This post covers the first month of the Onslaught event that spelled the end of the first volumes of many Marvel titles, including Captain America and Avengers, which were relaunched afterwards as part of the “Heroes Reborn” initiative (on which more soon). In the story itself, a psionic entity known as Onslaught, formed from the dark sides of the minds of Professor Xavier and Magneto, threatens to wipe out humanity in favor of mutants, and it falls to the combined forces of the X-Men, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four to resist him.
(Just a warning: Captain America is a fairly minor player in this storyline, serving primarily in a leadership role and appearing in just a fraction of the associated issues. If you’re looking for a synopsis of the whole tale, you won’t get it here.)
At the end of Avengers #400, Nate Grey, an alternate-reality version of Cable known as the “X-Man,” arrived at Avengers Mansion with a warning about Professor X. In Onslaught: X-Men #1, we see the team supportive of their longtime colleague and doubtful of the stranger’s claims, but still willing to look into it—albeit not quickly enough for young Nate (who, he fails to mention, is responsible for releasing Onslaught from Xavier’s mind).
We get more action in Uncanny X-Men #335 after the team flies from their mansion to Xavier’s, finding it destroyed, which Nate argues is evidence of Xavier’s threat, while Cap remains cautiously skeptical.
The “attack” comes from the X-Men themselves, understandably skeptical of anybody offering assistance after their beloved mentor seemed to turn on them. For his part, Nate is having a difficult time reconciling his distinct realities, but Cap is there to offer a sympathetic hand.
Nate reaches into the X-Men’s minds to extract an image of Onslaught, which leads them to suspect he’s working with him—and when Wolverine decides to take matters into his own hands (or claws), Cap is there to remind everyone of the mission at hand.
Yes, Logan is normally the picture of serenity!
Once the heroes starting cooperating, they piece together that Onslaught is made up of both Xavier and Magneto, and that he’s after Franklin Richards, one of the most powerful mutants on the planet. Cap takes command, explaining the plan (to Domino, for some reason)…
…and in Avengers #401 we see Cap’s team, made up of most of the Avengers plus Gambit, on their way to find Magneto, with Wanda and Pietro most clearly interested and conflicted.
(Keep in mind that this happened long before their parentage was retconned so Magneto was so longer their biological father.)
In a rare lighthearted moment in this huge storyline, Tony—actually “Teen Tony,” though it is little mentioned here—pilots the quinjet out of the side of the mansion while proudly explaining the new launch procedure. Gambit wonders when (or whether) the door will open, a concern Cap calmly shares.
When they eventually find Magneto (with Rogue), he seems different—but not to Pietro, whom Cap tries in vain to stop before he works his father issues out.
Although Rogue tries to explain why he is not a threat, Magneto defensively lashes out…
…until he stops short of hurting Wanda, who stops his brother from killing him. They learn that “Magneto” has been de-aged and “de-evilled” by Xavier (although he will later be revealed to be an amnesiac clone), now goes by the name Joseph, and agrees to help fight Onslaught.
Finally, for this month at least, X-Men #55 shows the Avengers, X-Men, and the Fantastic Four united at last…
…with Cap clenching his fist while commiserating with Reed about Onslaught (whom Cap simply calls “Xavier”) abducting Franklin.
Cap fills in the rest about the “new” Magneto (believing him to be merely reformed and youthened, not a clone), and speculates about his apparent relationship with Rogue. (Ooh, juicy gossip!)
Bishop and Iceman dwell on Cap’s TMZ report while the man himself gets an update on the main action, which happened in Fantastic Four #415.
With everyone on the same page again, Cap gives battle orders for fighting Onslaught’s sentinels while the big brains go off to build some really cool $%^&.
The heroes fight valiantly against overwhelming odds…
…but in the end are overwhelmed after Onslaught sets off a massive EMP that knocks out all the power in New York City. Our heroes’ plight is made most clear by the fact that Captain America himself hangs his head in despair.
But all is not lost, as we will see in the second month of this epic status-changing storyline. (Not hyperbole!)
An editorial note: This month’s Professor Xavier and the X-Men #10 retells the story of the Avengers’ and X-Men’s first meeting from X-Men #9. Although Cap obviously does appear in this issue, I chose not to cover it here because, while not identical to the original story, it doesn’t add anything of interest in terms of Captain America.
ISSUE DETAILS
Avengers (vol. 1) #401, August 1996: Mark Waid (writer), Mike Deodato, Jr. (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), John Kalisz and Malibu Color (colors), Bill Oakley (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Onslaught: X-Men #1, August 1996: Scott Lobdell and Mark Waid (writers), Adam Kubert and Dan Green (pencils), Pasqual Ferry and Art Thibert (inks), Steve Buccellato and Team Bucce (colors), Richard Starkings and Comicraft (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
The Uncanny X-Men (vol. 1) #335, August 1996: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira (pencils), Tim Townsend (inks), Steve Buccellato and Team Bucce (colors), Richard Starkings and Comicraft (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
All collected in: X-Men/Avengers: Onslaught Volume 1 and X-Men/Avengers: Onslaught Omnibus.
X-Men (vol. 2) #55, August 1996: Mark Waid (writer), Andy Kubert (pencils), Dan Panosian (inks), Joe Rosas and Malibu Color (colors), Richard Starkings and Comicraft (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Collected in: X-Men/Avengers: Onslaught Volume 2 and X-Men/Avengers: Onslaught Omnibus.
PREVIOUS ISSUES: Avengers #399-400 (June-July 1996)
ALSO THIS MONTH: Captain America #454 (August 1996)
NEXT ISSUE: Avengers #402, The Incredible Hulk #445, and X-Men #56 (September 1996)
THE VIRTUES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 
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