Apocalypse (comics)
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Template:Superherobox Apocalypse is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain in Marvel Comics' universe. An immortal mutant bonded with extra-terrestrial technology, he is a powerful foe of the X-Men. He often is accompanied by four servants who are called, unsurprisingly, the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse, named after the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in the Book of Revelations. He first appeared in shadows in X-Factor #5 (June 1986), though he was not fully shown until X-Factor #6 (July 1986). He was created by Louise Simonson and Jackson Guice.
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History
Times Past
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Apocalypse was born in the mid-30th century BC in ancient Egypt during the First Dynasty.
He was born disfigured in the settlement of Akkaba and abandoned in the desert to die. He was the last child born in the settlement. Nomadic raiders known as the Sandstormers slaughtered the population of Akkaba. Their leader Baal found the child and considered it to have the potential of a god. He raised the child as his own.
He named the child En Sabah Nur (the First One) in anticipation of others like him born. The tribe lived and died by the simple rule and philosophy of survival of the fittest. En Sabah Nur earned the right to adulthood at the age of seventeen. He and Baal were the only Sandstormers fit to survive when general Ozymandias attacked their camp. They found refuge in nearby caves. Baal was killed when one of them collapsed. He made his way to the surface only to be made a slave .
There, he came into the attentions of the Pharaoh Rama-Tut, actually the time traveller who later became known as Kang the Conqueror. En Sabah Nur was beaten for daring to rebel and was left to die; he survived, due to the sudden emergence of his mutant gift of immortality, and came to a position of power once Rama-Tut had been forced to depart for his native time by the time-travelling Fantastic Four and Avengers.
Centuries later, En Sabah Nur discovered a starship created by the alien Celestials in Mongolia, and used the technology therein to gain control over the molecules of his body. Becoming one of the most powerful mutants who has ever lived, he took the name "Apocalypse", and came to believe in a philosophy that would later be erroneously identified with Darwinism. He then entered a state of suspended animation until mutants like him were populous enough to rule the Earth. He emerged briefly in Victorian England to see if the world was ready for him. During that time he turned Nathaniel Essex into the being known as Mister Sinister. However, Sinister rebelled against him and Apocalypse was forced to re-enter his slumber.
Modern Day
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Apocalypse again came into conflict with the X-Men, X-Factor and X-Force when Cable's clone, Stryfe, travelled to the present and attempted to assassinate Professor X and frame Cable for the crime. At the end of this conflict, Apocalypse was presumed deceased after a battle on the Moon with his former servants, the Dark Riders, and being left for dead by Archangel.
How he survived, and returned to Earth is unclear - it is most likely that this was the point at which he began to use host bodies within a robot resembling his prior self, as his future self had done in Cable's time, and it would be revealed that the present-day Apocalypse now did in the Twelve storyline. It is unlikely that he began to use host bodies earlier, as he was shown to be fully organic before he "died" in this story.
He returned, and briefly assisted Cable and his allies in battle with the creature called Onslaught.
The Age of Apocalypse
A snag in the timestream resulted in an alternate timeline in which Professor X never created the X-Men. In this timeline, the Age of Apocalypse, Apocalypse ruled the Earth until his death at the hands of Magneto and his X-Men. When the timeline was inevitably restored, so too were all who died in that alternate universe.
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The Twelve
Later, the storyline of The Twelve unfolded. Supposedly lost diaries of the mutant seer Destiny surfaced, telling of twelve beings of fantastic power that could defeat Apocalypse once and for all. These diaries, however, were forgeries created by Apocalypse - once the Twelve were assembled, he planned to use them to transform himself into a god-like entity on par with 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 as Father, Mother and Son
- Bishop and Mikhail Rasputin, representing Time and Space, respectively
- Professor X, representing the mind
- with the Living Monolith as the core
Apocalypse planned to funnel the powers of the rest of the twelve into The Living Monolith, then from the Monolith into Nate Grey. As the power flowed into Nate, Apocalypse would possess Nate's body, since his current physical body was being rapidly worn out by his power, thus achieving godhood. Magneto had been weakened in some previous battles, however, and so he could not supply enough energy to "complete the circuit," thus shorting it out. The Twelve broke out, and confronted Apocalypse as he was preparing to transfer his essence into Nate. Cyclops jumped in the way of the transfer though, saving Nate... but Apocalypse merged with Cyclops instead, giving birth to a whole new horror (unofficially dubbed by some fans as "Cyclopalypse"). Although he did not achieve the godhood he wished, Apocalypse managed to escape in Cyclops' body, with Jean Grey the only one who believed her husband still survived within the form.
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Death
After teleporting away, however, 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.
Powers and abilities
Apocalypse was one of the most physically powerful beings on Earth. Thanks to the Celestial technology's modifications to his body, he could alter the molecular structure of his body at will in order to change his form. Using this he could alter his appearance or the size of his body; transform his arms and fists into various melee weapons and grant himself superhuman strength. He also can generate energy, thanks to a combination of his mutant power and the Celestial technology in his body. He can use this energy to levitate himself and others, create force fields, and project bursts of concussive force, and can augment himself further by drawing on various outside energy sources.
Apocalypse has demonstrated the ability to teleport himself and other beings, although this ability may be generated by outside technology rather than by Apocalypse himself.
Finally, he was unaging. Even before being modified by the Celestial ship, he lived for thousands of years and was highly resistant to injury. With the Celestial modifications, this resistance to harm was amplified, although it is still possible, albeit highly difficult, to cause him injury that would not be immediately regenerated by his power. Should he suffer massive injuries that prove potentially fatal, he can enter a coma-like state of suspended animation during which he may recover from his wounds with the assistance of his Celestial technology.
In the future timeline from which Cable hails, Apocalypse's physical form had grown too aged and enfeebled to contain his vast superhuman energies. Hence, he transferred his consciousness and powers into a succession of host bodies, abandoning each one when it too grew too old to contain his power. This alternate future version of Apocalypse was ultimately defeated in transit from a depreciated body into a potential host body. Shortly before he transferred himself into Cyclops, he revealed that he was in a host body in the present day - it is not entirely clear when this happened, but the most likely time is when he appeared to die on the moon.
Aside from his superhuman powers, Apocalypse was also an extraordinary genius with knowledge of science and technology centuries ahead of conventional science. This was not merely a result of his exposure to alien technology, as he was able to make significant new advances beyond the alien materials he was exposed to.
Ultimate Apocalypse
In the Ultimate Marvel continuity, Apocalypse appears as an entity worshipped by Mr. Sinister. However, it is not clear whether Apocalypse is real, or just a piece of fiction in the insane mind of his believer.
Appearances in other Media
Apocalypse appears as one of the boss characters in at least two of the Marvel vs Capcom computer arcade games. His main weapon and weak point is his gigantic fist, which can turn into various weapons that does huge damage when it strikes the player's character. Although he was the main boss in X-Men vs. Street Fighter, he was downgraded to a mini-boss in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter with a cyborg clone of Akuma called "Cyber-Akuma" taking his former spot.
Trivia
According to the writers at Marvel, "En Sabah Nur" translates to "the First One" in Arabic. However, the phrase actually translates into something more akin to "The Seven Lights."
External links
- MDP:Apocalypse (http://www.marveldatabase.com/wiki/index.php/Apocalypse)
- "Apocalyptic Accounts" at UncannyXmen.net (http://www.uncannyxmen.net/db/article/showquestion.asp?faq=4&fldAuto=84)