History ComicBook / Apocalypse

* EarnYourHappyEnding: At the conclusion of the [[ComicBook/XOfSwords 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]], he singlehandedly manages to literally save all of both Earth AND the exiled mutant nation of Arrako (which include his first wife, their 4 children, and all of their surviving family & friends) from the full might of the Amenthi demon horde and their evil god, [[EldritchAbomination The Golden Helm of Annihilation]] by [[spoiler: personally defeating his wife Genesis in hand-to-hand combat, thus becoming the next host of Annihilation, and then immediately surrendering to the Omniversal Majestrix of Otherworld, Opal Luna Saturnyne, thereby instantly neutralizing the corrupting influence of Annihilation, allowing Saturnyne to defeat Annihilation once and for all bu transforming it from a cursed mask which absolutely dominated its wearer, into a talking spear absolutely dominated by its wielder. This allows the sentient island/mutant nation of Arrako to finally reunite on Earth with its long-lost twin sentient island Krakoa, liberating the millions of Arrakoan Mutants from being enslaved by the Amenthi demon horde and integrating them into the mutant nation of Krakoa, and enabling Apocalypse to di ally reconcile at last with his estranged wife Genesis and their children]]

-->'''Nate Grey''': You forget. I was born to ''end'' the apocalypse.

* AlwaysABiggerFish: He gets a nasty surprise when he finally re-encounters [[ComicBook/XMan Nate Grey]] in ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen2018'' - before, he'd faced Nate as a kid with vast but malfunctioning powers and little experience in using them. Now, he's facing an older and far more experienced Nate, one at the height of his potential as a fully-fledged RealityWarper.

* DarkMessiah: Occasionally written this way, such as in 2006's ''Blood of Apocalypse'' where he claims to have literally been awakened by the screams of millions of mutants (due to M-Day) and offers his titular Blood to all of mutantkind as an antidote to a plague (that he himself created to weed out humanity). Made very apparent since he's apparently a servant of the Celestials aka Space Gods. The movie version also has some elements of this, but his ''ComicBook/Xmen92'' incarnation might be the most triumphant example yet.

** As finally revealed at last by his full backstory in the [[ComicBook/XOfSwords 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]], his whole credo of "Survival of the Fittest" for thousands of years, was actually all along due to a [[TheLostLenore dead dame]]: [[spoiler: Apocalypse was desperately trying to fulfill the last express request of his beloved wife/soulmate, fellow immortal mutant Genesis, ''TO JUDGE THE WHOLE WORLD'', in order to ensure that the rest of the Earth would be strong enough to resist the re-invasion of the demon armies from the extra-dimensional hell-planet of Amenth, against whom she and their children and all of their extended family and friends (the entire mutant nation of Okkara, which is ''including even Arrako, the twin of the sentient island of Krakoa''), selflessly sacrificed their lives pushing back into their home dimension, and blocking up from crossing over into Marvel Earth.]]

* NewAgeRetroHippie: Forcibly invoked in his ''ComicBook/AgeOfXMan'' incarnation by [[ComicBook/XMan Nate Grey]], who realised that even a utopia (well, an attempted one, which resulted in a disturbing CrapsaccharineWorld) needs something to fight against. And in his view, Apocalypse will always be his enemy. So, hilariously, he repurposes Apocalypse as [[spoiler: a ''sex guru'' --- complete with a cult of groupies --- who is subversively trying to bring both romantic love AND erotic lust back to the Gattaca/Equilibrium-style [[CrapsaccharineWorld dystopia]] where they are absolutely and permanently thoroughly banned by a totalitarian regime that considers psychogical/emotional attachment/intimacy to be the real root reasons that prevented humanity from successfully reaching utopia throughout its whole history]]. Adding a bit of pathos is the reveal that at least part of Apocalypse actually ''preferred'' it that way.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: At the conclusion of the [[ComicBook/XOfSwords 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]], he singlehandedly manages to literally save all of both Earth AND the exiled mutant nation of Arrako (which include his first wife, their 4 children, and all of their surviving family & friends) from the full might of the Amenthi demon horde and their evil god, the Golden Helm of [[Annihilation EldritchAbomination]] by [[spoiler: personally defeating his wife Genesis in hand-to-hand combat, thus becoming the next host of Annihilation, and then immediately surrendering to the Omniversal Majestrix of OtherWorld, Opal Luna Saturnyne, thereby instantly neutralizing the corrupting influence of Annihilation, allowing Saturnyne to defeat Annihilation once and for all bu transforming it from a cursed mask which absolutely dominated its wearer, into a talking spear absolutely dominated by its wielder]]

* EarnYourHappyEnding: At the conclusion of the [[ComicBook/XOfSwords 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]], he singlehandedly manages to literally save all of both Earth AND the exiled mutant nation of Arrako (which include his first wife, their 4 children, and all of their surviving family & friends) from the full might of the Amenthi demon horde and their evil god, [[the Golden Helm of Annihilation EldritchAbomination]] by [[spoiler: personally defeating his wife Genesis in hand-to-hand combat, thus becoming the next host of Annihilation, ‘’and then immediately surrendering to the Omniversal Majestrix of OtherWorld, Opal Luna Saturnyne’’ thereby instantly neutralizing the corrupting influence of Annihilation, allowing Saturnyne to defeat Annihilation once and for all bu transforming it from a cursed mask which absolutely dominated its wearer, into a talking spear absolutely dominated by its wielder]]

*** This comes back to bite him in the ass big-time when [[spoiler:his own direct descendants (who by the late 19th Century have dwindled to just a dozen or so survivors in Victorian-era London after being massacred by THE ‘’Count Dracula’’ himself) have finally gotten so sick and too tired and of his callous apathy to their plight, as well as the millenia of lifelong abuse from his own personal version of “Tiger Parenting” that they willingly defect to the other side by accepting Dracula’s offer for them to become vampires , and they then turn on their own actual ancestor, very nearly defeating him once and for all]]

* YouWillBeSpared: After THE ‘’Abraham Van Helsing’’ himself personally saves him from being defeated through hypnosis by Count Dracula, Apocalypse foregoes his usual policy regarding humans and lets the man live.

* EvilIsBigger: He's 7 foot tall in his usual form, but he'll often invoke this by using his shapeshifting powers to increase his size and utterly dwarf his opponents. Played with in his film incarnation, where he only changes into a supersized form during a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind.

* LightIsNotGood: His name "En Sabah Nur" means "Birth of light', "Awakened Light" and "Dawn" but is also a villain of divine motif with his cults.

** Fanon holds that the hidden meaning - En Sabah Nur has been claimed (somewhat dubiously) to translate to "The Seven Lights" - refers to Apocalypse being the 7th External [[spoiler: Selene, Krule, Nicodemus, Saul are heavily hinted as originating from the Hyborian Age thousands of years before Apocalypse was born; White Sword may be at the very least slightly older than Apocalypse; and mutant-turned-hell lord Azazel, also known as Nightcrawler's biological father, may also secretly be another External as well, considering his physical immortality.]]

* MoreThanMindControl: Directly related to the above, as he actually talked Hulk in that instance into ''willingly'' becoming his horseman by promising to silence the voices in his head (Hulk's schizophrenia was at a high point and he was constantly hallucinating visions of his dead father) in exchange for his service. The helmet Apocalypse equipped him with was built for this very purpose, and as long as it was working Hulk was more than happy to do Apocalypse's bidding. It was only after the helmet broke and his father ''immediately'' reappeared taunting him that Hulk rejected the role, tearing off the rest of his armor and leaping away.
* {{Mutant|s}}: One of the first mutants born, though definitely not the first as he often claims [[spoiler: his fellow Externals Selene, Krule, Nicodemus, Saul, White Sword --- as well as their fellow mutant Azazel (''Nightcrawler's biological father'', who while so far not yet confirmed to also be an External, is still physically immortal like them, such that he even managed to ascend to becoming an actual hell-lord through millennia of human fear from him pretending to be the Devil) --- are confirmed to indeed be much older, originating from the Hyborian Age, c. 15,000 BC or so. Apocalypse was born about 12,000 years later]]. The combination of both his Celestial-gifted PoweredArmor and his Celestial techno-organic-viral augmentation makes it difficult to gauge which of his abilities derive from his own natural genetic mutation and which are artificial enhancements/additions.

** No one's ever been able to give a precise listing on what his powers actually ''are'' (and, for that matter, how many of them are actually his and aren't from his armor), and the writers of his comics have admitted they just give him whatever abilities are needed to make him effectively menace the heroes.

* PathOfInspiration: He has claimed to have been worshiped by numerous civilizations over mankind's history, usually under a GodGuise. In the modern day he definitely has scattered cults of worshipers, among them a group of Skrulls, and in the 90s animated series he had a Mayan cult that was led by Fabian Cortez.

* [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld Really 5000 Years Old]]: Born in the days of Ancient Egypt, Apocalypse is one of the oldest beings on Earth.

* StartOfDarkness: The ''Rise of Apocalypse'' mini, which reveals how he was abandoned at birth due to his obvious mutation, adopted by bloodthirsty nomadic raiders, lost his adoptive father, encountered Rama-Tut/Kang the Conqueror, was rejected by the girl he'd fallen in love with, escaped slavery, and eventually rose to power as pharaoh.

* SuperPrototype: Exodus was his first attempt at empowering a herald, and by far his most powerful. Though Nur was able to contain his rebellion easily enough, it says something that none of his later minions, from Mr. Sinister to the Dark Riders, came anywhere close to Du Paris's level of power.
* SuperpowerfulGenetics: The Clan Akkaba, entirely composed of his genetic descendants, often have powers. Presumably, following their cult to his beliefs, they subjugate if not cull any muggles. Most of them inherit his VoluntaryShapeshifting ability, one Frederick Slade has that along with the pink coloration and teleportation ability (with the same sound effect even) of his distant relative, Blink. Three known descendants have PlayingWithFire powers; Chamber as an {{Energy Being|s}} in a human shell, his father can breath fire, and Apocalypse himself has a bastard son that's a flaming skeleton in a suit.

* TheVietnamVet: Abraham Kieros, one of his first modern Horsemen of War, was a Vietnam Vet.
* VillainousLegacy: Being as old as he is, he has literally thousands of descendants. He's also had at least one son in the modern day, William Rolfson (better known as Nemesis/Holocaust) and Cable's son Tyler also attached himself to his legacy when he became Genesis. He is also this for Kang the Conqueror; while Kang wasn't the only thing that made him go off the deep end, he was definitely the primary factor, and it is safe to say that without Kang's machinations, he likely would have never developed the ruthlessness that would mushroom into his trademark brutal megalomania.

* YouWillBeSpared: After Abraham Van Helsing saves him from being hypnotized by Dracula, Apocalypse foregoes his usual policy regarding humans and lets the man live.

** He also tends to get nerfed heavily in alternative universe tales, so much so that even in his own titular ''ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse'' he is [[spoiler:one-shotted and KilledOffForReal by Magneto in the story's climax]], albeit after a knock-down drag-out brawl with [[ComicBook/XMan Nate Grey]], who'd been specifically engineered to kill him and had raw power estimated to be on par with the Dark Phoenix. ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'' and ''Mutant X'' are other prominent examples of this.

* ArchEnemy: To Angel (because of the whole Archangel thing), Comicbook/{{Cable}} (because he's Apocalypse's prophesied enemy who's spent a lifetime trying to destroy him), and [[ComicBook/XMan Nate Grey]] (Cable's ''ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse'' counterpart, engineered as a weapon against Apocalypse, who actually succeeded in killing his version of Apocalypse - or at least, leaving him for [=AoA=]!Magneto to rip in half). Technically the latter's grudge is against his version of Apocalypse, but his hatred for Apocalypse transfers over just fine.

** ** As finally revealed at last by his full backstory in the [[XOfSwords 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]]: [[spoiler: he was actually happily married once upon a time to his very [[TheLostLenore first wife/soulmate]], fellow immortal mutant Genesis, a Marvel omega-level mutant version of DC's own Poison Ivy, who he freely acknowledged was the strongest mutant/woman/person he had personally met ''easily surpassing even himself'', and they had four equally-ageless (upon reaching adulthood) Omega-level mutant children, ''who were actually his First Horsemen'']].

* EvilerThanThou: To Exodus, Mister Sinister, ComicBook/{{Bishop}}, Stryfe, ComicBook/{{Sabretooth}}, ''{{Dracula}}'' and even ''ComicBook/{{Loki}}'' at one point. He frequently pulls this, but puny lesser villains keep thinking they can take him and have to find out the hard way how wrong they are.

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: When he's being written by his co-creator Louise Simonson, usually (with the monsters in question being either malevolent gods like Loki or the Celestials).

** As finally revealed at last by his full backstory in the [[XOfSwords 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]], his whole credo of "Survival of the Fittest" for thousands of years, was actually all along due to a [[TheLostLenore dead dame]]: [[spoiler: Apocalypse was desperately trying to fulfill the last express request of his beloved wife/soulmate, fellow immortal mutant Genesis, ''TO JUDGE THE WHOLE WORLD'', in order to ensure that the rest of the Earth would be strong enough to resist the re-invasion of the demon armies from the extra-dimensional hell-planet of Amenth, against whom she and their children and all of their extended family and friends (the entire mutant nation of Okkara, which is ''including even Arrako, the twin of the sentient island of Krakoa''), selflessly sacrificed their lives pushing back into their home dimension, and blocking up from crossing over into Marvel Earth.]]

* HorsemenOfTheApocalypse: Used as the name and titles of his four top lieutenants. Because most Horsemen tend to either die or turn on him, he's constantly on the lookout for new mutants to serve as his bringers of Pestilence, War, Famine and Death. A number of X-Men have served in these roles over the years: Archangel, Wolverine and Gambit have all been Death for a time, Sunfire was Famine and Polaris was Pestilence. As of ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015'' and ''ComicBook/Xmen92'', his last known Horsemen were [[RoboticPsychopath Bastion]], [[KnightTemplar Exodus]], ComicBook/{{Mystique}} and [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers Senator Kelly]].
** As finally revealed at last by his full backstory in the [[XOfSwords 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]], [[spoiler: the First Horsemen were actually his own biological children, 2 sons and 2 daughters, who he sired and raised with his very first wife/soulmate, fellow immortal mutant Genesis. Like their parents, they were equally ageless upon reaching adulthood, and like their mother, are also ''Omega-level mutants who easily exceed even their father''. The first Death and the first Famine were their sons, the first War and the first Pestilence were their daughters.]]

*** Indeed in the now-classic [[AgeOfApocalypse 1995]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]] which was the original version of the Age of Apocalypse, even after he had already conquered the entire continent of North America, he still allowed humans to live, albeit as the periodically-culled oppressed slave masses to the mutant ruling classes, instead of exterminating them outright wholesale, ''and he even let "superior"baseline flatscans (i.e. those non-mutant humans who managed to actually thrive in his totalitarian dictatorship) to actually join what passed for the "Elite" in his imperial capital of what used to be New York City.''
* {{Hypocrite}}: Apocalypse's [[TheSocialDarwinist creed]] is rather undercut by the fact that, in the comics, he became as powerful as he did through ''sheer dumb luck''. Most of his power actually stems from the Celestial[[note]]alien super-gods who're basically the ultimate engineers of the universe[[/note]] technology he discovered and managed to master. Meanwhile, in the 2016 film, his entire modus operandi is hinted through his interactions with Charles Xavier to really be seeking out or engineering powerful mutants so he can take their bodies, and thusly their powers, as his own. Meaning he's not refining his own strength, he's ''stealing'' the strength of others, which is arguably worse than his comic version.
** As finally revealed at last by his full backstory in the [[XOfSwords 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]], [[spoiler: The simple reason why thousands of years ago, Apocalypse was the sole survivor of the ancient mutant nation of Okkara who remained behind on Earth, even while everyone else who was still alive (by his own admission, scores of ''godlike i.e. Omega-level mutants'', including his own wife, their children, and all of their extended family and friends) selflessly sacrificed themselves to stop the further Amenthi invasion of Earth by counter-invading the extra-dimensional hell-planet of Amenth, where they would be stranded forever, trapped in perpetual on-and-off warfare against a planet full of demon hordes? Simply because the self-proclaimed First Mutant ''was just not strong enough to join the rest of them''. The worst part? ''He admits that they ALL knew it, especially his own spouse who made him stay behind --- against his own wishes to join the rest of his kin and kith -- to instead try and hold the fort by fortifying the rest of the Earth against Amenthi re-invasion in the future.'']]

* KilledOffForReal: In the ComicBook/UltimateMarvel and ''Film/XMenApocalypse'' universes, he was killed by Phoenix.

** His ''given'' name is translated as "The First One" - he and Selene both have very good claims as being the first mutants alive [[spoiler: It's revealed in [[XOfSwords 2020's]] [[BatFamilyCrossover Event]] that while Selene was likely the First of the First Generation of Earth mutants (i.e. "Killcrops", whose powers are present from birth), being born around 17000 BC in what eventually became Central Europe, during the ''Hyborian Age'', Apocalypse is confirmed to indeed be the First, but only of the Second Generation of Earth mutants (whose powers activate at puberty), being born just around 3000 BC in what is certainly Ancient Egypt, though Apocalypse has BOTH mutations from birth and activated at puberty]].
*** [[note]] "En Sabah Nur" actually translates into roughly "The Seven Lights." While not as meaningful, it does have a poetry to it. [[/note]]. FANON holds that the hidden meaning is secretly because Apocalypse is implied to be actually be only the 7th External [[spoiler: Selene, Krule, Nicodemus, Saul are heavily hinted as originating from the Hyborian Age thousands of years before Apocalypse was born; White Sword may be at the very least slightly older than Apocalypse, if not older; and the ascended hell-lord mutant-into-demon Azazel, ''Nightcrawler's biological father'', may also secretly be another External as well, considering his physical immortality.]]

* MindControl: Pulled this on several mutants, including Angel and Wolverine. On one occasion, he even pulled it on the ComicBook/IncredibleHulk - and, even more impressively, he is one of the few to pull it on the Hulk ''successfully''.

* {{Mutant|s}}: One of the first mutants born, though definitely not the first as he often claims [[spoiler: his fellow Externals Selene, Krule, Nicodemus, Saul, White Sword --- as well as their fellow mutant Azazel (''Nightcrawler's biological father'', who while so far not yet confirmed to also be an External, is still physically immortal like them, such that he even managed to ascend to becoming an actual demon hell-lord through millennia of human fear from him pretending to be ''The Devil of the Abrahamic religions'') --- are confirmed to indeed be much older, originating from the ''Hyborian Age'', which was thousands of years, around 15000 BC or so, even before Ancient Egypt around the time of Apocalypse's birth, which was only around 3000 BC or so, though they are of course not more powerful than him]]. The combination of both his Celestial-gifted PoweredArmor and his Celestial techno-organic-viral augmentation makes it difficult to gauge which of his abilities derive from his own natural genetic mutation and which are artificial enhancements/additions.
** As finally revealed at last by his full backstory in the [[XOfSwords 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]], [[spoiler: Apocalypse is actually the "Great Re-Seeder", indeed the FIRST ... but only of ''the SECOND Generation of Mutantkind on Earth'', i.e. those whose powers activate at puberty rather than already be present at birth (i.e. "KillCrops"). Fittingly, Apocalypse is a textbook example of a Transitional Species / Missing Link individual : He has mutations both 1) present from birth (gray skin, blue facial markings), and 2) activated at puberty (cellular control, bio-blasts)]]

* NewAgeRetroHippie: [[spoiler: His Age Of X-Man incarnation is an actual ''SEX GURU'' --- complete with a cult of groupies --- who is subversively trying to bring both romantic love AND erotic lust back to a Gattaca/Equilibrium-style [[CrapsaccharineWorld dystopia]] where they are absolutely and permanently thoroughly banned by a totalitarian regime that considers psychogical/emotional attachment/intimacy to be the real root reasons that prevented humanity from successfully reaching utopia throughout its whole history]].

* QuirkyMinibossSquad: His Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who are usually BrainwashedAndCrazy mutants (or superhumans, at least) under his control, and more than once brainwashed superheroes. Also, the Dark Riders and the Alliance of Evil, though the latter group was [[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain buried like so much cat litter]] for being a little too ObviouslyEvil even by comic-book standards.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: In ComicBook/DawnOfX, Apocalypse does an apparent HeelFaceTurn, joining the newer incarnation of Excalibur and ''[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking wears a business suit]]''.

* TheVietnamVet: Abraham Kieros, his first Horseman of War, was a Vietnam Vet.

* TheWorfEffect: Subjected to this by Stryfe in the 90s ''X-Cutioner's Song'' story, but it was yet another case of...

*** Indeed in the now-classic [[AgeOfApocalypse 1995]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]] which was the original version of the Age of Apocalypse, even after he had already conquered the entire continent of North America, he still humans live, albeit as the oppressed slave masses to the mutant ruling classes, instead of exterminating them outright wholesale, ''and he even let "superior"baseline flatscans (i.e. those non-mutant humans who managed to actually thrive in his totalitarian dictatorship) to actually join what passed for the "Elite" in his imperial capital of what used to be New York City.''

* AchievementTestOfDestiny: In ''House of X'', he oversees a ceremony in which mutants depowered by the ComicBook/ScarletWitch are restored... if they can prove their worthiness to him in a trial by combat.

** As finally revealed at last by his full backstory in the [[SX 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]], [[spoiler: the First Horsemen were actually his own biological children, 2 sons and 2 daughters, who he sired and raised with his very first wife/soulmate, fellow immortal mutant Genesis. Like their parents, they were equally ageless upon reaching adulthood, and like their mother, are also ''Omega-level mutants who easily exceed even their father''. The first Death and the first Famine were their sons, the first War and the first Pestilence were their daughters.]]

** As finally revealed at last by his full backstory in the [[XofSwords 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]], [[spoiler: Apocalypse is actually the "Great Re-Seeder", indeed the FIRST ... but only of ''the SECOND Generation of Mutantkind on Earth'', i.e. those whose powers activate at puberty rather than already be present at birth (i.e. "KillCrops"). Fittingly, Apocalypse is a textbook example of a Transitional Species / Missing Link individual : He has mutations both 1) present from birth (gray skin, blue facial markings), and 2) activated at puberty (cellular control, bio-blasts)]]

Apocalypse is a Franchise/MarvelUniverse character created by writer Louise Simonson and artist Jackson Guice. He first appeared in ''ComicBook/XFactor'' vol. 1 #5 (May, 1986). He has since gone on to plague the Comicbook/XMen and other heroes. Born 5,000 years ago into a desert tribe in AncientEgypt who took one look at the blue skinned mutant and left the supposed abomination behind to die, the infant who would become Apocalypse was found by the leader of a band of desert raiders called Baal, who adopted the boy and named him "En Sabah Nur" -- "The First One", as he believed that the child was the first of a MasterRace of beings who would one day inherit the Earth[[note]]He was not actually the "first" mutant, as there were others who came before him -- Selene, notably, is nearly thrice as old at 14,000[[/note]]. Baal raised En Sabah Nur and indoctrinated him into the brutal philosophy of his raiding band -- [[TheSocialDarwinist Survival of the Fittest]], and the idea that life is and should be a never ending struggle of the strong against the weak and each other to earn the right to live and prosper.

* {{Mutant|s}}: One of the first mutants born, though definitely not the first as he often claims [[spoiler: his fellow Externals Selene, Krule, Nicodemus, Saul, White Sword --- as well as their fellow mutant Azazel (''Nightcrawler's biological father'', who while so far not yet confirmed to also be an External, is still physically immortal like them, such that he even managed to ascend to becoming an actual demon hell-lord through millennia of human fear from him pretending to be ''The Devil'') --- are confirmed to indeed be much older, originating from the ''Hyborian Age'', which was thousands of years, around 15000 BC or so, even before Ancient Egypt, which was only around 5000 BC or so, though they are of course not more powerful than him]]. His Celestial-gifted PoweredArmor and Celestial techno-organic-viral augmentation makes it difficult to gauge which of his abilities derive from his own natural genetic mutation and which are artificial enhancements/additions.
** As finally revealed at last by his full backstory in the [[XOfSwords 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]], [[spoiler: Apocalypse is actually the "Great Re-Seeder", indeed the FIRST ... but only of ''the SECOND Generation of Mutantkind on Earth'', i.e. those whose powers activate at puberty rather than already be present at birth (i.e. "KillCrops"). Fittingly, Apocalypse is a texbook example of a Transitional Species / Missing Link individual : He has mutations both 1) present from birth (gray skin, blue facial markings), and 2) activated at puberty (cellular control, bio-blasts)]]

* AncientConspiracy: Five thousand years is a ''long'' time to manipulate things behind the scenes, and he's TheManBehindTheMan for the Externals, a lesser AncientConspiracy of other immortals [[spoiler: Ironically, half of whom are actually much more older than him, as they are implied to actually originate from the ''Hyborian Age'']].

** As finally revealed at last by his full backstory in the [[SwordsOfX 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]], his whole credo of "Survival of the Fittest" for thousands of years, was actually all along due to a [[TheLostLenore dead dame]]: [[spoiler: Apocalypse was desperately trying to fulfill the last express request of his beloved wife/soulmate, fellow immortal mutant Genesis, ''TO JUDGE THE WHOLE WORLD'', in order to ensure that the rest of the Earth would be strong enough to resist the re-invasion of the demon armies from the extra-dimensional hell-planet of Amenth, against whom she and their children and all of their extended family and friends (the entire mutant nation of Okkara, which is ''including even Arrako, the twin of the sentient island of Krakoa''), selflessly sacrificed their lives pushing back into their home dimension, and blocking up from crossing over into Marvel Earth.]]

** As finally revealed at last by his full backstory in the [[SwordsOfX 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]], [[spoiler: the First Horsemen were actually his own biological children, 2 sons and 2 daughters, who he sired and raised with his very first wife/soulmate, fellow immortal mutant Genesis. Like their parents, they were equally ageless upon reaching adulthood, and like their mother, are also ''Omega-level mutants who easily exceed even their father''. The first Death and the first Famine were their sons, the first War and the first Pestilence were their daughters.]]

** As finally revealed at last by his full backstory in the [[SwordsOfX 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]], [[spoiler: The simple reason why thousands of years ago, Apocalypse was the sole survivor of the ancient mutant nation of Okkara who remained behind on Earth, even while everyone else who was still alive (by his own admission, scores of ''godlike i.e. Omega-level mutants'', including his own wife, their children, and all of their extended family and friends) selflessly sacrificed themselves to stop the further Amenthi invasion of Earth by counter-invading the extra-dimensional hell-planet of Amenth, where they would be stranded forever, trapped in perpetual on-and-off warfare against a planet full of demon hordes? Simply because the self-proclaimed First Mutant ''was just not strong enough to join the rest of them''. The worst part? ''He admits that they ALL knew it, especially his own spouse who made him stay behind --- against his own wishes to join the rest of his kin and kith -- to instead try and hold the fort by fortifying the rest of the Earth against Amenthi re-invasion in the future.'']]

** He also ends up being TheManBehindTheMan for the Externals, a secret society of immortal mutants introduced in the pages of ''ComicBook/XForce''. This is highlighted pretty effectively in the ''ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse'', where all the surviving Externals are shown to be working for him.

** His ''given'' name is translated as "The First One" - he and Selene both have very good claims as being the first mutants alive [[spoiler: It's revealed in 2020's Swords of X that while Selene was likely the First of the First Generation of Earth mutants (i.e. "Killcrops", whose powers are present from birth), being born around 17000 BC in what eventually became Central Europe, during the ''Hyborian Age'', Apocalypse is confirmed to indeed be the First, but only of the Second Generation of Earth mutants (whose powers activate at puberty), being born just around 3000 BC in what is certainly Ancient Egypt, though Apocalypse has BOTH mutations from birth and activated at puberty]].

** As finally revealed at last by his full backstory in the [[SwordsOfX 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]], [[spoiler: Apocalypse is actually the "Great Re-Seeder", indeed the FIRST ... but only of ''the SECOND Generation of Mutantkind on Earth'', i.e. those whose powers activate at puberty rather than already be present at birth (i.e. "KillCrops"). Fittingly, Apocalypse is a texbook example of a Transitional Species / Missing Link individual : He has mutations both 1) present from birth (gray skin, blue facial markings), and 2) activated at puberty (cellular control, bio-blasts)]]

** ** As finally revealed at last by his full backstory in the [[SwordsOfX 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]]: [[spoiler: he was actually happily married once upon a time to his very first wife/soulmate, fellow immortal mutant Genesis, a Marvel omega-level mutant version of DC's own Poison Ivy, who he freely acknowledged was the strongest mutant/woman/person he had personally met ''easily surpassing even himself'', and they had four equally-ageless (upon reaching adulthood) Omega-level mutant children, ''who were actually his First Horsemen'']].

** His ''given'' name is translated as "The First One" - he and Selene both have very good claims as being the first mutants alive.[[note]] "En Sabah Nur" actually translates into roughly "The Seven Lights." While not as meaningful, it does have a poetry to it. [[/note]]

* {{Mutant|s}}: One of the first mutants born, though definitely not the first as he often claims [[spoiler: his fellow Externals Selene, Krule, Nicodemus, Saul --- as well as their fellow mutant Azazel (who is so far a non-External, but who managed to ascend to becoming an actual demon hell-lord through human fear), ''Nightcrawler's biological father'' --- are confirmed to indeed be much older, originating from the ''Hyborian Age'', which was thousands of years, around 15000 BC or so, even before Ancient Egypt, which was only around 5000 BC or so, though they are of course not more powerful than him]]. His Celestial-gifted PoweredArmor and Celestial techno-organic-viral augmentation makes it difficult to gauge which of his abilities derive from his own natural genetic mutation and which are artificial enhancements/additions.

* NewAgeRetroHippie: [[spoiler: His Age Of X-Man incarnation is an actual ''SEX GURU'' trying to bring both romantic love AND erotic lust back to a Gattaca-style world where its absolutely permabanned]].

* {{Mutant|s}}: One of the first mutants born, though probably not the first as he often claims [[spoiler: his fellow Externals Selene, Krule, Nicodemus, Saul --- as well as their fellow mutant Azazel (who is so far a non-External, but who managed to ascend to becoming an actual demon hell-lord through human fear), ''Nightcrawler's biological father --- are confirmed to be much older, originating from the ''Hyborian Age'', thousands of years before recorded history, though they are of course not stronger than him]]. His Celestial-gifted PoweredArmor and Celestial techno-organic-viral augmentation makes it difficult to gauge which of his abilities derive from his own natural genetic mutation and which are artificial enhancements/additions.

* {{Mutant|s}}: One of the first mutants born, though probably not the first as he often claims (Selene is probably older, though not stronger). His PoweredArmor and Celestial augmentation makes it difficult to gauge which of his abilities derive from his mutation and which are technological in nature.

* NewAgeRetroHippie: [[spoiler: His Age Of X-Man incarnation, as yet unseen beyond cover art, appears to be this - trying to bring romantic love back to a world where its banned]].

** As finally revealed at last by his full backstory in the [[SwordsOfX 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]], his whole credo of "Survival of the Fittest" for thousands of years, was actually all along due to a [[TheLostLenore dead dame]]: [[spoiler: Apocalypse was desperately trying to fulfill the last express request of his beloved wife/soulmate, fellow immortal mutant Genesis, ''TO JUDGE THE WHOLE WORLD'', in order to ensure that the rest of the Earth would be strong enough to resist the re-invasion of the demon armies from the extra-dimensional hell-planet of Amenth, against whom she and their children and all of their extended family and friends (the entire mutant nation of Okkara, which is ''including even Arrako, the twin of the sentient island of Krakoa''), selflessly sacrificed their lives pushing back into their home dimension, and blocking up from crossing over into Marvel Earth. The reason why Apocalypse was the sole survivor who remained behind? Simply because Apocalypse, the self-proclaimed First Mutant, ''was just not strong enough to join them''.]]

** As finally revealed at last by his full backstory in the [[SwordsOfX 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]], [[spoiler: the First Horsemen were actually his own biological children, 2 sons and 2 daughters, who he sired and raised with his very first wife/soulmate, fellow immortal mutant Genesis. Like their parents, they were equally ageless upon reaching adulthood, and like their mother, are also ''Omega-level mutants easily exceeding their father''. The first Death and first Famine were their sons, the first War and the first Pestilence were their daughters.]]

*** Indeed in the now-classic [[AgeOfApocalypse 1995]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]] which was the original version of the Age of Apocalypse, even after he had already conquered the entire continent of North America, he still humans live, albeit as an oppressed slave caste to the mutant ruling class, instead of exterminating them outright wholesale, ''and even let "superior"baseline flatscans (i.e. those non-mutant humans who managed to actually thrive in his totalitarian dictatorship) of actually join what passed for the "Elite" in his capital city of what used to be New York.''

** As finally revealed at last by his full backstory in the [[SwordsOfX 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]], [[spoiler: The simple reason why thousands of years ago, Apocalypse was the sole survivor of the ancient mutant nation of Okkara who remained behind on Earth, even while everyone else who was still alive (by his own admission, scores of ''godlike i.e. Omega-level mutants'', including his own wife, their children, and all of their extended family and friends) selflessly sacrificed themselves to stop the further Amenthi invasion of Earth by counter-invading the extra-dimensional hell-planet of Amenth, where they would be stranded forever, trapped in perpetual on-and-off warfare against a planet full of demon hordes? Simply because the self-proclaimed First Mutant ''was just not strong enough to join the rest of them''. The worst part? ''He admits that they ALL knew it, especially his own spouse who made him stay behind --- against his own wishes to join them -- to instead try and hold the fort by fortifying the rest of the Earth against Amenthi re-invasion in the future.'']]

* AncientConspiracy: Five thousand years is a ''long'' time to manipulate things behind the scenes, and he's TheManBehindTheMan for the Externals, a lesser AncientConspiracy of younger immortals.

** ** As finally revealed at last by his full backstory in the [[SwordsOfX 2020]] [[BatFamilyCrossover X-Event]]: [[spoiler: he was actually happily married once upon a time to his very first wife/soulmate, fellow immortal mutant Genesis, a Marvel omega-level mutant version of DC's own Poison Ivy, who he freely acknowledged was the strongest mutant/woman/person he had personally met ''even surpassing himself'', and they had four equally-ageless (upon reaching adulthood) Omega-level mutant children, ''who were actually his First Horsemen'']].

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: In DawnOfX, Apocalypse does an apparent HeelFaceTurn, joining the newer incarnation of Excalibur and ''[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking wears a business suit]]''.

[[quoteright:296:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1279597_apocalypse_2.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:296:''"Peace does nothing to test -- to INCREASE -- mutants' strength. To force them to evolve into the strong."'']]

* VillainousLegacy: Being as old as he is, he has literally thousands of descendants. He's also had at least one son in the modern day, William Rolfson (better known as Nemesis/Holocaust) and Cable's son Tyler also attached himself to his legacy when he became Genesis.
* VillainousValour: Generally keeps his word, and treats his opponents with great respect. Given the sheer amount of hell he often puts them through, this tends to make them hate him even more.

Throughout the centuries, the immortal Apocalypse traveled to numerous civilizations and cultivated worship of himself, and manipulated them into conflict and civil war to separate the strong from the weak. He eventually gained more power after discovering and bonding with the technology of a crashed Celestial ship, granting him a wide range of abilities but making him so powerful that he had to begin to periodically enter lengthy periods of regenerative rest to prolong his lifespan, and seek out powerful mutants as host bodies. He awoke at various points to influence history and attempt to recruit useful people to his cause, activating the powers of the mutant [[Characters/XMenAcolytes Exodus]] in the 12th century and transforming Victorian MadScientist Nathaniel Essex into the immortal geneticist Mister Sinister.

* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: Depends on the writer. Depends ''greatly'' on the writer. He ''is'' consistently shown to derive a fair bit of his power from the armor granted to him by the Celestials, but how much of it is natural, how much of it is specific to the armor, and how much of it is natural but augmented the armor varies greatly, as does the extent to which it provides life support and how decrepit he is without it.

** No one's ever been able to give a precise listing on what his powers actually ''are'', and the writers of his comics have admitted they just give him whatever abilities are needed to make him effectively menace the heroes.