Warning: contains spoilers for Sentinels #1The explosive Sentinels #1 introduced readers to the Marvel Universe’s newest version of the monstrous mutant-hunting Sentinels, but it also brought back an ultra-powerful X-Men villain who is in major danger of being overused. The psychic entity known as Onslaught, originally the psychic combination of Charles Xavier and Magneto’s “dark sides,” is one of the 90s most iconic Marvel villains, but the power of the villain has been lessened in each subsequent appearance.
Onslaught, a being with vast psychic and magnetic abilities, first debuted in 1995’s X-Men: Prime #1 and very nearly murdered the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, before Onslaught was finally defeated and the heroes saved by the young Franklin Richards who transported them to the original Heroes Reborn universe.
Sentinels #1, from writer Alex Paknedal with artists Justin Mason and Federico Blee, reveals that Onslaught might be the team’s first Big Bad, after new team member Drumfire witnesses the monstrosity after her powers are activated by Lawrence Trask.
Onslaught Is Terrifying Because He Represents Everyone’s Hidden Darkness
A little Onslaught goes a long way as a major villain
While the original Onslaught event was considered controversial – as many of the 90s over the top events were – it is undeniable that Onslaught was a terrifying villain, and perhaps the single most powerful X-Men enemy in canon. With the combined powers of Xavier and Magneto, and none of their moral or ethical scruples, Onslaught was a destructive force capable of destroying the world… and very nearly did. Since then, Onslaught has returned to comics multiple times, first in 2006’s Onslaught Reborn. This event saw Magneto and Xavier’s powers colliding once again, after the Scarlet Witch’s “Decimation” sent mutant energy into the universe, and Onslaught was only defeated after Franklin force him into the Counter-Earth dimension. There, after a major battle, Rikki Barnes sacrifices herself to trap Onslaught in the Negative Zone.
By the entity’s third appearance, it had already lost some of its steam and impact, feeling a bit tired, and Onslaught’s next appearance was even worse.
Of course, Onslaught appeared later, in the 2011 miniseries Onslaught Unleashed, which once again saw Rikki Barnes fighting against Onslaught. By the entity’s third appearance, it had already lost some of its steam and impact, feeling a bit tired, and Onslaught’s next appearance was even worse. Onslaught ended up as the main villain of the critically panned AXIS event, emerging with the Red Skull to become “Red Onslaught,” and unleashing terror and hatred across the world. The gimmick of merging Onslaught with the Red Skull did not have the “oomph” it was intended to, and instead cheapened the event in many fans’ eyes. Next, Onslaught played a major role as a villain in Krakoa’s Way of X series and its one-shot conclusion, Onslaught Revelation, which ended up being a well received appearance. Appearing as an X-Men villain once again, leaning on the hidden darkness of the new mutant Lost, Onslaught once again became a being to fear.
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Onslaught was defeated by Nightcrawler and his team in an emotional display of human resilience, and it would have been much more meaningful if he was truly defeated once and for all by these efforts. Unfortunately, that was not the case. In less than two years, a variant of Onslaught once again appeared as the main villain of Original X-Men and Weapon X-Men, but this time as a Multiversal entity made up of Jean Grey and Magneto’s psyches. This appearance definitely packed less of a punch, and could have done irreparable harm to the Onslaught character by letting the Phoenix Force “cure” the being, turning it into a cosmic hero, making one of Marvel’s most innately irredeemable villains just that, redeemable.
Onslaught’s Latest Appearance May Be More Complex Than Thought
Hopefully, Drumfire’s Vision Is Just That… A Vision
Sentinels #1 sees Drumfire, or Patricia Pham, joining the newest wave of cyborg Sentinels, undergoing complex surgery to enhance her body and give her superpowers to better hunt mutants with. Like all of the new Sentinels, Drumfire has been impacted by past heroic events, ending up in a coma after the events of King in Black. More importantly, her file also states that her mother died during the original Onslaught event, inspiring Patricia to join the military. Sentinels made it clear that the Sentinel procedure can and will cause hallucinations, so the question is: Did Drumfire really see Onslaught as a psychic vision, or was she just hallucinating the villain because of her trauma?
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Hopefully, Onslaught’s appearance in Sentinels will be revealed as a trauma-induced vision that Drumfire experiences after her power activation, and not a real threat that the Sentinels must face. Onslaught is meant to be incredibly difficult to defeat, so if these newly powered Sentinels were able to take Onslaught out, it would run the risk of ruining the villain forever. Onslaught was a fascinating and complex enemy when first introduced, but has been diluted more and more in each appearance, and Marvel is seriously in danger of oversaturating comics, muddling the original intention behind the iconic monster.
X-Men
The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.
Sentinels #1 from Marvel Comics is available now in stores.
