Apocalypse (comics) - Definition and Overview

Apocalypse is a comic book supervillain in Marvel Comics' Marvel Universe. An immortal mutant bonded with extra-terrestrial technology, he is a powerful foe of the X-Men. He often is accompanied by four mutant servants who are called, unsurprisingly, the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse, named for the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in the Book of Revelation. He first appeared in X-Factor #5, though he was not fully shown until X-Factor #6. He was created by Louise Simonson and Jackson Guice.

Apocalypse was born to the name of En Sabah Nur, and was a slave in ancient Egypt. There, he came into the attentions of the Pharaoh Rama-Tut, who was actually the time-traveller called 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 The 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 ever lived, if not the most powerful, and calling himself Apocalypse, he came to believe in a philosophy later erroneously referred to as Darwinism, and 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.

Upon re-awakening in full, Apocalypse came into conflict with the original X-Men (then organized as the superhero team X-Factor) on repeated occasions. When one of their number, the Angel, lost his wings, Apocalypse granted him an artificial pair in exchange for his servitude; Angel accepted, becoming Apocalypse's Angel of Death, but eventually he rebelled. Later, Apocalypse infected Cyclops's son Nathan with a "techno-organic virus" derived from the alien technology that gave him his powers; as a result, Nathan was sent to the future for a cure, where he became the time-travelling superhero known as Cable.

Later still, a time travel episode resulted in a 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.

Later, in the "Apocalypse: The Twelve" storyline, Apocalypse attempted to undergo a transformation to turn him into a god-like entity similar to a Celestial by kidnapping the Twelve: powerful mutants with the powers necessary to allow Apocalypse to undergo the transformation. The Twelve consisted of Magneto, Polaris, Professor Xavier, Cyclops, Cable, Phoenix, Storm, Sunfire, Iceman, Bishop, Mikhail Rasputin, and the Living Monolith. Their combined powers were to be transferred into the clone Nate Grey, whose body would then serve as Apocalypse's new host. The plan failed when Cyclops threw himself into Apocalypse and merged their minds and bodies. When the X-Men finally did free Cyclops, Apocalypse was rendered bodiless, and the X-Men took advantage of the opportunity to finally destroy him.