APOCALYPSE (COMICS)

'Apocalypse' ('En Sabah Nur') is a fictional comic book supervillain in the . One of the foremost and most powerful enemies of the superhero group the X-Men, he first fully appeared in ''X-Factor'' #6 (June 1986), created by Jackson Guice and Louise Simonson. Apocalypse has a longstanding association with many X-Men characters, and has played vital roles in 1990s-era “event” storylines “''The Age of Apocalypse''” and “''.” He 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.
Apocalypse is generally represented as one of the most powerful mutants in the Marvel Universe, possessing a multitude of superhuman abilities, including virtual immortality, the ability to both shift and alter his mass and form, and increase his own physical attributes. He was bonded with Celestial technology, increasing all of his mutant powers, including granting him the ability to transform into machinery, which by extension affords him certain energy powers. Over 5,000-year old, he was born in ancient Egypt under the name En Sabah Nur ("The First One"). Later, after his mutant power awakened, taking the name of Apocalypse, he took the role of the Egyptian god Aten, and appeared throughout history as a death god in several ancient mythologies. He seeks to remake the world to fit his extreme Social Darwinist eugenic philosophy: only the fittest have the right to survive — and he gets to define who is fittest.
In the late 20th and early 21st centuries AD, when mutants became a sizable part of the human population, Apocalypse would become most active, seeing it as a perfect time to utilize his goal, viewing mutants as the stronger race that is destined to inhabit the world instead of normal humans. However, this soon would lead him into conflict with the X-Men and their allies, and they would find themselves in various schemes of his. He is also 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.
A popular X-Men adversary, he has featured prominently in the 1990s X-Men animated series, its successor '' and starred in various video games, such as, '', '', and ''.

Contents

Publication history

Fictional character biography

The Rise of Apocalypse

Early centuries

Modern era

Onslaught and War

The Twelve

Resurrection

Powers and abilities

Servants and allies

Characterization

Other versions

Askani

Age of Apocalypse

''What If''

Amalgam Comics

Mutant X

Ultimate Apocalypse

House of M

Earth-570

Marvel Mangaverse

In other media

X-Men: The Animated Series

X-Men: Evolution

Video games

Toys

Bibliography

Footnotes

References

Publication history

Apocalypse made his first appearance in the shadows at the end of the #5 issue of ''X-Factor'' in 1986. He 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 would make his full appearance in ''X-Factor'' #6, in which he acted as the mysterious leader of the Alliance of Evil. He would then make a few cameo appearances, in which he recruited four mutants to become his Horsemen. In ''X-Factor'' #25, Apocalypse's plan was to destroy New York, and ordered his Horsemen to do so; however, his plan was thwarted by the efforts of the X-Factor. Though his first traditional appearance was in the pages of X-Factor, retcons since that time have identified the unnamed benefactor of the Living Monolith from the above ''Marvel Graphic Novel'' as Apocalypse in disguise. Apocalypse's true name was revealed in ''X-Force'' (1st series) #37.
Since his adversary role in the 1st series of ''X-Factor'', Apocalypse later made appearances as a major villain in various X-Men titles over the years, usually with entire story arcs or crossovers, becoming one of the most feared foes of the X-Men. In the 1990s, Apocalypse had his own limited four-issue comic book miniseries, ''Rise of Apocalypse'', by writer Terry Kavanagh & penciler Adam Pollina. This miniseries was a detailed origin, telling of En Sabah Nur's rise and how he became Apocalypse. He had another limited miniseries in 2006 titled ''X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula'', which takes place in the 1800s and in which he battles the Lord of Vampires, Dracula. Apocalypse is most recognizable for the famous story arc, the Age of Apocalypse, an alternative reality in which he had overthrown the world. He also made prominent appearances in ''The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix'', ''The Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix'', ''Askani'son'', ''X-Men: Search for Cyclops'', ''Black Knight: Exodus'' and ''Eternals: Apocalypse Now.'' Though the action in these stories was not centered around him, the characters involved were affected by him.
Robert Weinberg, during his run on Cable, 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] Apocalypse was also once planned to be the mastermind behind the Weapon X project that gave Wolverine his adamantium skeleton.

Fictional character biography

The Rise of Apocalypse

Apocalypse's story begins with his birth in mid-3rd century BC 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 ("The First One") in anticipation of others like him (an interesting note, "En Sabah Nur" could also mean "The Teacher of Terror", or "The Teacher of Evil", in direct egyptian-english translation). 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 before it collapsed. 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, 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 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. 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-travelling 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 an ability to increase his mass and size. Rama-Tut fled the gigantic former slave, as the Fantastic Four went back to their own era. Tut's malfunctioning time-machine accidentally turned Ozymandias into a blind seer made of living sandstone, and Apocalypse permanently enslaved his former tormentor to take advantage of the latter's ability to chronicle his future destinies.
Years later, Apocalypse 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 centuries

For centuries, En Sabah Nur traveled around the world, worshipped as a god wherever he went. He was 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 during this time that Nur began 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. He also frequently acted as a conqueror, raising armies to do his bidding.
Centuries later, (as revealed in ''X-Force'' #37) En Sabah Nur discovered a starship created by the alien Celestials in Mongolia. Apocalypse struck down the ship's guardian, the immortal Saul, and entered the Ship. But, unable to understand the technology inside, he left again, searching the world for a key to the mysteries inside. ''Cable & Deadpool'' #27 relates how he finds this key when the time-traveler known as the Traveler, actually Cable, kills him. The Traveler's techno-organic blood is accidentally mixed with Apocalypse'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. However, he is confronted by the Celestials, who lend him their technology, requiring as payment greater sufferings later. Apocalypse agrees, and 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, where he remains 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 waits for mutants to become more common, leaving Clan Akkaba and Ozymandias to act in his stead while he sleeps.
It was revealed in ''New Eternals: Apocalypse Now'', that when Apocalypse and Ikaris came face to face, they had met and fought centuries before. The Eternals also referred to Apocalypse as their "Ancient Nemesis", indicating that Apocalypse had battled the Eternals a long time ago.

In 1859, Apocalypse would emerge from stasis in Victorian Britain (as told in the ''Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix'' miniseries). During this time, a brilliant British scientist named Nathaniel Essex had become obsessed with the theories of natural selection as proposed by Charles Darwin. Believing that Darwin was too conservative in his theories, Essex was ousted by the London Royal Society when he addressed them with his own theories. Undeterred, Essex continued his work by experimenting on the homeless and indigent, all brought to him by a group of thugs in his employ, called the Marauders. In search of more subjects, the Marauders came upon Apocalypse, newly awakened from hibernation, who ironically admired the Marauders’ tactics of preying on the weak. Hearing of their employer, Essex, and his experiments, Apocalypse told them to take him to this man. Once introduced, the researcher showed Apocalypse his laboratory and shared his theories. Finally, Apocalypse learned the scientific term for beings like himself – mutants.
Together, Apocalypse and Essex, along with the enigmatic Hellfire Club, a secret society of Britons seeking power, plotted their strategy of global upheaval. As in the past, Apocalypse’s life intersected with the arrival of time travelers from the future. Apocalypse and Essex were unable to know the true identity of these two mutants as Cyclops and Phoenix, members of the future hero team known as the X-Men, sent back in time to prevent the ascendancy of Apocalypse. The two were quickly captured, bound and unable to use his mutant power, Cyclops plead with Essex not to accept his unholy pact with Apocalypse. However, after being rejected by his contemporaries and his own wife, Essex had nothing left to live for… except science. Transformed by the machinery of Apocalypse, Essex, now renamed Mister Sinister, had clarity of purpose and immediately realized that this purpose was in direct opposition of his master's. Apocalypse's first command, was to create a plague to ravage the population of the world. Sinister however, saw it as madness, and decided to betray his new master: Instead of creating a plague to ravage and transmutate the world's population, he created a plague to attack only Apocalypse. Weakened by this attack, Apocalypse returned to his hibernation sanctuary and entered his regeneration chamber, which teleported away to safety. Before departing, he had forgiven Sinister for his treachery, with the understanding that it would not be tolerated.
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, 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's 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.
Emerging once again at the cusp of the 20th century (in the ''Cable 1999 annual''), Apocalypse again enlisted the aid of Mister Sinister. Once again, however, betrayed by Sinister, who infected his master with a techno-organic virus, Apocalypse sent him away, instructing him to never be seen by him again, and Apocalypse returned to his regenerative hibernation. Apparently from the start, Apocalypse knew that Sinister had been trying to betray him, but had hoped that Sinister would change his mind and join his cause. Apocalypse also leaves one man to incubate for 100 years to emerge as his herald.

Modern era

Apocalypse awoke from his slumber by the arrival of the mysterious time-traveling mutant Cable, but spent many years hidden. Ironically, Cable had come to the present to prevent Apocalypse's awakening. After a confrontation with the hero known as Power Man, terrorist and global blackmailer Moses Magnum fell down a shaft which his laser drill had bored to the center of the Earth. To Magnum’s surprise, he was saved from the fall by the teleportation device of Apocalypse. Transformed by Apocalypse, Magnum continued his terrorist activities and, in doing so, did the bidding of Apocalypse by testing the strong and winnowing the weak. The first use of Moses Magnum’s new abilities and technology came during his assault on the isles of Japan, where he was confronted and defeated by the X-Men. Unknowingly, the disciples of Xavier had just had their first encounter with the schemes of Apocalypse. As was his manner, Apocalypse worked in the shadows and used others to test the strong. The time was soon approaching when the ancient mutant would adopt a more direct approach.
It was a time shortly after the formation of an organization known as X-Factor by all five of the original X-Men, that Apocalypse made his first public move. Apocalypse had gathered a group of mutants, all of whom called themselves the Alliance of Evil. Apocalypse had enlisted the reluctant aid of a mutant named Michael Nowlan, who had the ability to augment the mutant powers in others. Despite the addictive nature of Nowlan’s powers, Apocalypse planned to use them to provide mutant-kind with a source of unlimited might. Apocalypse would then lead this army of super-mutants in a war against all of mankind. After a brief escape from Apocalypse’s chateau headquarters, Nowlan was recaptured by the Alliance. This abduction was witnessed by X-Factor who followed the Alliance to its lair. During the ensuing battle, Nowlan and his wife were killed. His motive in the conflict now as dead as the Nowlans, Apocalypse abandoned the battle, as well as his disappointing Alliance of Evil.
Later, Apocalypse would start recruiting mutants to serve as his Four Horsemen. 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. Apocalypse planned to use his Horsemen to destroy New York. Before his planned attack on Manhattan was to begin, Apocalypse summoned X-Factor to his ship. After explaining to them his intentions, he offered X-Factor a place at his side. It was a situation Apocalypse felt he could not lose. Should they accept, he would have new recruits in his operations, if not, they would try to stop his Horsemen and, in doing so, test them. Either way, they served the will of Apocalypse. During the ensuing battle, Death fought his former teammates. However, when tricked by Iceman into thinking he had killed his old friend, Death turned on his master. With the reformed Angel’s help, Apocalypse’s Horsemen were defeated. Far from dismayed, Apocalypse did not consider it a defeat, but a victory of lesser degree. Division now existed with his former Horseman joining the team, and as X-Factor now controlled his Celestial ship, Apocalypse predicted that it would cause distrust between the mutant group and the New York human populace. And as for the battle itself, X-Factor had proven that they were among the strong. Apocalypse also took the willing Morlock Caliban, who saw him 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.
When the High Evolutionary had begun embarking on various schemes to evolve mankind, Apocalypse opposed and fought him. Although both he and the High Evolutionary shared a similar goal of evolving mankind, they still had a philosophical difference in accomplishing it. During their fight, Apocalypse forcibly teleported the High Evolutionary and himself to a cave in which the X-Factor were saving the Subterraneans from the High Evolutionary's servants. As Apocalypse and the High Evolutionary watched and discussed, a Subterranean telepath made all other Subterraneans rise up against the High Evolutionary's servants and defeat them. Apocalypse realized that he was wrong to be concerned about the High Evolutionary's actions, as he actually helped Apocalypse by making the Subterraneans stronger by attacking them.
Apocalypse would also be confronted by Loki, who, in human disguise, offered him to join him in carrying out his biddings. However, Apocalypse had watched him in secret and learned of his true intentions. The two fought, and Apocalypse trapped Loki in one of his Celestial machines, which was draining Loki of his powers. Apocalypse tells Loki that he will oppose him whenever he can, if Loki would attempt to overthrow Earth. Loki then freed himself from the Celestial machinery, escaping, and warning Apocalypse not to interfere with him and his plans. Apocalypse then tells Caliban that mankind must now quickly grow stronger. After a while, Apocalypse freed Caliban from his control, and the mutant returned to the Morlock tunnels.

Over a few months later, Apocalypse had conquered the city of Attilan, home of the Inhumans. He enslaved part of its population, and selected six Inhumans among them (whom he had mutated) to form a group he called the 'Riders of the Storm' (named after his earliest army). Apocalypse sent the Riders to Earth, and under the power of one of the Inhumans called HardDrive, the Celestial ship, the X-Factor had claimed from Apocalypse, lost all semblance of control. Attacking New York, and rising into Earth orbit, and self-destructs (although the AI that controlled Ship was saved). Through the help of the Inhuman royal family, the teammates of X-Factor survived, but had failed in preventing The Riders from abducting the son of Scott Summers and, more or less, Jean Grey; Nathan Christopher Charles Summers. Apocalypse had sensed that the child would grow up to be a powerful mutant and possible threat one day.
Taken to the moon by the royal family, the X-Factor and Inhumans attacked Apocalypse’s lunar stronghold. Once inside, X-Factor was defeated and imprisoned by the Riders in energy draining tubes, connected to Apocalypse, who was planning to leech their life-forces to strengthen his own power to cosmic levels.
His plain was foiled, however, with the sudden arrival of Black Bolt and the Inhuman Royal Family and frees them. Jean and Beast go to help Nathan while the others battles Apocalypse. They realize that Apocalypse has infected Cyclops' son Nathan with the same techno-organic virus derived from the alien technology that gave him his powers. Nathan pulls Jean onto the Astral Plane, for her help in combating the virus, which appears in the form of Apocalypse. Jean yanks Scott in to help, and he stabs the Apocalypse avatar with a psionic sword. Cyclops awakens in the physical world, where he uses the combined powers of Nathan, Jean and his own to tear Apocalypse apart in a single optic blast. Apocalypse is defeated, his original immortal body is destroyed, and the infected Nathan was sent to the future with Askani for a cure, where he became the time-traveling mutant warrior known as 'Cable'. However, this was not the end of Apocalypse, as the Riders of the Storm took his body back to Earth to his regeneration chamber for hibernation.

However, before his cycle was complete, he was reawakened by the Riders, now calling themselves 'The Dark Riders'. Enraged, he demanded to know why he was revived. They informed Apocalypse of recent events: Apocalypse’s horsemen had kidnapped Cyclops and Jean Grey, supposedly under his instructions (In actuality, Mister Sinister, who was using his shapes-shifting powers to pose as Apocalypse). Further, Charles Xavier, mentor and founder of the X-Men, had been the victim of an assassination, reportedly perpetrated by the man called Cable, the leader of the recently formed X-Force. These incidents, added by Apocalypse’s burning need to determine their meaning, began the conflict that would be referred to as the 'X-Cutioner’s Song'.
After a brief fight with the X-Men, Apocalypse desperately needed another regeneration cycle and headed to one of his temple bases. Once again, his hibernation was interrupted, but this time by the mutant terrorist known as Stryfe. Using his prodigious telekinetic powers, Stryfe easily bested the weakened Apocalypse. Gloating over the ancient mutant, Stryfe rambled continuously of crimes that he had perpetrated against him. Apocalypse managed to make his way to a teleporter and escape, but in his departure, he lost his Riders. Having been indoctrinated in following strength, the Riders of the Storm, now calling themselves the Dark Riders, changed allegiances to Stryfe. Apocalypse then confronted the X-Men, X-Factor and X-Force, and initially proposed an alliance with them against Stryfe.
The students of Xavier agreed to join forces long enough to defeat Stryfe and recover their kidnapped teammates. The conflict came to an apex at Apocalypse’s old base on the moon. Due to his two recent attempts at regeneration interrupted, Apocalypse was low on the life-energy that sustained him. As the battle raged between the Xavier’s forces and Stryfe, Apocalypse lay dying. When the conflict was over, Apocalypse, it seemed was no more. With the apparent death of Apocalypse and Stryfe, the Dark Riders continued their mandate of testing the strong leaderless. The Riders would soon find a new mutant to follow, Cable’s son, Tyler. Believing to have been betrayed by his father in the future, Tyler had traveled back in time as well. After operating for a while under the guise of international arms dealer Tolliver, Tyler had recently adopted the name of Genesis, and considered himself the new heir of Apocalypse.

Onslaught and War

Apocalypse's dead body was recovered by Genesis. He 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. Watching the conflict between the psionic entity Onslaught, and Earth's heroes, with Uatu the Watcher, Apocalypse attempted to comprehend the nature of this new player, and divine his origins. Together, the Watcher and Apocalypse soon realized the truth behind Onslaught. Taking one of his rare moments of interference in the world of man, Uatu suggested to Apocalypse a course of action, an alliance with the one who hated him most, Cable. After finding the grown Nathan Summers, Apocalypse managed to convince him of the wisdom of the short alliance. Apocalypse surmised, that Onslaught would be most vulnerable through the astral plane, one of the sources of his powers. Cable lead Apocalypse through the astral plane into Onslaught's citadel, where Apocalypse would remove the captive Franklin Richards, greatly weakening Onslaught. The plan succeeded, but was interrupted by the Invisible Woman, Franklin's mother, 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.
Despite the failure of Apocalypse's plan, Onslaught was eventually defeated, with, however, the cost of the combined forces of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. Although the two teams would eventually turn out to be very much alive, their apparent deaths at the hands of Xavier's maniacal alter ego impressed Apocalypse. In his eyes, from the depths of Xavier's weak, peace-dreaming mind, had arisen a being of power and strength, Onslaught was indeed one of the strong.
After the Onslaught saga, Apocalypse would discover and recruit the Hulk 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 increase his own power, and overcome the Celestials. To test this newest recruit in his mission, Apocalypse set War against the New World Order, a shadow cabinet organization founded by Apocalypse’s servant, Ozymandias. Oblivious of this, the New World Order set the Juggernaut and the Absorbing Man against War/Hulk and were both easily defeated. Apocalypse reveled in this victory as it was a success of not only his creation, but by the utilization of more Celestial technology. However, Hulk came to his senses after having injured his friend, Rick Jones. Like the first Horseman Death, a Horseman’s true personality emerged with the apparent death or injury of a close friend. 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 ended the only loose end left, the New World Order. Activating the self-destruct mechanism on the sword of War, which they had obtained, Apocalypse destroyed their headquarters, ending their attempt at global puppetry.

The Twelve

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 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.
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.

★ The Living Monolith as the core.
Apocalypse had recently been gathering new Horsemen, among them chosen was none other than the X-Men member Wolverine (As Death). The Twelve were mentioned by the Skrulls and the situation with Wolverine seemed to coincide with recently discovered texts in the late precog Destiny’s diary, the X-Men knew that a dark struggle was ahead. Before the X-Men could discern a course of action, various mutants, all listed in Destiny’s prophecies, were abducted by Apocalypse’s new Horsemen. Wishing to take the battle to Apocalypse, the assembled X-Men return to Egypt for the final confrontation. Once the X-Men arrive, the Skrull allies of Apocalypse manage to kidnap the remainder of the Twelve, teleporting them deep inside the pyramid fortress of Apocalypse.
Having assembled his selected subjects, Apocalypse inserted them into a gigantic device of Celestial design, were Xavier, Cyclops, Phoenix, Storm, Iceman, Sunfire, Polaris, Cable, Bishop, the newly found Mikhail Rasputin, the Living Monolith and Magneto. Apocalypse claimed to his captives that he initiated the prediction in order to gather the precise mutants to power his machine. The machine itself was of Celestial design. Lacking the original energy source that would be require to power the machine, mutants with the correct type of abilities were needed instead. 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 in the Celestial machine unfulfilled. Deciding to make do with only eleven, Apocalypse continued his merger with Nate Grey. The failure of the machine to function properly, however, allowed The Twelve to escape. They confronted Apocalypse as he was preparing to transfer his essence into Nate. Shrugging off the attacks from the X-Men, Apocalypse, however, continued his merger with Nate Grey. Very aware of the powerful psionic abilities possessed by Nate Grey, Cyclops knew that the merger between he and Apocalypse would the end for the X-Men and the entire world. Seeing no alternative, Cyclops lunged at Nate, pushing him out of the energy vortex containing he and Apocalypse. Now trapped in the energy vortex in Nate’s place, Cyclops fulfilled the merger process with Apocalypse, 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. 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.

Resurrection

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. 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."
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:
Apocalypse resurrected, 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. Bent on becoming the new messiah for mutantkind, Apocalypse assembles a new cadre of Horsemen, with the purpose of wiping out 90% of the baseline human population.
His new horsemen were: Gazer (War), Sunfire (Famine) and Polaris (Pestilence). Gazer was saved from death and forced to battle an archaeologist for the mantle of War, which he won with the aid of Apocalypse's majordomo and scribe, Ozymandias. Both Sunfire, who had lost his legs at the hands of Lady Deathstrike and his powers to Rogue and Polaris, an M-Day victim, were captured, and reluctantly altered into Famine and Pestilence, respectively. Reappearing inside a Sphinx-shaped ship, Apocalypse confronted the X-Men on the front lawn of the X-Mansion. 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, although his mind was frayed as a result. Apocalypse also swayed some of to his side, including Skids, Scalphunter and Fever Pitch.
Sunfire was able to break free of Apocalypse's control with the help of Emma Frost. Polaris was de-brainwashed by the X-Men. Gazer died defending Apocalypse, stabbed in the back by Ozymandias. Gambit was taken into seclusion by Sunfire and deprogrammed. They were then mysteriously approached by Mister Sinister
Despite recruiting several refugees to his cause, Apocalypse was forced to retreat by the X-Men and the Avengers. Ultimately, 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 and took him away.

Powers and abilities

Apocalypse is one of the most powerful mutants in the Marvel Universe. Even before coming into contact with the Celestial Ship, he had lived for thousands of years, and through its technology, his abilities have been enhanced beyond their original limits, giving him the might to fight such powerful beings as Prime Eternal Ikaris and the High Evolutionary.
His powers have been described by Apocalypse:
Apocalypse has complete control over his physical form — allowing him to change his appearance or size, mimic metals and armors, turn extremely malleable to elongate himself or his limbs, and morph his arms and fists into a variety of melee weapons, such as cannons, and hammers. He can also grow gills when underwater,''Black Panther'' vol.4 #7. or grant himself flight by transforming his entire body into a space ship or shifting his arms into wings or jets. Apocalypse can also adapt his structure to many adversities, which he stated and performed when he had been attacked by a virus created by Mr. Sinister. Combined with his healing factor, and shape-shifting power, Apocalypse has been able to heal from devastating physical injuries, and regenerating body parts in a matter of moments (Should he suffer potentially fatal injuries, he can enter a coma-like state of suspended animation during which he may recover with the assistance of his Celestial technology). His molecular control also increases his speed, agility and reflexes to high levels (he was able to knock out a super speed running Quicksilver)^[3]) and grants him various physical superhuman powers.
According to Cyclops:
Apocalypse posssesses superhuman strength, which he augment to vast indeterminable levels when he's drawn upon sufficient energy. He proved capable of strangling the "Heroes Reborn"-era Hulk, who had lost his strength-increasing rage-factor, from behind with the two cables fastened in both of his arms.^[4] He has not does need sustenance of any kind, and is tremendously resistant to injury, he can increase his durability even further. He has been able to shrug off a telekinetic blast from Exodus, and withstand combined attacks from the X-Factor and Inhumansm, including a whisper from Black Bolt's voice at the same time,^[5](although, the latter was shown capable of vaporising him on another occasion.''Black Panther'' vol.4 #7.). During his battle with the High Evolutionary, he withstood an energy blast from him, while being blasted out of his space station. The result was Apocalypse only laughing. Before being enhanced by Celestial technology, he also proved capable of enduring a blast from Kang the Conqueror ulta-diode ray, which was able to take down the Fantastic Four. ^[6]
His techno-organic blood also contains many unique properties. With only a drop in a vat of human tissue the virus can rewrite the genetic code of the material within to form him a new body for him. His blood has also shown to posssees healing capabilities, Chamber's destroyed body was completely healed up, having been injected with the blood of Apocalypse.
Apocalypse has displayed various energy powers. He can create force fields (and control them at will) capable of holding Exodus, project blasts of destructive force (He was able to easily obliterate the Invisible Woman's force field ^[7]), or expel energy omni-directional out of his body. He has also been able to directly absorb Cyclops' optic beam, leaving the latter temporarily depleted, or worked his body as a conductor to reflect the blasts of Havok and Storm. In addition, Apocalypse possesses psionic abilities, enabling him to telekinetically lift objects or levitate himself and others, read the mind of Ozymandias,^[8] mind-blast Charles Xavier or withstand a psionic assault from Jean Grey. He has also repeatedly shown the ability to teleport himself and others.
Apocalypse have stated on numerous occasions of being immortal, although, it is some what unclear if this merely is longevity or if he's actually an eternal being. His healing abilities, and superhumanly durability, could actually be products of this immortality. Apocalypse stated during the Twelve saga that his physical body is irelevant, and that his very will is eternal and unstoppable, considering it a Force of Nature ^[9], meaning that he possibly can, or does, exist outside the physical plane. 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 and keep himself alive (though Apocalypse was already many centuries old before his first encounter with the technology he would later integrate himself with, and Selene herself also requires absorption of human lifeforce to maintain herself.) After the destruction of his original body, Apocalypse was forced to use host bodies to house his life-energies, although most cannot withstand his power, effectively eventually burning them out. This has made it necessary to transfer his consciousness into a succession of hosts, abandoning each one when it grew too old. After the events of the Twelve, it's unclear if this still is necessary
In ''Sensational She-Hulk'' #30, Apocalypse displayed an unusual ability to detach his head from his body and fly it around.
Aside from his superhuman powers, Apocalypse is extraordinarily intelligent, a genius with knowledge of genetics, and technology beyond the conventional norm. Possessing Celestial technology, Apocalypse has accesses to In the ''X-Cutioner's Song'' saga (Part X), even Beast needed Apocalypse's expertise in biology to aid Professor Xavier. Apocalypse is also a skilled manipulator, demagogue and tactician, with advanced brainwashing tools enabling him to turn Angel, Wolverine, and the Hulk into his horsemen on different occasions.

Servants and allies

Apocalypse has empowered a number of servants. These include:

★ Four Horsemen

★ Ozymandias

★ Exodus

★ Sinister

★ The Harbinger of Apocalypse

★ Moses Magnum
Apocalypse is also worshipped by a number of cults, like Clan Akkaba and individuals, such as the feline mutant Anais, who still roam the world. Apocalypse have also had a team of Inhumans for him, first dubbed 'The Riders of the Storm', and later renamed simply The Dark Riders.

Characterization

Apocalypse has been depicted differently from writer to writer. He is generally portrayed as a malevolent and power-hungry tyrant, bent on enslaving the world, as the self-considered 'fittest'/'most deserving'. However in his original appearances in the X-Factor comics, Apocalypse was written with no desire of simply ruling the world, but of strengthening it, achieved through horrific and barbaric ways.
In all incarnations, Apocalypse believes in the 'survival of the fittest', that the 'weak' shall be exterminated for the 'strong' to rule over the planet. Apocalypse is not above engineering events to weed out anyone he considers 'unfit', and generally considers himself as the fittest, and thus safe from his ideology. He views the X-Men and their allies as pawns in a game he will ultimately win.
X-Men editor Mike Marts said of the Apocalypse's return in ''X-Men'' #182-186:

Other versions

Askani

Main articles: Askani

In the ''Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix'' (Earth-4935), the Apocalypse that Cable knows ruled the future of the 39th century, and was frequently opposed by the Askani. This version of Apocalypse was forced to transfer his spirit to a series of host bodies that would house his massive power. Seeking out a host body that could sustain him for all eternity, he ordered Ch'vayre attack Clan Askani and steal the baby that would some day become Stryfe, not knowing he was the clone of the baby that would become Cable. Recognizing the youth’s potential, Apocalypse raised the boy and named him Stryfe, in honor of an enemy he had battled in the 20th century, ignoring his so-called "Heir" and his old enemy were the same individual. As the boy’s immense mental abilities began to emerge, Apocalypse taught him in their optimum usage. He would need Stryfe’s powers mastered before trying to inhabit the body. The time of bonding came, but, to Apocalypse’s surprise, the procedure failed; the boy was a clone, and thus, unsuitable for as a host. Adding to Apocalypse’s ills was the arrival of a trio of rebels, Slym, Redd and Nathan Dayspring.
During the battle with Apocalypse’s forces where the clone of Nathan Christopher had been captured, Mother Askani had been severely wounded. Realizing that she would not be around to raise the Chosen One, Mother Askani telepathically reached back in time and summoned Cyclops and his wife, Jean Grey-Summers, just days after their wedding. Placed in cloned bodies that resembled their originals, Cyclops and his wife adopted the aliases of Slym and Redd Dayspring. Given a second chance to raise the child that they had lost, they spent the next twelve years raising Nathan “Dayspring” and instructing him on the use of his emerging mental abilities. After joining a small resistant force, the trio had learned of the clone in possession of Apocalypse and his intention of using it as a host body. The trio managed to stealth their way into Apocalypse’s fortress during the attempted bonding process. When the bonding failed, Slym, Redd and Nathan attacked, preventing Apocalypse from bonding with anyone else. Separated from any useful host, Apocalypse finally perished.

Age of Apocalypse

Main articles: The Age of Apocalypse

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 (Earth-295) 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 and set up widespread human concentration camps in his conquered areas, with genetic experiments headed by his four horsemen, Sugar Man and the Dark Beast, torturing millions to death in the process. His global ambitions destabilize the world to the brink 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 ultimately ripped apart and killed by Magneto himself.

''What If''

In ''What If...?'' vol. 2 #111 (Earth-2988), Apocalypse had transformed Wolverine into War but ended up being killed by him.

Amalgam Comics

In the Amalgam Comics universe (Earth-9602), Apocalypse was merged with Ra's al Ghul to become Ra's-A-Pocalypse.

Mutant X

In the Mutant X universe (Earth-1298), Apocalypse was actually an ally of the X-Men and The Six. He appears in ''Mutant X'' #19 and was apparently killed by Charles Xavier.

Ultimate Apocalypse

In ''Ultimate X-Men'' (Earth-1612), 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 a 'Lord Apocalypse' which was a stuffed effigy, but while Sinister was imprisoned in the Triskelion, Apocalypse appears to Essex (though whether or not this was just a hallucination is unknown) and commands him to choke himself. In Magnetic North, Sinister mentions that "A child is coming. The master will be reborn", presumably referring to Apocalypse. At some point after, Sinister is found dead, suffocated by his own shirt crammed into his throat (presumed a suicide). In the Aftermath story arc, a foot of a statue is seen in Cable's future which bears a striking resemblance to that of the figure of Apocalypse owned by Sinister.

House of M

When the Scarlet Witch revisioned the subjective history of the world during the so-called House of M erasing most of the world population's memories and putting them in different positions, Apocalypse was placed as one of Magneto's most trusted lieutenants, but in the manufactured history between the two, they came to blows early in the Mutant-Human 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 an important mission: to free the hundreds of captured mutants held in mutant concentration 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 placed in charge of North Africa, but against Magneto's wishes he and his horsemen enslaved the human population and forced them to reconstruct many of the pyramids and monuments that were destroyed over the millennia. Magneto choose to turn a blind eye towards Apocalypse's actions.
During the "House of M" event itself, Apocalypse was seen on a Magneto-ordered mission to kill the African resistance-leader Black Panther, who had already defeated Magneto's assassin Sabretooth, beheading him with a sword. Apocalypse was disintegrated by the voice of the Inhuman leader Black Bolt. Apocalypse and all others affected by the House of M event were restored to normal when the Scarlet Witch restored reality and depowered most of the world's mutants. After this event ("M-Day"), Apocalypse was among the known mutants who retained their powers.

Earth-570

In ''Cable/Deadpool'' #15, an alternate version of Apocalypse appears on Earth-570 where he has overthrown the world with the aid of his Four Horsemen: Archangel (Death), Spiderman (Pestilence), the Blob (Famine) and Cable himself (War).

Marvel Mangaverse

Apocalypse appears as an enemy of the Avengers in the Avengers one-shot that ties into the first volume of Marvel Mangaverse (Earth-2301). While his appearance is modified to fit into the book's art style, he is still roughly the same character, bent on purging the earth of those he considers unfit. He showed capable of superhuman strength, absorbing machinery, energy attacks, and even growing several stories high. He is defeated and buried under a cliff by the Avengers, though it is not revealed if he survived or not. In this reality, his four horsemen are Mr. Sinister, White Queen, Juggernaut, and Archangel.

In other media

X-Men: The Animated Series

Apocalypse made several appearances in the ''X-Men'' animated television series. He was voiced by the late John Colicos and then by James Blendick.
In this animated version, Apocalypse's only desire in life is to bring destruction, chaos, and become the absolute, unchallenged ruler of all creation. He is portrayed as an unstoppable and insane force of destruction, hinted to be the personification of evil, thus immortal, almost indestructible, but also doomed to never win. He claims to be "as far beyond mutants as they are beyond humans". He showed no known limitations to his power, and stated that he knows more of this world than we dared dream. His goal is to destroy the current world so a new world could be created in its place, in his image. Despite the victories for the X-Men. It's revealed that Apocalypse would regardless rule the world sooner or later, seemingly meaning that even if the X-Men stops Apocalypse's plans, they are only delaying the inevitable (as Apocalypse told the X-Men in their first encounter, when they defeated him).
He was depicted many times as an invincible opponent in the series. 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 were able to cut through his armored body, not even scratch him a little. No matter what the attack was, none resulted in any physical damage upon him, many of them couldn't even move him.
Apocalypse possessed shape-shifting powers, which he especially used to transform his fists into melee weapons. He was also capable of altering his size to massive proportions in just a matter of seconds. Unlike his comic book counterpart, Apocalypse never stated that his shape-shifting was the result of control over his body's molecules. His powers also included superhuman strength, destructive energy blasts from his chest and palms, teleportation, and flight. He also displayed minor telekinesis and telepathy (as Xavier wanted to read his mind, he was KO-ed by his telepathy as was Jean Grey).

★ 'Season 1'
In his first appearance, Apocalypse uses Mystique to find four worthy mutants to become his slaves. The mutants believed the device used was going to "cure" them of their mutant powers, instead, it actually works to transform them into the Horsemen of Apocalypse. The winged Angel became known as Death, the anorexic girl Autumn Rolfson became Famine, Abraham Lincolm Kieros became War and the Morlock Plague became known as Pestilence. Apocalypse sends his new Four Horsemen to create widespread chaos, destroying military bases, crops and government buildings. The X-Men however interfere and manage to defeat the Horsemen. Later, Rogue attacks Archangel and absorbs his energy and personality. Archangel breaks free from Apocalypse's mind control, and having realising what he has done, turns on Apocalypse, and stops his Horsemen single-handly. Apocalypse escapes in one of his alien craft hidden beneath Stonehenge, and shoots out into the endless space.
In ''Days of Future Past'', Apocalypse was secretly behind the assassination of Senator Kelly, which Mystique tells Rogue (It is also hinted that Apocalypse may have transformed Mystique into the shape-shifter she is, as she tells Rogue that Apocalypse made her what she is, and gave her purpose).

★ 'Season 2'
Apocalypse appears in a storyline revolving around Cable. In this story, Apocalypse uses Graydon Creed in creating a Techno-Organic virus to infect and kill every mutant on Earth. However, unknown to Creed, the virus will not only kill mutants but humans as well. The mutant Bishop traveled back in time, from 2055 AD, to stop the virus, and teams up with the X-Men. They followed Creed to his mansion and into his secret lab. In there, Apocalypse revealed himself and the X-Men fights him. As the X-Men's attacks prove to do nothing against Apocalypse, Bishop throws a grenade at the tank containing the virus, and it's destroyed. Apocalypse, enraged with the X-Men for foiling his plans, grows several hundred feet in height and seemingly vaporizes the X-Men with a single shot of his energy blasts.
Back in 3999, Cable's time-device tells Cable that because of Bishop, the plague never infected mutants and in return the antibodies that protected mutants from further plagues were never created. So, over time uncontrolled mutations developed destroying the mutant race, so Cable's timeline started fixing it self since it had a new past. Cable goes back in time to stop Bishop. Cable tells Bishop that he can't stop the plague, but Bishop doesn't listen, as such, Cable realises that the only way to stop Bishop is to kill him. After unsuccessfully attempt at killing Bishop through help from the X-Men, Cable goes back to HQ. Cable asks his computer to give him a bio of the X-Men. When the computer goes to Wolverine, Cable gets an idea of how he can save his and Bishop's timelines. Kidnapping Wolverine, Cable teleports with him to Creed's mansion where the X-Men would soon fight Apocalypse. During the fight with Apocalypse, Cable stops Bishop from saving Wolverine from Apocalypse's energy blast, and Wolverine goes crashing into a tube that is filled with the virus. Cable says that Wolverine's healing power is curing him, and with that he is creating the antibodies that all mutants will need to survive in the future. Cable tells Apocalypse that his virus is useless now that they found a cure, and destroys the remaining virus. This time, Apocalypse does not kill the X-men, instead just flies off, swearing to get his revenge.

★ 'Season 3'
His former horsemen, Archangel, who had become hell-bent on destroying him, had spent months hunting down and trying to find a way to kill the seemly invincibly millennia old mutant. Although whatever information of Apocalypse that Archangel found and believed could help him destroy Apocalypse, only lead further to the truth that Apocalypse could not be killed. But Archangel refused to accept so. One of Archangel's experts in ancient relics soon provided him with an ancient document telling of a way to destroy Apocalypse. Archangel then attacked Apocalypse on Liberty Island, but is quickly defeated by him, and is saved by the X-Men. Trying to help Archangel, the X-Men discovers Apocalypse's sentient spacecraft, Ship, and set a trap to finally stop Apocalypse with Ship's help. The trap, however, fails, due to Apocalypses override system. Apocalypse then reveals to Archangel, that he all along was the archaeologist in disguise, and the information to destroy him was false. Thanks to Beast, who managed to defeat Apocalypse's override code, the Ship turned it self against Apocalypse, and trapped him in a capsule, which was rocked into the outer space. But Apocalypse swore that he would return.
Apocalypse's capsule would seemingly be found by Deathbird, and they became allies. Apocalypse then witnessed Magneto's televised speech declaring Asteroid M a safe haven for mutants. Later on, Apocalypse with Deathbird would revive Fabian Cortez, after he had been left to die at Asteroid M by Magneto. And tells Cortez that his talents will prove useful to him, and empowered Cortez with the ability of altering the mutations of other mutants. Cortez, now his servant, would gather Apocalypse's Hounds and brings the Morlock Caliban out of the tunnels to lead them.

★ 'Season 4 - 5'
In the ' ''Beyond Good and Evil'' ' storyline, towards the end of the series, Apocalypse still wages his war against humanity and mutantkind, opposed by Cable and his Clan Chosen in 3999 AD. Cable and his Clan Chosen attempt to make an assault at his Lazarus Chamber in Egypt, and to strike him as he's weakened. Apocalypse had although foreseen this, and steals Cable's time-travelling Computer, infusing it with himself, granting him the ability to travel through time. As Apocalypse attempted time travelling, he was thrown off course into the central core outside of time, The Axis of Time. Apocalypse would spend centuries exploring the Axis and discovering its powers. Apocalypse attempted to attain godhood by kidnapping the most powerful psychic beings from across the universe. He planned to kill them simultaneously, in order to release a wave of psychic energy powerful enough to destroy everything outside the Axis of Time. Apocalypse then wanted to re-create the universe in his own image, so he could rule unchallenged. Magneto and Mystique had been assisting Apocalypse without full knowledge of his intentions, believing Apocalypse would merely recreate an Earth ruled by mutants; upon learning Apocalypse's true plot, they turned on him and helped Bishop, Cable, and the X-Men to stop him. In the end, the freed psychics used their combined powers to trap Apocalypse in the astral plane, where he would remain for all eternity and never harm mankind or existence again.
In one of the final episodes of the series, Apocalypse is shown to be communicating from the astral plane with Fabian Cortez, whom Apocalypse had turned into his servant prior to the Axis of Time events. He charged Cortez with finding a powerful mutant to serve as his vessel, which would allow him to return to our world. However, Cortez failed by the interruptions of Beast and Caliban. This resulted in Apocalypse claiming Cortez himself for the vessel, and Apocalypse lived once more.

X-Men: Evolution

''.]]
Apocalypse was first mentioned in a single episode of the second season of the animated series ''. 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 with his Brotherhood of Mutants 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 displayed high-levels of telekinetic and telepathic abilities, as well as vast energy-based powers, including molecular manipulation, teleportation, and 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

★ In the SNES video game ''. Apocalypse is secretly based in Genosha and has kidnapped a number of mutants. Like his comic book counterpart, Apocalypse offers the X-Men the chance to become his Horsemen.

★ In the ''X-Men vs. Street Fighter'' and ''Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter'' games. Apocalypse appears as one of the boss characters. He appears initially as a large character on the same scale as the other playable characters, 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 is his gigantic fist, which can turn into various weapons (such as a drill or mace) that do major damage when it strikes the player's character. His weakest point is his head, although flying attacks must be used to attack it. 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.

★ In '', the X-Men are a transported to an alternate reality ruled by Apocalypse.

★ In '', Apocalypse made a minor appearance at ending, and was voiced by Chris Smith.

★ In ''X-Men Legends'', Apocalypse makes a cameo appearance in the ending, and he was voiced by Dan Hay.

★ In '', Apocalypse is the primary villain, and is voiced by Richard McGonagle. 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

★ Apocalypse has been visibly seen in the teaser trailer for the upcoming game, ''Marvel Universe Online''.

Toys

★ Apocalypse has appeared in the Marvel Legends toy line in Series 7 and as the BAF for series 12. This figure was based on Apocalypse's look in the recent Blood of Apocalypse issues, although with some minor added coloration.

★ Bowen Designs has produced and released two sculpts of Apocalypse. The first is an extremely detailed porcelain mini-bust, and a statue of Apocalypse, featuring an interchangeable gun hand.

Bibliography

Main articles: Bibliography of Apocalypse

Footnotes

1. http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2006/03/16/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-42
2. http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/archive/index.php/t-24515.html
3. ''Uncanny X-Men'' #295
4. ''The Incredible Hulk'' vol.2, #456
5. ''X-Factor'' vol.1, #68
6. "Rise of Apocalypse" #3
7. ''Cable'' #35
8. ''Uncanny X-Men'' #335
9. X-Men vol. 2 #97

References

★ "Apocalyptic Accounts" at UncannyXmen.net