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Quote1 If the strong survive...then the measure of strength is survival. But understand: survival has no moral component. Heroes die. Brave hearts break. Paradise lost. The numinous is denied by small souls or betrayed by despots. The alchemist's gold is pulled from heaven...to make currency. Consider a rock battered by the ocean for a million years. It is worn--but whole. Is a rock noble? Can a rock be moral? A rock is there. As I was there. And this is the revelation as it was revealed to me. It is not enough only to be there. It is not enough to be only strong. Quote2
Apocalypse[src]

En Sabah Nur, translated as "The Seven Lights,"[34] is an ancient mutant warrior known as the ruthless Apocalypse.[6] He was the first of the second generation of mutantkind,[20] born in ancient Egypt thousands of years ago, and one of the immortal mutants known as the Externals.[1][35] Abandoned at birth due to his monstrous appearance, he was found and raised by a ruthless nomadic warrior.[36] Forced into slavery, his powers allowed him to turn on his masters and conquer all that stood in his way.[14] He championed an extreme philosophy of mutant supremacy and "survival of the fittest"; only the strong deserve to survive and weakness should be mercilessly destroyed. Recruited by the Celestials, he became the latest in a line of guardians[16] charged with ensuring that evolution takes its natural course.[37] They enhanced his form which became a mix of organic and Celestial technology, boosting his shapeshifting and other powers to godlike levels.[38]

Over the centuries, Apocalypse was worshipped as a god by various cultures around the world,[6] enforcing his rule using his strike force known as the Horsemen of Apocalypse.[39] He would periodically enter lengthy periods of regenerative rest to prolong his lifespan and seek out powerful mutants as host bodies. During his slumber, his decedents known as Clan Akkaba guided the world using his philosophy.[18] He awoke at various points to influence history.[40] The explosion in the mutant population in the modern age awoke him from his sleep, prompting him to actively provoke a war between humans and mutants. This brought him into conflict with the X-Men, who he regards as worthy opponents who have earned the right to live in his new world.[41]

When the mutant nation of Krakoa was formed, he took the mutant name En Sabah Nur (Earth-616) new name from Excalibur Vol 4 1 001 and was invited to join the Quiet Council, the ruling body of the country.[42]

History

Rise of Apocalypse Vol 1 3

Rise of the First One

The First Morning Light[]

En Sabah Nur was born nearly five thousand years ago in a lone settlement on the Amentet at the very edge of the Valley of the Kings, in Egypt, as a member of a tribe in Akkaba. Even as an infant, the child inspired fear, being born with gray skin and blue lines running across his lips and face. Ugly and malformed, the infant was abandoned by the tribe, to die in the harsh desert sun. However, out of the desert, the Sandstormers, a roving band of feared nomadic raiders, slaughtered the citizens of Akkaba. Their leader, Baal of the Crimson Sands, found the infant crying and recognized the potential power in the child. Baal named the infant En Sabah Nur, literally meaning "The Morning Light," and raised him as his own son.[36]

Survival of the Fittest[]

En Sabah Nur (Earth-616) and Sandstormers (Earth-616) from Rise of Apocalypse Vol 1 1 0001

Nur's rite of passage

As Nur grew, he surpassed the other tribesmen in intelligence and strength. Everyone in the tribe, except for Baal, hated and feared Nur for his inhuman looks and great abilities. Nur did not understand their fear but hardened his heart against it. Moreover, Nur believed in the principle that Baal and the tribe lived by, that only the fittest, toughest, most ruthless, and pitiless, tested by hardship, would and should survive. At this time Egypt was ruled by Pharaoh Rama-Tut. On the day of his tribal rite of passage into manhood, the seventeen-year-old Nur killed three armed warriors of the tribe using only his bare hands and Baal explained to him that Rama-Tut was no god, as most believed, but a man, who had arrived to Egypt in a Sphinx. Baal brought the young Nur to a sacred cave, whose entrance became blocked by a cave-in, trapping them underground.[5]

After a week of wandering without food or water, they found the remnants of Rama-Tut's time ship, within an underground Egyptian tomb. Baal told Nur that he believed him to be a conqueror, whose coming was foretold in ancient prophecies, and that Nur was destined to overthrow Rama-Tut. After Baal died from lack of nourishment, Nur, whose mutant physiology kept him alive, vowed to take vengeance on Rama-Tut and claim his destiny. Four weeks later, Nur finally made his way back to the surface and was found by Logos, the grand vizier of Rama-Tut, who gave him water and hid him as a slave. Nur was determined to kill both Rama-Tut and his warlord, Ozymandias, for their part in Baal's death.[36]

From Slave to Conqueror[]

While a slave, Nur kept his disfigured lips constantly covered and Nephri, sister of Ozymandias, became attracted to the mysterious slave. Eventually, Nur had a vision of the Egyptian goddess, Isis, who urged him to become a conqueror. Nur was thrown into a pit of snakes, but survived when his superhuman powers began to activate. Nur grew in size and strength and was attacked by guards, but defeated them all, taking the name of Apocalypse.[14]

En Sabah Nur (Earth-616) from Rise of Apocalypse Vol 1 1 Cover

The once and future king

At a time when many time-traveling super heroes, including the Fantastic Four, West Coast Avengers, and Dr. Strange, arrived in Rama-Tut's Egypt, the Pharaoh finally came face to face with Nur. In actuality, Rama-Tut was a time traveler from the far future, who would later become known as Kang the Conqueror. Tut knew Apocalypse as one of the most powerful mutants who ever lived and the one who was destined to rule the world. Hence, Rama-Tut had gone back in time to find Apocalypse as a child, raise him, and thereby become the master of the most powerful being on the planet.[14] Rama-Tut offered to make Nur his heir, if he would swear his loyalty. At that time, Nur revealed his face to Nephri, who rejected him for his appearance. Rama-Tut then tried to kill Nur, when he refused. Nur was then shot, by the Pharaoh, with the same weapon he used to de-power the Fantastic Four, and was again left to die, but survived with the sudden emergence of his mutant immortality and mass shifting.

With his powers flaring, Tut fled as Nur defeated Ozymandias and his soldiers, Nur ran into the night to claim the Pharaoh's Sphinx and all its secrets. As morning came Ozymandias found Tut's lab within the Sphinx and a changed Nur. He attacked Ozymandias and threw him into the devices, turned Ozymandias into a sand-like being, who could see the future almost right before it happened and would record Nur's accomplishments throughout time, as his scribe. While Nur unleashed his rage on the Pharaoh's technology, Tut who had been fighting the Fantastic Four escaped back into the future, eventually to take on the identity of Kang. The Fantastic Four went back to their era, thinking the explosion a booby trap. Nur emerged from the Sphinx as the only survivor. While the Pharaoh's servants bowed before him, Nur dismissed them as a weak and disgusting people, declaring he would return when the sands of the desert had buried them. After fifty years, Nur returned to his homeland, which by now was crumbling and soon to be overrun by its enemies. He revisited Nephri, now a queen, and mocked her fading beauty, as he was still as he had been years before.[43][12]

Okkara & Family Lost[]

Horsemen of Apocalypse (Earth-616) from Marvel Comics Vol 1 1000

Apocalypse and his children, the First Horsemen

At an uncertain point in the distant past, Apocalypse found and began living on the sentient island of Okkara. He became the leader of a thriving mutant society based on the island and took a wife by the name of Genesis, who bore him four children: two sons and two daughters, who eventually became their First Horsemen. When the island was split by a force wielding the Twilight Sword, the mutants led by Apocalypse and his family fought the invading daemons spilling forth from the hellish reality of Amenth.[44][20][3]

En Sabah Nur (Earth-616), Imhotep (Earth-616), and Moon Knight (2620 BC) (Earth-616) from S.H.I.E.L.D

Defending Egypt against the Brood with Imhotep

As the years passed and the war against Amenth still waged on,[3] Apocalypse returned to Egypt accompanied by his children.[45] In 2620 BC,[46] Apocalypse and his First Horsemen joined forces with Imhotep and the Moon Knight of Khonshu to successfully fend off a Brood invasion. This triumph later served as the inspiration for the Brotherhood of the Shield.[46][47][45][48]

With Apocalypse back on Okkara, the living god of the daemons, Annihilation, offered peace to the mutants, in terms spoken only to Genesis. The terms were refused, but it eventually became clear that the mutants would inevitably lose. In order to buy Earth time, a plan was concocted to seal off the half of Okkara gripped by the daemons, along with Genesis, the Horsemen, and the remaining mutants of the island, who would hold off the Amenthi hordes. Apocalypse was left behind, as he was deemed too weak to cross over.[44][20][3] Before Genesis left for Amenth, she had Apocalypse promise to use the time they would buy him to shepherd mutantkind, to judge them, and to ensure that only the strongest survived, so that they would be prepared for when the daemons inevitably returned.[23][12]

Clan Akkaba & Dark Riders[]

En Sabah Nur (Earth-616) from X-Men Apocalypse vs

Nur with his Riders of the Dark

When Apocalypse fully realized his power and defeated the Pharaoh and his army, Egypt entered a new age, one in which his children walked among them. Offspring of Nur received a portion of his power, those closest related having near identical abilities. Nur forged his clan, now called Clan Akkaba after his birthplace and those who had abandoned and left him to die. During this time, the site of Akkaba reached somewhat of a renaissance as great monuments were erected there, whether by Nur, his descendants, or by the new Pharaoh no one knew. Egypt peaked, and so too did the clan's influence on the world. With attacks by Alexander the Great and his Persian armies, Nur and his kin fought valiantly in a battle he would never forget. This battle helped Nur winnow out the weak in his clan and, as Egypt became nothing but a distant memory to the clan's influence, Nur moved on to Ancient Rome.[49][18][50]

Over the ages Apocalypse also had often banded together the best human warriors from around the world to serve in his army of foot soldiers known as the Riders of the Dark. His group of fanatics devoted to the Darwinian ideals that the strong ("fit") should inherit the Earth and the weak ("unfit") should be culled, weeded them out.[51]

Forever Walker[]

In Ho-Lo Shan Mountains of Northern Mongolia, Nur heard of a ruler, a feared immortal magician, whose magics were such that legions ran in fright.[52] In a confrontation, Nur slew all of Garbha-Hsien's guards. Garbha-Hsien then sought to humble his fellow 'forever walker' by revealing the secret titanic alien vessel. Having had previous experience with futuristic technology, Nur attacked Garbha-Hsien and left the other immortal for dead. Not understanding how to kill an immortal, Garbha-Hsien survived and fled. After striking down Garbha-Hsien, Nur entered the Ship and lived on it for many years, not fully understanding how to communicate with it or control it. Shortly after finding the Ship, Nur and his Riders of the Dark were constantly attacked by a young warrior with a sword and shield calling himself the Traveler.[1][4]

The Traveler[]

Ozymandias (Earth-616) and En Sabah Nur (Earth-616) from Incredible Hulk Vol 1 457 0001

En Sabah Nur & Ozymandias

After years of sending assassins and battling the Traveler, Nur severed Traveler's left cybernetic arm and, during the confusion, the Traveler pulled a gun and shot him in the head. After reattaching his techno-organic arm, Traveler was accepted as the new leader of the Riders of the Dark but declined. Traveler turned to Ozymandias and instructed him to remember that there will always be someone smarter and stronger around and that being fit to survive means to have the responsibility to help those who are not. Unknown to the Traveler, his techno-organic infected blood mixed with Nur's as he wiped Nur's blood on Ozymandias. Ozymandias had Nur's dead body brought to the alien Ship, hoping that its technology could heal him, and Traveler arrived, to ambush a caravan of advanced technology. Traveler explained to Ozymandias that the Ship was actually a Celestial transport for a highly advanced alien race, a sentient exploratory device, and entered the ship. Inside, Traveler learned that his blood, mixed with the Techno-Organic Virus, and Nur's resurrected Nur and, infected with the virus, allowed Nur to understand Ship. Nur was transformed and enhanced by Celestial technology, becoming one of the most powerful beings who would ever live, now possessing the ability of total control over the molecular structure of his body. Angry at the revelation, Traveler told Nur that if he was responsible for his immortality, he would make Nur spend eternity far away from there and sent both Ship and its passenger far into space. Over the next few centuries, Ship's sentience slowly evolved, and Nur noticed, but enslaved it, telling Ship that he had created it. After gaining so much power, Nur also began to take long slumbers in Ship and to refuel his powers.[53]

Celestial Contract[]

En Sabah Nur (Earth-616) and Eson (First Cosmos) from X-Men Vol 2 186 002

Meeting Eson the Searcher

At some point, using old hieroglyphs, Nur built his large Sphinx-shaped ship (based on the Celestial Ship)[4][52] with alien materials. As Nur worked on the ship, he found that it was building itself as much as he was. When he was done, he heard an ephemeral voice speaking to him. The voice belonged to the Celestial Eson the Searcher, who spoke through telepathy and called Nur "Apocalypse." Eson presented Nur with the proposition to use the technology on the ship to become a feared, great, powerful creature, to shape the destiny of the world, or simply leave and forget the wonders of the ship. Nur accepted and Eson stated that one day, maybe in centuries or millennia, the Celestials would come for payments for their gifts.[28]

Final Horsemen[]

By 281, Apocalypse was already recruiting his "Final Horsemen" as a contingency plan, collecting Decimus Furius and storing him away to awaken later. In the 4th century, he recruited Sanjar Javeed for the same purpose.[54]

11th Century[]

In 1013, Apocalypse came to Scandinavia to kill on the counsel of Rama-Tut who informed him of beings and ancestors of people who would cause a threat to him in the future. After defeating Thor he went to London and sent his four Horsemen (Pestilence/Phantom Bats of the Twelve Minds, War, Native-American Famine, and Death) to kill Folkbern Logan, ancestor of Wolverine, but they were all destroyed by Thor. Thor faced off with En Sabah Nur. He was defeated. Seeking revenge, Thor blessed Jarnbjorn with his own blood to imbue it with the power to pierce Celestial armor.[55]

After being convinced by Mephisto that the false gods mocked him and needed to perish, Apocalypse came into conflict again with Thor, but this time the god of thunder was accompanied by his team of Avengers.[56]

Exodus[]

During the Third Crusades in the 12th century, the crusader Bennet du Paris sought out the legendary Tower of Power, the domain of the mythic "Eternal Pharaoh" in Akkaba. After traveling for hours through violent sandstorms, Paris finally collapsed and a voice spoke to him, asking if he was willing to risk everything to become one of the strong. Paris was then tested, and his mutant powers manifested for the first time. Proving himself strong, Paris disappeared from the spot. Nur had teleported Paris onto his Ship and transformed him into Exodus. After capturing the time-traveling Sersi and the Black Knight, Eobar Garrington, who was being controlled by the time-traveling Black Knight, Dane Whitman, Nur commanded Exodus to destroy the Black Knight. Exodus refused and turned on Nur, calling him a "false god." However, Exodus was no match for Nur and Nur stripped Exodus of his power. He sealed him away in a crypt in the Swiss Alps, trapped in a coma like state with a curse preventing Exodus from leaving, yet others were allowed to come and go as they pleased.[13][57]

15th Century[]

Sometime during the fifteenth century, Nur rode among his Four Horsemen of Apocalypse, including War, leading an army of Riders of the Dark. This army was so strong and powerful that some were led to believe that they were just a myth, to scare soldiers before their first battle.

In 1459, in Romania, the Horsemen of War led the Riders of the Dark and, single-handedly, defeated Vlad the Impaler and his army. Nur personally bested Vlad in single combat, an event which led to Vlad becoming the immortal vampire, Dracula.[18]

Mister Sinister[]

Nur was later seen in 1859, Victorian England, after being awoken from centuries of hibernation in an underground chamber by the Marauders, and ordered them to take him to their leader, Dr. Nathaniel Essex. Nur offered to transform Essex into a long-lived superhuman being himself, to give him the time to further his research, but at a cost: his servitude. Left with the choice of continuing his work or his wife shunning him, Dr. Essex allied himself with Nur. Dr. Essex explained to Nur that he was the first born in, what Dr. Essex believed, would be a great mutation in the human race. After taking Nur to the Hellfire Club, Nur demonstrated his power before the men and explained that Dr. Essex's theories of mutation were more near than he believed. After defeating the time-travelers Cyclops and Phoenix, Nur left them to Dr. Essex, as test subjects.[40] After the death of his wife and her shunning him, Dr. Essex agreed to Nur's offer and was ordered to create a plague to destroy the weak of the world, as Nur's first prelate, Pestilence. Apocalypse painfully transformed Dr. Essex into an ageless being of extraordinary pallor with telekinesis in his alien Ship, asking him to shed his past name and choose another. With his new abilities and dispassionate outlook, Dr. Essex took the new name, "Sinister," Rebecca Essex's last words to him.[58]

Nur had plans to assassinate Britain's Queen and Prime Minister, and almost succeeded, but was defeated by the time-traveling X-Men who began to shift back to their own time. Returning to Nur's Ship, Nur demanded to know why the plague was not complete and Mr. Sinister stated that he manipulated the plague, so that it would affect only Nur himself, but his immune system quickly adapted to it.[59] Nur asked why, and Mr. Sinister replied that cruelty for no purpose was ignorance and ignorance was the greatest enemy of science. As Nur began to return to his hibernation, he stated that Sinister's defiance was a sign of his strength, but it would not be tolerated again. Nur warned Sinister to never forget who had the true power and, when he returned, it would be the dawn of the Age of Apocalypse and Sinister would be his servant.[60]

En Sabah Nur (Earth-616) from X-Men Apocalypse vs

Apocalypse awakened to battle Vlad once again

Dracula[]

In 1897, Dracula, now an immortal vampire warlord, discovered the existence of Clan Akkaba and its relation to En Sabah Nur. Dracula then began a vengeful campaign against Clan Akkaba, slaughtering many before Abraham van Helsing determined he was involved. When the clan's leader, Hamilton Slade, disappeared, they were left with no choice but to summon their lord.[18] The clan awoke Apocalypse, in order to deal with the threat of Dracula. Unknown to the members of the clan, Dracula was turning members of Clan Akkaba into vampires in order to battle Apocalypse as revenge for his earlier defeat and the way the Dark Lord had previously shamed him.[61]

X-Men Apocalypse vs

Apocalypse's defeat of Dracula

Apocalypse, as punishment for being so weak in requesting a boon from him, killed one of the clan's leaders. After meeting and initially being mistaken as a vampire by van Helsing, Apocalypse joined him, Jack Starsmore, Frederick Slade, and Ozymandias to combat Dracula and the undead members of Clan Akkaba.[62] Apocalypse and his group were at first overwhelmed by the vampires, but eventually emerged victorious, thanks to Frederick and Jack. Dracula was impaled with his own limbs and decapitated by Apocalypse. Apocalypse refused to follow van Helsing's "superstitious" rituals to permanently destroy the vampire, leaving the body. He then went back into hibernation.[63]

Back in 1899 in England, Sinister's clone helped awaken Apocalypse from his slumber. Apocalypse thanked him for his servitude over the years and said that out of all the servants, Sinister was the most loyal. Sinister secretly bided his time for the right moment to stop Apocalypse himself. He decided this was not the time and said that he lived only to serve Apocalypse. Apocalypse even offered him a normal life again and Sinister said that his life was his science. He then went back into hibernation.[64]

Birth of Cable[]

Feeling threatened by the power of Nur, Sinister conducted numerous experiments in his time, searching for a powerful mutant to oppose his master. Sinister eventually realized Scott Summers and Jean Grey's mingled genes would create a mutant of unparalleled power, to destroy Apocalypse and thus free him from the yoke of that ancient tyrant. Sinister hoped he could control such a mutant and use it to defeat Apocalypse. At the time, Jean was believed to be acting reckless, so Sinister created a clone of her and named the clone Madelyne Pryor, creating a false background for her and placing her into the world after "Jean"'s apparent death. Sinister's plan, then, was to produce a child from the union of Madelyne and Scott, whom he believed would become a genetically superior mutant. The infant, Nathan Christopher Charles Summers, was so powerful that, upon his birth, he woke Apocalypse from his hibernation.[citation needed]

Alliance of Evil[]

Emerging from his Celestial Ship in a new world, Apocalypse realized that mutants had begun to populate the Earth and began his plan of domination. Out-fitting himself with armor from Ship, Apocalypse began to form the Alliance of Evil, a team of mutants which he employed, and set up technologically advanced safe houses all over the world. Apocalypse also blackmailed the mutant Michael Nowlan and designed a machine to feed Nowlan's addiction, as well as to reverse it as needed to utilize his power.[41] Apocalypse used Nowlan's power to enhance the abilities of the other members of the Alliance of Evil. Around this time, the Mutant Registration Act was passed, which called for all mutants to register with the government, forfeiting their civil rights and criminalizing an unregistered mutant.[65][66]

The Alliance of Evil was first seen when Tower was hired to kidnap X-Factor member Beast for the geneticist Dr. Carl Maddicks. Later, Apocalypse sent Frenzy to capture the young mutant Rusty Collins, but she was stopped by X-Factor.[67] Nowlan eventually escaped from Apocalypse and Apocalypse sent the Alliance after him. After revealing himself as the leader of the Alliance of Evil, X-Factor battled him and his team. After Nowlan's death, the Alliance was defeated and presumably imprisoned and Apocalypse abandoned them, believing them weak.[68][69]

X-Factor Vol 1 19

Horsemen of Apocalypse's first modern incarnation

New Horsemen[]

Subsequently, Apocalypse began recruiting his newest Horsemen and taking them aboard his Ship, which floated cloaked above New York. The first modern Horseman recruited by Apocalypse was Plague, a member of the Morlocks, whom he rescued and recruited during the Mutant Massacre of Sinister's Marauders, to fill the role of Pestilence. Apocalypse then approached ex-soldier Abraham Kieros, in an iron lung barely able to speak, and granted him the position of War. Autumn Rolfson was Apocalypse's third choice, who he appeared to in her room after an argument with her parents and was given the position of Famine. Apocalypse then saved the de-winged Angel from his sabotaged, exploding plane and chose him to be his fourth and final Horseman, Death.[39][70] Apocalypse granted Kieros the use of his legs and restored his health.[71] Apocalypse also grafted new, techno-organic wings onto Angel's back, which could fly higher, faster, were razor sharp, possessed blades that could be thrown laced with a neurotoxin, and could even fold into a barely visible bundle on his back for concealing.[72]

To test his new Horsemen, Apocalypse sent them to battle X-Factor, in New York's Central Park, but they were all defeated by Iceman. After the fourth Horseman, Death, was revealed to be Warren, Apocalypse had the Horsemen battle each other, to find the leader, and Death beat them all.[73] To test his newest leader's abilities, Apocalypse teleported X-Factor on-board his Ship and, as Death, Warren fought the rest of X-Factor and captured them. However, Apocalypse offered X-Factor to join him and Caliban, noticing Warren's improvement and wishing to exact revenge on the Marauders, asked Apocalypse to grant him enough superhuman power to wreak vengeance on his enemies and Apocalypse accepted.[74] When Cyclops asked for Caliban to rescue X-Factor, Caliban simply apologized and agreed to become Apocalypse's Hellhound. After X-Factor's defeat, the Horsemen were sent into Manhattan, to incite chaos. X-Factor and the Power Pack battled the Horsemen.[75] In the battle, Pestilence was killed, Famine was sent to America's Bread Basket, and Apocalypse called Death and War back to Ship, where Warren was soon brought out of his brainwashing, after Iceman faked his own death at Warren's hands by having him destroy an ice sculpture of Bobby Drake.[6] Warren rejoined his former team and, after their defeat of Apocalypse, his Ship crash landed on their Complex and X-Factor began living on Apocalypse's sentient Ship, while Caliban left with Apocalypse.[76] While sleeping, X-Factor and their students were attacked by Ship, still under the control of Apocalypse, but Rusty freed its consciousness. Recognizing X-Factor's leader, Cyclops, as the same that defeated him centuries ago, Apocalypse believed X-Factor worthy adversaries and allowed them to live on Ship.[77]

The Evolutionary War[]

While operating under Apocalypse, Caliban sensed the mental anguish of the mutant Moloid, Val-Or, and informed his master, alerting Apocalypse to the High Evolutionary's plans. After an initial battle, Apocalypse realized that the High Evolutionary was a man after his own heart, even if the High Evolutionary did not want to believe it and left him to weed-out the weak of the species.[78]

Inhumans[]

Apocalypse used advanced genetic engineering methods to increase Caliban's size and strength and renamed him "Hellhound," while he joined Apocalypse's Horsemen. Wishing to prove himself worthy of the title Death, Caliban, on his own, attempted to kill Warren, but was defeated and berated by Apocalypse, upon his return. At some point, Apocalypse contacted members of the Inhumans, on the Blue Area of the Moon, and persuaded them to join his ideological view and form a new team of Riders of the Storm under his guidance, while building a base on the Moon.[78]

Savage Land & Acts of Vengeance[]

Apocalypse attempted to destroy the Savage Land but was stopped by Wolverine and Colossus.[79]

Loki went to Apocalypse to offer him a major part in his Acts of Vengeance Conspiracy against the Avengers. Apocalypse refused to join him, having other ideas in mind for humanity. Loki attempted to slay the eternal mutant, but Apocalypse shielded them from the blast. With the battle over, Apocalypse told Caliban that it was time to begin the next phase of his test of survival on humanity.[80]

Nathan Summers[]

Realizing that young Nathan was the same Traveller that defeated him centuries ago, Apocalypse ordered the Riders of the Storm to kidnap Nathan and take him to his base on the Blue Area of the Moon, where Apocalypse infected the infant with the Techno-Organic Virus, both to start a time paradox that ensured his own creation and recognizing the potential threat and usefulness (capable of housing his essence) of the boy's power.[81] Apocalypse also ordered the Riders of the Storm to infect Ship with the Techno-Organic Virus, that damaged its systems and caused Ship to attack New York. Explosion imminent, Ship launched itself into space to protect the city, but the Ship A.I. managed to salvage itself as an energy construct.[82] With the help of the Inhumans and his fellow teammates, Cyclops saved his son, through the combined strength of Nathan, Jean, and himself. Sister Askani presented herself, from the late 37th century, 100 years after Apocalypse conquered the world, and stated her mission to save the child.[83] Choosing to save his son's life and believing that he would never see him again, Cyclops reluctantly allowed Askani to take Nathan forward to her time, to cure the virus. Askani did so at the cost of her life.[84] Apocalypse later battled the She-Hulk.[85]

Future Son Stryfe[]

While hibernating in Bani Maza, Egypt, Apocalypse was awakened by a man in armor, calling himself Stryfe and claiming to repay Apocalypse for his abusive parenting.[86] With his Dark Riders of the Storm watching, Apocalypse, who had never met Stryfe at this point and was still weak from waking too early, was defeated by Stryfe, who stabbed him with a sword that he claimed Apocalypse used to kill him at one point.[87] While attempting to heal, Apocalypse fled to one of his safehouses, where he was attacked by the X-Men believing that he was behind the kidnapping of Scott and Jean. While battling the X-Men, Apocalypse learned that someone had been committing acts in his name. Eager to learn more about current events, Apocalypse broke in to one of Cable's safehouses and learned that Stryfe had taken control of his Riders of the Storm, calling them the Dark Riders. Sinister meanwhile had impersonated him, taking control of the Horsemen and kidnapping Cyclops and Jean.[88][89][38][90]

Stryfe had also posed as Cable himself and publicly made an assassination attempt on Professor Charles Xavier, founder of the X-Men. Stryfe's bullet had infected Professor Xavier with the then incurable Techno-Organic Virus.[91] While Beast and Dr. Moira MacTaggert, via video conference, worked diligently to cure Prof. Xavier of the Techno-Organic Virus ravaging his body, Apocalypse stepped-in and provided the cure. The X-Men initially did not want Apocalypse's aid, but Warren, surprisingly, vouched for Apocalypse's genius. When Apocalypse asked why, Warren stated that he would kill Apocalypse after torturing him and at a time of his choosing.[92]

After deducing that Stryfe was on Apocalypse's old Moon base, Apocalypse accompanied a small group of X-Men, X-Factor, and X-Force to battle Stryfe and his Dark Riders. Apocalypse split from the group, single-handedly battling the Dark Riders and, after the battle, was greatly injured. When Warren was informed that Apocalypse was dying, he left the final battle to find him and decided to leave him to die alone, when Apocalypse asked him to end his misery.[93][94]

Mimeyoshi & Age of Apocalypse[]

Mimeyoshi was created by En Sabah Nur to serve as an assassin and was sent against Namor.[7]

Legion went back into the past to kill Magneto but Xavier died instead, which created the alternate timeline Age of Apocalypse. Apocalypse of the past awoke early and began a war to conquer the world and remake it in his image.[95]

Onslaught[]

Apocalypse was awakened from his healing slumber by Ozymandias to learn about the new threat to Earth, Onslaught.[96] He watched the creature battle Earth heroes.[97] Uatu the Watcher suggested Apocalypse make an alliance with Cable.[96] Apocalypse believed he would be vulnerable through the Astral Plane, and needed Cable's help to reach the realm. He freed the captive Franklin Richards, greatly weakening Onslaught. The plan worked but was interrupted by the Invisible Woman, who had invisibly come with them, having suspected Apocalypse's motive in wanting to actually kill Franklin. However, this gave Onslaught the time to escape, prolonging the fight.[98][99][100]

Hulk: The Horseman of War[]

Bruce Banner was split from the Hulk split into two separate beings by Onslaught. Hulk now drew upon energy derived from Franklin's pocket universe. Apocalypse recruited the Hulk to become his Horseman, War, to defeat the Celestials.[101] He sent the Hulk against the New World Order. The New World Order in turn set the Juggernaut and Absorbing Man against him. The Hulk defeated them both. Hulk soon came to his senses after injuring Rick Jones.[102] This was still a win for Apocalypse as it allowed him to test his new device. He activated the self-destruct mechanism on the Sword of War destroying their headquarters.[50]

Harbinger of Apocalypse[]

The Hellfire Club later awoke Apocalypse's long-hidden Harbinger of Apocalypse from hibernation, originally a normal man, whom Apocalypse in the 19th century once left to incubate for 100 years.[103] Apocalypse released Caliban and Ozymandias from his possession, to fend for themselves if they were to survive the coming events.[104] Cable with the Avengers battled the Harbinger, but were unable to stop him. Apocalypse then appeared and activated a bomb inside the Harbinger which would destroy all of New York City, but Cable managed to stop it.[105]

Magneto, Deviants & Eternals[]

When Magneto disrupted the Earth's magnetic field, Apocalypse sent a Skrull impersonating the mutant Astra to stop him.[106]

Apocalypse planned to test the Deviants and set off a nuclear bomb in the underground city of Lemuria, causing them to further mutate. Apocalypse then attacked San Francisco, using the now gigantic Karkas. The Eternals were forced to battle the creature. Apocalypse was confronted by Ikaris, who became a Prime Eternal. Although Apocalypse defeated Ikaris, he still succeeded in thwarting his plans.[107]

The Twelve[]

To secure a new host body, Apocalypse sought to siphon the awesome energies of The Twelve, mutants of incredible power that were destined to alter the course of history. This time it was Wolverine who fell into the warlord's grasp. The feral X-Man fought his teammates ferociously as the Horseman of Death, but broke free from Apocalypse's control.[108]

However, Wolverine and his fellow Horsemen had served their purpose. Taking advantage of the distraction afforded by their actions, Apocalypse collected the mutants he required to carry out his plan: Cyclops, Phoenix, Polaris, Bishop, Sunfire, the Living Monolith, Mikhail Rasputin, Cable, Professor X, Storm, Iceman, and Magneto.[109][110][111][112]

The Twelve's energy would be siphoned into the Monolith and then from him into X-Man (Nate Grey), a reality-tossed teenager possessing vast telepathic and telekinetic power. As the power went into him Apocalypse would possess the boy and claim his body as his own. As his teammates fell around him, a powerless Cyclops shoved X-Man out of the draining circuit, merging with Apocalypse to create a new evil entity.[113] But the telepathic Phoenix, Summers' wife Jean Grey, detected her husband's psyche inside the composite being and prevented the X-Men from destroying it.[114] Cyclops was presumed dead by most of his teammates; only Cable and Jean refused to believe he had perished.[115]

Cyclops & Decimation[]

An amnesiac and powerless cyborg Cyclops gained control of the merged form, but Apocalypse soon began to re-emerge.[116] Jean and Cable were alerted to his location in Egypt, where Jean in the end managed to free Cyclops by telepathically tearing out Apocalypse's essence from her husband's body.[117] This trapped Apocalypse in an incorporeal astral form, which Cable seemingly destroyed using his Psimitar.[27]

X-Men Vol 2 182 Textless

Apocalypse reborn

However, after the event known as M-Day, Apocalypse was resurrected using the techno-organic virus.[4] As he had once been awakened to a world brimming with mutant potential, Apocalypse was now awakened to a world that had lost 90% of its mutants. This changed Apocalypse's outlook somewhat, and he declared himself the savior of mutantkind.[118]

Apocalypse began assembling his new Horsemen. He kidnapped Polaris and the Leper Queen to make one of them Pestilence. He found the Leper Queen too eager for the position, and instead chose the recently de-powered Polaris. He brought Gazer back to Earth and forced him to fight an archaeologist who had discovered his tomb for the position of War.[119][120] After Gazer's victory (with the assistance of Ozymandias), Apocalypse approached the newly-legless Sunfire, offering to restore him in return for becoming his Horseman of Famine. Apocalypse then sent his Horseman Pestilence to a military installation to ingest every disease known to man.[121]

With three Horsemen, Apocalypse went to the Xavier Institute, where he proclaimed himself the savior of mutantkind, and offered the X-Men and 198 mutants seeking shelter his leadership.[122] Many mutants, such as Mammomax, Skids, Peeper, Arclight, and Scalphunter, accepted this offer, even though in the case of some it was to counter the effects of Famine, who was using his hunger-inducing powers to force everyone present to accept the blood of Apocalypse. The X-Men, however, went after Famine, who Rogue recognized. While War fought against the only manned Sentinel left after Famine's starving effect, Apocalypse made his final Horseman, Death, from the X-Man Gambit.[123]

Apocalypse's plan was to decimate the human population as well, reducing them to 10% of their current population, so that they and mutantkind might once again be on an "even" playing field. He was defeated by the X-Men with assistance from Sentinel Squad O*N*E, the New Avengers, and Ozymandias' betrayal. Apocalypse threw himself into the maw of the Sphinx, sending him spiraling into unknown space. As Apocalypse began to die, he was contacted once more by the Celestials. The day of reckoning was upon him, as they saved Apocalypse from death, and took him away, to collect on the debt he had promised them in his youth.[28]

En Sabah Nur (Earth-616) from Uncanny X-Force Vol 1 1 0001

Young En Sabah Nur

The Final Horsemen[]

Ozymandias and Clan Akkaba once again resurrected Apocalypse, but this time in the form of a child.[29] In this form, Apocalypse seemed to have no memory of his past or his previous disregard for life.[54] Ozymandias and the Celestial Ship clone took to tutoring and indoctrinating the child Apocalypse.[29] To protect this young En Sabah Nur, The Final Horsemen, mutants collected over the centuries, were activated.[15] War, Pestilence, Famine, and Death battled X-Force on the Blue Area of the Moon and nearly defeated them.[54] However, due largely to Fantomex's illusions, the team disposed of the Horsemen and killed Ozymandias. When they discovered the young Apocalypse, the team fought over what to do with him, some believing the child could still be saved while others thought he was too far gone and needed to die. The issue was rendered moot when Fantomex shot the boy in the head leading to one of his Horsemen of Death, Archangel, taking his place as the instrument of the Celestials.[30]

Apocalypse was cloned and raised by Fantomex as a hero, named Evan Sabahnur. He tried his best to defeat Archangel, providing the opportunity for Psylocke to attack him with the Life Seed. After the battle, Fantomex decided to send Evan to the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning.[124]

Degeneration[]

Despite his death, En Sabah Nur would return again under mysterious circumstances. Although his consciousness had evolved to immortality, like all his hosts, his body was once again degenerating. To rectify this situation, Apocalypse traveled to a small island off the coast of South America and began modifying the Finch, a piece of Celestial technology designed to repair genetic degradation, to transform the cells of future host bodies into perfect vessels as immortal as his mind. Unfortunately, his fourth test subject, D'oerek, feared death and resisted the transformation, his strength of will causing feedback that overloaded the Finch resulting in an explosion. When En Sabah Nur awoke, he found himself in a seemingly strange and primitive world, his powers failing him as his current host body's degradation rapidly increased.[31]

Apocalypse then grappled with his own mortality, devolving into a human-like state while fighting off threats from creatures and finding himself further weakened by pathogens in the water as his healing factor failed and he struggled to find a place where he might repair the Finch and restore his host body long enough to return to his work of creating the perfect vessel.[125] Devolving further into a caveman-like state, En Sabah Nur fought to protect what remained of the Finch from actual cavemen, his mind fuzzy and his body battered and broken before the very test subjects he had been experimenting on before suddenly arrived.[126]

Unfortunately, they had not come for Apocalypse at all, in fact they did not even recognize him, instead they had come to capture cavemen to use as test subjects of their own. Repairing the Finch, they began to continue En Sabah Nur's former work, attempting to modify the cavemen to serve as hosts for themselves when their own bodies would eventually fail. When it came time for Apocalypse to be the next caveman test subject, he grabbed hold of D'oerek as the energy of the Finch washed over them both, allowing his mind to transfer into his intended vessel, leaving the one that had been devolving to die on the exam table.[127]

His immortal mind now bestowed upon an immortal host body, it was only then that En Sabah Nur realized he had not been transported to another planet, rather the earlier explosion from the Finch had simply evolved his entire South American island, infusing his superior genetics into everything the blast wave struck, transforming it into the tribulation which he had been forced to endure. Apocalypse then gave his perfect host body a trial run as he killed the remaining test subjects, who were upset about their leader D'oerek's death at his master's hand, while reducing the entire island to rubble that was reclaimed by the sea.[128]

X-Men Disassembled & the Age of X-Man[]

When X-Man returned from seclusion with his powers fully restored using a Life Seed, he kidnapped Apocalypse and kept him chained up while he planned to change the world into a utopia for mutants. X-Man's attempts to change the world were challenged by the X-Men. When X-Man realized that he couldn't change the world with the X-Men around, X-Man chose to wipe them out in an instant. Apocalypse was seemingly wiped out as well.[129]

Apocalypse and the X-Men were in fact transported to a different reality created by X-Man using a Life Seed where he attempted to create a utopia for mutants. He erased the memories of those he brought there, including Apocalypse, so they didn't resist.[130]

Apocalypse became the founder of the X-Tracts, a group of mutants who preached love and community, contrary to Nate Grey and the X-Men's world order built on individualism and celibacy.[19]

When X-Man was made to realize that forcing his beliefs on others was wrong, he allowed those he trapped in his reality to go free and return to the real world, including Apocalypse.[131]

Dawn of X[]

Six months later, Professor X sent out a telepathic message to everyone on Earth, declaring the foundation of Krakoa, a new mutant nation.[42] Xavier sent out another telepathic call to all mutants, offering amnesty and a place on Krakoa.[132] Two days after Krakoa was officially recognized by the United Nations, Apocalypse traveled to Krakoa alongside many other former enemies of the X-Men. He revealed to those present his past history on the island. When pressed by Magneto, he declared that he was proud of what they had accomplished, agreeing to submit to all the laws of Krakoa.[133] He was given a place on the ruling body of Krakoa, sitting alongside Xavier and Magneto on the Autumn wing of the Quiet Council.[42]

Later, the Arak Coral emerged, and bonded with Krakoa. Apocalypse met the High Summoner of Arakko, who was revealed to be the son of Apocalypse's first Horseman of War. The Summoner pleaded to Apocalypse to save them from their enemy, the demons that had destroyed Okkara.[134] Alongside Xavier and Magneto, Apocalypse attended the World Economic Forum in Davos.[135]

As depowered mutants joined the nation of Krakoa, a problem emerged. The Five possessed the capacity to resurrect these former mutants in mutant bodies; however, this required them to first die. In part to ensure that the Five were not overwhelmed by such resurrections, Apocalypse proposed the "Crucible," a novel ritual of combat to earn the right to die and be resurrected as a mutant once more. The Quiet Council assented to the proposal. The first to undergo the trial was Melody Guthrie, who faced Apocalypse himself in a sword-fighting duel. Melody refused Apocalypse's offer to surrender, and thus was slain at his hand. She was then resurrected with her powers restored and resumed her mutant name of Aero, much to the pride of Apocalypse.[136]

When a Gateway to Otherworld formed, Apocalypse sought to harness the mutant magic of the dimension but was blocked from the other side. Apocalypse asked Betsy Braddock to bring her brother Captain Britain to Krakoa, hoping to use his power to unlock the gateway. However, the Braddock siblings ventured to Otherworld on their own, only to be ambushed by Morgan Le Fay, who had gained control of Camelot.[2] Meanwhile, Apocalypse had Trinary bring Gambit and Rogue to the gate, seeking to have Rogue absorb the power of the gate and thus weaken the magical ward upon it. The sorceress enslaved Brian with her dark magic, and Betsy escaped to Krakoa using the Amulet of Right.

Betsy, now Captain Britain herself, arrived on Krakoa, discovering that Rogue had entered a magical coma as a result of her interaction with the Gate. When Betsy traveled to England along with Gambit, Jubilee, and a comatose Rogue to rebuilt the Braddock Lighthouse, they were attacked by the Coven Akkaba, servants of le Fay. Apocalypse arrived and promised them he would protect the Lighthouse and Rogue while the others went to Otherworld.[137] Lacking the proper material to both create a stable gateway to Otherworld and to awaken Rogue, Apocalypse recruited Rictor, to serve as a master of Earth and retrieve the bones of ancient mutants. While the rest of the newly reformed Excalibur were away, Apocalypse watched as monsters from Otherworld emerged to attack the Lighthouse.[138] Apocalypse revealed that what happened with Rogue was not an accident, but the latest step in a ritual eons in the making. However, when Prestige made telepathic contact with Rogue at Gambit's request, the ritual's progress was accelerated. Enraged, Apocalypse beat Gambit into submission. As he went to complete his ritual, Apocalypse discovered that Richter had already spent the energy of the crystals he'd been sent to retrieve. At that moment, Rogue awoke, infused with power, and attacked Apocalypse. He allowed Rogue to absorb his life, realizing that in death his bones would have the power required to complete the ritual and access Otherworld.[32]

Apocalypse was quickly resurrected, a privilege afforded to him due to his place on the Quiet Council. He was then greeted by Jamie Braddock, whom he appeared to be in league with. Apocalypse challenged le Fay for the throne of Avalon; in place of a war, the dispute would be solved by a duel to the death between their champions; Betsy and the possessed Brian, respectively. After Betsy involuntarily defeated her brother, Apocalypse officially announced Jamie Braddock as Avalon's new king. Jamie, also known as Monarch, then imprisoned le Fay and resurrected Brian. This, it seemed, had been Apocalypse's plan from the start. Following their victory, Apocalypse began vivisecting le Fay, seeking to study the physical and biological components of magic.[33]

He then tasked Excalibur with retrieving the skulls of five Warwolves, which were needed for expanding their coven between dimensions.[139] After finally getting the components he needed, Apocalypse and Excalibur were able to access the Starlight Citadel.[140] As Betsy confronted the Omniversal Majestrix Saturnyne, Apocalypse gathered all of the High Lords at the volcano of Arak Maw and told them that it was time for the entire mutant population to become equal to them. He and Rictor then proceeded to kill Crule, Saul, Nicodemus, and Candra in order to turn their life force into crystals that would serve as a portal to Otherworld. However, Candra prior to being killed left her gem containing her life force at the Citadel which was picked up by Gambit. Apocalypse contacted Betsy and told her about the gem, and then after seeing it at the hands of Gambit she told him to give it to Apocalypse and he complied, throwing it at the Krakoan portal where Apocalypse got it and finally completed his own portal.[35] Following that, Apocalypse went to his grandson, the Summoner, who explained to him what happened to his horsemen, his wife, and the other mutants who had remained on Arakko. After that, Apocalypse directed his grandson to the portal to Otherworld ordering him to return to the fallen land and herald Apocalypse's return, while being accompanied by Unus and Banshee.[20]

X of Swords[]

When the Summoner and an injured Banshee returned to Krakoa bearing tidings of the fall of Arakko and an impending invasion by the demons, Apocalypse brought the situation to the Quiet Council. The Council was angry at Apocalypse for creating the External Gate without their knowledge and permission, but Apocalypse found support from Krakoa itself, who wanted to reunite with its long-lost half and didn't allow the Council to destroy the gate. Instead, Apocalypse and his grandson went alongside some volunteers to Otherworld in order to face the threat. Apocalypse was then reunited with his long-lost children. While trying to learn what had happened to them, they and Summoner suddenly ambushed him, leaving him mortally wounded.[21] He and Rictor were taken to the Healing Gardens in order to cure them from Pestilence's poison arrow, but the poison proved to be too strong. Magneto told Apocalypse that following the complications surrounding Rockslide's failed resurrection, all of the eggs in the Hatchery had been destroyed and they would need time before Apocalypse would be resurrected, while also berating him for his failed experiment.[141]

While Apocalypse recovered in the healing gardens, the battle between his children and the Krakoans who had accompanied him ended in stalemate, as Saturnyne intervened and demanded they settle their conflict through a tournament she would host. Each side was given a prophecy directing them towards ten swords wielded by ten champions.[21]

Apocalypse eventually recovered from the infection and alongside Gorgon returned to the Temple of the Horsemen. There he destroyed the tombs that represented his children and retrieved the four pieces of his sword, the Scarab, since he was one of the Swordbearers of Krakoa who would fight in the Ten of Swords tournament.[23]

Apocalypse arrived with the Swordbearers of Krakoa at the Starlight Citadel one day before the tournament began. There each Champion received a tarot card, with Apocalypse receiving "The Lovers." The card depicted Apocalypse and Genesis embracing each other. Disturbed, he confronted Saturnyne. She introduced him to Annihilation, who revealed herself to be Genesis.[142]

Afterwards, Apocalypse and Genesis walked the gardens beneath the Citadel together and discussed what really happened to her and the mutants of Arakko.[143] The next morning, the Swordbearers of Krakoa, Swordbearers of Arakko and leaders of various realms of Otherworld dined together before the tournament officially started.[144]

Apocalypse spectated several different contests before Krakoa and Arakko earned even scores. The final contest would be a duel between him and Genesis to decide the winner of the tournament.[145]

Although Genesis initially dominated the fight, Apocalypse gained the upper hand, but refused to finish her off.[146] As a result, Annihilation asserted control over Genesis[146] and ignoring the terms of the contest, attacked, leading Amenthi demons, the Swordbearers of Arakko and several Summoners against the Krakoans, the Starlight Citadel and a reemerging Captain Britain Corps. There, on the battlefield, Apocalypse engaged Annihilation and tried to reach out to Genesis, but Annihilation took full control of her and blasted him away. After getting distracted by the Vescora, Apocalypse ambushed Annihilation, slamming her to the ground and ripping the Golden Helm of Annihilation off of Genesis. It consequently possessed Apocalypse and tried to seize control of him, but without success. As Annihilation, Apocalypse attained full control of the Amenthi forces and surrendered the tournament on their behalf, and with the tournament concluded, Saturnyne broke up the war.

Saturnyne subsequently removed the Golden Helm of Annihilation from Apocalypse and turned it into a staff, weakening its influence on the wielder. After giving the staff to Genesis, Saturnyne demanded an exchange of hostages to end the war; one Krakoan would stay in Amenth, while an Arakkan would come to Krakoa. Genesis chose Apocalypse and Apocalypse chose the mutant island of Arakko itself, with all its millions of mutants, to go to Krakoa. And thus, Apocalypse accompanied his family to Amenth after telling Cyclops to convey a message to Professor X and Magneto; that one day, he would see them again.[9]

Genesis War[]

Apocalypse would spend years in Amenth with his wife, but the couple would eventually find themselves at odds with each other: where Apocalypse remained committed to his ideal of peace for mutantkind, Genesis, her thirst for blood fed by the Annihilation staff, maintained her Arakki ideals of the need for mutants to prove themselves in battle. Apocalypse refused to participate in Genesis' upcoming invasion of the newly-terraformed Mars (which now served as the mutant homeworld "Arakko"), and left with his demonic familiar Orc after giving his wife a seed that would allow her to grow a gateway to Arakko.[147]

Apocalypse and Orc would first make their way to Otherworld (where they would rescue Sunfire and Redroot) before making their way to Arakko, where a bloody civil war now raged between the two proclaimed regents of the planet, Genesis and Storm.[148][22] Disillusioned with his wife's bloodthirst and with the goal of establishing lasting peace among all mutants, Apocalypse would enter an ancient magical ritual alongside Orc, Sunfire, Storm, and Vulcan, their powers combining to raise a new mutant island: Kaorak.[149] This new island would prove decisive in Storm's victory over Genesis, with the latter being exiled alongside her surviving children.[150]

Fall of X[]

Apocalypse served as a general in the war opposing mutantkind and the forces of the genocidal terrorists and thinking machines of Orchis. He and Sunfire wreaked havoc on Orchis' Stark Sentinels and led the warriors of Arakko in battle to support Juggernaut in rescuing the dying Krakoa, which Apocalypse saved by sacrificing the lives and offering the energy of several mutants, including Wrongslide.[151]

Although he would play an important role in the war and fight alongside the X-Men, he would quickly reclaim his role as one of their fiercest opponents. Learning that he and his ways were rejected by the future mutants of Krakoa, who had been in the White Hot Room, where many years had passed without war. Apocalypse, attacked one of the leaders of this new Krakoa, Kafka, and feeling that he was far too lenient with his idealize and once again must lead. He fought the X-Men, Exodus, Deadpool and others as he reminded them who he is and all he has done for them. However, he finally stopped when Jean and Emma Frost came to speak to him, and despite it not changing his mind, it was enough to make him leave.[152]

Bitter after this final confrontation with the X-Men and their rejection of his ways, Apocalypse would return to Mars, confident that mutantkind's future was on Arakko. However, he believed he needed a spiritual "heir" to continue his work on Earth and guide Earth's mutants' destiny. Assembling a ragtag group of mutants (including his nemesis Cable, his protégé Rictor, veteran X-Men Mirage, Emma Frost, and Forge, and supervillains Gorgon and Mister Sinister) and forcing them to engage and compete in deadly trials (including a confrontation with his illegitimate son Genocide) to prove their worth. Apocalypse would eventually select the New Mutant and former spokesperson of Krakoa Cypher due to his history of acting against the Krakoan government's interests in a way that aligned with Apocalypse's vision for mutantkind. He would transform Cypher (who would adopt the new codename Revelation) with the same Celestial technology that transformed him, before leaving Earth.[153]

Attributes

Power Grid[175]
:Category:Power Grid/Fighting Skills/Some Training:Category:Power Grid/Energy Projection/Multiple Types:Category:Power Grid/Durability/Superhuman:Category:Power Grid/Speed/Supersonic:Category:Power Grid/Strength/Incalculable:Category:Power Grid/Intelligence/Super-Genius

Powers

Mutant Physiology: Apocalypse has constantly evolved to survive, increasing his powers over the centuries. His original ability to control his own atomic structure was augmented by Celestial technology and further enhanced through the Celestial armor to become the Evolutionary Caretaker.[28] He was also exposed to at least two different techno-organic viruses over the years, which he assimilated and made his own.[64][53]

En Sabah Nur (Earth-616) from X-Factor Vol 1 68 0001

Apocalypse withstands a scream from Black Bolt, as well the combined attacks of the Inhumans and X-Factor

  • Immortality: As an External Apocalypse's original body was immortal;[154] even before being modified by the Celestial ship, he had lived for thousands of years.[1] Though he has been put out of commission or seemingly destroyed for various periods of time, Apocalypse can not be permanently killed.[citation needed]
    • Self-Resurrection: Like the other Externals, Apocalypse has shown to be able to resurrect himself in various ways, but due to being enhanced by Celestial technology and Techno-Organic Virus, he has been able to come back in unique ways from the other Externals.[53]
  • Psychic-Link: Apocalypse is not only immortal like these rare subspecies of mutants, but shares a telepathic-link with his fellow Externals that allows them to not only sense each other and where, but can call on each other at will from great distances. He is also able to sense when one rises from their first death and when one is killed by another External.[154]
  • Self-Atomic Manipulation: Apocalypse has control over the atomic structure of his own body and can alter it at will.[3] This means he can adapt his atomic structure to adversity. Apocalypse can perform the following feats:
    • Biomorphing: Apocalypse is also a non-terrestrial metamorph, able to elongate like taffy, change into machinery, transform his arms and fists into various melee weapons like claws, axes, swords, tentacles, maces, scythes, shields, etc., and ranged weapons like plasma cannons, separate & reattach his own body parts, and even alter his physical appearance at will to blend in with the world around him.[65][155][156]
    • Regeneration: Apocalypse's control over his bodily atoms, his External nature and techno-organic cells allow him to regenerate from a single drop of blood.[157][12] But Apocalypse when sustaining immense amount of damage that not even he can heal, can enter a coma-like state of suspended animation during which he may recover from any wounds with the assistance of his Celestial technology.[158][87]
    • Size Alteration: Apocalypse is able to change his size at will; he can increase or decrease the size of his body by taking on additional mass or ridding of it from a presumably extra-dimensional source.[84]
    • Self-Power Bestowal: Due to En Sabah's total control over his molecular and sub-molecular structure, further bolstered by the Celestial technology augmenting him, he can also consciously or spontaneously grant himself with a wide array of new superpowers at will.[159]
  • Superhuman Strength: Apocalypse possesses superhuman strength that he can further increase by drawing upon outside energy sources; Apocalypse was shown to be strong enough to physically restrain the Hulk, while the Hulk was separated from Banner and explicitly lacked the ability to increase his strength with his rage, but also had a stronger base level. He is also able to fight and defeat a young Thor armed with Jarnbjorn. Hence, Apocalypse is above the "Class 100" limit.[102]
  • Superhuman Durability: Apocalypse is highly resistant to injury. With the Celestial modifications, this resistance to harm is amplified.[84]
  • Superhuman Stamina and Endurance: Apocalypse's body suffers no fatigue, so much so that he felt it for the first time when he experienced degeneration.[31]
  • Superhuman Reflexes: He is able to speed up his reflexes and reaction time.[157]
  • Psionic Manipulation: At various times Apocalypse has demonstrated differing but vast levels of mental capacity.[citation needed]
    • Telekinesis: Apocalypse possesses telekinetic abilities enabling him to levitate himself,[96] or others, by sheer force of will and manipulate living beings, inanimate objects, and to some extent energy, psionically.[citation needed]
    • Telepathy: He's also an accomplished mentalist of undefined extent. An example of his power would be him battling a weakened Jean Grey (a vastly powerful telepath in her own right) within the psyche space of Baby Nathan and win.[84]
      • Telepathic Control and Manipulation: He's able to project his own thoughts and memories or read those of others in order to glean and impart whatever information he desires from them.[96]
      • Cyberpathy: Thanks to his synergy with the Celestial Technology bonded to him, due in part to his paradoxical jaunt of afflicting Cable with the T.O Virus, Apocalypse gained the ability to mentally link with and control most any kind of tech and machinery he could reach out too.[64][118]

Celestial Energy Manipulation: Apocalypse seems to have a range of energy harnessing and projecting capabilities, either naturally derived or based on Celestial technology built into his physical frame.[38] He can use these metaphysical forces to accomplish a great many facilities; such as illusion & memory conjuration, matter reconstruction, healing as well as total physical restoration of damaged or destroyed bodily tissues.[162]

En Sabah Nur (Earth-616) from X-Men- Black - Emma Frost Vol 1 1

Apocalypse disintegrates an opponent

  • Force-Fields: Ability to create nearly impenetrable force fields.[citation needed]
  • Energy Blasts: Apocalypse can project raw destructive energy from anywhere on his person, be it as concussive blasts from his hands and eyes or even full body energy waves.[38]
  • Energy Absorption: He can also absorb energy from outside sources to augment both himself and his overall power.[163]
  • Energy Transfer: In his time as Murshir, En Sabah found he could share his celestial force with other individuals to enhance their abilities, similar to how Galactus imparts his power cosmic upon a chosen herald.[164]
  • Teleportation: Apocalypse can teleport himself and others around vast distances across the planet. The ability seems to be artificial, linked to the Celestial technology bio-mechanically incorporated into his body, headquarters, and equipment, and so is not always available to him.[38]
  • Matter Manipulation: Apocalypse has shown the ability to disintegrate an opponent with a touch of his finger.[128]. He's also shown the ability to conjure a warhammer out of thin air and healing the injuries of others.
Sorcery: He can use magic, but the extent of his magical capabilities and knowledge are unknown.[12] His magic appears to by mostly ritualistic magic which has been recorded in his grimoire. He's capable of casting an "obedience" spell on Vulcan.

Abilities

Super-Genius Intelligence: Apocalypse is an extraordinary genius, and has knowledge of certain areas of biology, primarily genetic engineering and mutation, and technology that are far in advance of contemporary science and technology.[52]

Omnilingual: En Sabah Nur is fluent in all of human language from across history, including Celestial.[121]

Expert Combatant: Although he doesn't often engage himself in personal combat, usually relying on servants such as his Horsemen and other allies to fight for him, Apocalypse is a ruthless combatant and was trained at a young age in both hand-to-hand and with weapons such as swords. He often combines his powers alongside his martial skill in battle.[citation needed]

Weaknesses

As an External, Apocalypse can only be killed by having his life-force drained or heart eaten from a fellow External, but if the External fails to do the same to the other Externals he'll come back again.[165][166][167]

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Several of Apocalypse's bases have a rejuvenation chamber. Apparently Celestial technology is capable of manipulating the genes of mutants; giving them altogether new abilities or augmenting the ones they already possess. (The process seemingly has the effect of warping the minds of the subjects more to Apocalypse's way of thinking).[169]

Weapons

Assuming various Celestial-tech based weaponry.[157]

Scarab: An ancient sword forged by Isca for the birth of his four children, he then shattered it in four pieces after he lost them. After Arakko declared war on Krakoa, Apocalypse reassembled the sword for the Ten of Swords challenge.[23] It was eventually destroyed during the battle against Annihilation,[143] but has since been reforged by Genesis.[3]

Transportation

Personal teleportation device. Various Celestial-tech based ships.[67][170]

Notes

  • "En Sabah Nur" translates to "The Seven Lights,"[34] the Arabic words "Sabah" literally meaning "seven" and "Nur" meaning "light." As Apocalypse was born thousands of years before modern Arabic existed or was spoken in Egypt, however, this may be either be a translation of his original name, or a name derived from a Proto-Semitic ancestor language which very closely resembles Arabic. As the Arabic word for "morning" can also be rendered as "Sabah," the name could also be interpreted as the "birth of light" or "Awakened Light."[citation needed]
    • The afterlife in Islam is thought of as consisting of seven heavens.
  • En-Sabah-Nur was allegedly the eighth individual to assume the mantle of Apocalypse in Earth-616.[16]
  • The association in English of the term "apocalypse" with prophetic revelation, an end time scenario, and the end of the world in general, largely derives from a single ancient book. The "Book of Revelation" (1st century), a Christian book of prophecy about the end of this world and the beginning of the next one. In Latin the Book is called "Apocalypsis Ioannis" and the original Greek title is "Apocalypsis Ioannou" (the Apocalypse of John). The English associations of the term have been in use since at least the 12th century.
  • While Apocalypse and his original Horsemen were recruited by Imhotep,[46][45] it is not clear if they also joined Imhotep's Brotherhood of the Shield/Spear.[12]

Trivia

  • Apocalypse was created as a last minute replacement for the Owl, a Daredevil villain who original X-Factor writer Bob Layton wanted to use as X-Factor's main villain. When Layton was removed from the book and replaced with Louise Simonson, she requested that the last page of X-Factor #5 be changed to a shadowy figure named Apocalypse, as Simonson wanted a new character to be the main villain for the book.[171]
  • The Celestial known as Godhead has a bit of resemblance to Apocalypse.[172]
  • For much of his publication history, Apocalypse was tied to the Celestials. However, when Jonathan Hickman revamped the X-books with House of X/Powers of X, he shifted the focus away from the Celestials with only a brief mention of the Apocalypse Seed in Powers of X #3. When asked about this in an interview, Hickman responded that Jack Kirby's Celestials are incredibly difficult to do right, and for Apocalypse, they were just being used as "seasoning," which he did not like.[173] Similarly, the necessity for Apocalypse to transfer his consciousness between host bodies has effectively been abandoned with House of X/Powers of X. The most likely reason for this being that it would be an easily compensated weakness due to the Krakoan resurrection protocols, which in theory could supply Apocalypse with an unlimited amount of host bodies, thus rendering a plot point, which was already inconsistently applied by writers beforehand, entirely obsolete.

See Also

Links and References

References

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