10 Apocalypse Brought Rama-Tut to His Knees & Conquered Ancient Egypt

Rise of Apocalypse by Terry Kavanagh, James Felder, Adam Pollina, and Anthony Williams

Rama-Tut aka Kang the Conqueror traveled back in time to become a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt for the sole purpose of making Apocalypse his personal slave. Being from the future, Rama-Tut knew how powerful Apocalypse would become, and he wanted to make En Sabah Nur his own personal weapon. However, Kang underestimated just how much of a threat even a young Apocalypse would be.

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After coming to with the full extent of his own mutation, Apocalypse storms Rama-Tut's royal palace and reduces his kingdom to rubble. Interestingly, Rama-Tut was fighting the time-displaced Fantastic Four at that moment, resulting in his escape through time, so Apocalypse didn't get the chance to crush Rama-Tut like he wanted. However, the damage Apocalypse does not only decimates Rama-Tut's kingdom, but also sets the stage for the rest of Apocalypse's career.

9 Apocalypse Defeated Fellow External Garbha-Hsien Like it was Nothing

X-Force #37 by Fabian Nicieza and Paul Pelletier

After destroying Rama-Tut's kingdom, Apocalypse decides to travel the world, seeking all avenues of power, which leads him to one of the oldest Externals in the Marvel Universe: Garbha-Hsien. Long ago, Garbha-Hsien came across an abandoned Celestial ship, and used its technology to serve his own purposes - and Apocalypse meant to make the vessel his.

Apocalypse killed Garbha-Hsien by stabbing him in the back with his sword. The External didn't see this attack coming, as he is supposed to be an immortal being who can't be hurt by any enemy. However, little did Garbha-Hsien know, Apocalypse is also an External, making Garbha-Hsien vulnerable to his attack. This is one of the earliest confirmations that Apocalypse is more than just a powerful mutant, but a rare subspecies that's practically unkillable.

8 Apocalypse Accepts a Celestial Contract, Becoming Like a Cosmic God

X-Men Vol. 2 #186 by Peter Milligan and Salvador Larroca

After Apocalypse defeats Garbha-Hsien, he gains access to the Celestial ship the External was siphoning power and technology from. Upon making it his own, Apocalypse hears a voice from a Celestial within his own mind. The Celestial tells Apocalypse that he can make him stronger than En Sabah Nur ever thought possible, and all Apocalypse would have to do is agree to be called upon by the Celestial at a later date and follow the cosmic god's orders when that day comes - no matter what they are.

Apocalypse accepts the Celestial's and enters into a binding contract with the cosmic god. That's how Apocalypse gained the iconic armor fans are familiar with today, and is mostly why he's revered as one of the most powerful villains in X-Men canon, making this moment integral in Apocalypse's metamorphosis into a Marvel god early in his career.

7 Apocalypse Split the Island Okkara & Fended Off Annihilation’s Daemons

X-Men Vol. 5 #12 by Jonathan Hickman and Leinil Francis Yu

An undisclosed period of time after defeating Garbha-Hsien and merging his body with Celestial tech, Apocalypse marries the mutant leader of the island, Okkara, named Genesis, and together, they have four children who become Apocalypse's first Four Horsemen. Apocalypse and his family planned to usher in a new age for mutants on Earth. But then, Okkara splits where a portal to another realm opens up, and from this breach pour hordes of daemons controlled by the evil Annihilation.

So, Genesis and their children travel through the breach while Apocalypse closes the portal, separating the island and stranding Apocalypse on Earth away from his family. Apocalypse effectively saves the world, and he makes a heart-wrenching sacrifice to do it.

6 Apocalypse Proved His God-Tier Strength By Defeating One: Loki

X-Factor #50 by Louise Simonson and Terry Shoemaker

Apocalypse spent a lot of time in his youth amassing god-tier power, but he wouldn't really get to put it to the test until he faced a literal god - and actually be victorious. In X-Factor #50, Apocalypse finds himself face-to-face with Loki, who had been manipulating heroes and villains alike throughout this story arc. Apocalypse, however, was no fool, and didn't find himself tricked by the God of Mischief. So, Apocalypse attacks Loki, and using his mutation plus the Celestial technology he was surrounded by, Apocalypse forces Loki to retreat, claiming victory over a Marvel god.

This wouldn't be the first time Apocalypse has tangled with an Asgardian, as he fought Thor many years before this moment. However, Thor eventually beats Apocalypse, meaning En Sabah Nur wouldn't truly prove his mettle as an honorary god until his victory over Loki.

5 Apocalypse Conquered the World During the Age of Apocalypse

X-Men: Alpha #1 by Scott Lobdell, Roger Cruz, and Steve Epting

In a feat that stands as perhaps Apocalypse's most iconic to date, En Sabah Nur takes over most of the world following the death of Charles Xavier (who was accidentally killed in the past by his time-traveling son, Legion), sparking the Age of Apocalypse. Apocalypse makes the entirety of North America his kingdom, asg different villains certain territories while systematically killing humans and experimenting on mutants to make them stronger. Apocalypse ushers in an era for mutants to rule the world, so long as they're willing to bend the knee to his rule.

The Age of Apocalypse is a grim look at what would happen if En Sabah Nur actually won: a kingdom built on the graves of fallen heroes around the globe, with almost no one alive stronger than Apocalypse himself. Apocalypse truly proved himself a god-tier powerhouse in this story, one capable of conquering entire worlds.

4 Apocalypse Successfully Gathered the Twelve After Generations of Planning

Uncanny X-Men #377 by Alan Davis, Tom Raney, and Terry Kavanagh

While Apocalypse is, indeed, insanely powerful because of both his natural mutation and his Celestial upgrade, he's also shockingly limited, as his physical body ages at a fairly normal rate. That's why Apocalypse has to choose new host bodies, which then become twisted into his image upon his possession. The more powerful the host, the less necessary it is to find a new one, which is a sick line of reasoning that leads into the X-Men story arc, The Twelve.

Through the ages, Apocalypse helped guide certain lines of lineage to produce the Twelve, who are exceptionally powerful mutants fit for Apocalypse to both possess and siphon power from. This story could have ushered in another Age of Apocalypse in Earth-616, but the real god-tier feat was Apocalypse's foresight and ability to effectively create these mutants for this moment - quite literally playing god for his own benefit.

3 Apocalypse Finally Finds an Immortal Body to Inhabit

X-Men: Black - Juggernaut “Apocalypse in Degeneration” Part 4 by Zac Thompson, Lonnie Nadler, and Geraldo Borges

Years after Apocalypse's plan to use the Twelve to inhabit a permanent new body capable of channeling his god-tier power without eventually breaking down, En Sabah Nur finally finds a way to accomplish that goal. This time, instead of manipulating events throughout history to ensure certain mutants are born, Apocalypse decides to create his own genetically enhanced 'mutants'. While the process does have a few setbacks (including his creations forming their own civilization and Apocalypse himself becoming a monkey), En Sabah Nur finally possesses one of these bodies, and with that, his need to find hosts on a regular basis becomes no more.

After this moment, Apocalypse effectively eliminates one of his greatest flaws that he's had to live with for thousands of years, which, in turn, makes him a more capable and powerful warrior - and even more of a 'Marvel god'.

2 Apocalypse Defeated Genesis & Became the New Annihilation

X of Swords by Jonathan Hickman and Tini Howard

Thousands of years after losing his family to the daemon forces of Annihilation, Apocalypse travels to the otherworldly hellscape his wife and children were trapped in to free them of their interdimensional prison. However, Apocalypse finds that all is not as it seems, and that a new 'Annihilation' has risen to power within this dark world: his wife, Genesis. A great tournament ensues, one that holds the fate of multiple worlds in the balance, and in the end, Apocalypse must face his wife in battle.

Apocalypse defeats Genesis and takes the Annihilation helmet for himself, claiming the authority over the daemons that the title of 'Annihilation' commands. With this victory, Apocalypse not only frees his wife of the corruption of Annihilation after reuniting with his long-lost family, but also quite literally becomes a demonic god.

1 Apocalypse Proved Why He’s a God-Tier X-Men Villain By Naming an Heir

X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse by Steve Foxe and Netho Diaz

Apocalypse's true purpose on Earth wasn't to just seek power for its own sake, but to make mutantkind as strong as possible to one day inherit the Earth. That's why he accepted the Celestial contract, that's why he and his wife guarded Okkara with their lives, and that's why Apocalypse made it his mission to stop any mutants who would oppose him to make room for those willing to do what was necessary. Age of Apocalypse was one possible outcome, but after the Krakoan Era, Apocalypse discovered a new way to secure mutantkind's future: name an heir.

Apocalypse named Cypher as his heir, renaming him Revelation upon doing so. This way, mutantkind had a new leader to follow, one who would carve mutantkind's path through diplomacy rather than force. Apocalypse's mission on Earth is almost divine in nature, which is hammered home by him choosing an heir, cementing the idea that Apocalypse is more than just an X-Men icon, but a Marvel god.

X-Men

Movie(s)

X-Men (2000), X2, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Logan (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Dark Phoenix (2019), The New Mutants, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

First Film

X-Men (2000)

TV Show(s)

X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, X-Men (1992), X-Men: Evolution (2000), Wolverine and the X-Men (2008), Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Marvel Anime: X-Men, Legion (2017), The Gifted (2017), X-Men '97 (2024)

Character(s)

Professor X, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Phoenix, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, Morph, Nightcrawler, Havok, Banshee, Colossus, Magneto, Psylocke, Juggernaut, Cable, X-23

Video Game(s)

X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994), Marvel Super Heroes (1995), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997), Marvel vs. Capcom (1998), X-Men: Mutant Academy (2000), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000), X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (2001), X-Men: Next Dimension (2002), Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011), Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011), X-Men Legends (2005), X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (2005), X2: Wolverine's Revenge (2003), X-Men (1993), X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995), X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (1994)

Comic Release Date

213035,212968

The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.

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