Apocalypse (character): Difference between revisions

Apocalypse
File:Apocalypse01.jpg Art by Dave DeVries
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	X-Factor #5 (June 1986)
Created by	Jackson Guice Louise Simonson
In-story information
Alter ego	En Sabah Nur (The First One)
Species	Human Mutant
Team affiliations	Four Horsemen (leader), Dark Riders/Riders of the Storm (leader) Alliance of Evil (employer) Clan Akkaba Sandstormers Riders of The Dark
Notable aliases	Huitzilopochtli, Set, Kali-Ma, Sauru, Son of The Morning Fire
Abilities	- Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, and intellect - Energy Manipulation - Shapeshifting - Teleportation - Flight - Telepathy - Telekinesis - Mind Transferal - Immortality

Apocalypse (En Sabah Nur) is a very powerful supervillain in the

, one of the foremost enemies of the X-Men. Apocalypse was created by Jackson Guice and Louise Simonson and first fully appeared in X-Factor #6 (June 1986). Apocalypse is a virtually immortal mutant bonded with extraterrestrial technology. He has a longstanding association with many X-Men characters.

Character Introduction

Apocalypse is one of the most powerful mutants in the Marvel universe, possessing a multitude of superhuman abilities, including almost unsurpassed strength, invulnerability and the ability to both shift and alter his mass and form.

Apocalypse is most often accompanied by four servants, the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse, a nod to the Horsemen of the Book of Revelation, and named after each.

Apocalypse is the second earliest known mutant (the first being Selene), born in mid-30th century BC Egypt. This is a direct contradiction with his name, meaning "the first one." After coming to mutant power, he appears as a death god in several ancient mythologies. However, he has been most active in the late 20th and early 21st centuries AD when mutants became a sizable part of the human population. He sees this as an age to implement his extreme Social Darwinist eugenic philosophy: only the fittest have the right to survive- and he gets to define who is fittest.

A popular X-Men adversary, he played vital roles in 1990s-era “event” storylines “The Age of Apocalypse” and “The Twelve.”

He was also featured prominently in the 1990s X-Men animated series, its successor X-Men: Evolution and the video game X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse.

Fictional character biography

The Rise of Apocalypse

Cover of The Rise Of Apocalypse #3, by Adam Pollina.

Apocalypse's story begins with his birth in mid-30th century BC Egypt during the First Dynasty. He was born gray-skinned and somewhat disfigured, a sign of doom, in the settlement of Akkaba and abandoned by his original parents. The child was left to die in the harsh desert sun. However, a roving band of feared nomad raiders, the Sandstormers, slaughtered the population. Their ruthless leader, Baal, found the child crying in rage, and believed him to have the potential to be a god. He raised the child as his own, naming him En Sabah Nur ("The First One") in anticipation of others like him. The tribe lived and died by the philosophy of survival of the fittest, with "fittest" being the toughest, most ruthless and pitiless.

As En Sabah Nur grew, he surpassed the other tribesmen in intelligence and strength. Everyone in the tribe except for Baal hated and feared him for his inhuman looks and great abilities. Nur did not understand their fear, but hardened his heart against it. Moreover, he believed in the principle that Baal and the tribe lived by, that only the fittest, tested by hardship, would, and should, survive. En Sabah Nur earned the right to adulthood at seventeen by surviving an endurance test in the desert: Nur killed three armed warriors of the tribe using only his bare hands. He and Baal were the only Sandstormers to survive when General Ozymandias attacked their camp.

They found refuge in a sacred cave, but it soon collapsed. After a week of wandering without food or water, they had found the remnants of a timeship within an underground Egyptian tomb. He told En Sabah Nur to continue on, spreading the Sandstormers' doctrine, with the ultimate goal being the removal of Rama-Tut, a man who arrived in a fantastic ship from the future and discovered by Baal, only to leave and become the Pharaoh of Egypt. Baal told Nur that he believed him to be a conqueror whose coming was foretold in ancient prophecies, and that Nur was in fact destined to overthrow Rama-Tut. Then Baal died from lack of nourishment, and Nur, whose mutant physiology kept him alive, vowed to take revenge on Rama-Tut and claim his destiny. When Nur reached the surface, he was quickly enslaved. While a slave, he kept his disfigured lips constantly covered, and Ozymandias' sister, Nephri, became attracted to the mysterious slave. Eventually he had a vision of the Egyptian death god Set, who urged him to become a conqueror.

En Sabah Nur caught the attention of the Pharaoh Rama-Tut, who was actually the time traveling Kang the Conqueror, who came back in time in order to locate the young Apocalypse and take him under his wing. Kang knew that Apocalypse, one of the most powerful mutants who ever lived, and the one who was destined to rule the world, had been born in ancient Egypt. Hence, Rama-Tut had gone back in time to find Apocalypse as a child, raise him, and thereby become the master of the most powerful being on the planet. Since Rama-Tut's mission failed, he decided to keep Apocalypse as a slave. En Sabah Nur was thrown into a pit of snakes, but survived when his powers activated. He revealed his face to Nephri, who rejected him for his appearance, and refused to bow to Rama-Tut, who also captured the Fantastic Four, who had traveled back in time. En Sabah Nur was shot by the Pharaoh with the same weapon he used to depower the Fantastic Four. En Sabah Nur was again left to die, but survived with the sudden emergence of his mutant immortality and mass shifting. Rama-Tut then fled, as Apocalypse's power flared. The Fantastic Four went back to their era. Apocalypse used his abilities to turn Ozymandias into a sand-like being, who would record Apocalypse's accomplishments throughout time. Years later, he revisited Nephri, now an ancient Egyptian Queen, and he mocked her dying beauty, as he was still as he had been years before. He walked away, leaving Egypt.

Early History

For centuries, he travels around the world, worshipped as a god wherever he goes. He is worshipped as Aten, Sauru, Set, Kali and Huitzilopochtli; although these beings also exist as separate entities in the Marvel Universe, Apocalypse's powers are such that he was easily confused with them. It is most likely that this is the same time that Nur began to have progeny, that faithfully followed him as the Clan Akkaba. Offspring of Apocalypse receive a portion of his power, those closest related having near identical abilities. He also frequently acts as a conqueror, raising armies to do his bidding.

Centuries later, revealed in X-Force #37, En Sabah Nur discovers a starship created by the alien Celestials in Mongolia. Apocalypse strikes down the ship's guardian, the immortal Saul, and enters the Ship. Unable to understand the technology inside he leaves again, searching the world for a key to the mysteries inside. In Cable & Deadpool #27, he finds this key when the time-traveller known as the Traveller, actually Cable, kills him. The Traveller's techno-organic blood is accidentally mixed with Apocalyse's and Ozymandias returns Apocalypse to the Ship. Inside, Apocalypse finds that his new techno-organic body can link to the Ship and make contact with it. He is transformed and enhanced by Celestial technology, becoming one of the most powerful mutants who will ever live.

An early Horseman of War, leading Apocalypse's armies (The Dark Riders), bests the man who would later become Dracula in single combat. Apocalypse ruthlessly delivers the final blow to him, but Vlad refuses to die.

During the 12th century, Apocalypse encounters crusader Bennet du Paris and awakens his latent mutant powers. Bennet almost immediately rebels but is soundly defeated. Apocalypse places him in suspended animation to remain until the late 20th century when Magneto revives him as his leading Acolyte, Exodus. Apocalypse enters long states of suspended animation to re-energize his body while he awaits for mutants to become more common, letting Clan Akkaba and Ozymandias to act in his stead while he sleeps.

Mister Sinister and Dracula

File:Apocdrac4.jpg

Cover to X-Men: Apocalypse Vs. Dracula # 4. Art by Jae Lee.

He emerges from stasis during Victorian Britain after being disturbed by the Marauders (as told in the Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix miniseries). During this time, he turns Nathaniel Essex into the being known as Mister Sinister, and turns some of his Marauders into techno-organic hybrids. He leaves one man to incubate for 100 years to emerge as his herald. However, Sinister rebels and infects Apocalypse with a super virus he had created, and Apocalypse is forced to re-enter his slumber. Still later, Sinister returns, this time to infect Apocalypse with a Techno Organic virus in the Cable 1999 annual.

In 1897, Apocalypse is woken by some followers in order to deal once more with Dracula, who is turning members of Clan Akkaba into vampires in order to battle Apocalypse, as revenge for his earlier defeat and the way the Dark Lord previously shamed him. Apocalypse kills one of his leaders as the price for awakening their master. Apocalypse, with Abraham Van Helsing, kills Dracula, although the master vampire would frequently return and suffer many more deaths. The continuation of the Akkaba line is secured by Ozymandias through a disabled but powerful teleporter named Frederick Slade mating with a woman referred to as Miss Ferguson. It can be assumed that Blink is a descendant of Slade's and Ferguson's offspring though it is unclear if her death also constitutes the end of the genetic line. It's also stated that Chamber is a member of this bloodline, since another surviving member of Clan Akkaba had the last name Starsmore and possessed the mutant ability to exhale gouts of flame. The Starsmore family never forgot about Apocalypse, although Chamber later rejected them.

The Awakening

Apocalypse awoke from his slumber by the arrival of the time-travelling mutant Cable, but spent many years hidden. Ironically, Cable had come to the present to prevent Apocalypse's awakening. During this time Nur gave weapons dealer Moses Magnum superhuman powers.

File:X-factor25.jpg

Cover to X-Factor #25. Art by Walter Simonson.

Eventually Apocalypse came into conflict with the original incarnation of X-Factor on repeated occasions, first as employer of the Alliance of Evil. Later, when X-Factor member Angel lost his wings, Apocalypse granted him artificial ones in exchange for his servitude. Angel accepted and was reborn as the Horseman Death, but he rebelled. Apocalypse left his Celestial Ship with X-Factor, and took the willing Morlock Caliban, who saw Apocalyse as a source of revenge for his fellow Morlocks killed in the Mutant Massacre. Apocalypse radically altered Caliban, who would later do Apocalypse's bidding in fighting the X-Men.

Apocalypse later returned to combat the High Evolutionary, and he took several Inhumans to create a team for him, first dubbed The Riders of the Storm, and later renamed simply The Dark Riders.

Apocalypse returned to infect Cyclops' son Nathan with the same Techno Organic Virus derived from the alien technology that gave him his powers. As a result, Nathan was sent to the future for a cure, where he became the time-traveling mutant warrior known as Cable.

Apocalypse again came into conflict with the X-Men, X-Factor, and X-Force when Cable's clone, Stryfe, traveled to the present and attempted to assassinate Professor X and frame Cable for the crime. At the end of this conflict, Apocalypse was apparently killed after a battle on the moon with his former servants, the Dark Riders, and left for dead by Archangel.

The Twelve

Apocalypse's dead body was recovered by Genesis, the son of Cable. Genesis, who took over command of the Dark Riders with a new team, wanted to become the heir of Apocalypse by restoring him to life. Genesis restored Apocalypse to life by sacrificing the lives of many people in villages neighboring Akkaba.

During this time, Wolverine was held captive by Genesis, who attempted to restore Wolverine's lost adamantium skeleton and claws and turn him into a Horseman as a gift for Apocalypse. However, Wolverine broke free and mutated into a feral state, and then killed Genesis and nearly all of the Dark Riders, with the exception of Gauntlet. During the fight, Cannonball opened the coffin containing Apocalypse's body, but found it empty.

The body was stolen by Ozymandias and Apocalypse was reborn in Uncanny X-Men #335 with Ozymandias at his side. He teamed up with Cable to oppose Onslaught, but Cable stopped him when he tried to kill Franklin Richards.

Later, the storyline of The Twelve unfolded (in January & February 2000). Supposedly lost diaries of the mutant seer Destiny surfaced, telling of twelve beings of fantastic power that could defeat Apocalypse once and for all. The Twelve legend, however, was a ruse created by Apocalypse himself; once the Twelve were assembled, he planned to use them to transform himself into a godlike entity beyond the Celestials. The Twelve, chosen not only for their mutant powers but also for the Jungian quasi-archetypes they represented, consisted of:

• Magneto and Polaris, representing opposing magnetic poles;
• Storm, Sunfire and Iceman, representing elementals;
• Cyclops, Phoenix and Cable, representing family (Father, Mother, Child), and chosen for the power of the Summers-Grey bloodline;
• Bishop and Mikhail Rasputin, representing time and space, respectively
• Professor X, representing the mind; and
• The Living Monolith as the core.

File:ApocalypseTwelve.jpg

Apocalypse is merged with Cyclops. Art by Alan Davis from X-Men (vol. 2) #97.

In an earlier storyline, dating to about 1987, The Twelve were supposed to be the future leaders of mutantkind whom the Master Mold was programmed to destroy. They included Cannonball and Mirage (then joint leaders of the New Mutants), Psylocke and Apocalypse himself, among others. Also included was a character called Ultiman, a future incarnation of Franklin Richards.) In Uncanny X-Men #1 it was revealed that it was Madame Sanctity of the Askani Sisterhood, the one who programmed the identities of the Twelve so they would be destroyed in order to prevent the rise of Apocalypse, though for some reason she did not program all the correct identities, seemingly to protect Cyclops, Phoenix and Cable.

Apocalypse planned to funnel the powers of the eleven mutants into The Living Monolith, and then from the Monolith into Nate Grey. As the power flowed into Nate, Apocalypse would possess Nate's body, which he had determined was the only physical body able to withstand such primal energies. Magneto had been weakened in some previous battles, however, so he could not supply enough energy to "complete the circuit," thus shorting it out.

File:Deathapoc.png

Cable kills Apocalypse's spirit.
Art by Tom Raney.

The Twelve escaped and confronted Apocalypse as he was preparing to transfer his essence into Nate. Cyclops jumped in the way of the transfer, saving Nate, but Apocalypse merged with Cyclops instead, giving birth to a whole new horror (unofficially dubbed by some fans as "Cyclopalypse"). Although he did not achieve the godhood he wished, Apocalypse's power was expanded to an incredible degree and he managed to escape in Cyclops' body, with Jean Grey the only one who believed her husband still survived within the form.

After teleporting away, an amnesiac and powerless Cyclops regained control of the merged form. As Apocalypse began to re-emerge, however, Jean and Cable were alerted to his location, and she finally managed to free Cyclops by telepathically forcing Apocalypse's spirit out of her husband's body. Apocalypse was rendered an incorporeal astral form, and Cable took advantage of the opportunity to apparently destroy him, sundering his spirit with his Psimitar.

Return

File:XMEN182COV.png

Cover to X-Men (v2) #182. Art by Salvador Larroca.

The techno-organic virus, which Apocalypse long ago infected Cable with, was also revealed to be the means by which Apocalypse's spirit reconstituted itself. With only a drop of his blood into a vat of organs and blood, the virus would rewrite the genetic code of the material within to form a body for Apocalypse. Due to the events of M-Day, in which most of the mutants lost their powers, Apocalypse was revealed to be alive and well, and awoke from a slumber in a tomb in Akkaba, recalling:

"Across the world-- helpless mutants slaughtered. Pogroms. Horror. ...Something has woken me from my slumber. Once, a sudden surge in worldwide mutant power stirred me from a similar sleep. Now-- a plummet in global mutant capacity-- has opened my eyes".

Mike Marts said of the character's return:

"Apocalypse, at his core, has always been about ensuring that the mutant race is strong enough to survive whatever hardships it might encounter. Now, after the events of M-Day, the mutant race is at its all-time low…so if there was ever a time where the mutant race needed a savior, it’s now. And En Sabah Nur intends to be that savior."

Reappearing inside a Sphinx-shaped ship on the front lawn of the X-Mansion, Apocalypse had three new Horsemen: Gazer (War), Sunfire (Famine) and Polaris (Pestilence). While at the mansion, one of the X-Men switched sides to become a new Horseman Death: Gambit, so he could keep an eye on Apocalypse, although his mind was frayed as a result. He also swayed some of the 198 to side, including Skids, Scalphunter and Fever Pitch.

Cable also revealed that he was responsible for Apocalypse's revival, stating that the mutant community needed a powerful threat to rally against. Believing that the X-Men would inevitably defeat Apocalypse yet again and that it would bring the remaining mutant community together, Cable judged "the risks worth the rewards."

Apocalypse reminded Cable that even if he is defeated, he will return stronger than before, to which Cable responded. "Good, the world needs you to be stronger, Apocalypse....It's always helped us be stronger."

In fact there is still another force struggling to keep Apocalypse alive, one that showed its cards when the mutant was going to meet his final, previous, demise at the hands of the X-Men. It was discovered that the Celestials lent their technology to him, requiring as payment greater sufferings later. Apocalypse was going to embrace death as an escape from his lifelong pact, when the Celestials returned him to life. The time for payment has finally come. Template:Endspoiler

Powers and Abilities

Apocalypse is one of the most powerful mutants in the Marvel Universe. He can alter the atomic structure of his body at will in order to change his form, this ability also grants him any physical superhuman power, therefore making him extremely powerful. After exposure to the Celestial Ship, this ability along with all of Apocalypse's other powers, have been enhanced far beyond their original limits.

He can alter his appearance or the size of his body: he can transform his arms and fists into various melee weapons and grant himself potentially limitless superhuman strength and grow to enormous sizes, shapeshift his appearance and form, give himself flight, and more. He also can generate energy due to a combination of his mutant power and Celestial technology in his body.

Apocalypse's powers seems to change according to the story's need and/or the creative team's desires. Apocalypse has at certain times, demonstrated many unusal abilites, such as time manipulation, life creation; he once created a powerful mantis creature from nothing. Matter re-arrangement; he transformed Ozymandias from normal man into a being of pure stone that can move like a man. So far, he has shown: telekinesis, telepathy, energy absorption, invulnerability, super speed, creation of force fields, concussive force burst projection of some unknown energy, and can augment himself further by drawing on various outside energy sources. Apocalypse also has repeatedly shown the ability to teleport himself and other beings (it is unclear if he required amplifying technology to do some of these things).

Apocalypse's original body was immortal. Even before being modified by the Celestial ship, he lived for thousands of years and was highly resistant to injury. With the Celestial modifications, this resistance to harm was amplified, although it is still possible to cause him injury that would not be immediately regenerated by his power. Should he suffer massive injuries that prove potentially fatal, he can enter a coma-like state of suspended animation during which he may recover from his wounds with the assistance of his Celestial technology.

On top of these abilities, Apocalypse has used host bodies of robot-like forms to house his frail body, as demonstrated shortly before he merged with Cyclops: he was an old man inside a hollow shell. It is speculated that this occurred somewhere between his 'death' on the moon at the hands of the Dark Riders and his return shortly before the Twelve storyline.

In the future timeline from which Cable hails, Apocalypse's physical form was no longer able to contain his superhuman energies resulting in his original body burning out. Hence, he transferred his consciousness and powers into a succession of host bodies, abandoning each one when it too grew too old to contain his power. This alternate future version of Apocalypse was ultimately defeated in transit from a depreciated body into a potential host body.

Aside from his superhuman powers, Apocalypse is also extraordinarily intelligent, a genius with knowledge of science and technology far beyond that of conventional science and technology. This was not merely a result of his exposure to alien technology, as he was able to make significant new advances beyond the alien materials to which he was exposed. In the X-Cutioner's Song saga (Part X), even Beast needed Apocalypse's peerless expertise in biology to aid Xavier.

Servants and Allies

As mentioned above, aside from the Four Horsemen, Apocalypse has empowered a number of servants. These include Ozymandias, Exodus, Sinister, the Harbinger of Apocalypse and Moses Magnum.

Apocalypse is also worshipped by a number of cults, like Clan Akkaba and the Dark Riders, and individuals, such as the feline mutant Anais, who still roam the world.

First mutant?

Apocalypse often claims to be the first mutant. It is unclear whether this is true. Selene is possibly much older than he, as she claims to date back to the times of Conan and Kulan Gath. Saul and Azazel are also said to be older, although it is unclear at which point their mutations manifested. With Saul now dead and Azazel trapped in another dimension, the title of oldest mutant on Earth is still disputed between Selene and Apocalypse.

He was thought to be one of the Externals for some time. Recently, Selene claimed that this was not possible. According to Selene, Apocalypse is not a "true" immortal because he depends on technology to enhance his powers. Many claim that Selene's argument is irrational; Apocalypse was alive for several centuries before enhancing himself with technology.

In other Marvel Comics continuities

Ultimate X-Men

In Ultimate X-Men, set in the Ultimate Marvel continuity, Apocalypse appears as an entity worshipped by Sinister. It is not clear whether this Apocalypse is real or just a piece of fiction in the insane mind of his believer. In Sinister's apartment, he spoke to an Apocalypse which was a stuffed effigy, but while Sinister was imprisoned in the Triskelion, Apocalypse appeared to Essex (though whether or not this was just a hallucination is unknown) and commanded him to choke himself.

The Age of Apocalypse

File:Ageofapoc.jpg

Panel from X-Men Alpha, from the Age of Apocalypse art by Roger Cruz & Steve Epting.

When Professor X's son Legion traveled back in time to kill Magneto before he would become a supervillain, he instead accidentally killed his own father. This resulted in an alternate timeline in which Magneto, not Professor X, founded the X-Men, and in which Jean Grey never became the Phoenix. In this timeline, the Age of Apocalypse, Apocalypse arose ten years before he was awoken by Cable and set out to conquer most of North America with the aid of thousands of mutants at his command. He succeeded, though the world stood at the edge of destruction. Meanwhile, the disturbance of the timeline leads to a crystallization wave of the M'Kraan Crystal that is heading toward Earth...

However, Apocalypse's regime lasts only twenty years. While the empire has the power to destroy the world, it is slowly falling apart. Apocalypse has to deal with the X-Men as well as the Human High Council, while his Horsemen are each involved in their personal plots: Sinister secretly plans on destroying Apocalypse while Mikhail Rasputin has disappeared in order to establish his own personal domain; and while remaining loyal, Holocaust and Abyss are involved in their personal struggles. In the end, when it seems Apocalypse will remain victorious, he suffers an attack from all X-Men and their allies and ends up killed by Magneto himself.

House Of M

Approximately 5,000 years old, Apocalypse is a virtually immortal mutant. By the end of the Mutant-Human War, Apocalypse is seen as one of Magneto's most trusted lieutenants, but it was not always that way. The two came to blows early in the war, battling over the right to lead mutantkind. Apocalypse lost, but instead of destroying him, Magneto offered Apocalypse a place by his side. Apocalypse, surprised by his rival's generosity, accepted the offer. Magneto gave Apocalypse a crucial mission - to free the hundreds of captured mutants held in mutant camps across the United States. Apocalypse succeeded, and those freed mutants were crucial in the eventual mutant victory. When the House of M arose to rule the world, Apocalypse was given all of Egypt as his personal kingdom. He and his horsemen then began to rebuild many of the pyramids and monuments that were destroyed over the millennia.

He seems to be killed in this dimension (and in this dimension only) by a single word uttered by the Inhuman Black Bolt, during a Magneto-ordered mission whose goal was to kill the Black Panther (who had already killed Magneto's assassin Sabretooth, beheading him with a sword). There's no actual sign of Apocalypse's corpse, but given that he was at point-blank range when Black Bolt totally destroyed the landscape with his voice, it's most unlikely that he survived.

Appearances in other media

Animation

X-Men, The Animated Series

File:Apoctas.jpg

Apocalypse, as he appeared on the X-Men animated series.

Apocalypse made several appearances in the X-Men animated television series. He was voiced by John Colicos and then by Robert Bockstael.

This Apocalypse wants to pit humans and mutants in a war and rule the stronger race. His first appearance is part of a plotline revolving around an offer to "cure" mutations. It is eventually revealed that Mystique is behind the supposed cure, which will actually work to transform mutants into the Horsemen of Apocalypse.

Apocalypse also appears in a storyline revolving around Cable. In this story, Apocalypse masquerades as a member of the Friends of Humanity, creating a Techno-Organic virus. In Cable's future (3999), Apocalypse still wages his war against humanity and mutantkind, opposed by Cable and his Clan Chosen.

In the Beyond Good and Evil storyline, towards the end of the series, Apocalypse attempted to attain godhood by kidnapping telepaths and using them to harness the power of the Axis of Time. He wanted to kill them, in order to release a wave of psychic energy powerful enough to destroy everything outside the Axis. Apocalypse then wanted to re-create the universe in his own image. Upon his defeat he was forever trapped in the Axis, while his Lazarus Chamber, which he used to periodically regenerate himself, was destroyed. However, in one of the final episodes of the series, Apocalypse is shown to be reborn in the body of Fabian Cortez, whom Apocalypse had turned into his servant prior to the Axis of Time events.

In this animated version, Apocalypse was vastly more powerful than his comic book counterpart. Apocalypse was depicted many times as an invincible opponent. He was invulnerable to apparently all forms of physical harm; Gambit flew a plane into Apocalypse with no effect, and he withstood numerous energy blasts from Cyclops without a scratch. Not even Wolverine's adamantium claws where shown able to cut through his armored body. Enraged with the X-Men for foiling his plans with the Techno-Organic virus, he grew several hundred feet in height and vaporized the X-Men with energy blasts (this however was reversed through time travel by Cable). His powers also included shape-shifting, teleportation, force field generation, and flight.

X-Men: Evolution

File:Apocevo.png

Apocalypse's two incarnations in X-Men: Evolution.

In the animated series X-Men: Evolution, Apocalypse was first mentioned in a single episode of the second season. The last half of the third season focused on the battle to stop Apocalypse from waking, and he became the main villain for the fourth and final season of the series. He is played by David Kaye.

The origin of this version of Apocalypse is largely the same as the one created in the comics. In the series, Apocalypse had discovered a device left by Rama-Tut (never explicitly said to be Kang) called the Eye of Ages that would turn all humans on Earth into mutants (similar to the device used by Magneto in the X-Men movie, but on a global scale). When Apocalypse tried to power the device, he was weakened, and his high priests, afraid of his power, imprisoned him inside the Eye of Ages and then took him to the top of the Himalayan Mountains and imprisoned him behind three doors.

Centuries later, Apocalypse would be able to use telepathy to reach the world outside his prison and used the hypnotist Mesmero to help unlock the doors. The final door required Mesmero to enlist the aid of Rogue and Mystique—Rogue would use her energy-absorbing power to absorb enough energy from other mutants to revive Apocalypse, and Mystique would use her shape-shifting abilities to unlock the door (turning her to stone in the process). The X-Men and Magneto worked together to stop Mesmero, but they were too late. The awakened Apocalypse defeated them all in an instant and vanished.

Apocalypse's master plan included uncovering pyramids in Mexico, China, and Egypt that would help to relay the Eye of Ages' mutating effect across the globe. To help protect these pyramids, Apocalypse enslaved Magneto, Professor X, Storm, and Mystique to guard the three pyramids and the base hidden under the Sphinx. The X-Men gathered their allies (including modified Sentinels under the command of S.H.I.E.L.D) and launched an offensive against the pyramids. In the end, Rogue stopped Apocalypse by using the power she absorbed from Leech to shut off his mutant abilities and trap him in the Eye of Ages. Wolverine then sent Apocalypse through time using the vessel that Rama-Tut had used to arrive in ancient Egypt. Apocalypse was not killed, but his destination was unknown. After his defeat, Wolverine and Rogue think they may not be lucky and seeing the last of Apocalypse won't be possible. If there had been a fifth season, Apocalypse could have returned.

In the series, Apocalypse was originally depicted as a god-like pharaoh with an ethereal white glow. Unlike his comic book counterpart, this version of Apocalypse never spoke, and his powers were never defined. He displays high levels of telekinetic and telepathic abilities, as well as various energy based powers and teleportation to size-alteration. In the final episodes of the series, Apocalypse used Rama-Tut's technology to become a cybernetic being closer to the comic book version, and he began to speak in the grand, self-important tone with which older fans were familiar. Some critics felt the producers had done this to pander to traditionalist fans, feeling that the silent, god-like Apocalypse felt more like a real menace than the talkative, cyborg version he reverted to.

Video games

VS series

File:Apoc gif.gif

Apocalypse in X-Men vs. Street Fighter.

Apocalypse appears as one of the boss characters in the X-Men vs. Street Fighter and Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter games. He appears initially as in the picture at left, but then grows to an enormous size after screaming "I AM THE APOCALYPSE!!!", far too big to fit on a single screen. His main weapon and weak point is his gigantic fist, which can turn into various weapons that do major damage when it strikes the player's character. Although he was the main boss in X-Men vs. Street Fighter, he was downgraded to a sub-boss in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter with a cyborg version of Akuma called "Cyber-Akuma" (Mech-Gouki in the Japanese version) taking his former spot. It was revealed that Apocalypse captured Akuma and transformed him into a cyborg with incredible power, which made him extremely difficult to defeat.

X2: Wolverine's Revenge

Apocalypse also made a minor appearance in an ending to X2: Wolverine's Revenge and was voiced by Chris Smith.

File:Apocalypselegends.png

Apocalypse, as he appears in the X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse video game. He looks very similar to that of the Apocalypse from the Ultimate X-Men, which follows the trend of the other character designs in the game.

X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse

Apocalypse makes a cameo appearance in the ending to X-Men Legends and he was voiced by Dan Hay. This cameo appearance leads up to his role as the main villain in the sequel, X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse.

In X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, Apocalypse is the primary villain. The game begins with the X-Men and Brotherhood joining forces, both of whom have "grievances with Apocalypse." Apocalypse is looking for mutants with "Harmonic DNA" which he would use to power a device that would essentially make himself invincible. He eventually found four mutants: Polaris, Quicksilver, Emma Frost, and Sabretooth. He also kidnapped Beast, using him to translate Nuwali symbols to explain about the device, and has Mr. Sinister drug Beast, controlling his mind and turning him into a spy for Apocalypse. He later kidnaps Angel, transforming him into the Horseman Death, which parallels the comic storyline in which Angel becomes Archangel, and serves Apocalypse as Death. Apocalypse loses control of the harmonic power after being pushed to use it by the X-Men and Brotherhood. This shouldn't have happened, and it is hinted at the very end of the game that Mr. Sinister sabotaged the device, also hinting that he may be the primary villain, should there be an X-Men Legends III.

Trivia

• According to the writers at Marvel, "En Sabah Nur" translates to "The First One" in Arabic. However, the phrase actually translates into something more akin to "Good Morning". The reason is that the term is grammatically incorrect, as it should be "Sabah an-Nur", assuming that was what the Marvel writers were shooting for. It can also mean "The Seven Lights"; with “Sabah” literally meaning “seven” and “Nur” meaning “light” in Arabic. This is interesting for Islam depicts the eternal afterlife as having seven heavens, and could be a direct reference to his god-like powers. This is wrong, actually; "Sabah" does not mean "seven" in Arabic. "Seven" in Arabic would be pronounced "seb-aa". The whole "Seven Lights"/link to Islam is rather far-fetched and simply wrong.

In any case, since Apocalypse was born thousands of years before modern Arabic existed, this must either be a translation of his true name, or it is a name in Proto-Semitic that simply coincidentally resembles Arabic words. See the talk page for an analysis of what Apocalypse's name might be in Ancient Egyptian. Possibly the writers came up with his name based on the wrong assumption that, although Egyptians today use Arabic, their ancient ancestors would also, even though it is established that the ancient Egyptians did not. Had they known, they probably would have given him a less Arabic sounding name.

• A little known fact is that Apocalypse was created as a last minute replacement for the Owl, a Daredevil villain who original X-Factor writer Bob Layton wanted to use as X-Factor's main villain. When Layton was removed from the book and replaced with Louise Simonson, she requested that the last page of X-Factor #5 be changed to a shadowy figure named Apocalypse, as Simonson wanted a new character to be the main villain for the book. [1]
• Apocalypse was once planned to be the mastermind behind the Weapon X project that gave Wolverine his adamantium skeleton.
• During his run on Cable, Robert Weinberg actually planned a rather complex series of circumstances that would have revealed that Apocalypse was in fact the Third Summers Brother all along, but Weinberg left the book before he could go along with his plan. [2]

Bibliography

• Black Knight: Exodus
• Cable and Deadpool #26-27
• Cable Annual 1999
• Cable vol. 2 #-1, 19, 34-35, 44-53, 64, 66-68, 74-76
• Classic X-Men #25
• Eternals: Apocalypse Now
• Fantastic Four vol. 1 #335, 415
• Further Adventures of Cyclops & Phoenix #1-4
• Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #455-457
• Magneto Rex #3
• New Excalibur #9
• Power Pack vol. 1 #35
• Rise of Apocalypse #1-4
• She-Hulk vol. 2 #29-30
• Thor vol. 1 #373-374
• Uncanny X-Men #295-296, 335-336, 376-378
• Wolverine vol. 2 #100, 145-146
• Wolverine: Jungle Adventure
• X-Factor Annual #3
• X-Factor vol. 1 #4-6, 10-13, 15, 17-28, 49-51, 53, 65-68, 85-86
• X-Force vol. 1 #17-18, 37, 70
• X-Man #59
• X-Men vol. 1 #118-119
• X-Men vol. 2 #14-16, 41, 90, 93-98 178-179, 181-186
• X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula #1-4
• X-Men: Search for Cyclops #1-4

External links

• Marvel Database entry for Apocalypse
• "Apocalyptic Accounts" at UncannyXmen.net
• Apocalypse at the Marvel Universe Character Bio Wiki
• Apocalypse (House of M) at the Marvel Universe Character Bio Wiki
• Apocalypse (Age of Apocalypse at the Marvel Universe Character Bio Wiki