Blob (comics) Age of Apocalypse
What was the age of Apocalypse?
What was the storyline of the Blob in Age of Apocalypse?
Blob appears briefly in the Age of Apocalypse as a test subject that Henry McCoy was toying with in the Breeding Pens in a direct violation of the Kelly Pact that Apocalypse signed in order to keep the Human High Council occupied and at bay while he rallied his forces. McCoy considered Blob's mutation useless which enraged Blob. Dukes freed himself, and attacked his experimenter. Havok came to McCoy's rescue, but Dukes proved to be even too much for the Prelate to handle. His pseudo freedom was fleeting for moments later the head of the pens, Havok's older brother Cyclops, showed up to deliver a searing optic blast that would put him back in his place. When the Age of Apocalypse was revisited in the 10th anniversary, Blob was a member of Sinister's team known as Sinister Six. It appears that McCoy or Sinister himself had his powers altered in a manner that allowed Blob to project his gravitational field outward. When the Sinister Six met the X-Men in battle, Dukes' new powers were used to sweep the X-Men off their feet with the Silver Samurai receiving a double dose. Quicksilver attempted to fell the behemoth with multiple punches, but Dukes remained standing regardless of how many hits he got in. It was not until Rogue stepped in with a punch that had the power necessary to overtake him that the mammoth would topple over. Following the Sinister Six's defeat, Blob managed to escape. Later he's seen as a member of the Black Legion, a group of psychotic altered mutants under the supervision of a now insane Weapon X. It is also revealed that he left the Age of Apocalypse timeline and joined Archangel's quest to become the new heir of Apocalypse. He's seen in Akkaba Metropolis under the North Pole and he was the one to prevent the escape of Psylocke. In the "Final Execution Saga" story line in Uncanny X-Force, Fredrick is part of a new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants led by Daken with the aim of taking down X-Force and turning Evan Sabahnur into a new Apocalypse. During the saga the X-Force team is captured and tortured after Nightcrawler from the Age of Apocalypse universe betrays the team, to get his revenge on Fredrick due to him eating his wife Linda. Kurt seemingly succeeds in his goal of revenge by teleporting a live shark into Fredrick's stomach during a fight with him, causing him to be devoured from within. CANNOTANSWER
Blob appears briefly in the Age of Apocalypse as a test subject
The Blob (Frederick J. "Fred" Dukes) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an adversary of the X-Men. A mutant originally depicted as a fat circus freak, the Blob claims to be immovable when he so desires. He possesses an extreme amount of pliable body mass, which grants him superhuman strength. Possessing the demeanor of a bully, he mostly uses his powers for petty crime and as a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants and Freedom Force.

The Blob appeared in the 2009 superhero film X-Men Origins: Wolverine, where he was played by actor Kevin Durand wearing a fat suit. Wrestler "Giant" Gustav  Claude Ouimet had a cameo as Blob in X-Men: Apocalypse.

Publication history
Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men #3 (January 1964).

Fictional character biography

Early years
Born in Lubbock, Texas, Fred J. Dukes starts out as a member of a circus sideshow under the name "The Blob". His act was that he could remain stationary when others tried to move him. He is detected and contacted by Charles Xavier via Cyclops, who sees his performance and tells him that he (Dukes) is a mutant, and asks him to join the X-Men. At the X-Mansion, the other X-Men dislike Dukes for his obnoxious attitude. Iceman uses his power against Dukes to create an ice block around his foot, but the Blob easily escapes. The Blob refuses Xavier's invitation, saying he is better than the other X-Men. When Xavier tries erasing his mind of what has transpired, the Blob escapes the X-Mansion despite the efforts of the Beast and uses the sewer to get away without being followed. He tells the manager of the carnival he is taking over, then gathers up the other circus members and they attack the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, as he plans to get technology from the X-Men and take over the world. Meanwhile, Xavier works on a device which will allow him to erase the memories of many people. The carnival succeeds in defeating the X-Men despite a warning from Angel. They tie up the X-Men and leave them on the lawn. They then enter the X-Mansion to find the Professor and his technology. Xavier telepathically contacts Marvel Girl and tells her to remove her blindfold using her telekinesis, then levitate a knife from a performer's tent to cut through her bonds, after which she frees the other members. Xavier is able to wipe everyone's minds after the carnival is stopped by a wall of ice, and the Blob goes back to the circus.

Joining the Brotherhood
The mutant Magneto soon seeks out the Blob to recruit him into his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, restoring his memory through a jarring blow to the head. The Blob temporarily accepts the invitation, but leaves when it is revealed that Magneto has no real concern for the Blob's safety after he is hit by explosives which were launched at the X-Men. He goes back to the Circus. He teams up with Unus due to the alien Lucifer, who soon becomes his confidant. They disguise themselves as X-Men and commit crimes. The Blob also serves as a member of Factor Three. He briefly works as an operative for the Secret Empire, where he fights the Beast. With the reorganized Brotherhood, the Blob fights Professor X and the Defenders. He is reverted to infancy by Alpha the Ultimate Mutant. The Blob is later returned to adulthood, and fights the Champions of Los Angeles.

He later winds up in prison, but is freed by Mystique in order to recruit him into her incarnation of the Brotherhood. He becomes part of the plot to assassinate Senator Kelly, the event which leads to the apocalyptic alternate future of Days of Future Past. He also battles the Avengers as a member of the Brotherhood. With Unus, he battles the Hulk. With the Brotherhood, he battles the X-Men once more. He witnesses the apparent death of Unus, then goes berserk and attacks Spider-Man and the Black Cat.

He remains with the Brotherhood, becoming a special operative of the federal government when the Brotherhood is reformed as the government-sponsored Freedom Force. On the team's first mission, they help capture Magneto. They then battle the X-Men in San Francisco. Blob also participates in Freedom Force's capture of the Avengers for the federal government. With Freedom Force, he attempts to capture Rusty Collins, then battles X-Factor. With Freedom Force, he battles the X-Men in San Francisco, and later assists in the attempt to arrest the X-Men in Dallas, battling the New Mutants in Dallas as well. He battles X-Factor again, and under Spiral's orders, he and Pyro battle Daredevil in an attempt to capture a young mutant. He again attempts to arrest Rusty Collins, fighting the New Mutants again. He joins Avalanche and Pyro in attacking Avengers headquarters. With Freedom Force, he finally captures Rusty Collins and fellow New Mutant Skids. He helps to capture Cable, but is defeated by Cable and then by Sunspot during an attempt to recapture Cable. With Freedom Force, he assists in thwarting a jailbreak from the Vault.

After Freedom Force's dissolution, the Blob participates in other versions of the Brotherhood, including one led by Toad and another led by Professor X; the Blob takes over as leader of the latter when Xavier leaves.

The psychic entity Onslaught later recruits Blob, vastly upgrading his powers and abilities (in his powered-up state, his mutation becomes virtually identical to that of Phat). During this time, the Blob fights the various members of X-Force and is soundly defeated in each encounter. Months later, a powered-down Dukes joins the new Brotherhood led once again by Mystique, alongside Toad, Sabretooth, and the daughter of the original Mastermind.

When Exodus recreates the Brotherhood of Mutants, Blob offers to join but is quickly dismissed by Exodus, who considers him useless. This is a major blow to Dukes' already weak self-esteem, for which he seeks the counsel of therapist Sean Garrison. After a session, Blob attacks the Xavier Institute, though he is defeated by the combined efforts of the New Mutants and the Hellions. He is then arrested by S.H.I.E.L.D.

Post M-Day
Due to the Scarlet Witch's depowering of 90% of Earth's mutants, the Blob is one of the thousands to lose their power, though his epidermis does not shrink to compensate for his loss of mass, leaving him with huge folds of loose skin. The depressed Blob attempts to commit suicide, but his skin folds prevent him from cutting through to any major blood vessels on his throat or wrists.

Someone that resembles the Blob is seen apprehended by the Thunderbolts and is seen in the Folding Castle's Detention Quadrant.

Blob later resurfaces as a member of X-Cell, a group of depowered mutants that blames the government for the loss of their powers, attacking Mutant Town in defiance of the Decimation. After mistakenly getting into a fight with Rictor and Multiple Man and getting in a cheap shot on Rictor, he stole a car. With fellow X-Cell member Fatale, he attempted to flee, eventually hitting an open manhole (left open earlier in the day by Strong Guy and Wolfsbane) and causing the car to crash leaving Blob hanging from the car. When both of them ran afoul of Marrow, Blob was thrown from the car.

Through unknown means, Dukes loses the excess skin and his fortunes turn in his favor. Now known as Freddie Dukes, he has become a weight-loss guru in Japan, and is to star in an upcoming movie filmed in San Francisco made by Kingo Sunen. He is also seen with Magneto and the High Evolutionary.

In the miniseries "Magneto: Not a Hero", Joseph is resurrected under unknown circumstances and forms a new Brotherhood of Mutants with Astra and mutated deformed versions of Blob, Mastermind, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, and Toad. It is soon revealed that these actually are clones created by Joseph.

In Uncanny X-Men #16, Fred Dukes is working with Mystique in Genosha and is once again shown as heavily obese and appears to have his powers restored. Mystique has supplied him with Mutant Growth Hormones (MGH) extracted from Dazzler.

Powers and abilities
The Blob's mutant physiology grants him a number of advantages. He had superhuman strength, endurance, and great resistance to physical injury. The Blob's elastic, blubbery skin is difficult to penetrate by gunfire, missiles, and even Wolverine's claws, though with sufficient force and a favorable angle, the claws can lacerate his flesh. On one occasion, a concentrated optic blast fired by Cyclops was sufficient to puncture a hole through his shoulder, much to the shock of Dukes himself. The magic swords of both Black Raazer and the Arabian Knight were able to harm him.

He could also alter his personal mono-directional gravity field beneath himself to make himself virtually immovable as long as he was in contact with the ground, although an incredible force can uproot him, along with a chunk of whatever he is standing on. The only beings on record to have been able to move the Blob against his wishes are the Hulk, Juggernaut, and Strong Guy (powered-up near his limit by absorbing kinetic energy), although Colossus has managed to lift Dukes by digging underground and raising the piece of earth Dukes stands on, stating this as an exception to his immovability. Magneto once was able to move the Blob by lifting the ground under the Blob's feet via metal pipes. Despite his appearance, the Blob's speed and agility are those of a fairly athletic male of normal stature, a fact which frequently catches his opponents by surprise.

The Blob's superhuman strength greatly increased over the years, in a manner similar to that of the Thing. This improvement is said to be a result of his ongoing mutation.

The Blob is vulnerable to attacks directed at his face, as his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears do not have the same protection as the rest of his body. Dukes is also susceptible to psionic attacks and psychic manipulation, and he can be incapacitated by sensory assaults; for example, Banshee was able to render Blob unconscious solely through the use of his sonic scream. On another occasion, Sleepwalker defeated the Blob by using warp beams to wrap a steel girder around the villain, crushing his blubber and causing him great physical pain. The Hulk once took the opposite approach, harming the Blob by grabbing and stretching his flab. While he is all but invulnerable to direct kinetic attacks, such as punches, kicks or gunshots, he is susceptible to concussions and other harm resulting from sufficiently powerful impacts, as Daredevil knocked him out by luring him underneath a massive bell and then having it dropped on him with the aid of a young female mutant.

Dukes can be incapacitated by drinking alcohol, although due to his immense mass, a large amount of alcohol is required.

Other versions

Age of Apocalypse
Blob appears briefly in the Age of Apocalypse as a test subject that Henry McCoy was toying with in the Breeding Pens in a direct violation of the Kelly Pact that Apocalypse signed in order to keep the Human High Council occupied and at bay while he rallied his forces.

McCoy considered Blob's mutation useless which enraged Blob. Dukes freed himself, and attacked his experimenter. Havok came to McCoy's rescue, but Dukes proved to be even too much for the Prelate to handle. His pseudo freedom was fleeting because moments later the head of the pens, Havok's older brother Cyclops, showed up to deliver a searing optic blast that would put him back in his place.

When the Age of Apocalypse was revisited in the 10th anniversary, Blob was a member of Sinister's team known as Sinister Six. It appears that McCoy or Sinister himself had his powers altered in a manner that allowed Blob to project his gravitational field outward. When the Sinister Six met the X-Men in battle, Dukes' new powers were used to sweep the X-Men off their feet with the Silver Samurai receiving a double dose. Quicksilver attempted to fell the behemoth with multiple punches, but Dukes remained standing regardless of how many hits he got in. It was not until Rogue stepped in with a punch that had the power necessary to overtake him that the mammoth would topple over. Following the Sinister Six's defeat, Blob managed to escape.

Later he's seen as a member of the Black Legion, a group of psychotic altered mutants under the supervision of a now insane Weapon X. It is also revealed that he left the Age of Apocalypse timeline and joined Archangel's quest to become the new heir of Apocalypse. He's seen in Akkaba Metropolis under the North Pole and he was the one to prevent the escape of Psylocke.

In the "Final Execution Saga" story line in Uncanny X-Force, Fredrick is part of a new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants led by Daken with the aim of taking down X-Force and turning Evan Sabahnur into a new Apocalypse. During the saga the X-Force team is captured and tortured after Nightcrawler from the Age of Apocalypse universe betrays the team, to get his revenge on Fredrick due to him eating his wife Linda. Kurt seemingly succeeds in his goal of revenge by teleporting a live shark into Fredrick's stomach during a fight with him, causing him to be devoured from within.

Cable & Deadpool
Deadpool's search for Cable across alternate timelines forces an encounter with the Blob of "an age of Apocalypse" (not to be confused with the X-Men story arc of the same name). In this reality, Blob has taken the mantle of Famine, one of the Horsemen of Apocalypse.

House of M
Put in an internment camp after Bolivar Trask's rise to power in the House of M reality, he was freed in Magneto's first major raid on US soil. After being freed, he first took his mutant name, "Blob" and was instrumental in the destruction of several Sentinels. He then joined Magneto's mutant group. Blob is seen as a member of the Genoshan Black Ops version of the Marauders. It was later revealed that Dukes is also a member of an NYPD strike team called the Brotherhood.

Marvel Noir
Eric Magnus is Chief of Detectives and Fred appears as a member of his Brotherhood, a cabal of bent policemen. He is initially partnered with rookie Detective Peter Magnus, and later with Detective Mortimer Toynbee.

Marvel Zombies
Blob appears twice in the Marvel Zombies universe. He is alive when first encountered, but being pursued by several zombie versions of Marvel characters, including Pyro, Black Cat, Iron Fist, Toad and Rhino. He is later seen as a zombie fighting the X-Men.

Ultimate Marvel

The Ultimate Universe version of Blob, real name Franklin Dukes, is a member of the Brotherhood of Mutant Supremacy. His powers are similar to that of his Earth-616 counterpart, although he has been moved by a helicopter during the Weapon X saga, suggesting that he may be less powerful. He seems to eat constantly, and is often seen browsing the internet or chatting to people via instant messaging. One such incident sees the Blob pretend to be a female model/physicist named Naomi who cyber-seduces the X-Man Beast—leading to the discovery of Magneto's survival and to the Ultimate War saga. Unlike his Earth-616 counterpart, the Blob may very well have additional superhuman-eating powers as part of his mutation, as not only has he threatened to actually eat his enemies alive, but it was expressly stated that he had personally consumed all of the Weapon X computers in a matter of moments when the Brotherhood invaded the Weapon X compound to rescue the X-Men. In Ultimatum, the Blob is seen eating the Wasp, proving the cannibalistic claims are true. However, Hank Pym grows to a gigantic size and bites the Blob's head off in return.

It has been revealed that Blob was Liz Allan's estranged genetic father after she discovered her own mutant abilities. He impregnated Liz's mother while working for a circus sideshow. It has also been shown that the Blob fathered a son (Theodore "Tubby Teddy" Allan) by an unknown woman. Teddy is in high school and has his father's same bulky appearance and similar abilities, as he was shot at point blank range and merely said "It tickles". He later joins Quicksilver's new Brotherhood as the new iteration of Blob.

Planet X
Blob is an enforcer on the alternate universe when the Apocalypse Twins skew the time lines and create a mutant utopia.

Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows
In the second volume of Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, Blob is seen as a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants.

Age of X-Man
In the alternate universe created by Nate Grey in Age of X-Man, Blob is the leader of the X-Tremists. This version of Fred Dukes is a dramatic departure from previous representations; he is "soft-hearted, bookish, kind and gentle". Blob has romantic feelings for his teammate Betsy Braddock. According to X-Tremists writer Leah Williams, "My hope in removing the villainy aspects of his character for X-tremists was to make people confront how they feel about fatness in general by utilizing an intriguing aspect of AoX: there is no bodily prejudice."

In other media

Television
 The "massive, immovable Blob" makes a brief appearance in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode "The Prison Plot" where he was among the mutants that Magneto tries to free from prison.
 The Blob appears as a member of Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants in the 1989 animated pilot X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, voiced by Alan Oppenheimer.
 The Blob appears in several episodes of the 1990s X-Men animated series, voiced by Robert Cait. Blob, Pyro and Avalanche serve as henchmen for Mystique.
 A teenage version of the Blob is a regular character in the animated series X-Men: Evolution, voiced by Michael Dobson. Despite his bullying nature, he is shown to have a sensitive side and self-esteem issues. He is a classmate of some of the X-Men at Bayville High, initially nursing a crush on Jean Grey but consistently resenting her relationship with Scott Summers. As in the comics, Blob was working as a strongman in a Texas sideshow when approached by the X-Men to join their team. Instead, he was reeled in by Mystique before the X-Men get the chance to approach him. In the end of the series, in Professor Xavier's prophetic vision of the future, Blob and the rest of the Brotherhood joins S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Freedom Force.
 The Blob first appears in the Wolverine and the X-Men episode "Hindsight" Pt. 2, voiced by Stephen Stanton. He is seen as a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants and is first seen freeing Toad from the police.

Film

 The Blob is included as a character in an earlier script for the first X-Men film written by Andrew Kevin Walker in 1994.
The Blob is played by Kevin Durand in the film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. As a mutant with superhuman strength and durability, Fred Dukes was once part of Team X, composed of himself, Logan, Victor Creed, William Stryker, Agent Zero, Chris Bradley, John Wraith, and Wade Wilson. After the team disbands, the once-muscular and formidable mutant soldier developed an eating disorder and became extremely obese. Wraith now has him in training like a boxer to lose weight. Wraith warns Logan not to make fun of his weight, but Logan taunts Dukes, and when he calls him "Bub", Dukes mishears this as "blob" and starts fighting him. Dukes' mass absorbs Logan's blows, giving him the upper hand until he accidentally stuns himself with a headbutt to Logan's adamantium-reinforced skull, allowing Logan to knock him out by slamming his elbow onto Dukes' head. Once revived, Dukes reveals that Creed and Stryker are working together, capturing mutants and experimenting on them, having allegedly learned the information from Agent Zero. In a deleted scene included in the DVD release, it is revealed that Creed managed to subdue Dukes and interrogated him for information on Logan's whereabouts.
Fred J. Dukes / The Blob, portrayed by wrestler "Giant" Gustav Claude Ouimet, later appeared in X-Men: Apocalypse. He is a defeated opponent to Warren Worthington III / Angel during the time in which the latter was a cage-fighter. This is made possible by the altered-timeline which the films now follow since the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Video games
 The Blob is the Stage 2 Boss in the 1992 X-Men arcade game, loosely based on Pryde of the X-Men. He returns in stage 7 as the first of five sub-bosses inside Asteroid M. It is here that he utters the memorable quote "Nothing moves the Blob!", which has been made into an internet meme by websites such as YTMND and Something Awful.
 The Blob is an enemy in the 2001 game X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse.
 The Blob appears in the PlayStation game X-Men: Mutant Academy 2, where he makes a cameo appearance in the background of the poolside stage, bobbing from left to right in the swimming pool outside the academy.
 The Blob is an unlockable playable character in the 2002 game X-Men: Next Dimension.
 The Blob is a boss in the 2004 game X-Men Legends, voiced by Mark Klastorin. He is a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants and is first seen assisting Mystique in capturing Alison Crestmere during the game's opening cinematic. At the end of the first mission, Wolverine and Cyclops catch up to Blob and defeat him rescuing Alison. He later reappears during the mission aboard the USS Arbiter. He distracts the human soldiers guarding Magneto's prison, allowing Mystique to free Magneto. Shadow King also has a Dark Blob when the X-Men were on the Astral Plane. When Havok starts objecting to Magneto's latest plan, Blob subdues him.
 Blob only makes a brief appearance as a NPC in X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, voiced by Peter Lurie. He helps the team on Genosha by keeping the water from going in through the hole in the wall caused by a bomb while the player disarms the other bombs. Afterwards, he helps the X-Men defeat some Energy Demons and Scavengers. When they are defeated, the player has Blink teleport Blob to the Sanctuary.
 Blob appears as a boss in the X-Men Origins: Wolverine video game, voiced by Gregg Berger. In the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC versions he takes residence in a grocery store in Elgin, Illinois. In the Wii and PS2, version the player fights him in a boxing ring in Las Vegas.
 Blob was featured as a boss in the Facebook game Marvel: Avengers Alliance.
 Blob appears in the MMORPG Marvel Heroes, voiced by Fred Tatasciore.
 Blob appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes, voiced again by Stephen Stanton. In a bonus mission at Fogwell's Gym, Wolverine and Jean Grey are looking for new recruits to help the X-Men battle Magneto and his Brotherhood to get back the Tessaract they stole from X-Mansion. Blob is the only available guy they could find, but he has his objections to it. Wolverine and Jean Grey forge different foods from Lego pieces which tire out Blob which forces him to surrender and accept their proposal.
 Blob appears as an enemy in the X-Men virtual pinball game for Pinball FX 2 released by Zen Studios.
 Blob is featured as playable character in the Smartphone Game Marvel Puzzle Quest released by D3 Go!.

Books
 In the X-Men/Star Trek crossover novel Planet X, Wolverine programs the holodeck of the Enterprise-E to simulate the Blob (along with Sabretooth, Unus the Untouchable, and Juggernaut) for him and Worf to fight.

Toys
 Blob is a build-a-figure in the Marvel Legends Series of 6 inch action figures.
 The X-Men: Evolution version of Blob was released as an action figure, with an accessory of truck grilles attached to chains- a reference to his introduction story in the series, where he was working as an attraction in a Monster Truck show.
 The 90s X-Men toy line contained a Blob figure which came with a chicken leg and a ham as accessories.
 Blob was included in a Deluxe Twin Pack along with Sabertooth as part of the X-Men Origins: Wolverine line of 3.75 inch figures.

References

External links
 The Blob at Marvel.com

Characters created by Jack Kirby
Characters created by Stan Lee
Comics characters introduced in 1964
Fictional attempted suicides
Fictional characters from Texas
Fictional circus performers
Fictional henchmen
Fictional secret agents and spies
Male film villains
Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength
Marvel Comics film characters
Marvel Comics male supervillains
Marvel Comics mutants
X-Men supporting characters
"Age of Apocalypse" is a 1995 comic book crossover storyline mostly published in the X-Men franchise of books by Marvel Comics. The Age of Apocalypse briefly replaced the universe of Earth-616 and had ramifications in the main Marvel Comics universe when the original timeline was restored. It was later retconned as having occurred in the alternate universe of Earth-295.

During the entirety of the Age of Apocalypse event the regularly published X-Men comics were replaced by new X-Men related mini series, focusing on various teams and individuals in the Age of Apocalypse world including X-Calibre, Gambit and the X-Ternals, Generation Next, Astonishing X-Men, Amazing X-Men, Weapon X, Factor X, X-Man and X-Universe. The event was bookended by two one shots, X-Men Alpha and X-Men Omega.

The storyline starts with Legion (David Haller), a psychotic  mutant who traveled back in time to kill Magneto before he can commit various crimes against humanity. Legion accidentally kills Professor Charles Xavier, his father, leading to a major change in the timeline. The death of Professor Xavier leads Apocalypse to attack 10 years sooner than he did in the original timeline, taking control of Earth and altering everything that happened from that point forward. Apocalypse is opposed by several factions of mutant resistance, including a group led by Magneto. The group manages to send the mutant Bishop back in time to prevent the murder of Professor Xavier, undoing the entire timeline.  

In 2005, Marvel published an Age of Apocalypse one-shot and miniseries to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the fan favorite event. The book looks at what happened after the end of the original story, revealing that the timeline became in fact an alternate earth, designated "Earth-295". The "Dark Angel Saga" in 2011 revisited the alternate reality once more, leading to an Age of Apocalypse ongoing series launched in 2012 that ran for 14 issues. The world was also featured as part of Marvel's 2015 Secret Wars.

Storyline

Legion (David Haller), a psychotic  mutant on Earth and son of Professor Charles Xavier, travels back in time with the intention of killing Magneto (Erik Lehnsherr). However, Legion travels to a time when Magneto and Xavier are still friends while in Israel. As Xavier dies trying to protect Magneto, Legion vanishes, and a new timeline is created. The only person aware of how history has changed is Lucas Bishop, a time traveling mutant who followed Legion.

Because of Xavier's sacrifice, Magneto comes to believe in his late friend's dream of a peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants. Apocalypse (En Sabah Nur) an immortal mutant villain, was monitoring the fight. He chooses this moment as the perfect time to begin his world conquest, which did not happen in the mainstream Marvel universe for another ten years.

Magneto assembles the X-Men just as Apocalypse begins his war. Despite the X-Men's resistance, Apocalypse conquers all of North America and eventually mutants are considered the ruling class. Apocalypse initiates a genocidal campaign called "cullings," killing millions of humans. To further ensure that no one is left to challenge him or undo the circumstances that led to his reign, he has everyone with telepathic or chronal abilities hunted down. Meanwhile, the changes in the timeline result in a destructive crystallization wave created by the M'Kraan Crystal.

X-Men: Alpha
X-Men: Alpha was published in January, 1995, and launched the "Age of Apocalypse" crossover story. It briefly shows readers how many popular X-Men characters have changed in this new world. Bishop is reunited with Magneto while retaining fragmented memories of the true timeline. Magneto assigns his X-Men and their allies different missions. Some are to gather the forces needed to change history while others will continue resisting Apocalypse. The story continues in eight interlocking miniseries, each focusing on a different team of X-Men or other mutant forces. Each miniseries temporarily replaced one of the monthly X-Men titles being published at the time.

X-Calibre
X-Calibre is a team built around Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner), who is sent by Magneto to locate Destiny (Irene Adler), a mutant capable of seeing into the future, so that she can verify Bishop's story. Nightcrawler must travel to Avalon, a secret refuge where mutants and humans live together in peace. Along his journey, he encounters John Proudstar (Thunderbird), the monk Cain, the pirate Callisto, and his mother Mystique (Raven Darkholme). The chief antagonists for Nightcrawler's journey consist of the Pale Riders, a trio of Apocalypse's servants made up of Moonstar (Danielle Moonstar), Damask (Emma Steed), Dead Man Wade (Wade Wilson) and the Shadow King (Amahl Farouk). Nightcrawler's team consists of Mystique, Switchback, and later Damask, who joins Nightcrawler after realizing the beauty Avalon has to offer. The X-Calibre series gets its name from an in-joke between Nightcrawler and his mother, Mystique, because of the caliber of bullets she uses, simply stamped with an X. This title replaced Excalibur.

Gambit and the X-Ternals
Gambit (Remy LeBeau)'s X-Ternals consist of Sunspot (Roberto de Costa), Jubilee (Jubilation Lee), Strong Guy (Guido Carosella) and Lila Cheney. They are sent deep into space using Lila's teleportation in order to retrieve a shard of the M'Kraan Crystal, essential to the verification of Bishop's alternate reality. The X-Ternals are pursued by Rictor, a henchman of Apocalypse desperate to earn his master's praise by killing Gambit. Upon reaching Shi'ar space, the X-ternals fight the Imperial Guard in order to retrieve the crystal shard. Upon their return to Earth, Strong Guy betrays the team, not only stealing the M'Kraan Crystal, but also kidnapping Magneto's son, Charles. This title replaced X-Force.

Generation Next
Generation Next consists of a young group of mutant students trained by the husband and wife team of Colossus (Piotr "Peter" Rasputin) and Shadowcat (Katherine Pryde-Rasputin). They consist of Chamber (Jonothan "Jono" Starsmore), Husk (Paige Guthrie), Mondo, Vincente Cimetta, and Skin (Angelo Espinoza). They are sent by Magneto into the Seattle Core to rescue Colossus' sister, Illyana Rasputin, who is the last surviving transdimensional teleporter. Illyana Rasputin is a slave of the Sugar Man, one of Apocalypse's prefects and ruler of the Seattle Core. Mondo finds Illyana Rasputin and hides her inside of his body, intending to smuggle her out at shift change. When Mondo is found out, the ensuing fight finds the Sugar Man killing Mondo with a blast from his tongue, exposing the rest of Generation Next. While fighting a near hopeless battle, Generation Next is left for dead by Colossus, who sacrifices them in order to save his sister. This title replaced Generation X.

Astonishing X-Men
The Astonishing X-Men are led by Rogue (Anna Marie Lehnsherr, Magneto's wife) and consist of Sabretooth (Victor Creed), Blink (Clarice Ferguson), Wild Child (Kyle Gibney), Morph (Kevin Sydney) and Sunfire (Shiro Yoshida). They are sent by Magneto to stop the cullings, which are being undertaken by Holocaust, Apocalypse's son and one of his horsemen. While helping with the evacuation and protection of humans, Sabretooth asks Blink to teleport him to Holocaust's location, which she reluctantly does. Sabretooth and Holocaust fight a vicious duel but Sabretooth is defeated and seemingly killed, horrifying Blink. (Sabretooth had rescued Blink from Mr. Sinister and she had come to see him as her dearest friend and mentor.) The team then fights Holocaust and his Infinites, destroying his factory. However, Holocaust manages to escape and the team returns to Xavier's mansion, where Rogue learns that both her son and her husband have been captured. Sabretooth is revealed by Iceman to have survived the battle, to Blink's delight. This title replaced The Uncanny X-Men.

Amazing X-Men
The Amazing X-Men consist of team leader Quicksilver (Pietro Lehnsherr) and Storm (Ororo Munroe), Dazzler (Alison Blaire), Banshee (Sean Cassidy), Iceman (Robert "Bobby" Drake), and Exodus (Paris Bennet). The team is sent to Maine by Magneto to aid in the evacuation of humanity to Europe. During this mission, the team fights Apocalypse's Brotherhood of Chaos, as well as the Horseman Abyss, who is defeated (but not killed) by Quicksilver. During their absence from the Xavier Mansion, Magneto and Bishop are attacked by Apocalypse himself, who captures them both. Fulfilling their mission, Quicksilver splits up his team to help the other X-Men: sending Iceman to rendezvous with Rogue's team (the Astonishing X-Men) and Dazzler and Exodus to find Magneto's son, Charles. Finally, Quicksilver, Storm, and Banshee go to rescue Bishop, who is in the hands of the Madri, Apocalypse's priests. This title replaced X-Men.

Weapon X
Weapon X (Logan) and his lover Jean Grey are depicted in this series carrying out missions for the Human High Council. Jean and Weapon X drift apart, as the Human High Council intends to launch a nuclear strike on the U.S. as Jean is appalled by the loss of life it would cause. After Weapon X concludes a battle with Donald Pierce, Jean leaves to help evacuate the U.S., bidding a tearful farewell to Logan. Weapon X is then sent to recruit Gateway, whose teleportation ability is necessary to bring the fleet to America. As the fleet leaves, Weapon X decides to join them, if only to find Jean somewhere in America before the bombs are dropped. This title temporarily replaced Wolverine.

Factor X
Factor X consists of the Elite Mutant Force (EMF), who serve Apocalypse. They are split into five sibling groups: Cyclops and Havok (Scott Summers and Alex Summers), Emplate and the Twins (Marius, Nicole, and Claudette St. Croix), Cannonball and Amazon (Sam and Elizabeth Guthrie), the Bedlam Brothers (Jesse and Terrence Aaronson), and Aurora and Northstar (Jean-Marie and Jean-Paul Beaubier). The EMF is tasked with maintaining control of Apocalypse's breeding pens, where people are imprisoned, tortured, and experimented on by the Beast, also a member of the EMF. Havok, jealous of his brother's leadership role, discovers that Cyclops is a traitor who has been helping people escape the pens; and in one such escape attempt, both Aurora and Northstar are seriously injured. Havok then exposes Cyclops and attempts to kill him, but Cyclops escapes with the aid of Jean Grey, who has arrived to evacuate as many people as she can before the Human High Council's nuclear strike. The Bedlam Brothers also choose to side with Cyclops, and they successfully defeat both Amazon and Cannonball. Cyclops and Jean defeat Havok, and as they lead the freed prisoners out of the pens, Havok is determined to kill his brother. This title replaced X-Factor.

X-Man
The protagonist of X-Man is Nate Grey, a mutant born of Cyclops' and Jean Grey's DNA, and the most powerful telekinetic in the world. He lives under the guidance of his father figure Forge, who leads a group of outcasts consisting of Mastermind, Toad, Brute, and Sauron, who attack trains and factories of Apocalypse while masquerading as a theatre troupe. This title replaced Cable.

Characters and affiliations

Mutant heroes
The only then-existing major mutant character missing in the original Age of Apocalypse is Psylocke. When the "Age of Apocalypse" storyline was revisited a decade later, she appeared in X-Men: Age of Apocalypse #4 in Asian form. Her origin remains unknown. There has been no explanation of what she was doing during the original Age of Apocalypse, other than the fact that she had some kind of past connection with Weapon X.

Other anti-Apocalypse forces
Besides the X-Men and its many offshoots, the Human High Council remains as the only other power opposing Apocalypse. Unlike the X-Men, however, the Human High Council considers the extermination of mutants as a viable option. Bolivar and Moira Trask, as well as Brian Braddock, are the major proponents for a mutant holocaust. Secretly, the Human High Council supports the Human Underground Resistance.

X-Universe also reveals the fate of several other individuals.  Peter Parker was executed because he was a potential contact for Gwen Stacy.  T'Challa and Namor perished when Wakanda and Atlantis were attacked by Apocalypse.  Frank Castle went missing following a mutant raid on a Buddhist temple where he had sought peace after the death of his family.  Reed Richards and Johnny Storm sacrificed themselves in the evacuation of Manhattan Island.

Apocalypse's agents

Neutrals

Timeline escapees
Some characters escaped the Age of Apocalypse into the Earth-616 continuity. These include Dark Beast, Nate Grey (the Age of Apocalypse version of Cable), Holocaust and Sugar Man.

 Nate Grey allied himself with the X-Men a few times and once with Spider-Man. He later "died" by disseminating into every life form on the Earth, but has since returned to the living and is now residing in San Francisco and is part of the New Mutants roster.
 Blink escaped into the multiverse and ended up leading the reality-hopping team of heroes known as the Exiles. Her counterpart on Earth-616 was thought to have died during the "Phalanx Covenant" storyline, but brought back from the dead by Selene during the "Necrosha" event.
 Prophet was taken at Jean Grey's request to the Earth-616 at the end of the crossover that would close the Age of Apocalypse timeline from the timestream.

Former timeline escapees
 Holocaust remained at large in the main Marvel Universe until he joined the Exiles and was killed by another universe's evil version of Hyperion.
 Sabretooth survived through the same means as Blink and joined a team of reality-hopping super beings known as Weapon X. During one mission, he opted to stay behind on to raise David Richards. Eventually, he was brought back into action and joined the Exiles. He has since returned to the Age of Apocalypse.
 Hatchet-9, the only surviving Mecha-Mutate officer of Assault-Regiment Delta, a regiment of traitor humans who traded limbs and more for the power and privilege of serving the High Lord Apocalypse.
 Rastus, a heavily two-headed mutated creation of Sugar Man and one of many wardens of Seattles' Core, was also revealed to have escaped to Earth-616. He joined Sugar Man and lived in the catacombs underneath the island nation of Genosha until he was accidentally discovered by the Dark Beast. He was eventually killed by Callisto.
 Wild Child left this timeline when a time-traveler, Quentin Quire, saved him from the Friends of Humanity and then used Wild Child to replace the latter's counterpart, who had recently died. Wild Child was later returned to the Age of Apocalypse and subsequently killed in battle.
 Nightcrawler decided to stay on Earth-616 after the events of the Dark Angel Saga. He joined the X-Force team so he could search for Iceman, Blob, Dark Beast and Sugar Man. He then tracked and killed his former teammates Iceman and Blob. During the X-Termination crossover, Nightcrawler apparently gave his own life to close the Age of Apocalypse timeline from the Timestream.
 Blob left the Age of Apocalypse due to the events put in motion by Archangel. He later joined Daken's Brotherhood with the apparent goal of exacting revenge on X-Force. He was killed by the AoA Nightcrawler who teleported a shark inside Blob's body.
 Iceman was revealed to have defected from the X-Men and was working for Weapon Omega. He also left the Age of Apocalypse through the same means as Blob and was tracked down by Wolverine, Deadpool, and the AoA Nightcrawler. During the fight, Nightcrawler teleported to a factory and fought Iceman, defeating him without either man using their powers. Once Iceman was defeated, Nightcrawler threw his body into an incinerator.
 Beast was sent twenty years into Earth-616's past. This allowed for several retcons which were used to explain that he (now known as Dark Beast) was responsible for the creation of the Morlocks and also why Mister Sinister initiated the "Mutant Massacre", as he recognized his stolen handiwork and ordered it exterminated as a debasement of his art. He later came under the employment of Norman Osborn's Dark X-Men, with the responsibility of keeping his counterpart and Charles Xavier captive while Osborn carried out his plan. He  then returned to the Age of Apocalypse timeline and helped Weapon Omega on his quest to control America, but at the end Weapon Omega was defeated and Dark Beast was taken back to Earth-616. He was thought to be deceased, after apparently dying in a bomb explosion after progressively suffering from fatal health problems due to his own further experimentations on himself. During the 2017 Secret Empire storyline, Dark Beast turns up alive and healthy but is eventually killed by Magik.
Sugar Man was also sent twenty years into Earth-616's past, and it was through him the Genegineer received the advanced genetic research to allow the small nation of Genosha to become powerful by enslaving mutants. He remained at large in the main Marvel Universe and only a few knew about his existence. Sugar Man returned to the Age of Apocalypse timeline after being released from Steve Rogers' custody by Dark Beast, and was believed to remain there at the end of the crossover that would close the Age of Apocalypse timeline. But it was revealed that he had returned to the main reality before the event and was thought to be deceased at the hands of Magneto, only to reappear alive and planning to send six hundred mutant embryos to the future. He was later killed by a mysterious assailant who was hunting down the former Age of Apocalypse residents.

Prequels
Before the tenth anniversary, the Age of Apocalypse was considered a dead reality that no longer existed—a fact that was frequently mentioned by timeline escapees, such as Sugar Man and Blink. However, there were quite a few prequels written that took place before its destruction.

By the Light told the story of Blink transporting the X-Men to the moon where they faced Apocalypse's new horseman of Death, Maximus the Mad. Sinister Bloodlines followed the return of a Brood-infected Christopher Summers (Corsair) to Earth and his reunion, after escaping the experimentations of Sinister and Dark Beast, with Scott and Alex.

Blink was a four issue miniseries intended to reintroduce the Age of Apocalypse version of Blink as a teaser to the Exiles ongoing series. This story takes place prior to the "Age of Apocalypse" main events, but is largely set in the Negative Zone. Blink becomes lost in the Negative Zone after attempting to incite Blastaar towards war with Apocalypse and instead joins a rebellion against Blastaar alongside her lover, who turns out to be a de-evolved version of Annihilus. The last four pages of the final issue show Blink during the destruction of the Age of Apocalypse and becoming unhinged from time.

X-Man, during its run, occasionally re-visited the Age of Apocalypse, both through time travel and flashbacks. X-Man #-1 shows Mr. Sinister releasing Nate from his growth vat as a child to check on his progress. In the 1996 X-Man Annual, Sugar Man uses a variation on a time machine powered by Nate's psionic force to return to the early years of Apocalypse's rule where he hopes to take control himself. Nate follows and meets up with Forge, Magneto, Morph, and Mastermind, and is surprised to discover that Forge knew that he would be there because an older Nate Grey had time traveled and told Forge about his memories of this event. On the orders of this older Nate Grey, Forge forces the younger Nate to re-power the machine and return himself and Sugar Man to Earth-616. This leads to a rift between Forge and Magneto, who believed they should have allowed Nate to stay so that he could help them fight Apocalypse. Later, in X-Man #53 and #54, Nate, Jean Grey, and Cyclops run across a temporal rift that brings an infinite processing plant to Earth-616.

Age of Apocalypse 10th Anniversary

In 2005, Marvel published an Age of Apocalypse one-shot and miniseries to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the fan favorite event.

The one-shot features stories set before the events depicted in the original "Age of Apocalypse" event, similar in focus to the Tales from the Age of Apocalypse issues. The one-shot contains the story of how Colossus and Shadowcat left the X-Men to train Generation Next; how Sabretooth met Wild Child; the first appearance of the Silver Samurai; and how the world survived the Human High Council's nuclear attack.

The limited series, which takes place after the nuclear attack in X-Men: Omega, introduced several characters who were not in the original storyline. Long time characters Cloak and Dagger, Psylocke, and the Morlocks (including Feral, Leech, Marrow, Skids, and Thornn), who were survivors of Mr. Sinister's experiments, are introduced. Newer characters Beak, Icarus, and X-23 are seen along with an alternate version of Xorn. Jean Grey is also revealed to have saved everyone from the nuclear attack by tapping into the Phoenix Force-level powers, and is revived from death by Sinister.

Dark Angel Saga
In 2011, the Age of Apocalypse was featured in a storyline in the ongoing series Uncanny X-Force 11–18 by Rick Remender.

Seeking a Celestial 'Life Seed' in order to save Angel (Warren Worthington) from becoming the new Apocalypse, The Uncanny X-Force, under the guidance of Dark Beast, journey to the Age of Apocalypse. X-Force arrives ten years after the X-Men had defeated Mister Sinister, yet it seems the X-Men still face enormous challenges in this harsh setting. The world, which during the previous appearance had seemed to be on the road to recovery, has once again fallen on hard times, similar to when Apocalypse was ruling, with Sentinels now roaming the streets. As they follow Dark Beast to one of his labs, they are unknowingly followed by Wildchild and Sabretooth (Earth-295). Dark Beast finds the life seed but before he could hand it over to the X-Force members, Nightcrawler teleports in and swipes the seed away, figuring that Dark Beast was up to some evil plot after decades of absence. After a brief quarrel which ended with the life seed destroyed by Sunfire, Psylocke recognizes Sabretooth from her time on the Exiles and convinces Wolverine (Earth-616) that this version of Sabretooth isn't a bad guy, which ends their battle. With the life seed destroyed, Dark Beast sneaks over to the portal back to the 616 Marvel Universe and walks in, leaving X-Force stranded in the Age of Apocalypse world. Nightcrawler's team, realizing that the sentinels are descending on their position, evacuates along with X-Force, taking them to the X-Men's new base in Atlantis.

It was soon revealed that a new "Heir of Apocalypse" has risen and that's the reason why the world as fallen once again into a dark age that resulted on the apparent extinction of the human race. Using a version of M.O.D.O.K., they discover the body of the slain Celestial which apparently still contains life seeds. However, as X-Force also learn that the only way to return to the main reality is to seek the help of Gateway who in turn is kept prisoner in the mysterious floating city known as The Sky, the Sentinels soon arrives at Atlantis forcing the group to abandon the complex. As Fantomex leads a small team to the place where the Celestial is, the rest of the team invades The Sky to retrieve Gateway, however they are confronted by the Black Legion consisting of Earth-295 Blob, Earth-295 Manphibian, Demon Ock (a demonic creature with mechanical tentacles), Beta-Red (a female counterpart of Omega Red), Grimm Chamber (a Thing/Chamber hybrid), Iron Ghost (a Ghost Rider/Iron Man hybrid), Orange Hulk (a solar-powered Hulk), White Cloak (a Cloak/Dagger hybrid), and Zombie Sentry (an undead version of Sentry). During the fight, X-Force and the Earth-295 X-Men run into the long thought deceased Weapon X (Logan/Wolverine Earth-295). He appears using Apocalypse armor and reveals himself to be the Heir of Apocalypse.

Meanwhile, unaware of the problems Wolverine and his team are facing in the fortress, Fantomex and his small crew dive into the heart of the deceased Celestial in order to get the life seed they need to free Warren. After battling some drones, they manage to find only one seed and flee with it, losing Gambit in the battle, while, back in the fortress, Wolverine and his crew try to battle Weapon X and the Black Legion. However, Weapon X proves too powerful, since he had been augmented by the Celestial technology, when the cosmic entities came to judge planet Earth, and while he had ascended in form and power, his mind had become so twisted to the point of creating genetic-powerful warriors to kill Charles Lehnsherr, the infant son of Magneto and Rogue. Weapon X easily manages to swat them all and take Jean Grey so he could transform her into Death, a horseman of Apocalypse. To perform the ritual he approaches Storm who was enslaved and transform into a blind seer made of living stone. After taking out the Black Legion and freeing Gateway, Wolverine ask Gateway to open a portal to bring forth Fantomex team. Using Fantomex, they manage to free Jean and open a gateway to their world. Wolverine wants Jean to come too but she refuses and forces them through the gateway with her powers. As X-Force returns to their world, they are greeted by Dark Beast, the Horsemen of Apocalypse, and Archangel, now wearing Apocalypse's armor.

After a long fight, Fantomex retreats and gets Gateway to teleport the AOA X-Men to help X-Force, together they defeat Archangel, the AoA X-Men decide to go back to their timeline while Nightcrawler decides to stay in this timeline and vows to kill, Dark Beast, Iceman, Sugar Man, and any other villain that escaped the AOA timeline to this one.

Age of Apocalypse ongoing series

Publishing history
In the Marvel Point One one-shot, a new team of anti-mutant humans calling themselves the X-Terminated, pledged to combat the rule of the ascended Weapon X and his minions, after X-Force's attempt to stop the genocidal successor of Apocalypse. The group consisted of remaining members of the human race in the Age of Apocalypse who have been pushed to the edge of extinction by mutants. Members of that team were Prophet (William Stryker), Goodnight (a rebuilt Donald Pierce), Deadeye (Zora Risman), Fiend (Francesca Trask), and Horror Show (Graydon Creed).

Plot summary
As Jean Grey and Sabretooth returned from Earth-616, they meet the human coalition. It is also revealed that Jean had ordered much to Magneto's horror, the creation of clones of the Scarlet Witch, so they could use the spell Jean saw previously on Wolverine's mind that de-powered 99% of mutantkind. However Weapon X and his Black Legion attack the last human city where Weapon X himself slays both Magneto and Rogue, leaving Jean Grey and Sabretooth the last two X-Men alive (Sunfire had given his life to stop Archangel's plans on Earth-616, and Nightcrawler decided to stay on that reality to hunt down Dark Beast, Blob, Iceman and Sugar Man). Jean telepathically nudges clones of the Scarlet Witch to recreate the Decimation and remove all mutants' powers across the globe. However, this was only successful within a radius of 12 feet, so Jean Grey and Sabretooth are both left de-powered while Weapon X and his forces remained powered. The human coalition distracts Weapon X with a bomb long enough for the group to escape as the city explodes behind them.

As the human coalition (X-Terminated Team, now including Jean Grey) continues to fight the forces of Weapon X, now renamed Weapon Omega, they find Harper Simmons, a human journalist from Earth-616 who was forced to come to the Age of Apocalypse while investigating the prison break of Sugar Man by Dark Beast on Earth-616. He creates a pamphlet that incites human and mutant riots against Weapon Omega, who is now bringing back deceased mutants like Emplate, Scott Summers and Alex Summers using energies siphoned from the celestial life seed. Harper Simons joins with the X-Terminated. Others who work with the X-Terminated are Doctor Moreau and Bolivar Trask.

After discovering the resurrected Penance, he ordered his servants Azazel, Cyclops and Colossus to bring her into the fold. She initially refused and undid Colossus' brainwashing causing him to abandon Weapon Omega and serve Penance. A fight broke out but Azazel agreed to leave. He returned with Weapon Omega who demanded that Penance kneel before him which she did. Unbeknownst to Weapon Omega however Penance was also making deals with the Human Resistance.

It has since been revealed that when the Celestials had come to Earth, they tried to resurrect Apocalypse by rewrite his genetic code to form a new body. After a small team of X-Men went investigate the ship they discovered that Apocalypse was already in the form of a child which Weapon X effectively kills despite Jean's pleas. With the death of the child, Weapon X took on the role of the Evolutionary Caretaker in an effort to spare his world from the Celestials wrath. Thus, he restarted the campaigns of extermination perpetrated by Apocalypse against the human race after being corrupted by the Seed.

The X-Terminated later travel to Latveria so they could get the information they need to defeat Weapon Omega, as Doom had apparently managed to create a device capable of storing the Death Seed's powers which they aptly referred to as the "Apocalypse Force" from its host body and empowering it within a new user, however they are approached by the Queen, actually Doom's wife and former member of the Human High Council, Emma Frost, who had her telepathic powers returned to her and was now in league with Weapon Omega. The X-Terminated eventually gained the information they needed by killing Doom and removed the intel literally from his head.

With the information they gained, the X-Terminated build the device, however, Weapon Omega after being alerted that Jean Grey was hiding out in the city, resolved to hunt his wife down himself, and vowed that if her humanity could not be cured, he would kill her himself. Jean Grey was ultimately responsible for removing the power of the Death Seed within her former lover and were absorbed by Jean as the next host. Thanks to her history with the Phoenix Force, though, Jean was strong enough to reject the power of the Death Seed and displaced it. After everything died down, Weapon Omega emerged from the rubble as Logan once again, his mind now clear of the corrupting force of the Death Seed. Unknown to him or Jean, however, the energies of the seed had in fact been contained by Bolivar Trask in a giant machine under the Nevada Desert.

"X-Termination"
In March 2013, the X-Treme X-Men, Age of Apocalypse, and Astonishing X-Men titles were part of the "X-Termination" crossover event, which focused on the AoA Nightcrawler's trip home. Age of Apocalypse #14, the final issue of the series, will be Part 3 of the event.

Following the completion of his quest, Nightcrawler decided it was time to return home. Even though this world was in a much better state, he still missed his own and he wanted to return to fight Weapon Omega. After managing to avoid Wolverine, who was hunting him down, Nightcrawler eventually tracked down another exile from his world: Dark Beast, however, unbeknownst to them, due to the dimension-hopping activities of various superheroes and villains, the walls in the netherspace have become weak and began to crack.

The rift first became known on Earth-TRN262 in the head of the Sphinx. Lord Xavier, the Witch King, Nazi Xavier, and Xavier Head began sacrificing civilians to an interdimensional rift to gain power. The X-treme X-Men, who had been trying to stop this from happening by killing ten evil Xaviers across various realities before they could use their powers to trigger the event, were able to rescue their Xavier and narrowly defeated Lord Xavier and Nazi Xavier. Unfortunately, the X-treme X-Men did not act quickly enough to save that world, and were forced to make an interdimensional jump, leaving that reality and all its citizens being consumed by the vortex. Unbeknownst to them, an army of monsters were waiting on the other side of the portal.

Using a pair of modified goggles, which Dark Beast explains will allow them to enter the Dreaming Celestial safely in a bid to return home. Kurt teleports them inside, where McCoy attempts to open a portal to their home reality. However, before the portal stabilizes, the machine he was using begins to malfunction. Before he can fix it, the X-Men arrive and the two have to flee, with Nightcrawler teleporting them through the portal. However, once they arrive in their homeworld, the portal doesn't close behind them, which worries the Dark Beast. The situation is complicated first by Wolverine's team, which comes through the portal to take Kurt back to their reality, and then by Dazzler and her team of X-treme X-Men, who seem keen to close the portal. As Xavier of the X-treme X-Men uses his powers to try and close the portal three huge monsters emerge from it. Xavier tries to tell them they mean no harm but one of the monsters kills him and dissolves his body to absorb its energy. As it does so, it grows slightly bigger.

In response, Dazzler blasts one with her light beams, but it absorbs her energy and grows in size. After trying various methods of attack, the teams realize that the monsters are nearly invulnerable. Karma tries possessing one but it ends up possessing her. They find out that the monsters were trapped between dimensions by the Celestials and that the constant travelling between worlds has weakened the barriers and freed them. Karma is dying but Iceman freezes the monsters and saves Karma. As the teams regroup to try and figure out what to do, Sage picks up on some thought the monsters are projecting. She screams for someone to shut the portal down, but it's too late and one of the monsters walks through it to the 616 universe. As Howlett, Wolverine, Northstar and Hercules go after it, the second monster heads off into New Apocalypse, whilst the third starts to drain energy from the portal itself. Prophet says that they could use the power of Apocalypse to defeat them but Jean Grey isn't so keen. After some deliberation, the teams decide to split up with some staying on New Apocalypse and the other going to fight the creature through the portal. Sabretooth and Horror Show sacrifice themselves to provide a distraction whilst Kid Nightcrawler teleports a group of people through the portal. The remaining group in New Apocalypse heads off to formulate a plan of attack as the second monster tears through the city.

Northstar, Hercules, Howlett and Wolverine emerge in San Francisco of the 616 universe, where they find the monster draining the energy from the Dreaming Celestial's chest. In the Age of Apocalypse reality, Jean and her group travel to the Apocalypse power. Fiend radios through from New Apocalypse, where one of the monsters is attacking. After a short conversation, the radio goes silent and Jean realizes her friend is dead. They make their way through some caverns to the room the Apocalypse power is being kept in. Dark Beast slips away as the others look at the canister the power resides in. Jean has Kurt teleport them both away as she doesn't trust anyone else. In the 616 universe, Howlett and Wolverine try attacking the monster but it just continues attacking the Celestial. Northstar throws Hercules at it and the monster is finally ripped away from it. Wolverine and Howlett are severely injured, so Kid Nightcrawler starts to teleport them away as Hercules continues to fight the monster. The monster kills him before Kurt can get to him in time. The monster then advances on the Celestial again, which decides to leave. However, the monster uses a grappling hook to prevent it from doing so and, even though the rest of the team manages to separate the two, the monster begins to absorb the energy from the Celestial. The team can only watch as the monster kills the Dreaming Celestial and absorbs all of its energy, continuing to grow in size and power. In the AoA reality, Jean tells Kurt the plan is for her to use the Apocalypse power herself, as she managed to use the Phoenix Force and resist it. Before she can, though, Dark Beast snatches the canister off her just as one of the monsters finds them and attacks.

As Howlett mourns the death of Hercules, the monster in 616 becomes stronger, due to the Celestial it just destroyed. Northstar creates a vortex around it to stop it being empowered by more energy, whilst Prophet tries to figure out how to kill it. He finds out that billions more monsters are headed to where this one is and, if they don't destroy this one, the whole world is doomed. In New Apocalypse on the other side of the portal, Jean is being chased by another monster. Dazzler and her team slow it down and Kurt teleports Prophet and Howlett through the portal. They see Dark Beast trying to take the power of the Apocalypse seed for himself. Nightcrawler and Jean try to take the seed off him but he fights back. Another monster enters and grabs the seed but is hurt by its touch. Dark Beast grabs the seed again and runs off with Jean and Nightcrawler chasing him. Prophet realizes that the monster was hurt by the seed. Kid Nightcrawler tells Dazzler her world is in danger too and Prophet says they have to close the portal and sacrifice one world. Dazzler refuses to do that and comes up with a plan. Whilst the others chase down Jean and the seed, Dazzler and Cyclops head to the portal. They use their powers to try and draw the monster through but it doesn't go for it. Kid Nightcrawler finds them and decides he can do it. He teleports to the monster and then teleports it through the portal. The strain of doing it was too much for him, though, and he dies in Dazzler's arms. Nightcrawler, Prophet, Howlett and Dark Beast teleport in. Dark Beast won't let go of the seed, so Dazzler confronts him, beats him up and takes the seed. She then hands it over to Jean Grey, so they can have her use it on the three monsters at the same time.

Jean Grey has taken in the power of Apocalypse and has been transformed into an immensely powerful being. Though she still holds on to her personality, the death powers are already corrupting her. As the monsters feed off the energy from the portal, Jean engages them in combat, blasting them away and drawing their attention. Howlett mourns the death of Kid Nightcrawler, causing AoA Nightcrawler to face up to what he has done. Prophet tells him to stop pitying himself and says they need Sage and the Celestial black box from the other universe. Nightcrawler teleports through the portal and on his way he sees billions of other monsters descends upon the portal. In the 616 universe, Wolverine and Northstar are arguing about what to do. Sage manages to connect her mind to the black box and sees the origin of the monsters. The Celestials created life because they were lonely. They decided to create death as well, so they formed the monsters. However, the monsters turned against the Celestials who couldn't kill them so they separated the universe into the Multiverse and bond them in the walls that separated all realities. The constant traveling between universes weakened the walls and allowed the monsters to escape again. Suddenly, Nightcrawler appears and take Sage back with him. In New Apocalypse, Jean is fighting the monsters but more continue to come through the portal. Slowly, the death seed starts to take her over more and she begins to lose herself. As the carnage spreads, Sage and Nightcrawler appear and Sage tells Prophet she knows what to do. He already knows, though. The monsters need a prison and this universe is the best choice. Dazzler tries to tell him there must be another way but he says there isn't. They need to get everyone they can back to her world and then close off the portal. Nightcrawler says he can do both.
 
As Jean continues to fight the monsters in New Apocalypse, Prophet orders everyone to evacuate to the 616 reality. Dazzler objects to leaving, but Prophet tells her sacrificing the AoA reality is the only way. Nightcrawler begins to teleport everyone back, first taking Harper Simmons and then Sage. However, when he goes to take Iceman, the Dark Beast breaks free of his shackles and goes with them. He is quickly knocked out by Gambit on the other side, but not before jamming a nugget of the Apocalypse seed within Iceman to keep it safe. As Nightcrawler next takes Howlett and Cyclops, Dazzler begs Prophet to come with her but he refuses, saying a captain goes down with the ship. However, the decision is made for him when Jean Grey knocks him out and instructs Dazzler to take him back to her world. Jean goes off to continue her fight as Nightcrawler teleports Dazzler and Prophet away. In the 616 reality, Nightcrawler realizes that if he grabs onto the black swirls in the portal, he can teleport the opening back in on itself. Sage confirms he could close the portal and, before anyone can stop him, he goes. He manages to close it at the cost of his own life. Afterwards, Howlett and Cyclops decide to travel to Greece to collect Hercules from the underworld. Wolverine offers Dazzler a job at the school but she declines, as she needs a bit of time to herself. A few weeks later, Harper meets Prophet on a beach, where they have a drink to remember their old team. Elsewhere, Dazzler creates a holographic image to make sure everyone remembers her fallen teammates.

Secret Wars (2015)
The Age of Apocalypse is featured as one of the many domains of Battleworld in Secret Wars. It has its differences from the only
original storyline, with two of the main ones being the inclusion of Cypher as a prominent character and Magneto marrying Marvel Girl aka Emma Frost instead of Rogue. The Age of Apocalypse's location on Battleworld is known as the Domain of Apocalypse, the most ruthless domain of all.

To escape the tyranny of Apocalypse, many humans and mutants had fled to the Savage Land, but others, in the likes of fugitives Mandarin, Pepper Potts, and Whiplash,  prefer to fled to the neighbors domains, like Old Town. They did this by infiltrating the domain and killing their counterparts. Potts later killed that domain's Tony Stark (the only person who could have noticed her facade) with one of the Mandarin's daggers and stole a statue both men fought over to further help the incrimination. These fugitives were however eventually killed with Pepper Potts as the only survivor as she, before she could be caught, managed to escape yet to another domain.

Another citizen who left the domain was Iron Fist, who for unknown crimes, was sent to the Shield, where he along his fellow Hel-Ranger, the Punisher from Egyptia, discovered an Ultron in the north side of the Shield. Curious about how that Ultron ended up there, the Punisher went down from the Shield to investigate. Iron Fist was able to destroy the Ultron easily, which led the Punisher to believe it was modified. They decided to inspect a hole next to the Shield and discovered that the Mole Man of Technopolis had been modifying and using Ultrons to build his underground kingdom there. It was then that the Ultrons went rogue and started to attack them, but they were able to destroy them all. The Punisher allowed the Mole Man to go back to his kingdom, while he and Iron Fist returned to their post, watching over both sides of the Shield should something alike happen again.

Kitty Pryde also had left the Domain of Apocalypse and is now residing in Doomstadt, where she works for Valeria's Future Foundation, in the search for items that aren't from Battleworld.

Those who had fled to the Savage eventually build a sanctuary where they could coexist, yet they saw that dream die when Holocaust and Baron Nur's Infinite Soldiers invaded it while searching for Cypher. Holocaust burns down the Savage Land and kills Destiny to find the young mutant, but a team of X-Men consisting of Nightcrawler, Storm, Colossus, Dazzler, Iceman and Exodus also had converged in the Savage Land to search for the mutant. A fight erupts between the two factions with Storm, Colossus, Dazzler, Iceman and Exodus leading the charge against Holocaust while Nightcrawler and Cypher make a run for it. The X-Men manage to damage Holocaust's containment suit which allows Iceman to freeze Holocaust at the subatomic level, but by doing this instead of subduing Holocaust, the X-Men just made him detonated, blowing up the entire Savage Land forcing Nightcrawler to teleport way out of explosion's range to save Cypher, but the strain of such long teleportation nevertheless kills him instantly. Afterwards, Cypher was found barely alive by Apocalypse's servants on the outskirts of the blast perimeter and was taken to New Cairo, where he was healed and interrogated by Sinister's Prelates, the Summers Brothers. As the interrogation didn't prove to be successful, Cypher was taken to the Human Compound and, listening carefully to the conversation between the Summers Brothers and the humans representatives Dr. Peter Corbeau and Carol Danvers, discovered what the humans were hiding and the mutants afraid of: a virus that could wipe out all of mutantkind. The Elite Mutant Force were then attacked by Magneto and the rest of his X-Men

After rescuing Cypher and capturing Cyclops, Magneto and his X-Men fled from the battle site to their underground hideout. In their hideout, Magneto told Cypher that he needed him to convince the Horsemen to help them stop Apocalypse before he could destroy mutants and humans alike. Meanwhile, as Creed investigated the Friends of Humanity, the other Horsemen were summoned by Apocalypse to prepare to battle the humans before they could use their secret weapon against them.

As Danvers was interrogated by Apocalypse's men, Magneto told Cypher about how the situation in the Domain of Apocalypse went from bad to worse and that it was all his fault for not having acted sooner. Afterwards, Magneto turned his attention to Cyclops, who hadn't say anything valuable to them. Suddenly, Rogue showed up and said to Magneto that there was something wrong with his wife, Emma Frost. Emma, who had connected her mind with Jean Grey's while Doctor Nemesis tampered with it, discovered the existence of the virus and alerted her fellow X-Men. Then, the X-Men headed to the Human Communal Village to prevent the humans from using said virus, and take it so it couldn't end up in the wrong hands. When the X-Men arrived in the Human Communal Village, it was already being attacked by Apocalypse's forces. They tried to retrieve the virus from Dark Beast, even succeeding in knocking him out, but they were all easily beaten by the newcomer Apocalypse, who revealed his true intentions by releasing the virus in order to see who was fit to survive.

As some mutants started to die for being infected by the virus and Apocalypse confronted the X-Men, Iceman, the only X-Men who managed to survive Holocaust's explosion, showed up and used his powers to freeze the entire area (as well as Apocalypse) to keep the airborne virus contained. Meanwhile, Weapon X, Burner and Cyclops went to the gene lab of Dark Beast in order to find and rescue Jean Grey, and were confronted by Cyclops' brother, Havok, but managed to convince him to help them in their mission. Back in the Human Communal Village, Apocalypse broke free from his ice imprisonment and the confront began anew. However, Apocalypse's cells began to crumble as the result of being infected by the Legacy Virus. The X-Men and the Horsemen then joined forces to finally kill Apocalypse, and they succeeded. After the battle, Magneto started to feel the effects of the virus in his body and, as the explosion of his powers would shred the magnetic field across the entire planet, was euthanized by his wife. Furious, Emma broke into Corbeau's mind and discovered who was the man responsible for the creation of the Legacy Virus: James Bradley a.k.a. Doctor Nemesis.

Nemesis, who had over the time genetically absorbing the powers of over three hundred mutants, tried to convince the X-Men and every inhabitant of the domain to aid in his quest to overthrown God Emperor Doom, but was attacked by them instead. Nemesis first act was to kill Dark Beast, as he was the only one who could defeat him, but before his demise, Frost was able to remove from his mind the intel necessary to defeat Nemesis. She and Blink then went to Dark Beast's lab as the X-Men fought Nemesis to try to find a cure for the virus, and found Weapon X and a lobotomized Jean Grey, as Sinister (at the time terrified by her) removed the portion of her brain which governed her mutant powers. Using her powers Emma discovered that being a powerful mutant, Jean still had the power to fix everything, but by unlocking them could do more harm than good as Jean was very angry for what had happened to her. Eventually Frost decided to transplant part of her own brain to reactivate Jean's power. As Sinister conducted the brain surgery, the rest of the X-Men attacked Nemesis, with Weapon X, Creed and Burner (who was revealed to be Cyclops and Havok's lost brother) losing their lives to the omnipotent madman. After Jean Grey rose as the Phoenix, she destroyed Nemesis and used his liquified matter along with the Phoenix Force to cure everyone, not only from the virus but also from the mutant gene. From that day on, every mutant of the Domain of Apocalypse was now human and had been given a second chance at life.

God Emperor Doom would later use his powers to resurrect Apocalypse and Holocaust to help him against the riots in Doomstadt.

X-Men Disassembled
During a battle with Nate Grey, Legion tries to send him back to his universe, however, things don't go as Legion planned and instead he ended banishing not only X-Man, but Armor, Pixie, Glob, Rockslide and himself to the Age of Apocalypse universe that exists on Legion's mindscape.

Collected editions
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Title
!Material Collected
!Publication Date
!ISBN
|-
|X-Men: Legionquest
|Uncanny X-Men #319–321; X-Men Vol. 2 #38–41
|rowspan="2"|March 1996
|
|-
|X-Men: Dawn of the Age of Apocalypse
|Cable #20; X-Men: Alpha; Age of Apocalypse: The Chosen
|
|-
|Astonishing X-Men
|Astonishing X-Men #1–4
|rowspan="5"|August 1995
|
|-
|Factor X
|Factor X #1–4
|
|-
|Generation Next
|Generation Next #1–4
|
|-
|X-Calibre
|X-Calibre #1–4
|
|-
|X-Man
|X-Man #1–4
|
|-
|Amazing X-Men
|Amazing X-Men #1–4
|rowspan="3"|September 1995
|
|-
|Gambit and the X-Ternals
|Gambit and the X-Ternals #1–4
|
|-
|Weapon X
|Weapon X #1–4
|
|-
|X-Men: Twilight of the Age of Apocalypse
|X-Universe #1–2; X-Men: Omega
|March 1996
|
|-
|X-Men: Age of Apocalypse Prelude
|X-Factor #108–109; Uncanny X-Men #319–321; X-Men Vol. 2 #38–41; Cable #20; X-Men: Age of Apocalypse Ashcan Edition
|June 2011
|
|-
|X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic Book 1
|X-Men Chronicles #1–2, Tales from The Age of Apocalypse: By the Light, X-Man #-1, X-Man Annual '''96 , Tales from The Age of Apocalypse: Sinister Bloodlines, Blink #1–4
|May 2006
|
|-
|X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic Book 2|X-Men: Alpha, Age of Apocalypse: The Chosen, Generation Next #1, Astonishing X-Men Vol. 1 #1, X-Calibre #1, Gambit and the X-Ternals #1–2, Weapon X Vol. 1 #1–2, Amazing X-Men #1–2, Factor X #1–2, and X-Man #1
|August 2006
|
|-
|X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic Book 3|X-Calibre #2–3, Astonishing X-Men Vol. 1  #2–4, Generation Next #2–3, X-Man #2–3, Factor X #3, Amazing X-Men #3, Weapon X Vol. 1 #3, Gambit & the X-Ternals #3 and X-Universe #1
|April 2006
|
|-
|X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic Book 4|Generation Next #4, X-Calibre #4, X-Man #4 and #53–54, Factor X #4, Gambit And The X-Ternals #4, Amazing X-Men #4, Weapon X Vol. 1 #4, X-Universe #2, X-Men: Omega, Blink #4, X-Men: Prime (Only the last 3 Pgs. of Blink #4.)
|November 2006
|
|-
|X-Men: The Age of Apocalypse Ommibus|Uncanny X-Men #320–321, X-Men Vol. 2 #40–41, Cable #20, X-Men Alpha, Amazing X-Men #1–4, Astonishing X-Men Vol. 1 #1–4, Factor X #1–4, Gambit And The X-Ternals #1–4, Generation Next #1–4, Weapon X Vol. 1 #1–4, X-Calibre #1–4, X-Man #1–4, X-Men Omega, Age of Apocalypse: The Chosen and X-Men Ashcan #2
|March 2012
|
|-
|X-Men: The Age of Apocalypse Companion Ommibus|X-Men Chronicles #1-2, Tales from The Age of Apocalypse #1-2, X-Man #-1, #53-54, Blink #1-4, X-Universe #1-2, Exiles (2001) #60-61 , Age of Apocalypse One-Shot, Age of Apocalypse (2005) #1-6, What If? X-Men Age of Apocalypse, material from Hulk: Broken Worlds #2, X-Man Annual '96, X-men Prime, X-Men: Endangered Species, Exiles: Days of Then and Now|March 2014
|
|-
|X-Men Vs. Apocalypse Vol. 1: The Twelve|Cable #75–76, Uncanny X-Men #376–377, Wolverine Vol. 2 #146–147, X-Man #59–60, X-Men Vol. 2 #96–97
|March 2008
|
|-
|X-Men Vs. Apocalypse Vol. 2 Ages Of Apocalypse|Cable #77, Uncanny X-Men #378, Wolverine Vol. 2 #148, X-Men Vol. 2 #98, X-Men Unlimited #26
|September 2008
|
|-
|X-Men: The New Age of Apocalypse|X-Men: Age of Apocalypse #1–6
|July 2005
|
|-
|Exiles Vol. 10: Age of Apocalypse|Exiles #59–61, AoA Handbook|August 2005
|
|-
|Uncanny X-Force Vol. 3 The Dark Angel Saga Book 1|Uncanny X-Force #8–13
|June 2012
|
|-
|Uncanny X-Force Vol. 4 The Dark Angel Saga Book 2|Uncanny X-Force #14–18
|August 29, 2012
|
|-
|Age of Apocalypse Vol. 1: The X-Terminated|Age of Apocalypse #1–6, Uncanny X-Force #19.1
|October 2012
|
|-
|Age of Apocalypse Vol. 2: Weapon Omega|Age of Apocalypse #7–12
|May 2013
|
|-
|X-Men: X-Termination 
|Age of Apocalypse #13–14, X-Treme X-Men Vol. 2 #12–13, X-Termination #1–2, Astonishing X-Men Vol. 3 #60–61
|August 2013
|
|-
|Age of Apocalypse: Warzones!|Age of Apocalypse Secret Wars #1–5
|November 2015
|
|-
|Wolverine Epic Collection 12: Shadow of Apocalypse| Wolverine (vol. 2) #133–149; Hulk (vol. 1) #8; Wolverine/Cable: Guts'n'Glory| February 2017
| 
|-
|}

In other media
 The 2001 Game Boy Advance video game X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse is based loosely on the Age of Apocalypse storyline. In this version, the X-Men (consisting of Cyclops, Storm, Rogue, and Wolverine) accidentally travels to an alternate universe where Apocalypse has taken over the world and most of the X-Men have turned into his henchmen. It is later revealed that Apocalypse plans to travel to the regular timeline and take it over as well. In the end, the X-Men defeats Apocalypse and returns to their timeline.
 X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse is heavily influenced by the Age of Apocalypse storyline, including several characters and concepts from the storyline.
 Wolverine and the X-Men season 2's main storyline and setting was originally supposed to be the Age of Apocalypse, but the series was cancelled before production of the second season could begin.
 In X-Men: The Animated Series, there is an episode, "ONE MAN'S WORTH" (1995) whose story line directly inspired the Age of Apocalypse event.  
 Marvel: Avengers Alliance featured a special operations titled Apocalypse based on the Age of Apocalypse storyline.
 Marvel Future Fight features a level based on the Age of Apocalypse event.Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order'' features an alternate costume for Colossus based on his Age of Apocalypse incarnation.

References

External links
 UncannyXmen.Net's look at the Age of Apocalypse
 Age of Apocalypse summary
 It Only Hurts When I Sing: The Age of Apocalypse Resource Center
 Age of Apocalypse at Marvel Wikia 

Comics by Mark Waid
Marvel Comics dimensions
Comics about multiple time paths
Comics about time travel
Dystopian comics Clan Akkaba is a fictional cult appearing mainly in X-Men Comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Frank Tieri and Clayton Henry. The Clan is composed of the descendants of the  mutant supervillain Apocalypse and first appeared in X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula mini-series.

History

Origins
The name Akkaba had its origins in the time of ancient Egypt, before the arrival of the time traveling Pharaoh Rama-Tut who would one day become Kang the Conqueror and Immortus. Akkaba was a small but promising lone settlement situated on the very edge of the Amentet and the Valley of the Kings. Its members were a suspicious and superstitious lot who prided themselves on their culture, which they considered separate and apart from the rest of Egypt. Their fear, however, proved to be their undoing. News spread throughout Egypt about a new Pharaoh who had fallen from the sky and seized control of the throne. They took this as an ill omen, so when one of their lot gave birth to a gray child with blue lines running across his lips and face, they quickly cast the child out unaware that their rejection would cause the child to eventually become Apocalypse.

Not realizing the value of the child they had left to die, they carried on with their simple life. This mistake would be their last, as Baal and the Sandstormers massacred them all in search of the child. Akkaba was bathed in blood. The only survivor was En Sabah Nur, the first one, so named by his new father Baal.

Domination

When Apocalypse fully realized his power and defeated the Pharaoh and his army, Egypt entered a new age, one in which his children walked among them. Apocalypse forged his clan, now called Clan Akkaba, after his birthplace and those who had abandoned him and left him to die. During this time the site of Akkaba reached somewhat of a renaissance as great monuments were erected there, whether by Apocalypse, his descendants, or by the new Pharaoh, no one knows.

The clan at this point began forming customs, whether by Apocalypse's will or their own accord. They lived by the survival of the fittest creed and the members of the clan would deceive, betray and even kill their own relations merely for a chance to be deemed closest to Apocalypse. Egypt peaked and so too did the clan's influence on the world. With attacks by Alexander the Great and his Persian armies, Apocalypse and his kin fought valiantly in a battle he would never forget. This battle helped him winnow out the weak in his clan and as Egypt became nothing but a distant memory the clan's influence moved on to Ancient Rome.

19th century

For thousands of years, Clan Akkaba had the mission of safeguarding the legacies and mantras of their lord and ancestor.

Once in the new world they reproduced and gave birth to the biggest clan they had ever seen in their long history. They gathered many riches and placed themselves in notable and influential positions to better influence and control the world. As the clan grew, it evolved, holding true to its ‘survival of the fittest’ creed they continued to battle and kill each other to gain Apocalypse's favor.  They officially adopted the formally custom of marking themselves with a blood-red tattoo of their clan's sigil, the more powerful the individual member's level of mutant power, the larger the tattoo on their body.  Although it is unknown what threats they faced early on in the new world, Margarete Slade, the eldest known Akkaba member at the time, noted she had witnessed when she was a girl Apocalypse cut a whole tribe of N’Gari demons to pieces. Still, the current chairman Kabar Brashir, who was roughly the age of her eldest son Hamilton, had witnessed the clan summon Apocalypse thirty six years previously when he was a boy. It is unknown what these threats to the clan were but none prepared them for what lay ahead. At that time, the most prominent members of the Council were Margaret Slade and her sons Hamilton Slade, Frederick Slade, who were considered to be among the most powerful descendants of Apocalypse at that time.

Dracula

During the Victorian era the clan was set upon by Dracula and they were nearly exterminated. A string of mysterious murders started to take place surrounding members of the clan. When their leader Hamilton disappeared they were left with no choice but to summon their lord. In 1897, they awoke Apocalypse in order to deal with the threat of Dracula, unknown to the members of the clan Dracula was turning members of Clan Akkaba into vampires in order to battle Apocalypse, as revenge for his earlier defeat and the way the Dark Lord previously shamed him. As punishment for being so weak in requesting a boon from him, Apocalypse killed one of their leaders.

The ensuing battle sees the massacre and extermination of all members of Clan Akkaba except Jack Starsmore and Frederick Slade and their disbandment by decree of Apocalypse. With help from Apocalypse and Abraham Van Helsing they manage to  kill Dracula, although the master vampire would frequently return and suffer many more deaths. The continuation of the Akkaba line is secured by Ozymandias through Frederick Slade mating with a woman referred to as Miss Ferguson. Ozymandias, realizing an opportunity to get revenge on Apocalypse, secretly plans to reshape the clan in his image for use against his lord eventually.

Re-Birth

The new clan Akkaba assembled recently under Ozymandias and an elderly Fredrick Slade. This new clan has also revealed that Chamber is a member of their bloodline being a descendant of Jack Starsmore. While the Starsmore family never forgot about Apocalypse, Chamber rejected their offer of membership. It is unknown where the clan's loyalties lie and what plans they have up their sleeve, but as they say Clan Akkaba will always be there.

The Apocalypse Solution

Deadpool, whom Warren Worthington had been paying to search for Clan Akkaba, finds a Celestial ship buried underground where the clan kills one of their own during a ritual. Deadpool ends up caught but not before the rest of X-Force are alerted. X-Force is able to rescue Deadpool and defeat the savage creature that attacked him but the temple itself makes a temporal jump forcing the team to retreat. Warren then comments that the creature they defeated was War and not only was the Clan trying to resurrect Apocalypse, they had also revived his final horsemen. Later it is revealed that Apocalypse has been revived as a young boy and was being taken care of by the Clan Akkaba's members themselves.

The clan was teaching him that X-Men are tricking the mutants into being locked away, telling them it's for their own good. He is told that the X-Men are tyrants and Apocalypse is the savior. That the worshipper of X (Uncanny X-Force) will come to kill him because he threatens their grip on power, and it is his birthright to usher in the salvation of homo superior by bringing about the Age of Apocalypse. When the X-Force came to kill Apocalypse, they were instead defeated by the final Horsemen of Apocalypse. Ozymandias told the young Apocalypse they should kill the X-Force but the boy did not want to kill anyone, but Ozymandias ordered the horsemen to kill them. Apocalypse had been relocated into his chamber and he asked the ship "Will there always bad people trying to kill" him to which the ship answer was: yes. Psylocke managed to reach Apocalypse chamber but after seeing that Apocalypse is a child now and has no idea about his former life she fought Archangel who wanted to kill the boy as he saw no rehabilitating could cleanse the nature of Apocalypse, and almost kills the boy but found that he can't do it. The group agree to take the boy and train him only for Fantomex to kill the boy by shooting him between his eyes.

Dark Angel Saga
After the death of Apocalypse the Death Seed in Warren has activated and he started his ascension and to become the heir of Apocalypse the Archangel persona becomes in control; due to this, he has taken control of the Clan. He and the Dark Beast traveled to Akkaba Metropolis, a large hidden underground city located underneath the North Pole, established at an unknown point in the past by the Clan Akkaba. After taking the Life Seed from the X-Force that was recurred from the Age of Apocalypse timeline and The World he used them to start a new evolution line in a location after making Genocide kill everyone in it; after seeing the result he wanted to do this to the entire planet so he, the clan and the mutants who sided with him would be seen as Gods for the new evolved creatures. He was seen in bed with Pestilence; when the plan failed and Angel was cured from the Death Seed, Dark Beast takes control of the clan under the instruction of Archangel and Pestilence is revealed to be pregnant from Archangel.

Later the Apocalypse Twins, the children of Archangel and Pestilence, travelled to the Metropolis and destroyed the city and almost decimated the Clan Akkaba in its entirety.

Dawn of X
Following the creation of the mutant nation on the island of Krakoa, the Clan Akkaba lost faith in Apocalypse when the later aligned himself with Charles Xavier's vision for the future and abandoned them, proving that he saw them as nothing but pawns. Dubbing themselves now as Coven Akkaba, they have sided with Morgana Le Fey and are now enemies of the mutant race.

Customs
 Fittest
Clan Akkaba, like everything else associated with Apocalypse, incorporates his creed ‘Survival of the fittest’ into their core. Being deemed the fittest is a title of great honor among clan members. It signifies that the individual is closest to Apocalypse in terms of power, and it also means that the individual leads Clan Akkaba in Apocalypse's absence/hibernation. To achieve the title one would have to undergo many tests and trials and ultimately battle any who questioned them and their rank.

 The Inner Council
The inner Council of Clan Akkaba were the leaders of the clan and those showing great skill or possessing enough of Apocalypse's blood to be next in line or challenge the fittest for his/her title.

 Summoning
This ritual is only performed during times of great peril. Normally the clan deal with whatever threats presented itself to them but sometimes the clan itself was in peril or they faced extinction; in times like this, Apocalypse was summoned. The consequence for asking for Apocalypse's help, however, was that one of the Inner council would be killed; since asking for Apocalypse's help meant they were weak, as the fittest should never have to ask for help.

 Secrecy
Clan Akkaba, like many of Apocalypse's subordinates, is surrounded by secrecy. In case of death, the clan removes their mark from the dead, ensuring none will know of them. They don’t speak about or refer to the clan outside of the safety of the clan house and never invite outsiders into their midst. Breaking these rules means death.

 Tattoo
Clan members are branded whether at birth or while very young. The amount of Apocalypse's blood found in the child's system or strength of the bloodline determines the size of the tattoo that one receives.  This is seen in Hamilton and Chamber, who have strong doses of Apocalypse's blood, while the murdered members in the 18th century had a tiny tattoo right behind their ear.

Powers and abilities
Each member possess a degree of Apocalypse's shape-shifting ability. Other members have shown to develop abilities of their own such as fire-breathing (Jack Starsmore), spatial displacement (Blink, Frederick Slade), and even bio-blasts (Chamber).

References

External links
 Frank Tieri on Apocalypse vs Dracula and Clan Akkaba

Comics characters introduced in 2006
Marvel Comics mutants
Comic book terrorist organizations
Characters created by Clayton Henry
Fictional families
X-Men supporting characters