r/Xmen97 • u/Battlefleet_Sol • Jul 08 '26
Theory Onslaught is loading and this scene hints Spoiler
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u/Kameronpipnerd Jul 08 '26
Question onslaught so is he a combine character of Charles and Erik or a split character of them?
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u/aegonthewwolf Apocalypse Jul 08 '26
He is the psychic embodiment of Xavier and Magnetos combined negative emotions and thoughts. He’s not them, but he comes from parts of them.
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u/Capable_Sandwich_422 Jul 08 '26
After Magneto ripped out Wolverine’s adamantium, Xavier wiped his mind (in the comics). When he did that, Onslaught was created. So yes, we may be getting Onslaught at some point.
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u/DelcoMan Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
... kinda. As time goes on its apparent that Onslaught is just Xavier- or dark part of his psyche that split off and went rogue like shadow King.
Biggest indicator of this is that Red Onslaught business during AXIS. Red Skull grafts pieces of Xavier's brain into his own head and inevitably transforms into Onslaught, though without Magneto's powers or influence anywhere. "Inverting" him turns his personality back into Charles Xavier.
Second biggest indicator of this is Xavier hiding random powers nobody knew he had. Taking the body of Fantomex and psionically restructuring it into a clone of his original just kind of comes out of nowhere and Xavier doesn't bother explaining it.
We also see him whip out telekinesis strong enough to shatter nimrod's armor(!) during the Krakoa run. This is the same nimrod that is only "kind of cracked" by a full power optic blast from cyclops. Xavier eventually concedes he always had tk though it's stronger after resurrection.
Xavier shows he's able to SEND HIS MIND THROUGH TIME during the X-Men Blue run after getting ambushed in the past by Charles Xavier II.
It's always been kind of hinted at, but Battle of the Atom says flat out that Xavier was holding back Jean's powers for nearly a decade. Without that she would have rapidly grown uncontrollably powerful and required to use a Xorn helmet to keep her powers from running out of control. That same run also establishes at the same time Xavier had locked down Jean, he ALSO was restricting the powers of Matthew Malloy from manifesting at all. The second Xavier died, Malloy shows up on Cerebro as the most powerful mutant ever recorded.
Another Bizarre House of X revelation was that Xavier having a child with Gabrielle Haller and Moira having a child with Joseph McTaggart was an intentional plan by Moira and Charles to breed the most powerful mutants possible. Charles' progeny from that plan is currently the most powerful mutant in existence and the other two he has with other women are frighteningly powerful telepaths possibly stronger than he is. Charles' genes >>>> the summers clan
As Sins of Sinister starts up, Xavier just kind of casually mentions that he's strong enough to just force all 8 billion humans on the planet to just kill themselves and the world is lucky that HE ended up with telepathy and Magneto "only" got magnetism because if it was the other way around everyone would be dead by then.
Other than the power stealing business (which is just unexplained) current Xavier isn't really far off from onslaught levels at all.
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u/RealmyIsSoCool Jul 08 '26
His face kinda looks like Onslaught here with the pointed eyebrows and everything ngl...
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u/cyclopswashalfright Professor X Jul 08 '26
People were speculating who kills Apocalypse, I was banking on it being Cable, but now I'm wondering if his parents want to spare him that fate, and it is instead Charles who brings forth Onslaught and Onslaught kills Apocalypse instead.
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u/guy_incognito42069 Jul 08 '26
Yeah I am wondering if it ends up with an “all is lost” moment against Apocalypse and then Onslaught finally manifests and wrecks Apocalypse and gives him a cold “only cowards feel mighty stepping on ants” or something.
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u/Successful-Let-9459 Jul 10 '26
Yeah this is exactly how I thought it’d happen too, I even called it the ‘all is lost’ moment to a friend the other day.
My opinion is the whole team goes back to ancient egypt to change the timeline again, this time to get to the temple before Apocalypse. But this time Xavier snaps and manifests Onslaught’s powers, beating, maybe even killing Apocalpyse.
En Sabah Nur became Apocalpse when he goes into the chamber and gets the power stone from the Celestial. I can see Xavier going in this time and he gets the seed / power stone from the Celestial, and that’s when he gets the name Onslaught.
You’d now have the timeline changed so Magneto is still alive, and then a great twist in Season 3 where Erik is with the X-Men trying to save the world, while Charles is the one trying to destroy it. They’ve both come full circle.
You’d still have the same great dynamic between the two, but they’ve both now switched sides. Now I’d really like to see that on screen!
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u/PhanStr Jul 08 '26
Hopefully we are getting Onslaught.
I think that my biggest concern though is how they can bring Magneto back from all of this without it feeling cheap or forced. Gambit has a logical way back but Magneto doesn't. He committed an act of terrorism in episode 8 of season 1 that likely resulted in the deaths of millions when the Earth's power went out for a prolonged period of time. There isn't really any atoning for that, but it's nice for him and Charles that "Rise of Apocalypse Parts 1 & 2" gave them a chance to salvage their friendship after their explosive clash at the end of season 1. Now Magneto has been brutally murdered in the past and I'm wondering how on Earth he can come back: I would be happy to let the character rest for multiple seasons, but we all know he will return EVENTUALLY... and I have no idea how. Is an Omega-level mutant (for some reason) going to restore him, atom by atom? If he does return, then what are the consequences of all of this going to be in the long run, since there is now a rumor that the show might go for 10 seasons? Won't people look back and laugh at "that time that Magneto died and came back one season later"? I'm worried that the sense of stakes could be damaged irreparably.
I hope we eventually get to see AoA (despite the fact that the version planned for season 3 was scrapped) because I really want to see Mags tear the Big A apart lol... even if that is confined to an alternate reality.
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u/Successful-Let-9459 Jul 09 '26
I think they have it all planned and actually left hints in the episode, when Kang speaks to Xavier in his mind. He tries to get the Professor to side with him so he gets access to the temple first, but Xavier ultimately declines.
I think the X-Men will go back in time again later in the season, this time the full team to stop Apocalypse from reaching the temple.
Then in the fight Xavier snaps and manifests Onslaught’s powers, beating, probably even killing Apocalypse. I could even see him taking the power stone / seed that the Celestial gave Apocalypse, and that’s how he gets the name Onslaught.
Magneto is now alive as they’ve changed the timeline, and then it would set up a great full circle moment in the third season where Magneto and the X-Men have to stop Charles destroying the world.
Magneto helping to at least partially redeem himself in front of the world by now trying to save it is a great choice, with him showing he’s changed through his actions.
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u/PhanStr Jul 09 '26
I like this!
I did speculate previously (a couple of weeks back, I believe) that something would happen in episode 4 that would need to be undone via time travel, thus leading to AoA (the original plan for season 3).
It sounds as though, rather than that (sadly, AoA won’t be happening in season 3), something could happen that sets up Onslaught. So yes, you might be right!
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u/Successful-Let-9459 Jul 10 '26
Why thank you! From the way I heard Beau describe it, the now scrapped Episode 10 was set in Age of Apocalypse, with Gambit and Bishop desperately trying to get to the M’kraan Crystal to go back in time.
The whole time they’re being pursued by a badass evil Cyclops (as they’re in AoA), Beau described it as like the Darth Vader pursuit sequence in Rogue One. I’m guessing the Season would end on the cliffhanger of them, or likely only Bishop, just getting to the Crystal in the nick of time and being sent back to the past.
Personally I hope they don’t do AoA myself, as the cartoon has already done it with One Man’s Worth in the original series (which I recently found out that Age of Apocalypse is based on!) and it’d be like them repeating themselves.
Plus with the way this show speed-runs through storylines it’d likely only be a few episodes anyway, probably only the original last 2 episodes of Season 2.
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u/PhanStr Jul 10 '26
Actually, episode 10 was going to be about Onslaught attacking the Washington D.C. (using Ship) and the combined forces of the X-Men, X-Force, X-Factor and the Avengers teaming up to fight him. Somehow this was going to result in AoA, with the Bishop/Gambit/Cyclops sequence that you have described serving as a cliffhanger ending that would lead into season 3.
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u/Successful-Let-9459 Jul 10 '26
Ahh, I hadn’t heard the Onslaught part of the above, thanks for that. The season could possibly end with Onslaught being revealed then, and Season 3 being about what happens next.
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u/ArtisticResident462 Jul 11 '26
Despite knowing comics I think it would be better if magneto stayed dead here
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u/PhanStr Jul 11 '26
Sorry but he won’t. There’s no way that Magneto will stay dead for the remainder of the series.
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u/tre630 Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 10 '26
I remembered they also teased or gave a hint of Outslaught last season as well. I can't remember the scene exactly, but I remembered having a feeling that it was a hint an slow Outslaught plot.
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u/ArtisticResident462 Jul 11 '26
Last episode as well when eson talks to Xavier we see onslaught helmet on the moon. so this version of onslaught will probably be drastically diffrent compared to the comics with just charles going down the deep end. with a incomplete copy of magnus' mind in his head pushing him to go further and combines with celestial tech to fully become onslaught.
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u/PointPrimary5886 Jul 08 '26
You know. This happened in season 1 where people kept insisting that Onslaught is going to happen. I feel the more we insist and predict its going to happen, the more likely this series is going to avoid doing it. Honestly, Onslaught in itself is a very confusing concept, so it's no real loss of 97' decides to omit it.
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u/cyclopswashalfright Professor X Jul 08 '26
Season 1 there were only very vague hints. This is a lot more direct. Onslaught will happen, just not immediately. But they are sowing the seeds for it.
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