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Oblivion Void

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Before there was everything, there was nothing. Before there was space, time and continuum, existence was empty. This...is the big lie of our universe. The truth? Before there was a universe, there was Oblivion.

—Narrator[source]

The Oblivion Void is the void of nonexistence from before creation. The Multiverse sprang from this void of nothingness and will someday return to it. However, this is not truly the end, as creation will eventually be reborn anew. This has happened many times already.[19]

The void is a realm of unbeing where there is neither time nor space. At the edge of creation, it also acts as a threshold to enter the Mystery, the realms outside the Multiverse.[6][20] In this context, it is referred to as the Far Shore.[6][21] Beyond the Oblivion Void lies the Upper Realms, which consists of the Beyond, the White Hot Room, the Land of Couldn't-Be-Shouldn't-Be, and others, before the House of Ideas.[22][23]

The void is embodied by the abstract entity known as Oblivion. While other beings have emerged in the void, like the Chaos King and Knull, they are merely beings of the void while Oblivion is the true personification of the void.[24][25]

History

Origins[]

The Oblivion Void's location in relation to spacetime and the realms outside the Multiverse

The Oblivion Void's location in relation to spacetime and the realms outside the Multiverse

According to Oblivion, he had witnessed multiple renewal cycles.[19] His void may or may not be related to the Zeroth Cosmos, the void from before the First Cosmos.[26] It also may or may not be related to the Anti-All from the Third Cosmos.[27] In any case, after the destruction of the previous Sixth Cosmos, there was existential chasm before the creation of the Seventh Cosmos.[28]

The universe was born within the Oblivion Void in a Big Bang. The universe occupied the void, so the more the universe expanded, the more it took away from the void.[1] Before being moved to the universe, the Realm of Death was in the void.[29] The void may also be related to the Darkforce Dimension.[30] Also known as the Outer Void,[13] it surrounds the universe but they are grouped in the same metaphysical sphere.[23]

To reach realms that exist outside the Multiverse entirely, one must pass through the void; for example, there is a threshold in the void of nothing before entering the Beyond, home of the Beyonders.[20]

Variations[]

Asgardians' Ginnungagap[]

In the beginning, there was the Yawning Void. Ginnungagap. The great unending nothingness.

—Narrator[source]
Ginnungagap

Ginnungagap

Ginnungagap, or the Yawning Void, was the place where the two primordial forces of fire, which was born in Muspelheim, and ice, which first emerged in Niffleheim, first came together to create life as it is.[31]

The Røkkva was a primordial antilife entity spawned near the beginning of the universe from a piece of the Anti-All.[32] It roamed the cosmos and mindlessly destroyed or corrupted everything it came across, but was imprisoned in a tomb deep in the Barren Mountains of Jotunheim with the All-Fathers of Asgard guarding it.[33]

Knull's Abyss[]

The dark elder god Knull dwelled in and ruled over the primordial void known as the Abyss, which existed between the destruction of the sixth iteration of the universe and the creation of the seventh.[28] When the Celestials intruded and began creating the universe; Knull was enraged and created the symbiotes and other antilife entities by granting life to the abyss in order to destroy everything and return the universe to the void.[2] Knull proclaimed himself to be the Void incarnate,[34][28] though Marvel Girl determined that while Knull was the God of the Abyss, the Darkness from which he originated and drew his powers long-predated him.[35]

Nyx's primordial darkness[]

The night goddess Nyx existed before the rise of the Olympians and the creation of the universe, and vowed to bring an eternal night on the universe.[5]

Taoist's primordial nothingness[]

To the Xian, Yuanshi Tianzun, the Primeval Lord of Heaven, emerged from "Wuji," the primordial nothingness, as a result of the merging of the pure breaths of the Earth Mother Gaea ("Yin") and the Demiurge ("Yang").[17]

Nun of the Egyptian Gods[]

The Ennead were born from the chaos-sea, the Demiurge Nun. Nun, as both a god and as the Primordial Chaos, continues to exist alongside the cosmos, which must be continually maintained to prevent it collapsing back into chaos.[36][37][verification needed]

Mikaboshi's primordial void[]

According to Shinto cosmology, the dark entity known as Amatsu-Mikaboshi resided within the formless dark world later known as Earth, before Izanagi and Gaea transformed the endless void into the islands of Japan and began populating it. As punishment for attempting to destroy their creations, Mikaboshi was forced to descend to Yomi.[38] In truth, "Amatsu-Mikaboshi" was an offshoot of Oblivion embodying the void that existed before the creation of the universe, but was weakened by the emergence of Eternity and co-opted into the Shinto pantheon, further constraining it for untold eons until it was able to regain its true form and power.[39]

Manidoog's endless void[]

Manitou, the Sky Father of the Manidoog, emerged from Giizhigong into an endless void of nothingness. He created the elements of rock, fire, wind, and water. However when he created light his shadow became sentient becoming the being KhLΘG. He wished to destroy all that Manitou had created. Manitou took away his physical form and banished him into the nothingness.[38]

Beast's Darkness[]

The demon known as the Beast resided in the endless cold darkness, until the rise of humanity to which he saw them as a corruption.[40]

Enders[]

To get to Earth-616, the Enders must pass through the Void, risking being devoured by Oblivion.[41] When the storm god Hadad, the creator of many Enders, was defeated by the One Above All, he was imprisoned in the Oblivion Void for a billion years.[42][43]

Realm of Death[]

After circa 11 billion years in the Oblivion Void, the Realm of Death was placed inside the universe in Oblivion's hidden plot to kill the universe.[1][29]

Iceman[]

After Mirage was created, she fled from the Outer Void using Bounce-Boxes to travel through time and space. Oblivion created White Light, the Idiot, and Kali to chase her but they were thwarted by Iceman. When a paradox caused Iceman to cease to exist, he entered Oblivion's realm and Oblivion sent him after his daughter as well. Mirage soon arrived in a fit of rage. Iceman struck down Oblivion and Mirage realized that she was an aspect of Oblivion that he had created to understand love. Oblivion attempted to consume Iceman but failed. Having tasted love, he sent Iceman back and reabsorbed Mirage, merging back into a single being.[44]

Quasar[]

Later, Maelstrom entered the Outer Void to meet with Oblivion and offered to collapse the universe, thus claiming it for the Void. Oblivion suggested to Maelstrom to kill Eon.[13] Unbeknownst to Oblivion, Maelstrom was also planning to usurp Oblivion himself, but his plan was stopped by Quasar and Infinity.[45]

The Mad Titan[]

When the Seventh Cosmos was destroyed as a consequence of the incursions,[46] Doctor Doom used the power he stole from the Beyonders to create a new reality from its remnants. Thanos of Titan was one of the survivors of the old Multiverse who managed to make their way to said reality.[47] He defied Doom and was killed for it.[48] His soul, however, didn't go to any afterlife. It was instead sent to the Far Shore, where Thanos remained exiled even after the Multiverse was brought back as the Eighth Cosmos. Eventually, Thanos witnessed as Galactus arrived in the Far Shore to save the Ultimates, who had exited the Multiverse in order to fix time, which they thought was broken. With his mission complete, Galactus returned to the Eighth Cosmos, unaware that Thanos had followed him through the portal he opened.[12]

The First Firmament[]

...I learned the secret! The secret of the One Who Is One! And more! I SAW THE OTHERS! I saw them! On the Far Shore! So vast--even I could not comprehend--I came back from death to warn him! Everything lives! Don't you see what that means? Everything lives--so nothing truly dies!

—Shaper of Worlds[source]

After being shattered into pieces in the final conflagration of the Celestial War, the First Firmament, personification of the First Cosmos, escaped to the Far Shore in order to survive. From there, he watched as new, collective entities born from his substance replaced him and one another as embodiments of everything that is. Growing resentful for being substituted with beings he considered inferior to him, the First Firmament waited millennia for the right moment to try to reclaim his position. That moment came when Eternity, one of the two entities who represented the Seventh Cosmos, was left weak in the wake of his rebirth as the Eighth Cosmos.[8]

I saw them. I saw the Others. On the Far Shore--where nothing dies--they waited for the call.

—Shaper of Worlds[source]
Nothing dies!

Nothing dies!

Unbeknownst to all, the manifestations of previous Multiverses were still alive, waiting for Eternity's call for help against the First Firmament in the Far Shore. Upon learning that, Eternity called on them and they were able to defeat the First Firmament before he could exact his plan. The Multiverses subsequently took the First Firmament to the Next Place in the hopes of healing him of his hatred towards his own kin.[49][50][51]

The Challenger[]

And then I was gone. Removed from existence. Exiled. To the Far Shore, beyond all life and death. At the edge of the Mystery. Where there is no time, no space, no self... Where all you are is not... Where each picosecond lasts forever and forever, without end...

—The Challenger[source]
Far Shore

Far Shore

At some point in the distant path of the Seventh Cosmos, the Elder of the Universe known as the Grandmaster was challenged by his fellow Elder En Dwi Gast to a game in which the loser would be banished from reality until the day it came to an end. En Dwi won and claimed the Grandmaster title for himself; meanwhile, his opponent was sent to the Far Shore. As soon as the Seventh Cosmos ended and returned as the Eighth, the Elder previously known as the Grandmaster made his way back to his home reality and challenged the current Grandmaster for a rematch, thus earning him the title of "Challenger."[6]

The Challenger in shackles

The Challenger in shackles

During the rematch game, which was held on Earth, the Challenger discovered the Grandmaster was using his own daughter, the Voyager, to cheat in the game, so he disintegrated his opponent and tried to destroy their playing ground next. However, the Avengers, the mightiest heroes of the planet, fought and, ultimately, defeated him.[52] Later, Voyager took the Challenger back to the Far Shore in order to reform him by making him watch the Avengers' adventures, hoping that they could inspire him like they inspired her.[9] He ended up escaping from imprisonment there at a later point.[53]

The All-Seeing[]

The name of this place unfolds in my mind. The Far Shore--the furthest point of all life and death. Beyond this...there is only the Mystery. I don't see what happens next. I'm not permitted to.

—Valkyrie[source]

Following Heimdall's death at the hands of Bullseye,[54] Valkyrie escorted his soul to the Far Shore so he could cross over to the Mystery as he wanted.[55]

S.W.O.R.D.[]

The Six stand at the shore. This Far Shore. This farthest point of all. And then farther. And farther still. Farther Still. Into the Mystery.

—Narrator[source]

The Six acquired Mysterium by going to the Far Shore and then going further still into the Mystery, specifically the White Hot Room.[56]

God of Thunder[]

The Yawning Void--

—Toranos[source]

With the Odin-Force, now "Thor-Force," Thor was able to use Mjolnir to open a portal to the Far Shore large enough to banish Toranos, who identified it as the "Yawning Void" before being pulled in. However, this task required an immense amount of energy and Thor was forced into All-Sleep.[21]

Thunder War[]

In an attempt to kill Oblivion, Eternity sent Abraxas to detonate within the Oblivion Void; however, Oblivion survived. Angered by this, Oblivion freed Hadad, an enemy of Eternity, but this ended up being a mistake, as Hadad slayed Oblivion.[57] This would cause the Thunder War, with the mutant Storm stepping up to stop him.[43]

Scarlet Witch and Chthon[]

Here. In this place. I could raid a great old house... and poison all it sends forth at the source.

—Chthon[source]

After assuming the mantle of the Sorcerer Supreme, the Scarlet Witch tracked Chthon to the Far Shore. There, Chthon had discovered that there are realms existing beyond creation and he intended to raid the House of Ideas and poison the Mystery. Rather than allowing his incursion to proceed, she offered him the Sleeping Beyond, a newly created infinite pocket universe he could shape as he wished. In exchange, Chthon agreed to abandon his plan and serve on Wanda's magical council as its devil's advocate.[58]


Alternate Realities[]

Earth-2099[]

The Nova Corps theorized that the abyssal god Knull originated from Ginnungagap.[59]

Earth-17628[]

Preceding the universe, it was the place where Knull created the first symbiotes--All-Black, Scream, Scorn, and Mania--to destroy most of the Celestials, before discarding them.[60]

Earth-199999[]

The Dark Elves originated from the primordial chaos, before the Nine Realms were formed, and they wanted to destroy the universe and bring it to the state it was before.[61] Years later, Gorr set up a trap for Thor and his companions on the Moon of Shame in order to steal from him the Stormbreaker.[62]

Points of Interest

Earth-199999[]

Residents

Notes

  • It is unknown if the mysterious beings only known as the Walkers of the Outer Void and the Ginnunga-Ghosts have any relation to the Outer Void or Ginnungagap respectively.
  • It is unknown if the Zeroth Cosmos, the void before the First Firmament,[26] was also the Oblivion Void, though the recap of Avengers (Vol. 9) #36 mentions the word "oblivion" in lowercase. Also, the One Above All has referred to Oblivion as his first "son."[43]
  • The Far Shore and Ginnungagap were retconned to be the same place in Immortal Thor #2. However, before this, Jane Foster went to Ginnungagap in Mighty Thor (Vol. 2) #22–23 and later visited the Far Shore in Valkyrie: Jane Foster #3, claiming to have never seen it before. In Knull #5, Hela implies Knull to be of the same void as Oblivion, although Knull is merely of that void whereas Oblivion actually is it.
  • The Oblivion Void is referred to as a remnant of the primordial void that existed before and between the Multiverses, implying it is related to the Ginnungagap and other pre-universal states of non-existence detailed on this page. Storm: Earth's Mightiest Mutant #2 treats the Oblivion Void as being the threshold between the Multiverse and the Mystery, a status typically attributed to the Far Shore, and the writer Murewa Ayodele tweeted that they are written as the same thing.[66]

Trivia

"The mystery intrigues me

"The mystery intrigues me."

See Also

Links and References

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Storm (Vol. 5) #5
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Venom (Vol. 4) #4
  3. ↑ Chaos War #2
  4. ↑ Venom (Vol. 5) #18
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Avengers No Road Home #2
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Avengers (Vol. 7) #679
  7. ↑ Ultimates 2 (Vol. 2) #2
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Ultimates 2 (Vol. 2) #6
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Avengers (Vol. 7) #690
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Thor: Blood Oath #6
  11. ↑ Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #35
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Ultimates (Vol. 2) #5
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Quasar #21
  14. ↑ Ultimates (Vol. 2) #12
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 King in Black Handbook #1
  16. ↑ Venom (Vol. 4) #5
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica #1 ; The Xian's entry
  18. ↑ Mighty Thor (Vol. 2) #1
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Iceman #4
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Defenders: Beyond #1
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Immortal Thor #2
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Defenders: Beyond #1–5
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Storm: Earth's Mightiest Mutant #2
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Mighty Thor Annual #1
  25. ↑ Knull #1
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Avengers (Vol. 9) #35
  27. ↑ Defenders (Vol. 6) #5
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 King in Black #1
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 Storm: Earth's Mightiest Mutant #3
  30. ↑ Great Lakes Avengers #3
  31. ↑ Thor (Vol. 5) #2
  32. ↑ Immortal Thor #11
  33. ↑ Valkyrie: Jane Foster #8–9
  34. ↑ Incoming #1
  35. ↑ King in Black #4
  36. ↑ Thor Annual #10
  37. ↑ Silver Surfer Annual #2
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica #1
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Chaos War #5
  40. ↑ Elektra: Assassin #7
  41. ↑ Storm (Vol. 5) #7
  42. ↑ Storm (Vol. 5) #8
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 43.2 43.3 Storm (Vol. 5) #12
  44. ↑ Iceman #1–4
  45. ↑ Quasar #25
  46. ↑ Secret Wars #1
  47. ↑ Secret Wars #2–4
  48. ↑ Secret Wars #8
  49. ↑ Ultimates 2 (Vol. 2) #2–3
  50. ↑ Ultimates 2 (Vol. 2) #9
  51. ↑ Ultimates 2 (Vol. 2) #100
  52. ↑ Avengers (Vol. 7) #686–689
  53. ↑ Avengers No Road Home #10
  54. ↑ Valkyrie: Jane Foster #2
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 Valkyrie: Jane Foster #3
  56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 S.W.O.R.D. (Vol. 2) #1
  57. ↑ Storm (Vol. 5) #9
  58. ↑ Sorcerer Supreme #2
  59. ↑ Annihilation 2099 #1
  60. ↑ The Secret History of Venom
  61. ↑ Thor: The Dark World
  62. ↑ Thor: Love and Thunder
  63. ↑ Iceman #3–4
  64. ↑ 64.0 64.1 Iceman #1
  65. ↑ Iceman #2
  66. ↑ Ayodele, Murewa (11 March 2026) ‪Murewa Ayodele on X‬: "It seems the Far Shore and the Oblivion Void are often written as the same thing." X. Archived from the original on 11 March 2026. Originally retrieved on 25 June 2026.
  67. ↑ Richards, Dave (April 26, 2019) Avengers: No Road Home Writers Break Down the Series' Meta Final Battle CBR. Retrieved on August 3, 2022.
  68. ↑ Rabiroff, Zach (October 14, 2021) Cosmic Is A State Of Being: An Interview With Al Ewing ComicsXF. Retrieved on October 1, 2022.
  69. ↑ Morse, Ben (June 16, 2022) ‘Defenders: Beyond’ Kicks Off a New Lineup of the Super-Team This July Marvel. Retrieved on October 1, 2022.
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