Apocalypse (comics)

Apocalypse (En Sabah Nur) is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Louise Simonson and artist Jackson Guice, he first appeared in X-Factor vol. 1, #5 (June 1986). An immortal born at the dawn of mankind, En Sabah Nur is one of the oldest mutants on the planet. After bonding with extraterrestrial technology, he was forever altered into something beyond mutant. Apocalypse is among the most fearsome villains in the Marvel universe. He believes in his merciless Social Darwinist philosophy: only the fittest have the right to survive — and he gets to define who is fittest. Apocalypse works behind-the-scenes, weeding out the unfit through global war and conflict. He has played a major role in the X-Men franchise, and is one of the primary antagonists of the superhero team, especially Cable, a time-traveller who came to the past to destroy Apocalypse and prevent his future domination of the world. Apocalypse has been featured in almost all X-Men related media, including animated series and video games.

Publication history

X-Factor #6 (July 1986): Apocalypse's first full appearance. Cover art by Ron Frenz and Joe Rubenstein.

Original X-Factor writer Bob Layton intended to use the Daredevil villain Owl as the main villain for the mutant team, X-Factor. When he however 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 unseen character named Apocalypse, as Simonson wanted a new character to be the main villain for the book. ^[1] The character would go on and make his initial full appearance in the #6 issue. In X-Factor #24 (1988), the character's background was explored. Though his first traditional appearance was in the pages of the 1st series of X-Factor, retcons have identified the unnamed benefactor of the Living Monolith from the Marvel Graphic Novel #17 (1985) as in fact Apocalypse in disguise. ^[2] The X-Men villain Moses Magnum, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men #119 (1978), was later retconed as having been a minion of Apocalypse in Classic X-Men vol. 1, #25 (1988). Apocalypse was the principal adversary in X-Factor, until being apparently killed at the climax of issue #68 (July 1991). Apocalypse was resurrected for the 1992 crossover; X-Cutioner's Song, in X-Men vol. 2, #14. However, the villain would swiftly face death again by the the end of the story in X-Force vol. 1, #18. His real name - En Sabah Nur - is revealed for the first time in X-Force vol. 1, #37 (1994); in the same issue, Apocalypse is believed to be one of the "Externals", due to his mutant ability of immortality. Apocalypse was supposed to have remained dead after the X-Cutioner's Song but would be brought back to life; excluding the Age of Apocalypse storyline, Apocalypse returned in Uncanny X-Men #335, part of the Onslaught crossover in 1996. Apocalypse's origin story was detailed in his own four-issue miniseries in 1996; titled, The Rise of Apocalypse, written by Terry Kavanagh and pencilled by Adam Pollina. Apocalypse has made prominent appearances, usually in entire story arcs or crossovers, such as The Twelve, the Age of Apocalypse.The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, The Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, Askani'son, X-Men: Search for Cyclops, and Black Knight: Exodus While the action in most of these stories was not centered around him, the characters involved were heavily affected by him. In 2006, Apocalypse had another four-issue miniseries, X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula. During his run on Cable, Robert Weinberg had 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. ^[3] During the character's early appearances, Walter Simonson once planned for Apocalypse to be the mastermind behind the Weapon X project that gave Wolverine his adamantium skeleton. Creator Louise Simonson characterized Apocalypse as an ancient, powerful, and mysterious villain, with concerns of the evolution of mankind and how it must progress; he tests mankind to provide his own form of natural selection, culling the weak from the strong in order for humanity to grow stronger. Since leaving the character, writer from writer throughout the years have portrayed the villain differently, sometimes as a malevolent and megalomaniacal tyrant, bent on conquering the world, as the self-considered 'fittest'/'most deserving'.^[4]

Fictional character biography

The Rise of Apocalypse

En Sabah Nur, as featured on the cover of The Rise of Apocalypse #1. Pencils by Adam Pollina and inks by Mark Morales & Harry Candelario.

The story of Apocalypse begins 3000 BC (approximately 5,000 years ago) Egypt during the First Dynasty. He was born gray-skinned and with his characteristic disfigured lips, 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 (translates into "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 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 before it collapsed. ^[5] After a week of wandering without food or water, they found the remnants of a timeship inside an underground Egyptian tomb. Baal told En Sabah Nur to continue spreading the Sandstormers' doctrine, with the ultimate goal being the removal of Rama-Tut, a man from the future who had arrived in a fantastic ship and had 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. When Baal died from lack of nourishment, Nur, who survived thanks to his mutant physiology, vowed to take revenge on Rama-Tut and claim his destiny. When Nur reached the surface, he was quickly enslaved. ^[6] While a slave, he kept his disfigured lips constantly covered, and Ozymandias' sister, Nephri, became attracted to the mysterious slave. Eventually he experienced a vision of the Egyptian death god Set, who urged him to become a conqueror. En Sabah Nur caught the attention of the Pharaoh, in actuality a time-travelling earlier incarnation of Kang the Conqueror, who had come back in time to locate the young Apocalypse and take him under his wing. Kang knew that Apocalypse, one of the most powerful mutants who ever lived, was destined to rule the world, and 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 his master. Since Rama-Tut's mission failed, he decided to keep Apocalypse as a slave. ^[7] 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 by this time had captured the likewise time-traveling Fantastic Four by using a futuristic weapon. The pharaoh shot Nur with the same gun, and the latter was once more left to die, but survived with the sudden emergence of his prodigious mutant abilities, he renamed himself Apocalypse. Rama-Tut fled the former slave's rampage, as the Fantastic Four went back to their own era. Nur also enslaved his former tormentor Ozymandias by using Rama-Tut's advanced technology to turn him into a blind seer made of living stone, and would take advantage of the latter's ability to chronicle his future destinies. Years later, Apocalypse revisited Nephri, now an ancient Egyptian Queen, he mocked her dying beauty, as he was still as he had been years before. He walked away, leaving Egypt. ^[8]

Early centuries

As the millennia passed, Nur traveled around the world and appearing throughout history, encouraging civilizations to worship him as a death god in several ancient mythologies, and testing their strength by manipulating them into fighting wars of conquest. ^[9] He begin to beget progeny, who faithfully followed him as the Clan Akkaba. Offspring of Apocalypse receive a portion of his power; those closest related having near identical abilities. ^[10] En Sabah Nur at some point would discover a starship created by the god-like Celestials. Apocalypse makes contact with it, transforming and enhancing himself with the advanced technology. ^[11] Apocalypse now enters long states of suspended animation, while he waits for mutants to become more common, leaving Clan Akkaba and Ozymandias to act in his stead while he sleeps. In 1495, an early Horseman of War, leading Apocalypse's armies (Riders of the Dark), bests the man who would later become Dracula in single combat. Apocalypse ruthlessly delivers the final blow to him, but Vlad refuses to die. ^[12] Apocalypse would encounter crusader Bennet du Paris and awakens his latent mutant powers. Bennet almost immediately rebels but is soundly defeated by Apocalypse, who places him in suspended animation, where he remains until centuries later when Magneto revives him as his leading Acolyte, Exodus. ^[13] In 1859, Apocalypse is stumbled upon and awaken by the Marauders, a group of criminals hired by a British scientist named Nathaniel Essex. At the same time, The mutant heroes Cyclops and Phoenix had been sent back through time by the Clan Askani, a sisterhood dedicated to opposing Apocalypse from a distant future. ^[14] Once introduced to one another, Apocalypse learned through Essex the scientific term for beings like himself – mutants. Coercing Essex and members of the Hellfire Club into working as his agents, Apocalypse plotted the first steps in his quest for global conflict on an unprecedented scale. ^[15] He used his advanced technology to mutate Nathaniel into a being now called Mister Sinister, ^[16] and commanded him to create a plague to ravage and transmute the population of the world. Close to victory, Apocalypse is suddenly greatly weakened, and Cyclops and Phoenix manage to defeat him. It is revealed that Sinister had betrayed Apocalypse, seeing his vision of the future as madness, Sinister had instead created a plague that attacked only Apocalypse. However, Apocalypse's capability to adapt his body to any diseases (or environment) allowed him to survive. Upon re-entering his hibernation sanctuary, and teleporting away, Apocalypse forgave Sinister for his treachery, seeing strength in Sinister's defiance, although, but with the understanding that it would not be tolerated again. ^[17] In 1897, Apocalypse is once more woken, this time by his followers, in order to deal with Dracula, who is turning members of Clan Akkaba into vampires to battle Apocalypse, as revenge for his earlier defeat and the way the Dark Lord previously shamed him. 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. ^[18] At the cusp of the 20th century, Apocalypse emerges alongside Mister Sinister and again enlistes the aid of his servant, but only to be betrayed yet again, this time infecting his master once more with a virus. Apocalypse however was aware of this second betrayal from the start and had hoped that Sinister would still join his cause nevertheless. Returning to his regenerative hibernation, he instructs his now former servant that they should never see each other again. ^[19]

Modern Age

Apocalypse had spent many years hidden, but awoke from his slumber by the arrival of the mysterious time-traveling mutant Cable (ironically, Cable had come to the present to prevent the ancient mutant's awakening). Awakened almost a century earlier than he had planned, Apocalypse decided to examine the world and determine its conditions for testing. He would grant superhuman powers to the terrorist known as Moses Magnum,^[20] who did his bidding by testing the strong and winnowing the weak. Apocalypse employed a group of mutants, the Alliance of Evil. Under his guidance they acted as mutant terrorists, primarily defying the Mutant Registration Act. Apocalypse ordered them capture Michael Nowlan. He planned use the mutant's ability to amplify mutant powers in order to provide mutantkind with unlimited power. This plan was foiled by the interferences of the original X-Factor team.^[21] Apocalypse later had begun recruiting mutants to serve as his Four Horsemen:

• The Morlock Plague to become Pestilence^[22]
• A war veteran to become War^[23]
• An anorexic girl to become Famine.^[24]
• Angel, whom Apocalypse saved from an exploding plane and granted him artificial wings (after he had lost his own natural wings) in exchange for his servitude, and the X-Factor member was reborn as Death.^[25]

Apocalypse planned to use his Horsemen to destroy New York; he summoned the X-Factor to his cloaked ship, which floated invisibly, above the city. Apocalypse had become interested in the group of mutants and had studied them, monitored their activities and researched their origins and motives, learning of Professor Xavier and the X-Men.^[26] Apocalypse explained his scheme to unleash his Horsemen, and offered X-Factor a place at his side. In the end, The Horsemen were defeated by X-Factor, thanks to the help of both the reformed Angel as well as Power Pack. Apocalypse left his Celestial Ship for them and in return, took the willing Morlock Caliban. ^[27] Afterwards, the X-Factor become public celebrities and uses the ship as their new headquarters. However, Apocalypse secretly takes some control over the ship, and it starts to fight the X-Factor, but they regain control. Apocalypse with his remaining Horsemen leave to one of his bases at Mount Everest, planning to work on Caliban's transformation. ^[28] During the "Evolutionary War", Apocalypse opposed the High Evolutionary's ideals and fought him.^[29] Apocalypse soon genetically manipulates Caliban into his Horseman, Death. Apocalypse himself then would be confronted by the Norse god Loki, who wanted him to join in his "Acts of Vengeance". ^[30] Apocalypse eventually freed Caliban from his control, and the mutant returned to the Morlock tunnels. ^[31] Over a few months later, Apocalypse had conquered the city of Attilan, home of the Inhumans, and enslaved part of its population. He selectes and mutates six Inhumans to form a group he calls, the Riders of the Storm (named after his earliest army). ^[32]

Sins of the Future

X-Factor vol. 1, #68 (July 1991). Cover art by Whilce Portacio and Art Thibert.

Since the Inferno conflict, Apocalypse had learned of Sinister's intentions behind the son of Scott Summers and, more or less, Jean Grey: Nathan Christopher Charles Summers. Apocalypse sensed the child would grow up to be a powerful mutant and possible threat one day. He also detected that the infant's energy signature was the same as the one that awakened him years ago.^[33] Apocalypse sends his Riders of the Storm to Earth to abduct the child. ^[34] Through the help of Black Bolt and the Inhuman Royal Family, the X-Factor attacks Apocalypse's lunar stronghold. Apocalypse imprisons the X-Factor and plans to drain away the energies of Nathan and of X-Factor, but Black Bolt and the Inhumans freed them. Apocalypse in the end is defeated by Cyclops himself through the combined strength of Nathan, Jean and his own. However, the young Nathan had been infected with a deadly techno-organic virus, and is sent to the future with a woman named Askani to be cured.^[35] In the future, Apocalypse is revealed to have overthrown the world up till the 39th century.^[36] He becomes aware of the young Nathan's presence in that time, but only succeeded in kidnapping a clone of the child which the Askani had created. Not knowing this second child to be a clone, Apocalypse ceased his hunt for the real Nathan. Raised under the tutelage of Apocalypse, the clone grew up to become the mutant terrorist known as Stryfe.^[37] By this time, Apocalypse's body had grown too feeble due to the vast energies at his command, and need to wore a bio-armor ^[38], but it wasn't enough; he needs also to transfer his mind and powers into host bodies in order to stay alive.^[39] He planned to transfer his consciousness and power into Stryfe's. After so many millennia of menacing humanity, the elderly Apocalypse finally perished in combat with the (real) teenage Nathan, who would grow up to become the warrior Cable, ^[40] and travels back to the past in order to prevent this dark future from happening. In the present, Apocalypse survived his believed death at the moon; his minions, the Riders (now calling themselves The Dark Riders) took his body back to Earth to one of his revjunation chambers for revivement. However, Apocalypse is prematurely awoken from his hibernation process by the Riders. Enraged, Apocalypse demanded to know why he was revived. The Riders informed their master of recent event: his horsemen (War, Famine and Caliban) had kidnapped Cyclops and Jean Grey, supposedly under his instructions (in actuality, Mister Sinister, who was posing as Apocalypse).^[41]

Art from Cable vol. 2, #19 (January 1995), a dark figure stirred in the shadows at the end of the issue, and it is apparent that is Apocalypse. Pencils by Steve Skroce.

Apocalypse goes to his Horsemen's base for answers but finds them defeated by the X-Men. After defeating them, ^[42] Apocalypse arrives at a safe house of Cable, where he immediately realize that his weaponry are based on his work and his technology. It took him but a moment to come to the correct conclusion that Cable was in fact a time traveler from the future and that he himself ruled this future.^[43] Apocalypse's regeneration cycle is once again interrupted, this time by a Stryfe, who has come to kill him. Apocalypse is easily bested in his weakened state, and escapes. But in his departure, Apocalypse loses his Riders, as they change their allegiances to Stryfe. Apocalypse confronts Xavier's students of joining forces to defeat their commen foe ^[44], and cures Professor Xavier of the techno-organic virus as payment for sanctuary. ^[45] The conflict came to an apex at Apocalypse's own former base on the moon. ^[46] Due to his two recent attempts at regeneration interrupted (and after a brief fight with the Dark Riders), the ancient mutant lay dying during the battle, and it seemed, Apocalypse was no more. ^[47] The Dark Riders soon found a new mutant to follow; Cable's son, Tyler, ^[48] who had travelled to the present to exact revenge on his father and ensure Apocalypse's rise. He adopted the name of Genesis, and considered himself the new heir of Apocalypse. He recovered Apocalypse's dead body to resurrect him back 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 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. During the fight, Cannonball opened the coffin containing Apocalypse's body, but found it empty. ^[49]

Onslaught

Apocalypse was reborn with Ozymandias at his side, and quickly learns of the present danger; Onslaught. ^[50] Observing the conflict between the psionic entity and Earth's heroes with Uatu the Watcher, the cosmic alien suggested to Apocalypse a course of action; an alliance with the one who hated him the most, Cable. ^[51] Convincing his eternal enemy of a short alliance, Apocalypse surmised that Onslaught would be most vulnerable through the astral plane, and that he needed Cable for actual physical transportation to this realm. Once on the astral plane, Apocalypse would remove the captive Franklin Richards, greatly weakening Onslaught. The plan succeeded, but was interrupted by the Invisible Woman, who had invisibly accompanied the pair, having suspected Apocalypse's motive in wanting to actually kill her son. Unfortunately, the reprieve in battle gave Onslaught the time to escape, prolonging the conflict. ^[52] Despite the failure of Apocalypse's plan, Onslaught was eventually defeated. ^[53]

Hulk

After the Onslaught saga, Apocalypse would recruit the Hulk ^[54] to become the third incarnation of War, by being supplied with weaponry (and a helmet shielding Hulk from his father's abusive and severely distractive spirit). Apocalypse wanted to use the Hulk's nexus-energy, derived from imminent Celestial Franklin Richards' pocket universe to overcome the Celestials. To test this newest recruit, Apocalypse set War against the New World Order, a shadow cabinet organization, with intentions to conquer the world. ^[55] The New World Order set the Juggernaut and the Absorbing Man against War, and both were easily defeated. However, Hulk came to his senses after having injured his friend, Rick Jones. Despite this apparent setback, the incident was still a victory for Apocalypse as it was a successful testing of newly understood Celestial technology. The test completed and the Hulk having left, Apocalypse activated the self-destruct mechanism on the sword of War, which the New World Order had obtained, Apocalypse destroyed their headquarters, ending their attempt at global puppetry. ^[56]

New Eternals

Intending to re-start the human-Deviant war, as part of his plan to test the strong, Apocalypse set off nuclear warheads at Lemuria, causing the Deviants to further mutate (which also restored Ikaris's father Virako to life). Apocalypse launches an attack at San Francisco, using a mentally controlled Karkas, now a gigantic monster, that the Eternals are forced to battle. Apocalypse is confronted by Prime Eternal Ikaris. Although the Eternal is defeated by Apocalypse, Ikaris still manages to destroy Apocalypse's ship and thwart his plan. ^[57]

The Resumed War on Apocalypse

Sebastian Shaw, Donald Pierce, and Ch’Vayre stirred Apocalypse's long-hidden Harbinger from its deep sleep; an incredibly powerful being, originally a normal man who Apocalypse in the 19th century once left to incubate for 100 years to remerge as his herald. They intended to use it to track down Apocalypse for the Hellfire Club's exploitation. The Harbinger battled Cable and then left to see the world and to judge it.^[58] Cable followed Shaw to a base that Apocalypse was thought to inhabit. Ch’Vayre was trapped in a pod of some sort within the base. The base, which was abandoned after all, destroyed itself. Apocalypse watched the destruction of his base, and meanwhile, released Caliban and Ozymandias from his possession, to fend for themselves, if they were to survive.^[59] Apocalypse watched the destruction caused by his Harbinger, and prepared to cull the weak from the strong.^[60] Ozymandias showed Blaquesmith signs of the coming of Apocalypse and made a foretelling of a confrontation with his Harbinger in New York City. He warned that only if New York City was destroyed, Apocalypse's ascension might have been avoided. Cable and the Avengers battled the Harbinger, but were unable to stop it. In the end, Apocalypse himself appeared, activating a bomb inside the Harbinger which would destroy all of New York. Cable managed to prevent the destruction of New York by wearing Iron Man's flight boots and grabbing the Harbinger. The bomb exploded over the Atlantic Ocean, killing the Harbinger.^[61]

The Twelve

Main article: The Twelve (X-Men)

After centuries of plotting, and waiting, Apocalypse put his master plan into action. He had kidnapped Wolverine and set up a contest between the X-Men member and an adamantium-bonded Sabretooth to determine who would become his Horsemen, Death. Emerging victorious, Apocalypse strips the adamantium from Sabretooth and bonds it to Wolverine's skeleton once more. ^[62] Supposedly lost diaries of the mutant seer Destiny surfaced, telling of twelve beings of fantastic power that could defeat Apocalypse once and for all. ^[63] Before the X-Men could discern a course of action, various mutants, all listed in Destiny's prophecies, were abducted by Apocalypse's newly gathered Horsemen. The Twelve legend was revealed to be in fact a ruse orchestrated by Apocalypse himself; once the Twelve were assembled, he intended to use them to transform himself into a godlike entity, beyond the Celestials. ^[64]

Art from X-Men vol. 2, #97 (February 2000), Apocalypse merged with Cyclops (unofficially dubbed as "Cyclopalypse"). Pencils by Alan Davis.

Having assembled his selected subjects, Apocalypse inserted them into a gigantic device of Celestial design. 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. Unbeknownst to Apocalypse, Magneto had recently lost his powers, leaving his part unfulfilled. Apocalypse decides to make do with only eleven. The failure of the machine to function properly however allowed the eleven to escape, confronting Apocalypse as he was preparing to transfer his essence into Nate. But they are defeated by Apocalypse. Seeing no alternative, Cyclops lunged at Nate, pushing him out of the energy vortex containing he and Apocalypse, fulfilling the merger process. ^[65] Although he did not achieve the godhood he wished, Apocalypse's power was expanded to an degree where he could control time and space. Still, while the merge was successful, Apocalypse's aim for unlimited power was not. He attempted to complete the transformation by warping reality into various scenarios (see Ages of Apocalypse). Apocalypse hoped to prompt the Twelve into using their powers and charge the Celestial machine, but eventually, the mutants realized their true predicament and "Cyclopalypse" teleported away. ^[66] An amnesiac and powerless Cyclops regained control of the merged form. But as Apocalypse began to re-emerge, however, Jean and Cable were alerted to his location in Egypt, and she finally managed to free Cyclops by telepathically forcing Apocalypse's spirit out of her husband's body, rendering Apocalypse in an incorporeal astral form; Cable took advantage of the opportunity to apparently destroy him, sundering his spirit with his Psimitar. ^[67] Apocalypse's time with Cyclops left its mark, making the X-Man more ruthless after his return and partially being the cause of his marital problems with Phoenix.

Post-M-Day

X-Men vol. 2, #182 (April 2006). Cover art by Salvador Larroca.

Due to the events of M-Day, in which most of the mutants lost their powers, Apocalypse was revealed to be alive and well. The techno-organic virus, with which he long ago infected Cable, was 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. ^[68] Apocalypse finds himself in a world with its mutant population reduced to a tenth of what it had been, out of the millions who populated earth prior to his demise at Cable's hands. He awoke from a slumber in a tomb in Akkaba, recalling: ^[69]

Reappearing inside a Sphinx-shaped ship, Apocalypse confronted the X-Men on the front lawn of the X-Mansion. ^[70] He had assembled a new cadre of Horsemen: Gazer (War), Sunfire (Famine) and Polaris (Pestilence). Famine used his powers to cause an intense feeling of hunger and weakness in the mutants and humans on the institute grounds. Apocalypse offers the mutants an elixir; his own blood, provided they join his side. In his Sphinx, one of the X-Men switched sides and submitted himself willingly to be transformed into a Horseman Death; Gambit, as he had come to believe Apocalypse could be helpful to the mutant cause though he would require to be watched, ^[71] however, his mind was frayed as a result. ^[72] Bent on becoming the new messiah for mutant-kind, Apocalypse approached the world leaders assembled at the United Nations in New York and issued an ultimatum: humanity would destroy ninety per cent of its own population, putting man and mutant on level ground in anticipation of the final conflict when the worthy alone would survive - or Apocalypse would unleash his meta-plague on the world and obliterate all humanity. ^[73] In the end, Apocalypse's horsemen were lost, and he was forced to retreat by combined assault of the X-Men and the Avengers. Ultimately, it was discovered that the Celestials lent their technology to Apocalypse, requiring as payment greater sufferings later. He attempted to embrace death as an escape from his lifelong pact, only to find himself instantly resurrected and hearing a voice: "We cannot let you die. Not yet. It is time Apocalypse… it is time". ^[74]

Powers and abilities

Apocalypse is a mutant with the ability to alter his atomic structure, enabling him to grant himself any physical power. He can change his own mass, grow to massive proportions, assume any form, as well as allowing his body to become extremely malleable. He can stretch his limbs and body to superhuman shapes, lengths and sizes, with flexibility and coordination extraordinarily beyond the natural limits of the human body. He is able to contort his body into various positions and sizes impossible for ordinary humans. He can open holes through his body, and form a variety of weapons (e.g. blades, giant hammers, including guns and shields) with parts of his body, even wings or jets to enable flight. In addition, Apocalypse has shown capable of energy absorbing and projecting abilities, creating force shields, telepathy, telekinesis, and teleportation of himself and others across vast distances. He possesses extraordinary strength, capable of augmenting himself by drawing upon mass and energy from extra-dimensional sources. He is fuctionally immortal; immune to the effects of aging, does not need sustenance of any kind, and is able to sustain peak exertion indefinitely, granting him virtually inexhaustible stamina. He is able to withstand great forces, corrosives, punctures and concussions without sustaining injury. If injured, Apocalypse has been able to rapidly recover with superhuman levels of speed and efficiency. Aside from his superhuman powers, Apocalypse possesses knowledge in various areas of science and technology, primarily biology and genetics, that is far advanced from conventional science. He employs a vast array of Celestial technology. He is also a master strategist, preferring to stay in the background and observe as others engage in battles of his devising. Even when seemingly defeated, his plans mean that even a loss is a victory.^{[75] [76]}

Servants, allies, and enemies

Apocalypse has a number of enemies with the desire to destroy him, a few precious allies, and a large range of servants throughout the world.

Servants

• Ozymandias — He has served Apocalypse ever since the ancient mutant's rise to power. He was altered into a stone creature granting him indefinte lifespan, ability to animate stone, and clairvoyance. His task is to record what he sees in stone, and uses his clairvoyant abilities to see occurrences in the future.
• Clan Akkaba — A cult of mutants. Clan Akkaba are the descendants of Apocalypse, and worship him as their God. They tattoo the symbol of their clan on all members at birth. The Rank of the members decides how big the tattoo that a member will get.
• Four Horsemen — A team of four empowered, and brainwashed mutants that serve as a personal strike-force for Apocalypse. Each member is given one of the names: Death, Famine, Pestilence, and War. One of the members is regularly an X-Man.

Cable vol. 2, #35 (October 1996); Apocalypse battling Cable. Cover art by Ian Churchill and Scott Hanna.

Allies

• Baal — The leader of the Sandstormers who found Apocalypse as a baby and raised him as his son.
• Skrulls — An alien race. Apocalypse apparently encountered and agreed to lead a faction of the Skrulls, who were investigating their own race's mutations. He led these Skrulls in assembling The Twelve.
• Uatu the Watcher — A member of the immortal and near-omnipotent alien race called the Watchers. During the Onslaught saga, it was revealed that Apocalypse appears to have some sort of history with the extraterrestrial being, Uatu the Watcher, as he and Uatu observed, and discussed the conflict from afar, Apocalypse stated "In two millennia -- you and I agree, Uatu" meaning that they have interacted with each other many times before. Apocalypse also addressed Uatu as an "old friend".

Enemies

• Sinister — Once a human scientist with interest in mutations. He entered into a pact with the centuries-old mutant, who granted him immortality, among other powers. However, Sinister has no allegiance to Apocalypse and has since then discovered that the combination of Scott Summers' and Jean Grey's genes would generate a mutant of incredible power to destroy his hated master.
• Askani — A group of telepathic and telekinetic people, with limited time-travel abilities. The Askani existed 2,000 years into an alternative future dominated by Apocalypse. They have sought to destroy him ever since.
• Cable — The child of Scott Summers and Madelyne Pryor, the clone of Jean Grey. Mister Sinister carefully orchestrated his birth, planning to use him as a weapon against Apocalypse. However, Apocalypse learned of this treachery, and infected the child with a techno-organic virus that would slowly kill him. The Askani brought the young Nathan into the future to be treated. Fully grown, he would return to the 20th Century as the anti-hero Cable and attempt to destroy Apocalypse, thus preventing the horrible future he grew up in from happening.
• The Eternals — It was revealed in New Eternals: Apocalypse Now, when Apocalypse and Ikaris came face to face, that they had some history of having fought centuries before (Ikaris even knew Apocalypse's real name). The Eternals also referred to Apocalypse as their "Ancient Nemesis", indicating that Apocalypse had battled the Eternals a long time ago.

Other versions

Main article: Alternate versions of Apocalypse

In other media

Main article: Apocalypse in other media

Bibliography

Main article: Bibliography of Apocalypse

References

External links

• "Apocalyptic Accounts" at UncannyXmen.net
• The religion of Apocalypse (En Sabah Nur)
• Cerebra's Files
• Marvel.com
• http://marvel.com/universe/Apocalypse_%28En_Sabah_Nur%29