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Quote1 I am the rocks of the eternal shore. Crash against me and be broken! Quote2
Apocalypse[src]

History

Origins[]

The origins of the ancient being known as Apocalypse are shrouded in mystery. He has existed for millennia and wrought untold destruction to achieve his goals of enslaving and destroying mankind.

Apocalypse has existed since at least 1200 BC, at which time he was based in what is today Cairo, Egypt. At this time, he was already served by four Horsemen and wielded extremely advanced technology. He created the Lazarus Chamber, a restorative hibernation device that granted him immortality by rejuvenating his body, though at the cost of him having to hibernate every 100 years. [1]

Modern Era[]

Apocalypse would emerge once again in the late 20th century. He encountered the shapeshifting mutant Mystique, and took her under his wing, giving her purpose and making her his loyal servant.[2]

Apocalypse constructed a command center beneath Stonehenge. In order to swell his ranks with loyal servants, he created a machine that allowed him to seize control of a subject's mind. He had his servant Mystique impersonate Dr. Gottfried Adler and disguised his machine as a "cure" for mutations. Flocks of mutants desperate to be rid of their powers and become normal found their way to Muir Island where "Adler" offered his cure.[3]

One of those who were turned into Apocalypse's servants was Warren Worthington III, who had funded Adler's research. Worthington was transformed into Archangel, the foremost of Apocalypse's new Horsemen. Apocalypse unleashed his Horsemen on the world, seeking to purge the Earth of humanity.[4]

Apocalypse's schemes were undone by the X-Men, a group of mutant heroes. The X-Man Rogue managed to use her powers to undo Archangel's conditioning, causing him to turn on his master. With his Horsemen defeated, Apocalypse fled.[4]

Some time later, he ordered Mystique to assassinate Senator Kelly, hoping this would cause the world to unravel. His scheme was foiled once again, when time-traveler Bishop returned to the past and warned the X-Men, helping them to stop Kelly's assassination.[2]

The Virus[]

Apocalypse disguised himself as a human scientist and allied himself with the mutant-hating Graydon Creed and his Friends of Humanity. Apocalypse designed a virus that would be relatively harmless to humans, but upon contact with a mutant, would mutate and turn lethal to both humans and mutants. Creed wished to use the virus to create public hysteria and fear of mutants, not knowing that Apocalypse planned to use the virus to destroy both humanity and mutantkind.[5]

Once again, the time-travelling Bishop returned to the past to warn the X-Men of the virus. This time however, another time-traveler by the name of Cable also returned to the past. Cable came from a reality ruled by Apocalypse, where his virus had ravaged humanity but which had eventually been overcome due to mankind developing antibodies. In order to ensure that his reality was not undone, Cable travelled back in time to ensure that antibodies to Apocalypse's plague were created. He kidnapped the X-Man Wolverine, and during a confrontation between Apocalypse and the X-Men, ensured that Wolverine was infected with the virus. Wolverine's mutant healing powers allowed him to quickly recover and create antibodies, rendering Apocalypse's virus harmless. The X-Men destroyed Apocalypse's lab, and escaped before he could destroy them. [6]

Archangel's Revenge[]

Consumed by a desire for revenge against Apocalypse, his former servant Archangel devoted all his time and money to researching Apocalypse in order to find the immortal's weakness. Archangel eventually found what he believed to be the answer, unaware that the secret he had discovered was a hoax created by Apocalypse to deceive his enemies. Archangel managed to draw the X-Men into his mad plan for vengeance, and they all attacked him. Apocalypse shrugged off their assault and left.

The X-Men discovered that Apocalypse had a highly advanced living spaceship. A group of X-Men broke into the ship, where X-Man Beast managed to befriend it. They set a trap for Apocalypse, creating a forcefield that would turn his own immense power against him, trapping him forever. Apocalypse walked into the trap, but managed to goad his former Horseman into releasing him in order to claim his vengeance. Though Apocalypse nearly killed them all in the ensuing battle, they managed to knock him back into the forcefield. His ship, now suffering from catastrophic damage, ejected Apocalypse in a pod and launched him into space, exiling him from Earth, though knowing full well that he would not be gone forever. [7]

Apocalypse did indeed survive his exile. He made an alliance with the Shi'ar princess Deathbird, promising to aid her in killing her sister and usurping the Shi'ar throne. He witnessed the mutant Magneto's televised speech declaring Asteroid M a safe haven for mutants.[8] When Asteroid M collapsed due to the machinations of Fabian Cortez, Apocalypse rescued him after he had been left to die on the ruins of Asteroid M by Magneto, tasking him with wandering the Earth and to recruit servants for Apocalypse's cause.[9]

Beyond Good and Evil[]

A future version of Apocalypse, tired of his fruitless battle against humanity, attempted to travel back in time to end this struggle. His attempt failed, and he found himself stranded in the Axis of Time, a nexus point of all time. Apocalypse was trapped here for centuries, which he spent learning the mysteries of the Axis, now existing outside of time. He hatched a plot to attain godhood by kidnapping the most powerful psychic beings from across the universe and killing them simultaneously, which would release a wave of psychic energy powerful enough to destroy reality, which he could re-create in his own image from inside the Axis.[10]

He recruited several servants, such as Mr. Sinister, Magneto, Sabretooth, and others, whom he made several promises to in order to ensure their co-operation. He was once again resisted by Cable, Bishop and the X-Men. Hoping to destroy Apocalypse before he could put his plans into motion, they travelled back to 1200 B.C. in order to destroy Apocalypse and his Lazarus Chamber while he hibernated. They found Apocalypse gone, as he now existed outside of time in all his incarnations, but destroyed the chamber nonetheless.[11]

Realizing Apocalypse's true intentions, Magneto and Mystique turned against him. They freed the captured Wolverine, and together with Bishop they began freeing the captured telepaths. Apocalypse's schemes quickly began to unravel, as the fortress in the Axis of Time he had made his base began to crumble. The telepaths used their combined powers to overpower Apocalypse and cast him back into the timestream. With his Lazarus Chamber destroyed in 1200 BC, all future versions of Apocalypse ceased to exist.[12]

The Fifth Horseman[]

Unbeknownst to both Cable and the X-Men, Apocalypse had constructed a second Lazarus Chamber, guarded by a Mayan tribe, as a failsafe. While his disastrous attempt to become a god had left him without a physical body, his essence survived. Awaiting a celestial conflux that would allow his essence to return in a new body, Apocalypse tasked his servant Fabian Cortez with securing a worthy vessel.[13]

Cortez and his Hounds kidnapped the X-Man Jubilee, but after the Hound Caliban betrayed them, Beast was able to rescue her, causing the temple to collapse. As punishment for his failure, Apocalypse claimed a wounded Cortez as his new vessel, now reborn to walk the Earth again.[13]

Attributes

Powers

Seemingly those of the En Sabah Nur of Earth-616.

Abilities

Seemingly those of the En Sabah Nur of Earth-616.

Paraphernalia

Transportation

Formerly an unnamed Celestial ship

Notes

Trivia

  • Unlike his comic book counterpart, Apocalypse is never identified as a mutant. He tells Graydon Creed that he is "as far beyond mutants as they are beyond you"[6], implying that he is not mutant himself.

See Also

Links and References

References

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