Apocalypse: 5 Times En Sabah Nur Was The Ultimate Marvel Villain & 5 Where He Became The Hero

As one of the world’s first ever mutant, En Sabah Nur has gone back and forth in the history of the X-Men as both a force of evil, as well as good. The character started off as the primary antagonist to the original X-Men in the comics; but with time the character grew out of the all bad persona.

Apocalypse, as he is better known as, is a megalomaniac who will do anything to prove mutant supremacy on Earth. The character’s portrayal is almost god like, and his powers seemingly infinite. From heralding the hour horsemen, to his streak of vengeance; Apocalypse can be one of the biggest bad in the X-Men universe.

But the character, as we already said, is not all bad. His skills in diplomacy are unparalleled; so is his sense of morality. He is an egomaniac, but that also means he is not one for playing dirty tricks to gain what he wants. Whatever he does, he does it for the ‘right’ reason – even though his sense of what is wrong and right might vastly differ from others.

Being one of the oldest mutants to ever live, Apocalypse has seen and been through a lot. Here are 5 times, he became the villain of the story; ad 5 where he ended up doing good:

1. Villain – Apocalypse Against X-Force

The X-Force was a part of the X-Men; just a little more lethal than one would expect from the disciples of Professor X. This team consisted of Wolverine, Deadpool, Psylocke, Angel and Fantomex; and they worked as a covert black ops group. Their main goal was to eradicate any and all threat against mutants. During the Uncanny X-Force stint, the team comes up against Apocalypse who had already created the four horsemen. The X-Force goes against them, then En Sabah Nur, only to find he is now a newly reborn child. The team could not come to any conclusion whether or not to kill the child, and it broke them apart.

2. Hero – Standing Against the High Evolutionary

During the Evolutionary War story, the High Evolutionary after surviving a suicide attempt, tries to annihilate any and all life on the planet. He was ready to kill any and everyone he deemed ill suited to his vision of life. Being one the greatest geneticists to ever life, the High Evolutionary was capable of committing mass murder. At this point, having Apocalypse himself standing against the High Evolutionary to stop him; was highly beneficial. En Sabah Nur was not going to let someone else reshape the world in their own image while he was perfectly capable of!

3. Villain – Turning Angel Into a Horsemen

Angel or Warren Worthington III is one of the five founding members of the X-Men; along with Beast, Cyclops, Iceman and Jean Grey. The character of Angel has always been something of a source of hope of hope up until the last member. Worthington was also the financer for most X-Men related superhero business. So after his death, when Apocalypse turned him into the Horsemen of Death; it felt like all hope was gone. And that more than anything vilified this story, as their most trusted ally became one of X-Men’s most dangerous adversary.

4. Hero – SHIELD Against Brood

Before SHIELD became what it is today, it was known as the Brotherhood of the Shield. They were, in the ancient times, a group of intellectuals and warriors whose main objective was to protect humanity. They were men of letters, but also combatants, bound to safeguarding Earth in its darkest hour. During their secret hold, an alien named Brood invaded Earth during the reign of the Pharaohs. Apocalypse, along with the Brotherhood of the Shield stood against these aliens to keep Earth safe.

5. Villain – Act of Vengeance

The Act of Vengeance storyline consists of almost every Marvel hero you can think of. So it is only right that they fight against some of the greatest villains Marvel has ever had the misfortune of having. Basically, Loki tries to do mischief again; and in his process of devising a plan, he tries to accumulate every other villain he could – including En Sabah Nur. But the mutant refuses, and does nothing to either help or hinder either cause, letting this disorder continue.

6. Hero – Secret Weapon Against New World Order

Another organization who wanted to take over the world was the New World Order. This secret organization was founded by Red Skull; with his prevalent Nazi ideologies advancing their organization. In this storyline, Hulk was one of Apocalypse’s horsemen – the Horseman of War. The New World Order managed to disarm and defeat the Hulk in battle, taking his sword with him to their base of operations. Apocalypse, had already planned for the turn of events, and detonated a bomb remotely which was planted in the sword, obliterating the New World Order completely.

7. Villain – The Horsemen of Apocalypse

The Four Horsemen of Apocalypse are the heralds of chaos in bringing mutant supremacy over the world; which is En Sabah Nur’s main objective. As one of the first, and one of the most powerful mutants to ever live, Apocalypse has always wanted to shape the world in his own image. He has created his horsemen to do his bidding a couple of times; with different Marvel characters taking up the mantle of War, Famine, Pestilence and Death. They are lethal individually, but together they can accomplish anything.

8. Hero – The Island Nation of Krakoa

The Island Nation of Krakoa is like an utopia for the mutant kind in the Marvel universe. After decades of war with humankind, the leaders of different mutant sects came together to form Krakoa that can be the home base for all mutants. Charles Xavier’s Professor X and Max Eisenhardt’s Magneto come together to form this island. But their individual effort would have been wasted if not for the help and support of Apocalypse himself; who came together with the other in helping all mutant kind.

9. Villain – Age of Apocalypse

The Age of Apocalypse is En Sabah Nur’s ultimate dream – a world free of humankind; and where mutants reign, free of any fear.  In this storyline, Charles Xavier is killed, and Magneto forms the X-Men; but a little too late. By the time the team comes to be, Apocalypse has already launched his attack against humans. With no one to stop him, he wins the war easily, creating a dystopian version of the X-Men universe, where he is the Earth’s unilateral ruler. Apocalypse becomes the god he has always wanted to be; where mutants worship him, and humans fear him.

10. Hero – The Master of Diplomacy

For all the evil Apocalypse has done, there is one thing where he surpasses all when it comes to his positive traits. After the formation of the Island Nation of Krakoa, the mutants have had to face many issues regarding international policies. Many countries fear mutants, and to appease them Professor X, Magneto and Apocalypse go to Switzerland to have peace talks with these nations who are wary of the mutant kind. Apocalypse is very firm in not bowing down to anyone when it comes to mutants and their welfare, and shows from the very beginning who is in charge.