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The most enigmatic character in the entireOne Punch Manuniverse is God, a lovecraftian creature that seems to be behind most if not all the problems that threaten society. The most peculiar thing about God is that he doesn’t fit the theme of the show, seemingly coming entirely from a different kind of anime.
Fans of the show have been speculating for years about the identity of God, the extent of its powers, and what its goals are. There is even a secret society that has been fighting this creature for a long time, even before Saitama had his burst of power.
Spoilers for both the Manga and the Anime!
Who Is God?
The entity known as God isthe overarching villain of the One Punch Man series, being slowly developed and revealed over the course of the story.It can manifest itself in many forms, but it usually looks like a massive humanoid shape, its body decayed and twisted, andits face a twirling mess of featureless skin.
God has also shown itself as a large planet, so its true form is left to interpretation.
Of course, we consider God a villain sinceit seems to be working to end humanity, but very little is known about its motives. It always works from the shadows,using avatars to do its biddingand not letting anyone reveal its identity.
God seems to reside ina different dimension than our own, andcan communicate with whoever it chooses through mental images. This form of communication keeps God hidden, since the images it’s sending to its chosen one’s braincan’t be seen by anyone else.
The Mysterious Cubes
God has communicated with characterswithout the need of a physical object, but those might have been the exception, not the rule. Both Garou and Homeless Emperor seem to have been in a very particular state of mind,allowing the nightmarish horror to enter.
YetGod can enter anyone’s mind that touches one of his Mysterious Cubes. These artifacts are no bigger than a small box, andtouching one puts one in direct contact with the otherworldly entity, being shown an illusion where someone they trustoffers them their hand.
Touching the hand seals the deal, and the person becomes a servant of God. Granted, we haven’t seen a chosen of God that’s been completely brainwashed —they are mostly drunk with power, and can be convinced to stop their destructive ways (as happened with Garou).
God’s Monsterization
If someone becomes an avatar of God, they gain several powers related to their own strengths,just like anyother type of Monsterization. The difference here is that God is in control of how much power it gives,and it can take it away whenever it wishesto do so, killing the host in the process.
Garou is still alive after receiving God’s powers because Saitama punched him before the powers took hold.
God only looks for highly skilled individualsto become its avatars, so if someone “unworthy” touches a Mysterious Cube, God would likely just kill them on the spot. Secrecy is, after all, God’s greatest weapon.
The Objective Of God
It is hard to discern the true motives of God, since with that name, it becomes difficult to know ifa character is talking about the entity, a deity, or both. When Dr. Genus talks about a limiter set by God for all creatures, which God is he talking about?
Fortunately,Blast has shed some light on the creature, since he’s been fighting it the longest.Blast is part of a multidimensional team of heroesthatfight against God in many realities, and in all of them,God seems to be after the termination of sentient life.
This is in line withwhat God told Homeless Emperorwhen it recruited him to its cause, since they bothsaw the world as a beautiful place filled with horrible people. However, God seems to have been focused on Blast’s home planet as of late, and we have one Caped Baldy to thank for that.
God’s View Of Saitama
While Saitama is mostly unaware of God and its plans (as is most of the population),God is very much aware of our One Punching Man. It is likely thatGod sees Saitama as its biggest enemy, and he might be the reason why God hasn’t shown its hand more openly around him.
There was one instance whereGod saw the opportunityto deal with Saitama, hence why the entity offered its incredible power to Garou. And unlike with Homeless Emperor, God spared no expenses andgave Garou cosmic level powersin order to face his unstoppable foe.
God claims that it will give Garou the power to face up against “the fist that defied God”, leading fans to believe that said fist is in reference to Saitama himself.
WhileGarou ultimately loses against Saitama, this served to show God directly influencing a situation and throwing caution to the wind, all so it could end the Caped Baldy. We are still yet to see if God will attempt to end Saitama again, or work around his unfathomable strength.
The Other Giant Bodies
God often appears inside the minds of people, so it can be argued thatwhat they see isn’t real. Yet there are moments when we, the audience,get to see something the characters can’t, meaning that whatever we are seeing has to be real.
We get to see many things below the Monster Association, as Saitama, Flashy Flash, and Manako travel to the depths below the fortress.There they find a Mysterious Cube, talk to Blast, andpeer through a holewhere only darkness lies.
That darkness hidesa massive humanoid not unlike God itself, leading many to believe that it is indeed God. There was even a mural that showed how Orochi would be sacrificed so a gigantic humanoid would rise.
There is also a body inside the Moon, and we catch a glance of it while Saitama is fighting Garou.This might be the same body that rose to look at Homeless Emperor, although that could’ve been just an illusion.
We still don’t know if these bodies belong to the same entity, or if they are all something separate. So far, it seems thatthe body of God is the one on the Moon, and the death of Orochi might lead to a new God rising from the depths of the Earth.
