Onslaught (Marvel Comics)

Onslaught is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Scott Lobdell and Mark Waid, and artist Andy Kubert, he first appeared in 1996 as a cameo in X-Men: Prime #1 before making his first full appearance in X-Men vol. 2, #53, where he would eventually serve as the main antagonist of the "Onslaught" storyline from then onward.

Onslaught was written as a sentient psionic entity created from the subconsciousness of two mutants: Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto. During a battle between the X-Men and Magneto's Acolytes, Professor Xavier used his telepathic powers to shut down Magneto's mind, rendering him catatonic. It was explained through the Onslaught crossover series that the darkest aspect of Magneto's mind escaped into Xavier's subconscious, where it "merged" with Xavier's own darker nature to eventually grow into a separate persona of its own.

Onslaught was created by writers Scott Lobdell, Mark Waid, and artist Andy Kubert. The character first appeared in cameo in X-Men: Prime #1 (July 1995), named in Uncanny X-Men #322 and made his first full appearance in X-Men vol. 2, #53 (June 1996). He was written and introduced as a villain that was part of the effect of events in the 1993 "Fatal Attractions" storyline. The "Onslaught" storyline was a crossover event with tie-ins among other Marvel books, including Avengers, Fantastic Four and The Amazing Spider-Man.

Onslaught is a psionic entity created from the subconsciousness of Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto. During a battle between the X-Men and Magneto's Acolytes, Magneto used his powers to remove the adamantium from Wolverine's skeleton. Xavier used his telepathy to shut down Magneto's mind and render him catatonic. During the psionic contact, Magneto's anger, grief, and lust for vengeance entered Xavier's consciousness, mingling with every long-suppressed negative yearnings Xavier had endured during the last 30 years. This result created the being known as Onslaught.

After gaining an independent body, Onslaught possesses Xavier and kidnaps him after being forced to leave his body. Onslaught also captures Nate Grey, intending to use his power to transform the human race into a collective consciousness. Several members of the Avengers and Fantastic Four sacrifice themselves to stop Onslaught by entering his energy field, causing him to be destroyed. It is later revealed that the heroes survived, but were transported to a pocket universe created by Franklin Richards and rendered amnesiac.

A five-issue limited series, Onslaught Reborn, was released in 2006 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the "Onslaught" storyline; it is written by Jeph Loeb, with art by Rob Liefeld.

After Scarlet Witch removes the powers of most of Earth's mutants, the powers of Charles Xavier and Magneto combine to reform Onslaught, whose consciousness survived after his death. Onslaught swears revenge on Franklin Richards and other heroes, transforming into a monstrous form with a skull-like face. However, he is defeated by Rikki Barnes, who transports herself and Onslaught to the Negative Zone.

Some time later, Rikki Barnes, now known as Nomad, begins having nightmares set in the jungles of South America. When her teammate Toro is kidnapped, Rikki begins to suspect that her nightmares are something more sinister than she first thought. Later, while investigating Roxxon, the Secret Avengers come across the plans Project Power, a deadly power source developed in Colombia. As the Secret Avengers investigate the facility, Beast and Ant-Man find the source of the energy to be from the Negative Zone. As Rikki races inside the facility to locate Toro, she stumbles into the control room instead.