Hello again, everyone.
As I promised in my previous Blog, I will be continuing my Analysis of the Marvel Cosmic Pantheon, one entity at a time. Today I will take a look at Oblivion, and its manifestation - Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the Chaos King.
Without further ado, here it is:
Iceman Vol. 1[]
As strange as it may seen, Oblivion first appeared during a 1984 - 1985 Iceman Miniseries. Why on Earth did the writers decide to give a regular Meta-level X-Men a Multiverse shaking cosmic as his villain is beyond me, but I am getting ahead of myself.
We get our first description of Oblivion's realm, described as "Somewhere that has no time nor place, beyond the ken of mortals..."
Later, due to developments of the plot (His father being killed decades before he was born), Iceman falls into Oblivion's realm, literally falling into nonexistence:
In Oblivion's realm, Bobby does meet with the entity, who explains that he simply ceased to exist and entered into a dimension of nothingness. Oblivion adds, explaining who he is:
"You are here because you ceased to exist. You have come to The One who embodies non-existence. You have come to Oblivion. Before the multiverse was... I was. A the end of all things... I wait. I am the void... The breath between life and death... Between death and rebirth. Between heaven and hell. My true form is beyond that which you see. I transcend form -- and shape and substance. This body... This realm... And everyone and everything IN it... Are my Creations."
And: "Return now to non-being... Feel the consciousness draining from you. Fell all that you are stripped away... Consumed. You are beyond loneliness. Beyond pain. Beyond even the memory of what you once were. Oblivion is all that -- and more. For unlike you... I have consciousness of what I am. I feel every ripple in the sea of eternal emptiness... Every ebb in the tide of eternal nihility. Death has his joys... As do Love, Eternity and the countless other cosmic deities who play their parts in the Divine Drama... But Oblivion... Has nothing."
This confirms the significance of Oblivion as a void of pure nothingness existing outside time, space and substance, and who predates the Multiverse, and how most other Abstracts are beneath him.
Furthermore, Oblivion also explains that should he enter the world of form and time, "A Cosmic catastrophe would occur".
We also have a repeat of Oblivion's nature being explained, and later he states that he is "The embodiment of eternal nothingness... Emptiness given flesh! My eyes see only the abyss into which all things must inevitably fall.":
Finally, Oblivion explains that everything that exists and does not exist is a part of his infinite being. He also has an interesting statement, adding that:
"Again and again, the Universe is born, struggles for life and independence -- Then falls once more into my gaping maw! This world of illusion I have created here is only a reflection of the world beyond! All life is a dream! All Creation is populated by phantoms. Everything springs from Oblivion's loins-- And everything returns to Oblivion's womb!"
So even the Oblivion seen in this story is a shadow of the true entity.
Quasar[]
Oblivion's next relevant appearance would be in the 1990s Quasar run, during the Prolog storyline.
He first appears to the obscure villain Maelstrom, after the later had slain the minor Abstract Anomaly and taken its place, and then sought Oblivion's dimension. Maelstrom explains his goal to Oblivion: To have the entire universe destroyed so that they may return to nothingness. He asks for Oblivion's blessing, and the gift of Cosmic Awareness, so that the may know the universe in all its depth and complexity.
Skipping way ahead into the storyline, Maelstrom begins his plan to destroy the universe: He reaches the universe's "designated" center, and stops its expansion. Doing so, he causes all matter in the cosmos to be attracted to the center, creating a black hole that in minutes will be the size of the Milky Way, and will eventually swallows the whole universe into it.
Meanwhile, Quasar, who had been previously isolated from the physical Universe by Maelstrom, has an encounter with Infinity, the "personification of the spatial aspect of the Universe". She bestows upon him infinite power, and re-sends him to the physical universe so that he may fight as her agent.
He meets with Maelstrom atop the Black Hole, and after a quick fight both fall into the abyss and disappear. No need to show scans of this. What I do find relevant is how various cosmic entities react to the approaching collapse of the Universe. The Watchers call what lies on the Black Hole's other side "The Ultimate Void", and states that the battle is being waged between forces from a Higher Plane than theirs, and a Celestial Host comes to watch because they too are powerless to stop the death of Infinity:
Within the Black Hole, Quasar stops for a moment to ponder about the nature of Infinity, as was often the case with 90s Marvel characters: "(...) and imbued it with an aspect of her truly Infinite Power. The problem is... Just as in Mathematics there are numbers greater than infinity -- There apparently are Transinfinite Forces in the universe as well."
Finally, we get to the finale of the Arc, where the greatest feats happen. Quasar arrives into the Black Hole's inside, and finds himself face to face with Oblivion himself. All the previous descriptions about "The Ultimate Void" within the Black Hole were referring to Oblivion's realm. Maelstrom is also within there, and Oblivion bestows upon him a great quantity of his power, turning him into his Avatar. Infinity also arrives, and makes Quasar her Avatar. The two duos fight.
"The feeling of Power coursing through me... Phenomenal... Transcendental... Metaphysical! Not only do I feel Larger than Life -- I feel Larger than Death as well. I sense oneness with Infinity, since she and Oblivion are too Abstract to contend with one another in anything remotely resembling a physical manner -- My actions -- And Maelstrom's -- Are being transmogrified to their level. They are simply mirroring our struggle on the Highest Plane of Reality conceivable!"
A self-explanatory and very impressive feat. The two fought on the highest possible level of existence. Crazy stuff.
Quasar wins through trickery and playing with the fact that Maelstrom had absorbed Anomaly:
After Maelstrom is defeated and the universe's destruction stopped, Infinity and Oblivion have a discussion and decide to form a pact. They summon their counterparts, Eternity and Death respectively. Quasar states:
"I get the overwhelming sensation that of all the Abstract Beings in the Universe, Death, Oblivion, Eternity, and Infinity are the four heaviest... The four points of the cosmological compass!"
And these are all the feats within the storyline. However, Quasar eventually gave one more feat for Infinity, and by extension Oblivion, and it's insane:
The Infinity who encompassed the entire universe, and who fought with Oblivion at the highest possible level of existence? That was just one among infinite M-Bodies. By extension, the same applies to Oblivion.
The Mighty Thor (2012) Annual #2[]
This is the final story where Oblivion plays a large role. In fact, he acts as the 4th-Wall Aware narrator of it too.
Oblivion explains his nature to the reader:
"Before Creation was... I was. Where Creation ends... I wait. I am the Void. The breath between life and death. Between death and rebirth. The Nothing -- From which The Everything springs. This form you see, this throne I sit upon -- Are illusions... Created for your benefit, not mine. For if you looked upon me as I truly am you would cease to exist. A state of affairs that would please me to no end."
Once again, Oblivion's nature as the Embodiment of pure nothingness and a complete void is reinforced.
The revelation that Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the Chaos King, is just one fragment of Oblivion's infinite being. He also states that if Scrier and the other would collide, then all universes would be destroyed. What is he talking about?
During the story proper, the Cosmic Being Scrier comes to blows with Galactus, and the two nearly destroy the multiverse in their clash:
Oh, and according to Oblivion himself, he is capable of killing both you, the reader of the story, and our entire real-world universe.
This is 100% legit and proves that he is the strongest character in fiction.
And this makes up all the feats for Oblivion proper. Next time I'll update this Blog, it will be with the Chaos King's feats. Ironically, Oblivion's manifestation has more appearances that Oblivion himself.
Ares[]
Updating the blog, let us now focus on Amatsu-Mikaboshi's feats.
The deity first appeared during the Ares Miniseries. Around the time, the God of War had been banished from Olympus and began living on Earth with his demigod son, Alexander Aaron. During the start of the comic, he is summoned back into Olympus and learns what has been going on: The Greek Gods have been in a losing battle against Amatsu-Mikaboshi and his forces, and they require Ares' assistance. Ares at the time was firmly against his siblings and would have let them all die, though it happens that his Mikaboshi has his son held captive, so he agrees to fight alongside them.
Achilles gives a basic summary of who Mikaboshi is:
Later, during the Olympians' battle with the entity, Mikaboshi shows power beyond regular Skyfather level, as he casually mortally wounds Zeus.
After their defeat and retreat, The Japanese God Inari appears wishing to form an alliance between his pantheon and the Olympians, and explains that Mikaboshi has killed most of his family:
As the war continues throughout the issues, the Olympians are firmly defeated, thanks to Mikaboshi's overwhelming power, and Ares' son Alexander, who had been brainwashed and given godlike power, and was wielding the sword Grasscutter:
In the end of the storyline, he is defeated by the combined might of the remaining Olympians and Kami, and by being sliced in half by Alexander's grasscutter.
Incredible Hercules[]
Amatsu-Mikaboshi's appearances continue with the Incredible Hercules comicbook, more specially during the Secret Invasion Story Arc. Within the storyline, Athena Parthenos summons up the Council of Godheads to defend Earth from the Skrull Invasion, deciding that the best way to do so would be to destroy the Skull deities Kly'bn and Sl'Gur'T, as according to her the invasion was being waged due to an interpretation of the Skrull sacred book.
The deities agree, and each Pantheon appoints a Champion. Athena chooses Hercules and Amadeus Cho as her champions. The Inua of the North appoint the demigoddess Narya, more known as Snowbird as theirs. The Apu Ican deities nominate Tecumotzin, Lord of Flight, who is actually the Eternal Ajak, as their warrior. And the Amatsu-Kami of Japan... select Amatsu-Mikaboshi as their representative, so that he may redeem himself. Truly a brilliant decision. Oh, and Demogorge the God-Eater arrives as well, assuming his form as Atum to aid them in the battle. And with that, a team is formed.
One of the group's first obstacles occurs when they end up within the Dimension of Dreams, and Nightmare traps each and every member of the group with a machine designed to absorb their greatest fears. It works for every member, even the Elder God Atum... but fails to affect Mikaboshi.
At the end of the story, the Skrull deities are defeated, and during the battle Mikaboshi had faked his death to free himself from the Kami. He then takes over the religious Skrulls, and Athena is revealed to be controlled by him too.
Assault on New Olympus[]
Mikaboshi's appearances continue with this story, which is a direct consequence of the events of Ares, among other arcs.
Here we get a recap of his killing of Zeus:
As well as a showing of what he's been up to currently: Killing the entire Sh'iar Pantheon.
Finally, and more importantly, Mikaboshi's nature is expanded upon. If the scene with Nightmare seemed weird with him as just a Skyfather-level deity, he is now confirmed to be far more. Hera states: "It's coming. The Chaos and nothingness that was all that there was before the gods comes now to destroy us. The japanese gave a name to it. "Amatsu-Mikaboshi".
She also later explains the origins of the universe, and the various ages of humanity. She says the in the beginning the world was without form and void, and you can clearly see Mikaboshi's face on the background.
Misc[]
Finally, we have a few more mentions from two comics that are too small for each to gain their own section:
In Secret Warriors #10, we get an explanation on the Grasscutter Sword and a brief recap on the war against the Olympians.
And in the end of Heroic Age Prince of Power #4, the Chaos War starts:
Chaos War: Chaos King[]
The Chaos War begins with this issue. It starts with the Chaos King attacking the gods of Zenn-La, homeworld of the Silver Surfer. We have a narration of the Zenn-La religion, explaining more of who the Chaos King truly is:
"In the beginning there was Everything. And Nothing. Existence was a chaotic state -- where darkness and time were One. The elements were undivided, the laws of physics unfounded. It was an infinite confusion. There was no room to think."
And:
"It is the Nil Star... It was extrapolated by the First Mover that the Nil Star would herald the end of times. Sentient Entropy that seeks absolute chaos -- and end to order. Where you can't tell up from down because there is no up or down. Irrelativity: A foundationless state in which no pattern can be recognized."
The deities of Zenn-La do battle with the Chaos King, though they are easily destroyed. There are plenty of dialogue in the fight further hinting at Mikaboshi's true nature. He states: "Others have fought me... Countless gods from other worlds... Now they fight for me. All good things must end... So the greater thing can start: The Oblivion. Do not resist me! I am inevitable... The End of All Things."
After their defeat and assimilation, the Chaos King heads to Earth, to destroy all its forces. But before he does so, he takes a small detour: He invades Hell, and easily defeats Satan and all his forces combined.
Chaos War #1 - #3[]
Getting into the Chaos War proper, we have many more feats from Mikaboshi.
First, the Chaos King one-shots Lord Nightmare, presumably to take revenge for their previous interaction in Incredible Hercules.
Skyfather Hercules arrives from where he had been banished to during the Assault on New Olympus storyline, and he warns the human heroes about the threat of the Chaos King:
Meanwhile, Mikaboshi has invaded the Greco-Roman Underworld of Pluto, where the now dead Greek deities reside, and so he kills Zeus and the others once again:
The Chaos King starts causing cataclysms across the Earth. Earthquakes, tsunamis, storms and volcanoes all start to happen suddenly, yet strangely not a single person fully dies from these events.
Skyfather Hercules decides to summon an ally to aid them in the battle, and with his newfound powers goes straight to the top, summoning Eternity, the "Omnipresent Abstract Entity that represents the totality of all living things.". However, Eternity says that he cannot aid them in battle. He explains:
""The Chos King is the darkness and chaos that existed before existence itself. He is an Anti-God. The void against which I am defined. He and I walk hand in hand. If I fight him, I fight myself."
So this confirms that Chaos King = Multi-Eternity, as Chaos King is seeking to destroy the entire Multiverse in this arc.
And we also learn why nobody is dying from the Chaos King's attacks: Death herself has fled Earth, literally.
More things happen. Hercules summons Galactus as help, and the now brainwashed Greek deities fight the heroes. Hercules defeats Zeus, and opens the portal to the Council of Godheads, in complete anger at their incompetence and detachment and what it caused. Though in doing so, he allowed the Chaos King to invade the realm of the deities. He destroys the Maya Upperworld, the Celtic Otherworld, the Shinto Heaven and more.
Chaos War: God Squad & Incredible Hulks[]
There are some feats and statements in the Chaos War: Tie-Ins as well. These are the most relevant.
In the former, Silver Surfer has a narration on the nature of the Chaos King: "My master, Galactus, is a force of nature. He feeds only to quench his hunger. But the Chaos King is something else entirely. His very existence blatantly defies every law of the Universe. He will not stop until All of Reality is consumed. He is The End of All That Is. Entropy. Oblivion. Darkness."
In the later comic, we get some more statements and showings:
Doctor Strange explains who the Chaos King is, as "The Embodiment of Darkness, sworn to return everything to the Chaos that existed before Creation Itself!".
It is also shown the absolutely apocalyptic state in which the world is, though no one has died given the disappearance of Mistress Death.
Chaos War #4 & #5[]
After their crushing defeat by the Chaos King in #3, Hercules and Cho and others manage to survive, teleporting to Hawaii, where various deities are taking refuge. It's here that we get the famous quote that the Chaos King has destroyed 98.76% of the Multiverse.
Furthermore, Gaea herself is dying due to the Chaos King's destruction of reality. She explains to Hercules that she was the first being to spawn from the void, and as such the source of all gods and of creation itself. The only way for the Chaos King to be stopped would be for Hercules to inherit all her power. And he does.
He and the Chaos King then have their final battle, though Hercules is still grossly overpowered and can only temporarely hold him off.
Seeing as they have no real way of winning against the Chaos King, Amadeus Cho forms another strategy in the heat of the moment: Let him win. And so, they manage to just barely throw the Chaos King into an universe completely isolated from the Marvel Multiverse, and seal him inside. The Chaos King takes complete control over it, believing to have become one with nonexistence, and is satisfied.
Hercules then uses the last of his powers to heal the entire Multiverse into what it once was.
And with that, all the feats are finally wrapped up. I believe that the Chaos King is an entity on the level of the Multi-Abstracts, and that the true Oblivion transcends everyone but the Living Tribunal and those who scale upwards from him.