Origin[]
Oblivion is a cosmic entity embodying the primordial void that the Multiverse sprang from and will eventually return to.[5][2] He sees his fellow cosmic entities—Eternity, Infinity, and Death—who came into being when the universe was created as siblings. Oblivion has a very close relationship with Death and the two may be different aspects of the same being, just as Infinity and Eternity are.[6] He is sometimes said to represent the concept of death.[7] Just like Eternity and Death have a strong rivalry, Oblivion has a strong rivalry with Infinity, a rivalry usually fought through avatars.[6] Oblivion usually resides inside a pocket dimension known as the Outer Void.[4]
One of Oblivion's principal avatars was the Chaos King, an offshoot of Oblivion serving as the embodiment of the primordial Void before the seventh iteration of the universe began. The Chaos King was weakened and integrated into the Amatsu-Kami, becoming known as Amatsu-Mikaboshi.[9][10][2]
Mirage[]
Loneliness caused Oblivion to create his kingdom, servants, and a daughter known as Mirage, who ran away from home and assumed the human form of Marge Smith. Oblivion sent his minions White Light, the Idiot, and Kali after her but were thwarted by the mutant Iceman. A paradox caused Iceman to cease to exist and enter Oblivion's realm; Oblivion tasked the young man to bring back his daughter. Bobby and Mirage returned with vengeance but she willingly accepted him after she realized she was a byproduct of him craving love. Although Oblivion tried to destroy Bobby, Bobby refused to be destroyed and Oblivion gained a new understanding of love. Soon afterward, Oblivion and Mirage merged back into a single being.[11]
Quasar[]
In his rivalry with Infinity, Oblivion empowered Maelstrom as his avatar and sent him his agent, Deathurge, to assist him. As Oblivion's agent, Maelstrom tried to destroy the whole universe, but he was stopped by Quasar, the avatar of Infinity. Oblivion, Infinity, Death, and Eternity then came to a new agreement.[12]
Quasar encountered Oblivion again in the Dimension of Manifestations after being nullified. Quasar was able to escape thanks to his personal Death avatar.[13]
Lurking in the Void[]
Maelstrom returned to life later and came into conflict with the Great Lakes Avengers. During this conflict, Deathurge was sent repeatedly to collect the souls of Great Lakes Avengers who died. When he tried to claim the soul of Squirrel Girl's sidekick Monkey Joe, Mr. Immortal used the opportunity to grab Deathurge, now just the size and shape of a squirrel, and defeat him. The recently deceased Doorman encountered Oblivion, who made him his new agent, telling him that Deathurge had failed him.[14] At Christmas, Deathurge tried to regain his position, but failed the test Oblivion gave him.[3]
Following the Chaos King's failed attempt to return reality to the Void, Oblivion observed a battle between Galactus, the Scrier, and the Other in the hopes that it would annihilate the Multiverse. When this failed to come to pass, Oblivion commented on the ephemeral nature of existence and implied he had instigated the conflict as part of one of his endless gambits to annihilate all existence.[2]
G.O.D.S.[]
Following a Babylon Event from Cubisk Core,[15] Oblivion entered the Library of Worlds where he met Dimitri the Science Boy and Mia the Magic Girl at a bar.[16] Mia had been recruited due to The-Natural-Order-of-Things seeing the hand of Oblivion and ordering the greatly weakened Centum to gather strength.[17] Despite Oblivion's human form, Dimitri instantly recognized him. Dimitri's Thing-of-Order noted Oblivion's growing number of disciples: 22,351 and counting. Meanwhile, the last Cassandra (Amelia Addison) had been having nightmares about Oblivion for five years and entered the Library of Worlds to stop Robert Forson from using a mysterious artifact to cause the apocalypse. Her assassination of Forson failed, but Wyn and Doctor Strange thwarted Forson. Displeased, Oblivion declared to Wyn that he had made an enemy that day.[18]
When Aiko Maki visited the eternal pillars and the great rock in order to see the Living Tribunal, she was brought to both Oblivion and the Tribunal by the Preordained, their servant. Oblivion faintly recognized her from the Library of Worlds incident, which Aiko confirmed. Aiko requested the Tribunal to free Mia from The-Natural-Order-of-Things, as it was limiting her magical potential, but the Tribunal refused. To Aiko's horror, Oblivion claimed Mia for himself.[19]
Near-Omnipotence: Oblivion is a cosmic and also a virtually omnipotent entity representing the inevitable ending of all things, oblivion itself. Despite representing non-existence, he can create to appease his loneliness, including his realm, servants, and daughter.[5] He has temporal powers but not without limit.[20] Oblivion can empower agents or avatars with different amounts of power to act in his name.[6] Oblivion can bring people back from non-existence, but he cannot pull people back from Death.[21]
According to Deathurge, Oblivion can be destroyed.[22] When Iceman knocked Oblivion down, Mirage momentarily thought that Iceman had slain her father.[20] Maelstrom believed that he could usurp Oblivion; after Maelstrom was defeated by Infinity and Quasar, Infinity told Oblivion that Maelstrom would have succeeded in supplanting him and Oblivion was too short-sighted to notice.[6]
Oblivion attempted to erase Iceman but failed. After learning about "love" from him, Oblivion "glimpsed a power that transcends and empowers both Oblivion and [...] reality."[20]
- For G.O.D.S., Oblivion received a redesign and a human form.
- For other redesigns, click here.
- As per Defenders (Vol. 6) #5, the Anti-All is also described to be primordial Void itself. Doctor Strange theorized that the fragments of the Anti-All spread across the Multiverse from the Third Cosmos became future versions of the "great Nothing" that will appear in future cosmoi. Oblivion's relation to this is unknown.
- According to Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #8, when the In-Betweener summons Death to claim several Elders of the Universe,[23] it is actually Oblivion disguised as Death.
- Annihilus is said to be the first-born son of Oblivion, but it is not clear if this is referring to the cosmic being.[24]
- According to J.M. DeMatteis, the Creator contains everything, even Oblivion.[25]
- Oblivion has stated he watched the universe get born, struggle for life, die, and then get reborn multiple times, referencing the renewal cycles.[20]
- Oblivion has tens of thousands of worshippers (22,351 during the last known census), but he does not care for them nor grant them any favors or dispensations.[16]
