Comics Just what is Apocalypse's Mutant Power?

[chris moore]

And what is his purpose?

Previously, I would have said that his mutant power is immortality and that everything since is a Celestial technology augmentation. But seeing the Clan Akkaba's powers being all similar, but virtually none of them immortal (Though Frederick Slade being just an old man in this millenium rather than a shrivelled husk when he was 30ish in the 19th Century is pretty good going) makes me think that with the dilution factor thing of his decendants, the mastery over his true mutant ability has been all but lost.

I would now say that his mutant ability is simply personal molecular control. His complete control over that power and the level he possesses naturally without training is what has made him immortal - constantly rearranging his molecules to circumvent aging.

It could also be that this total control is in effect a mask for the truest nature of Apocalypse, that his constant manipulation of his strucutre and subsequent augmentation by the Celestial equipment has advanced his evolution (well, control and thousands of years) to the point where maybe he is an energy being but has not consciously revealed this to himself. Essentially refusing to believe he is not the fittest being (because an energy being places him in a different class where he may well be signifcantly lower on the ladder if you look at abstract entities, cosmic beings etc) any longer. This is supported not only by his eventual need to take host bodies to contain his growing mutant energies, but also slightly by the indications that Chamber could be the most powerful mutant to walk the Earth because his body may now be nothing more than a shell for the psionic essence that is now his existence.

His purpose is a little more confusing as his plans and end goals appear to endlessly change in direction (writers not knowing themselves I suspect):

Does he want to whittle mutantkind down to the strongest few as merely part of an extreme Darwinism game to prove he is the strongest?

Does he simply wish to be worshipped as a Messiah for mutantkind because he believes himself to be the strongest and therefore the only one worthy?

Does he want Mutantkind to inherit the earth, but only if done fairly with a trial by fire where if mankind prevails, so be it?

Does he want to lead mutantkind in something? Does he just want to rule the Earth, regardless of whether humanity or mutantkind are his subjects?

 

[blah]

I'm not sure about Apocalypse's power, but I am about his motives.
Apocalypse simply wants the strong to survive, and the weak to perish. He has the idea that mutants are genetically superior to humans, that's why he wants to eradicate them first.

 

[mightiest_mortal]

He's got no powers. He's just The Owl in disguise lol






EDIT : Cant believe no one got the reference.

 

[Specter313]

http://www.uncannyxmen.net/db/article/showquestion.asp?faq=4&fldAuto=84

 

[Cyclops]

Apocalypse has the incredible power to be really overrated.

 

[HandOfFate]

Apocalypse has the incredible power to be really overrated.

Huh...I thought that was Batman and Wolverine's power.

 

[chris moore]

Apocalypse has the incredible power to be really overrated.

See - thats what I mean. He's become so overused as an incompletely described superthreat, that he has nothing tangible about him anymore to make him a threat. Sure he can be hands off - but where's the show of being the strongest, the fittest, if you never use your might to overcome? Its always lackeys...

 

[Cyclops]

Huh...I thought that was Batman and Wolverine's power.

The power is not exclusively Apocalypse's.

 

[Harlekin]

To suck.

 

[benjum]

I always thought it was complete molecular control of his body.

 

[Parker]

You want the quick answer? Everything.

 

[GyLocke]

You know, Apocalypse is the guy you know in school, who goes on and on and on about how awsome he is, how many times he got laid, and how many wolves he shot with his uncle, but really, is a desperate loser, who cries and *********es his way into sleep every night.

I mean Apocalypse, whenever he manages to put himself together after an emberassing defeat, turns some people into horsemen, brags about his powers, his plans and the size of his penis, just ot get beaten into a pulb again.

Did he really do something significant, like killing a major player in the X-books, or destroying a planet, a country or something like that?

I mean, turning Angel blue, restoring Wolverine's adamantium, being the final boss in X-men Vs. Street Figher and ruiling the world in an alternate reality - my little sister could do all those things, if she wanted to, and with more style. What the hell is his appeal?

 

[OutcryX]

I mean, turning Angel blue, restoring Wolverine's adamantium, being the final boss in X-men Vs. Street Figher and ruiling the world in an alternate reality - my little sister could do all those things, if she wanted to, and with more style. What the hell is his appeal?

Wow..your little sister can do all that? That is most impressive...for a girl!(lol...kidding ladies) also.. she is clearly evil and must be destroyed

 

[Cyclops]

I wanna be a final boss in a Street Fighter game.

 

[Havok83]

Im so over Apocalypse getting new Horsemen everytime he makes a big appearance

 

[usagicassidy]

I want to be Apocalypse's new horseman. I am blue, after all.

 

[Cyclops]

I honestly think they draw Apocalypse's horsemen's names out of a hat each time he shows up. I mean Deathbird? Come on.

 

[chris moore]

The thing about the Horsemen is that they need to have the same drive as Apocalypse. His last plan was to bring humanity down to Mutanity's level of population so the war to see who is the better species would be fair (how is it fair - the man thrives on natural selection; so when nature, cosmic balance, whatever decides to allow Wanda's power to do what it did and change the order of things, Apocalypse thinks that makes the battle for mutants unfair?). If he wants to Pit human against mutant to see which race deserves to survive, and if he wants to pit mutant again mutant to see which one deserves to rule as strongest, then why brainwash those who dont see things his way to get them on his side? Why just choose weak mutants with little to live for and offer them life in exchange for servitude?

What he should do is maintain his ties with the Clan Akkaba and other worshippers, and get them to put the word out to non-hero mutants that the chance to become Apocalypses Horseman has come, and they battle one another in combat selected by Apocalypse for him to judge the worthiness. The four strongest are his horsemean, but at least the other who didnt die or came close can remain as his guardsmen or something. Clearly the guy needs armies again.

 

[Parker]

Everyone knows the best Horsemen line-up ever would be Archangel(Death), Omega Red(Pestilence), Wither(Famine) and Juggernaut(War). Can't get much more cliché than that, right?

This topic almost deserves to have an entire thread devoted to it, but then maybe it already does. I'd be the last person to know, anyway.

 

[Enzyme]

According to whoever entered it into Wikipedia, these are his abilities.

Apocalypse is one of the most powerful mutants in the Marvel Universe. He can alter the atomic structure of his body at will in order to change his form, this ability also grants him any physical superhuman power, therefore making him extremely powerful. After exposure to the Celestial Ship, this ability along with all of Apocalypse's other powers, have been enhanced far beyond their original limits.

He can alter his appearance or the size of his body: he can transform his arms and fists into various melee weapons and grant himself near-limitless superhuman strength and grow to enormous sizes, shapeshift his appearance and form, give himself flight, and more. He also can generate energy due to a combination of his mutant power and Celestial technology in his body.

Apocalypse's powers seems to change according to the story's need and/or the creative team's desires. So far, he has demonstrated: telekinesis, telepathy, energy absorption, invulnerability, super speed, creation of force fields, concussive force burst projection of some unknown energy, and can augment himself further by drawing on various outside energy sources. Apocalypse also demonstrated the ability to teleport himself and other beings (it is unclear if he required amplifying technology to do some of these things).

Apocalypse's original body was immortal. Even before being modified by the Celestial ship, he lived for thousands of years and was highly resistant to injury. With the Celestial modifications, this resistance to harm was amplified, although it is still possible to cause him injury that would not be immediately regenerated by his power. Should he suffer massive injuries that prove potentially fatal, he can enter a coma-like state of suspended animation during which he may recover from his wounds with the assistance of his Celestial technology.

On top of these abilities, Apocalypse has used host bodies of robot-like forms to house his frail body, as demonstrated shortly before he merged with Cyclops: he was an old man inside a hollow shell. It is speculated that this occurred somewhere between his 'death' on the moon at the hands of the Dark Riders and his return shortly before the Twelve storyline.

In the future timeline from which Cable hails, Apocalypse's physical form was no longer able to contain his superhuman energies resulting in his original body burning out. Hence, he transferred his consciousness and powers into a succession of host bodies, abandoning each one when it too grew too old to contain his power. This alternate future version of Apocalypse was ultimately defeated in transit from a depreciated body into a potential host body.

Aside from his superhuman powers, Apocalypse is also extraordinarily intelligent, a genius with knowledge of science and technology far beyond that of conventional science and technology. This was not merely a result of his exposure to alien technology, as he was able to make significant new advances beyond the alien materials to which he was exposed. In the X-Cutioner's Song saga (Part X), even Beast needed Apocalypse's peerless expertise in biology to aid Xavier.

 

[chris moore]

It would be a better idea to have horsemen whose powers actually represent the aspects of the names, rather than giving random mutants brand new powers that have bugger all to do with their natural abilities.

Enzyme: Thats what I mean man - its says his powers seem to change to fit in with the story and/or writers. No one has settled on what this guy is, what he can do etc. If he remained a mystery, then thatd be fine not knowing what he does or why. But so many writers have attempted to expalin his history only to have it ignored b the next one who changes it to suit their new arc, that he's become a laughing stock when he should represent a massive threat.

 

[Parker]

It would be a better idea to have horsemen whose powers actually represent the aspects of the names, rather than giving random mutants brand new powers that have bugger all to do with their natural abilities.

Yeah, exactly.

 

[GyLocke]

Wow..your little sister can do all that? That is most impressive...for a girl!(lol...kidding ladies) also.. she is clearly evil and must be destroyed

She's one tough badass.

The other day we walked in the park, Venom walked up to us, asked the time, and without a word, she broke both of his legs. Later, when I asked why she did it, she said: "Because I can."

Venom is a ***** too.

 

[chris moore]

Given the way the last Poccy arc ended, with the price to pay the celestials for being allowed to borrow their tech for millenia; I hope it isnt left for too long such that he just "comes back" as usual with a new scheme that rehashes an old one. This is the chance for whoever picks up the keyboard so to speak, to establish firmly, the definative division between whats natural, whats celestial tech enhanced, and whats entirely tech. They can use "the price paid" to explore why he does what he does and how much has been to avoid the celestial's price; or to find the most powerful mutants by his schemes of darwinism and strongest surviving to find someone who can take on the celestials and relieve his burden; or to move events in their favour as he has been actually paying them their debt this whole time. Its a great opportunity as he was beaten in a lame scheme that had flaws from the outset and even had Nur questioning himself and his motivations - but he didnt "die" and he didnt just retreat to somewhere to hibernate - he went to a specific plae that we saw and a back story was implicated but left alone before too much was revealed to have to carry it on hurriedly.

 

[November Rain]

Apocalypse is a one show pony...

he is over and underrated. potentially he should be a worldwide threat like onslaught and not simply a 'mutant' threat.

he gets taken down way to easily

meh i don't know, i guess it's another example of marvel creating a villain with too much pwoer and (single) ambition and they don't know what to do with him so they repeat the same thing over and over.

at least they were nice enough to give him his own universe where he suceeds. bar magneto, i can't think of many other villains that have their own 'I won' universes...