Apocalypse Looked Like A Badass Human Before Marvel Turned Him Blue

Until the fairly recent events that played out in the Marvel Comics event X of Swords where he proved his heroism, En Sabah Nur aka Apocalypse has been the most brutal villain the X-Men have ever faced with an intimidating look to match—though Apocalypse looked even more badass before Marvel turned him blue. Apocalypse’s origin story has undergone a few changes over the years as it became more clear and fleshed out, but in the first iteration of the villain’s evil beginnings, Apocalypse looked more or less like a regular human albeit a bit more badass than your average joe. 

In X-Force #37 by Fabian Nicieza and Paul Pelletier, fans are given a glimpse at En Sabah Nur in the twelfth century before he took on the iconic blue look which fans are more familiar with. Apocalypse is making his way across the world from his birthplace in Egypt, hunting down any who claim to be the most powerful there is in order to prove his supremacy. In the issue, Apocalypse has his sights set on a magical being known as Garbha Hsien who becomes the reason En Sabah Nur ditches the human look and goes full mechanical blue. Hsien shows Apocalypse a fallen ship that turns out to be that of the Celestials, exposing Apocalypse to the Celestial tech which he merges with and becomes the Apocalypse fans recognize. 

Apocalypse in his human form is a brutal barbarian-looking warrior, wielding a sword and using his energy projection powers to take down any and all who stand against him. En Sabah Nur is depicted as a man with long black hair, blue clothing which included a cape, and the familiar markings on his lips and forehead. The robotic look Apocalypse sports with the cords attached to his arms and torso with the tech-armored suit, bald head and blue skin was caused by his exposure to the Celestial technology he merged with which made him infinitely more powerful, though it also took away his badass human form. 

The story of how Apocalypse came to be the villain he was when he first meets the X-Men has changed a number of times throughout Marvel Comics. The most recent retcon was in the X of Swords event which showed Apocalypse in his normal form very early in the Earth’s history when Krakoa first came to be, acting as something of a protector against interdimensional foes. Another came from the limited series Rise of Apocalypse which is relatively similar to the origin story laid out in X-Force #37 with a few details altered, including the location of the Celestial ship and how he became Apocalypse as fans know him. 

Basically, Apocalypse has seen a number of alterations to his character especially in recent years, and while the exact story may never be pinned down in its entirety, the one thing that is certain and without question is that his human look in one of those origin stories is very awesome. In the end of every origin Apocalypse comes out the same, but in only one of them does Apocalypse look like a badass human before Marvel turned him blue.

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