Onslaught

> *"I don't care if I have to fight this entire Empire of organics in order to rip out your spark!"*
>
> ― Onslaught to Elita One
>
>

**Onslaught** is a cybertronian male and the leader of the Combaticons, a group of Decepticons that combine into the fearsome form of "Bruticus," a large and powerful warrior, though while in that form, Bruticus is far less intelligent than Onslaught himself. As the Decepticon's lead strategist he doesn't enjoy getting directly involved in combat, instead preferring the thrill of designing battle plans, strategies, and tactics, and then watching his Combaticon soldiers carry them out. Despite this, however, while he typically crafts his strategies to exclude his direct involvement, Onslaught is no coward. If required, he will engage in battle with strength, cunning and earth-quaking fury. This darker, more brutish side of Onslaught has lead some Decepticons and Autobots alike into thinking he has a secret blood-lust stashed away in his circuits. In reality, he's more so just ticked off that his plans didn't work out the way they were supposed to.

## **History**

During the Great War of Cybertron, Onslaught tracked down the activities of Elita One in the Andromeda galaxy and led the Combaticons in an ambush against the Autobot commander while she was alone on the planet Ahch-To, sending her into stasis for the next six thousand years. However, after it was revealed that she was still alive, Onslaught was confronted by an angry Megatron, who dispatched him with his fellow Combaticons Blast Off and Vortex to ensure her destruction. Upon his arrival to the Andromeda galaxy, Onslaught destroyed an Imperial base seeking information on Elita's whereabouts, eventually locating her on the planet Ryloth, where he sent Blast Off to engage. When he failed, Onslaught attempted to take matters into his own hands, but was unable to prevent Elita and her Andromedan allies from escaping.

Over the course of several weeks, Onslaught and the Combaticons engaged Elita and her human allies, Jarik Shan and Mara Jade, on two more occasions before eventually confronting them in a final stand on Ahch-To, easily shrugging off resistance from the native Dragon Riders. Before they could complete their mission, however, they was interrupted by the sudden appearance of the two battle-hardened Autobots Ironhide and Chromia, who had been sent by Optimus Prime to find Elita. Unprepared for their arrival, Onslaught was injured by Shan when the Jedi used his lightsaber to cut out his optic, and was forced to retreat back to Cybertron when Blast Off and Vortex were killed. As a result of his failure, Onslaught adopted a new strategy to ensure Elita One's demise, opting to wait for Hive forces blockading the Andromeda galaxy to force the Autobots back, where they were be easy targets. Satisfied with the plan, Megatron nevertheless chose to personally get involved this time so as to ensure Onslaught would not fail again, bringing with him his warship and most trusted officer, Soundwave, as added support.

Onslaught and Megatron then confronted the three Autobots, along with Jarik Shan, during the Battle of Atollon, forming a mutual agreement with Imperial forces there led by Thrawn and Darth Vader. Although they defeated the Autobots in battle and greatly injured Shan, Onslaught was killed when struck by a bolt of lightning cast by the Force entity known as "Bendu."

## **Personality and traits**

As the lead strategist of the Decepticons, Onslaught carries a high rank in Megatron's hierarchy. He operates with cold, ruthless efficiency, and while he prefers not to get involved with the actual fighting, he is not afraid to enter a battle if required. If he does personally involve himself in combat, more often than not it's because he's frustrated that his plans did not work the way he desired. Although not an active seeker of more power and authority in the Decepticon ranks, he nevertheless despises the second-in-command Starscream, viewing him as an incompetent and backstabbing coward who can't get anything done right.

## **Powers and abilities**

While holding a strong preference to not fighting himself, Onslaught is nevertheless a skilled and fearsome warrior himself. In battle he wields a deadly plasma cannon alongside a standard-issue Energon blaster, the former of which can deliver devastating blasts of explosive energy. When faced with up-close attackers, Onslaught utilizes a custom-crafted sword that he utilizes with great skill to cut through the armor of most Autobots in his path.

## **Appearances**

* *Sun and Moon (indirect mention only)*
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth (first appearance)*
* *A Bigger Universe (mentioned)*

## **Behind the scenes**

In the Shaniverse, Onslaught is a "flier" with a cybertronian jet as his alt mode, which differs from his official Transformers counterparts where he is a "grounder" that takes the form of a truck.