Part 5: Iconic Events & Storylines =====
Onslaught's legacy is defined by the cataclysmic event that bears its name and its subsequent, though less impactful, returns.
=== The Onslaught Saga (1996) ===
This was the colossal, 38-part crossover that defined Marvel Comics in 1996. The story arc began with the slow reveal of the entity's existence, culminating in its explosive emergence from Professor X's body. Onslaught systematically defeated and captured powerful heroes, stole Franklin Richards and Nate Grey, and remade itself into a god. The climax saw every available hero—X-Men, Avengers, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Doctor Doom—unite in Central Park for a final, desperate battle. When the Hulk's rage shattered its armor, Onslaught became pure energy. Realizing it could not be destroyed by conventional means, the non-mutant heroes, led by Captain America and Thor, heroically plunged into the energy rift, absorbing its essence into themselves. The mutant heroes were spared because it was believed that a mutant absorbing the mutant-born entity would only allow it to reform. The sacrifice worked, dissipating Onslaught, but the Avengers and Fantastic Four were believed to be dead, vanishing from the Earth-616 universe.
=== Onslaught Reborn (2006) ===
This five-issue miniseries, written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Rob Liefeld, celebrated the 10th anniversary of the original event. It was revealed that Onslaught's consciousness had been shunted into the Negative Zone. It re-emerged from the Negative Zone, drawn by the psychic trauma Franklin Richards experienced during the events of "House of M." Possessing the Human Torch and later Captain America, its goal was once again to capture Franklin. The climax saw the heroes banish Onslaught back into the Negative Zone, with [[captain_america]] vowing to personally stand guard at the portal to ensure it never escaped again.
=== Uncanny Avengers: The Red Skull's Ascension ===
The concept of Onslaught was revived in a terrifying new form during the "AXIS" storyline. It was revealed that during World War II, the Red Skull had stolen and preserved a piece of Charles Xavier's brain. After Xavier's death at the hands of Cyclops, the Skull grafted this piece of brain onto his own. This act granted him Xavier's immense telepathic power, which he twisted with his own Nazi ideology. This fusion created a new, distinct entity: **Red Onslaught**. This form was a monstrous, red-hued version of the original, with the Skull's face visible within its psychic helmet. Red Onslaught instigated a global wave of hate, leading to a major confrontation that required a combination of heroes and villains to defeat.
===== Part 6: Variants and Alternative Versions =====
The impact of Onslaught was so great that its consequences and thematic elements have appeared in various alternate realities and adaptations.
  *   **Heroes Reborn Universe (Earth-96020):** This entire pocket universe was a direct result of the Onslaught event. It was not an alternate reality in the traditional sense, but a new world created subconsciously by Franklin Richards to save his parents and the Avengers. In this world, the heroes lived rebooted lives with new origins, completely unaware of their past on Earth-616. They were eventually returned to their home reality, but the "Heroes Reborn" universe remains a significant part of Onslaught's legacy.
  *   **X-Men '97 (Animated Series):** Onslaught made its animated debut in the season one finale, "Tolerance is Extinction - Part 3." This version presented a highly accelerated but faithful adaptation of its origin. After Professor X mind-wipes Magneto following a global attack, the psychic backlash merges their consciousnesses, instantly creating Onslaught. This version is depicted as a colossal psychic giant, embodying both Xavier's regret and Magneto's rage. It is defeated when Magneto manages to separate his psyche from Xavier's, undoing the fusion. This adaptation successfully captured the core horror of the concept for a new generation.
  *   **Marvel vs. Capcom:** Onslaught served as the final boss in the iconic fighting game ''Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes'' (1998). It appeared in two forms: first, a giant, armored version similar to the comics, and second, a colossal, planet-sized astral form. For many fans, this was their first introduction to the character, solidifying his status as one of Marvel's ultimate "final boss" villains.
===== See Also =====
  * [[professor_x]]
  * [[magneto]]
  * [[franklin_richards]]
  * [[heroes_reborn]]
  * [[x-men]]
  * [[avengers]]
  * [[nate_grey]]
===== Notes and Trivia =====
((Onslaught's physical design, particularly its Magneto-like helmet, was intended to make fans believe it was simply Magneto returned from his catatonic state, making the reveal of Xavier's involvement a major plot twist.))
((The real-world business reason for the "Heroes Reborn" event was to pass the creative reins of ''The Avengers'', ''Fantastic Four'', ''Iron Man'', and ''Captain America'' to the studios of Image Comics founders Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld, in an attempt to boost sales by leveraging their immense popularity. The decision remains one of the most controversial and widely discussed in Marvel's publishing history.))
((The storyline in which the Hulk's Banner persona is suppressed by Jean Grey to unleash his full rage against Onslaught is a fan-favorite moment, often cited as one of the Hulk's most powerful feats.))
((In the original planning stages, the mysterious new villain was codenamed "The Big Bad." The name "Onslaught" was chosen to reflect its unstoppable, all-out assault on the Marvel Universe.))
((Source Material: Key issues for the original saga include ''X-Men (Vol. 2) #50-57'', ''Uncanny X-Men #333-337'', and the bookend one-shots ''Onslaught: X-Men'', ''Onslaught: Marvel Universe'', and ''Onslaught: Epilogue''.))