Apocalypse (Marvel)
Apocalypse is a supervillain that features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
He was born in a place called Akkaba that was a lone settlement at the edge of Amentet on the farthest outskirts of the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. The grey-skinned child was seen as an abomination to the tribesmen who abandoned him at his place of birth. At that time, the nomadic raiders known as the Sandstormers emerged from the desert where the slaughtered the tribe in the area. The people of the storm were led by Baal of the Crimson Sands who had been searching for the child as he knew the Pharaoh Rama-Tut sought the boy. Baal took the child with him and killed those Sandstormers that sought to kill the boy where he took him with his tribe and named him En Sabah Nur. Under the guidance of Baal, the young En Sabah Nur spent the next seventeen years among the Sandstormers where he learnt the ways of combat with him being taught the clans tenets of survival of the fittest. En Sabah Nur was said by Baal written in destiny to be the one that would topple the rule of the Pharaoh Rama-Tut and thus was trained for that role despite facing years of scorn from his fellow tribesmen. Baal later revealed that the Pharaoh was a traveller from a distant land who had crashed in their lands with the Sandstormers rescuing him before he turned on them and instituted himself as the Pharaoh. The Sandstormer leader revealed a fragment of the great vessel that the Pharaoh had crashed in where they found murals that showed En Sabah Nur's birth along with many other secrets that they attempted to decipher. At that point, the Sandstormer encampment came under attack from Rama-Tut's General Ozymandias who was dispatched to find and capture En Sabah Nur on behalf of the Pharaoh. (Rise of Apocalypse v1 #1)
In the mid-12th century, a young warlord En Sabah Nur had heard tales of another immortal by the name of Garbha-Hsien who resided in the lands of Mongolia. Thus, he went alone and journeyed to that land where Nur's name became infamous before his rival where he massacred all that opposed him as he headed towards the Ho-Lo Shan Mountains. He then encountered the other 'forever-walker' Hsien who revealed to the Egyptian an object of his study which was a titanic alien vessel that surprised En Sabah Nur. The warlord decided to claim the craft and its technology for himself with him attacking Garbha-Hsien leaving the man for dead but unaware that he had actually survived the assault. (X-Force v1 #37)
Egypt was later attacked by a group of Vikings with them encountering Apocalypse and his Clan Akkaba. This led to them praying to Thor who arrived in response and he battled the Mutant. During their fight, another Thor arrived who had been temporarily displaced from the future with the pair working together to fight Apocalypse. It was also discovered that Loki had been responsible for tricking the Vikings into journeying to Egypt in order to get his brother to fight with Apocalypse. (Generations: The Unworthy Thor & The Mighty Thor v1 #1)
Genesis
Clan Akkaba decided to resurrect their leader by performing a ceremony and a sacrifice whereby he was cloned in the form of a young boy. (Uncanny X-Force v1 #1) The child became a target of the newly created X-Force who sought to eliminate threats before they manifested. Thus, the Final Horsemen were summoned where they were tasked with protecting their young master as he was indoctrinated in the teachings of Apocalypse. (Uncanny X-Force v1 #2) Despite such defences, the Ship was infiltrated by X-Force who argued amongst themselves on whether to take the young clone away or kill him with it ultimately decided to take him back home to train him instead of allowing him to become Apocalypse. However, Fantomex used this opportunity to fire a gunshot at the boy's head thus killing the clone. (Uncanny X-Force v1 #4)
Overview
Personality and attributes
Powers and abilities
Notes
- Apocalypse was created by Louise Simonson and Jackson Guice where he was first show in the shadows in X-Factor v1 #5 (June, 1986) before fully appearing in X-Factor v1 #6 (July, 1986),
- In an interview on CBR, writer Rick Remender commented that, "It’s not quite a blood line. Apocalypse was the first mutant and thus was chosen by the Celestials to protect and care for the other mutants and to make sure that the humans didn’t wipe them out before they had an opportunity to flourish. That was his cosmically granted charge."
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
- In X-Men, Apocalypse appeared as an antagonist in the animated television series where he was initially voiced by actor John Colicos for the majority of the show whilst actor James Blendick voiced the character in Season 5. He was described as an immortal Mutant who had lived for centuries with many seeking his end but none able to defeat him. Apocalypse sought the survival of the fittest and frequently gathered his four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to bring about his plans for the world.
- In X-Men: Evolution, the character became the primary antagonist in season 4 of the show where he was voiced by David Kaye. His backstory was revealed in a series of hieroglyphics that state that he dated back during Egyptian times where he was a gray skinned infant abandoned in the desert. In that time, he was discovered by a bandit lord known as Baal who raised the child as his own and named him En Sabah Nur or the First One. The child was raised by Baal into a fearsome and skilled warrior who had abilities that were 'unnatural' compared to humans. At that time, a traveler from the future known as Rama-Tut came with his future technology and used it to become the ruling Pharaoh of the period. After learning of En Sabah Nur, Rama-Tut commanded that the boy be slain which led to the death of his adoptive father Baal. This left En Sabah Nur in a rage where he overthrew the Pharaoh and took his technology. After studying the Eye of Ages, he attempted to use it to turn all of mankind into Mutants but the machine drained him of his power which allowed his advisors to turn against him where they sealed him in the device and locked it behind three doors in the mountains. In the modern age, the imprisoned Apocalypse managed to get a servant in the form of Mesmero and used him to aid in freeing him with the final doorway opening when he took the powers of a mind controlled Rogue. After being freed, he incapacitated the X-Men and Acolytes before moving to the pyramid at the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. Afterwards, he easily defeats Magneto, Xavier and Storm seemingly killing them before starting his plan to evolve mankind after merging with the Eye of Ages technology to appear more cybernetic. Apocalypse also defeated an attempt to use Sentinels to destroy the pyramids and unleashes his Horsemen. Whilst within the Eye, Rogue managed to seal him in the device through the use of Leech's power to depower him temporarily and Wolverine helped send the machine spiraling through time thus defeating him.
- In Wolverine and the X-Men, the character made an appearance in the animated television series where he had a non-speaking role. He first featured as the master of Mister Sinister who he gave an order to acquire the DNA from Jean Grey and Cyclops. In the episode "Foresight, Part 3", the future dominated by the Sentinels was eliminated by the intervention of the X-Men along with the guidance of Charles Xavier whose mind was displaced into the future. However, the change in reality brings about another dark one similar to the Age of Apocalypse where Apocalypse stands at the balcony of his tower with Mister Sinister and a future version of Cyclops.
Films
- In X-Men: Days of the Future's Past film, a post-credit sequence showed the character with a non-speaking role where he was portrayed by Canadian actor Brendan Pedder. He's shown to be a young robed hooded figure with grey skin and blue lips standing on a desert hill where a large crowd were chanting the name "En Sabah Nur" at a distance. The character was seen to be assembling a massive pyramid with the power of telekinesis whilst a group of four individuals on horses stand in the background.
- In X-Men: Apocalypse, Apocalypse as En Sabah Nur featured as the main villain in the live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Oscar Isaac. En Sabah Nur was called the world's first Mutant who had lived for centuries by transferring his essence into a new Mutant host body and gain its powers. As a result, he developed a whole range of superhuman abilities that he had gathered over the years. Due to his power, he as seen as a god by the people of Egypt and referred to by the names of many deities including Ra, Krishna and Yahweh. Under his rule, he created a world whereby only the strong survived and he cleansed the lands of the weak with him being attended to by four Horsemen of Apocalypse that were empowered by him. One day, a ceremony was being made to transfer his essence into a new body of a Mutant that could heal from his wounds. During the transference, the guards staged a revolt with the intention of burying him alive where they shattered the support structures of his pyramid that collapsed around him. En Sabah Nur was saved by one of his Horsemen that gave her life for him but he was asleep and entombed alive for centuries. By the modern day, a cult came to worship with this group being called Ashir En Sabah Nur who managed to uncover his buried tomb. In the 1970's, members of the cult were praying to him when light struck the touchstone and awakened En Sabah Nur who teleported away from the rubble to the surface.
Video games
- In X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse, Apocalypse appeared in the setting of the SNES video game.
- In X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, Apocalypse appeared as the main antagonist and final boss where he was voiced by actor Richard McGonagle.
- In Marvel: Future Fight, Apocalypse appeared as a playable character in the mobile video game.
Appearances
- X-Factor:
- X-Force:
- Rise of Apocalypse:
- Cable & Deadpool:
- Uncanny X-Force:
- Extraordinary X-Men:
- X-Men: Gold:
External Links
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