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Overmind

 

Universe
Marvel Universe

Real Name
Grom

Aliases
Champion of Champions

Identity
Unknown to the general public

Occupation
Former gladiator

Place of Birth
Planet Eternus (now non-existent), Andromeda Galaxy

Known Relatives
None

Group Affiliation
Defenders

Height
10’

Weight
750 lbs.

Eyes
Black

Hair
Red

Powers
Overmind possesses superhuman physical attributes derived from his alien nature as well as vast psionic powers. As the ultimate physical specimen of an ancient alien race, Overmind’s body is far superior to a human being’s, able to lift (press) approximately 10 tons (without augmentation of his psionic powers). He also immune to diseases and aging and has greater than human endurance and recovery time by a factor 5.

Overmind possesses the combined psionic powers of six moderately-powerful human psionic/telepaths. He can “read” the thoughts of others and project his own thoughts into others’ minds, within an as yet undetermined radius. He could also project illusions of apparently opaque 3-dimensional objects into the minds of those within his field of view, providing it as a single image. It is not known how long he can sustain a given illusion or how many minds he can project illusions into at once. Overmind also possesses limited psychokinetic ability, enabling him to levitate objects (whose weights do not exceed that which he can physically lift without psionic augmentation) within approximately 50 feet of him. He can project psychokinetic force over a range of .001 pounds per square inch to 20 pounds per square inch of overpressure (equivalent to an explosion of 10 pounds of TNT at a range of 15 feet). By directing concussive psychokinetic blasts at people or objects, he could kill a human being at a maximum range of 10 feet or eventually severely deform a plate of 1-inch thick steel. The Overmind also appears to have a degree of precognitive ability, the extent of which is yet unknown. It is also not known how long the Overmind can project his psionic energy before fatigue impairs his abilities.

As a group intelligence made up of six once-separated consciousnesses, the Overmind has a gestalt personality greater than the sum of its parts. Through concentration, he can allow one of his six component personalities to temporary manifest itself as dominant. When doing so, he usually creates an illusion of the physical image of the manifest group member.

By generating as much psionic energy as he can and channeling it back into his physical body, the Overmind can augment his physical strength by a factor of 7 for brief period of exertion. Hence, he can sometimes lift (press) 70 tons. The channeling takes such concentration that he cannot use any of his other abilities at the same time.

First Appearance
Fantastic Four #111 (1971)

Significant Issues
Battled the Squadron Supreme (Defenders #112-115, 1982-1983)

Grom was born on the ancient planet Eternus, a member of a highly advanced, belligerent race of humanoid aliens who are now extinct. Eons ago, the Eternians learned to control aging and eliminate natural death. To prevent overpopulation, the Eternian government sanctioned interstellar warfare and conquest which regularly claimed the lives of multitudes. When enemies could not be found to wage war against, the government held gladiatorial spectacles called The Games. Grom was a naturally skilled gladiator who earned in combat title Champion of Champions. Soon after Grom’s coronation, the Eternians discovered Gigantus, a huge planet on which dwelled an equally advanced but peaceful civilization. Immediately they launched an attack upon the world. Because Gigantus was several hundred times larger than Eternus (about the size of Jupiter), the war became very costly and difficult for the Eternians to sustain. Finally it was decided to simply obliterate the planet. The Eternians showered Gigantus with immensely powerful nuclear warheads and detonated them, destroying the planet. A huge armada of Gigantians, however, who had learned the ways of war after eons of peace, escaped the world’s destruction and attacked Eternus in retaliation.


Unprepared for so devastating an attack, the Eternian defenses fell. Government leaders realized that their race faced total extinction. Desperately Eternian scientists prepared to transform Grom, the race’s most outstanding physical specimen, into the receptacle of the collective consciousness and mental might of Eternus. As the surviving population of Eternus marched into huge “synthesizing chambers” scattered across the planet, their organic brains were converted to pure mental energy and projected into Grom. When the process was complete, and only the scientists who conducted the process were left alive, the capsule containing Grom was launched into space to incubate until the being learned to control the powers of his group mind. Eons passed. Then Grom emerged as the Overmind, a warrior who possessed the collective psionic power of the billion brains and who carried in his memory the subliminal command to subdue the universe.

The Overmind attacked the first inhabited planet he came upon, the Earth, but was defeated by the Fantastic Four with the aid of the Stranger. The Stranger claimed to be the embodiment of the collective psionic power of all the surviving Gigantians. The Stranger’s psionic abilities proved to be more powerful than those of the Overmind and he shrunk the Overmind to microscopic stature and exiled him to a mote of dust.

Several years later, a demonic creature called Null The Living Darkness located Overmind and decided to use him as a pawn in his scheme of conquest. However, when he restored the Eternian to his original power and stature, Null accidentally transported the Overmind to an alternative Earth other than the one upon which he had met his defeat. This Earth was the home of the Squadron Supreme. Null and the Overmind battled the Squadron, who sent for reinforcements in the persons of the Defenders. A being composed of the psychic union of six of the alternate Earth’s most powerful telepaths also aided in the struggle, and were instrumental in neutralizing Null and the Overmind. At the battle’s end, the Overmind’s Eternian consciousness was driven out of its body and the six telepaths, lacking physical bodies, took refuge inside him. Now possessing a benevolent mind and a small fraction of his former mental might, the Overmind returned with the Defenders to their world. After parting company with the group, he set forth for parts unknown.
 
 
 
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