Summary
- Apocalypse's transformation in the Krakoa Era has made him a more intriguing character, as he turns from a destroyer of mutants to someone who dedicates himself to making Krakoa stronger.
- The evolution of Apocalypse reflects the original meaning of the word "apocalypse," which meant to reveal knowledge.
- The retcons and revelations about Apocalypse's past have changed readers' perception of him. He has more in common with the mutants he fights against than those he works with. This new version of Apocalypse is a teacher.
Apocalypse has had a very interesting last few years in the X-Men comics. To say that fans weren't expecting his face turn is saying something. Apocalypse's decree that Krakoa was strong was a huge change for a character who heretofore had tried to destroy many of the mutants there for being weak. Many readers figured Apocalypse was going to betray the X-Men at some point, especially as more was revealed about Arakko and the family he had there. However, Apocalypse not only kept the faith, but did everything he could to make the people of Krakoa stronger.
The word apocalypse has taken on negative connotations because of its relation to the Biblical Book Of Revelation. Centuries ago, Greek was the trade language of the Mediterranean regions and Revelation was called "Apokálupsis," the Greek word for revelation, particularly of knowledge. However, being related to the book of the Bible where the world ended made people associate it with the end of all things, instead of a revelation of knowledge. Apocalypse has changed in the Krakoa Era to become more like the Greek meaning of the word, which is an interesting change.
Old Testament Apocalypse
Apocalypse and genocide went hand in hand to readers for years. Apocalypse first appeared in X-Factor #5, although it was later revealed that he was in Marvel Graphic Novel #17: Revenge of the Monolith. This was the first major retcon of Apocalypse's origin. Apocalypse became X-Factor's main enemy throughout the book's run, using followers like Frenzy, the Horsemen of Apocalypse, the Dark Riders, and Moses Magnum to battle the team. However, his earliest coup as a villain would be Archangel. The transformation of Angel into the Horseman of Death was the first time that readers realized how big a deal Apocalypse would be. X-Factor built Apocalypse into the ultimate big bad for Marvel's mutant heroes. Sure, Apocalypse didn't have the thematic resonance of Magneto, but he made up for that with sheer threat. From his massive homebase Ship to his powerful Celestial armor to smacking around X-Factor like they were amateurs, Apocalypse made a huge splash, but it would be years before he became a big star.
Apocalypse has appeared in many X-Men comics, but younger readers don't realize that until 1992's X-Cutioner's Song, Apocalypse was mostly an X-Factor villain. X-Men fans knew who he was, but he'd made relatively few appearances outside X-Factor. Apocalypse was jobbed out to Stryfe in X-Cutioner's Song, but after that story, his history would Stryfe and Cable would be revealed. Apocalypse was established as the ruler of the future, a position that fans would see him in again in a story that defined how everyone saw Apocalypse for years after - The Age of Apocalypse. Readers had always known Apocalypse was a powerful foe, but AoA cemented him as a threat unlike any other. This was the story that gave the character his reputation as a killer, as the X-Men's most dangerous villain and a conqueror of the Earth.
This was the way everyone saw Apocalypse for years. Apocalypse was fiendishly intelligent, sure, but the main thing everyone knew about him was that he was superlatively powerful and that he had conquered alternate timeline Earths and the future. His Darwinian mantra made him the perfect villain for the X-Men. The X-Men existed to protect humanity from mutants like Apocalypse. Apocalypse wasn't an incredibly deep villain, but his threat and killer look kept him coming back constantly. Apocalypse would star in a big story, one where if he succeeded, he would conquer the world, and it would usually end with him dying somehow. Then, Apocalypse's body would be placed in a resurrection crèche, or he would be cloned and the whole thing started over again.
Apocalypse was a very interesting villain but he got pigeonholed over the years. Apocalypse's history stretched into antiquity; his time as a nomadic warrior in Ancient Egypt saw him battle Rama-Tut, the future Kang. Apocalypse's dealing with Nathaniel Essex birthed Mister Sinister, and his place as the Celestials' agent of evolution showed just how much could be done with the character. However, every Apocalypse story up to the Krakoa Era was basically the same - he comes, he sees, he tries to conquer, he dies, and then he comes back. Repeat ad nauseam. Creators had taken a character with infinite potential - he was even pitched as a possible first mutant - and made him into a shallow conqueror.
House Of A/Powers Of A
Before the Krakoa Era kicked off, readers got X-Men Black, a series of one-shots starring X-Men villains. Each of the five issues had an Apocalypse back-up story, with the villain weaker than ever. While the reception to these back-ups was mixed, it was the first time readers got to see Apocalypse as anything other than the all-powerful agent of Darwinism. This led into X-Men Disassembled, where the weakened Apocalypse would work with the X-Men against X-Man, who positioned himself as the opposite of the ancient mutant. This story would lead into Age of X-Man, a story that would see Apocalypse become a hippie freedom fighter. AoXM isn't a beloved story, but it was another story that gave readers a new Apocalypse. It seemed like Marvel was trying to tell fans something.
House of X/Powers of X kicked off the Krakoa Era, and reader got two very different versions of Apocalypse. Apocalypse was the leader of the X-Men in Powers of X's X-100 future, battling against Nimrod and post-humanity. However, this was just yet another alternate future. It was House of X that truly changed Apocalypse into an entirely different kind of character. Apocalypse would happily accept the clemency of Krakoa and decree the nation strong. Apocalypse joined the Quiet Council, and readers were served their first glimpse of Apocalypse's Krakoan destiny in the gossip from Bar Sinister about the First Horsemen, as well as his tales of having been on Krakoa before. Both of these moments were revelations for readers and characters, and presaged what was to come as Apocalypse became an important part of X-Men and Excalibur.
Writers Jonathan Hickman and Tini Howard obviously knew the Greek root word that Apocalypse's name was based on, because revelation became Apocalypse's new role in the mutant hierarchy. Apocalypse in X-Men knew the secrets of the newly returned Arakko and Summoner, despite not sharing everything he knew right away. Apocalypse in Excalibur revealed his place in mutant history as the originator of mutant magic, the first shaman of his tribe. Apocalypse took Rictor under his wing, whose mutant powers gave him a connection to the land and magic. Apocalypse was the grand magus, revealing the secrets of the past to characters and readers alike. However, as far as readers knew, Apocalypse was still the monster he had always been underneath all the revelations and everyone was ready for him to betray the X-Men.
X of Swords would be the true test of who Apocalypse had become. More of Apocalypse's past was revealed to readers, and suddenly everything everyone thought they knew about Apocalypse was changed. For years, Apocalypse had been thought of as a brutal purveyor of death. Every story up til the Krakoa Era, and the short time before it, had featured an Apocalypse who only cared about culling the weak from the strong. His entire life was all about this terrible purpose. However, X of Swords dug into his past, revealing the truth about Apocalypse - he was a human being, like everyone else. Apocalypse loved his wife and children. Apocalypse fought to defend his homeland from the demons of Amenth. Apocalypse worked hard to help the people of Okkara, allowing them to create a viable civilization.
It was revealed that while Apocalypse had always ascribed to a Darwinist point of view, he wasn't as hardcore in his younger days. His wife Genesis was the brutal Darwinist of the family and she constantly found Apocalypse weak for wanting to work things out or try to make everyone stronger. Every character trait that readers had always assumed was Apocalypse's was actually Genesis's. The only reason Apocalypse ever became that way was because Genesis had tasked him with creating an army strong enough to survive Amenth if and when they came back. The Apocalypse that everyone thought they knew for years was just him trying to be like his wife and following her last instructions to him before she left to keep the war going. Apocalypse never wanted to be the Apocalypse readers had known since his debut; he wanted to be Professor X, of sorts - a mutant who helped other mutants reach their full potential. That's the greatest irony of Apocalypse - in reality, he had more in common with the people he was fighting than he did with those he worked with against them.
Of course, there is a problem with all of this. Retcons like this make readers ask why Apocalypse didn't just tell everyone his actual reasoning for his Darwinism. If Apocalypse went to the X-Men, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four and told them that he was trying to build a powerful army to defend the Earth from demonic monsters, and they would have helped. The retcon ruins a lot of older Apocalypse stories for this reason, as him being altruistic doesn't jibe with how he's been portrayed in the past. However, this change of character was exactly what Apocalypse needed, and it will be interesting to see how the X-Men Red's battle against Apocalypse's family will play out because of the way he's changed.
A Teacher, Not A Butcher
The word apocalypse has long been misconstrued. It was bound up with the end of the world because of the Bible, but the word actually had nothing to do with that. It was a word that meant to reveal knowledge, but it became something else because of the way that language changes along with society. Apocalypse's life mirrors that in reverse; the changes made to the character have brought him closer to the original meaning of the word apocalypse in a way that no one would have ever thought, despite starting as someone who wanted to end the world.
Thanks to the Krakoa Era, specifically writers Jonathan Hickman and Tini Howard, Apocalypse has become an agent of knowledge. Revelation became the key to the character; from revealing new things about his past to him revealing the secrets of magic and the millennia to his people, Apocalypse became a completely different character. Of course, the origin retcons do hurt past stories, but this new version of Apocalypse has become a much better character, one that can work in a variety of stories. Not every A-list X-Men villain needs to be redeemed, but Apocalypse embracing his place as a teacher, becoming a mutant of revelations, has been an amazing change for a character that everyone thought they knew.