Apocalypse has had many different looks in comics over the years, and Marvel's Dark Ages is giving him another update. In Marvel's latest epic event, this Fall, En Sabah Nur is going to have a simpler, more ancient appearance, though the differences are definitely more subtle than in the cases of other Dark Ages hero reveals.
Dark Ages is an upcoming 6-issue miniseries from Marvel Comics. It will send the world into darkness and cause heroes to transform before taking on a new threat. The teases and synopsis provided make this sound like it will be a very bleak experience for some of Marvel's best heroes. Vision, Spider-Man (both Peter Parker and Miles Morales), and Iron Man have all received new looks and even Apocalypse is getting a touch-up of his own.
Created by the team of Tom Taylor and Iban Coello, with promotional art by Ryan Stegman, Dark Ages seemingly forces Marvel's heroes to go retro in some ways. Destruction will be coming and each of the already revealed looks seems to regress technology or significantly alter characters for when the "lights go our forever" in Marvel Comics. While some of the redesigns are radical, Apocalypse really just seems to have become a more simplified version of himself - sans pants.
This September, New York Times best-selling writer Tom Taylor (X-MEN: RED, ALL-NEW WOLVERINE) will team up with Marvel's Stormbreaker artist Iban Coello (VENOM, BLACK KNIGHT: CURSE OF THE EBONY BLADE) for a thrilling new vision of the Marvel Universe in DARK AGES. Last week, a series of mysterious teasers gave fans their first glimpse at what becomes of Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Miles Morales after the world descends into darkness. Now, see more of what's in store when the lights go out forever in three new teasers that include transformations for Apocalypse and Vision as well as your first look at a strange new threat...
In many iterations of the character, Apocalypse has been seen bulked up with armor. While the Eternal One is still naturally bulky, in Dark Ages, he is missing some of the outer armor he is usually seen wearing. Dark Ages has him with a conforming chest plate, shoulder armor, and a loincloth. He has also kept his traditional - and iconic - giant "A" belt and he is also still wearing gauntlets. Overall, not much has changed for Apocalypse as his base appearance has just been simplified and minimalized. This could match the story thematically, considering that the darkness that comes over the world is supposed to make changes to Marvel's characters. The destruction and regression presenting itself within the Marvel universe in this series may cause a simplification of Apocalypse, in more ways than just the visual.
As of late, Apocalypse has started a new life in Krakoa, living amongst other mutants like the X-Men. Considering this is a limited series existing outside of the main continuity, there is no guarantee that the reformed mutant - or the X-Men - will be present or used in the same way. It actually seems very likely that he will be forced to regress as a character, reverting back to being a supervillain. Apocalypse has never really been a hero, so it wouldn't make sense for him to suddenly be an ally if this universe doesn't have Krakoa within it.
No other mutants have been seen within any of Dark Ages' promotional materials apart from Apocalypse. If returned back to being a villain, it will be interesting to see what his larger role in the series will be. Apocalypse could be part of the cause for the darkness or he could simply be affected by it - but the question will be if he's affected for the better of the world or the worse. Fans will find out more about the changes to the universe - and Apocalypse's ancient look - when Marvel's Dark Ages begins in September 2o21.