Apocalypse

More than any other enemy, Apocalypse is the most antithetical to the X-Men's dream of equality. He subscribes to the Darwinian belief that strength grants one the right to rule over the weak. Unlike Magneto who you could believe was attempting to save his brothers through domination, Apocalypse did it because he believed that the strong were the inheritors of the Earth and should subjugate the weak. Survival of the fittest, be it mutant or not.

That ethos really fit in with the X-Factor book where he was introduced in, since that was the time when the "Mutant Problem" really came to the fore in the Marvel Universe. Everyone was worried about evolution and what the appearance of Homo Superior meant for regular old Homo Sapiens. He was the perfect foil for X-Factor, who were publicly known at the time as a team of mutant-hunting humans but were really superheroes looking to protect innocent people from the mob.

And the great thing about him was that in his mind, he wasn't evil at all. He was just trying to ensure the survival of the species.

Many of my favorite story arcs from the 80s and 90s featured the ancient En Sabah Nur. The transformation of the lame Angel into the badass Archangel. There's the whole thing with Ship, Apocalypse's sentient Celestial starship who became the home of X-Factor, and later to Cable. Which leads to the whole Askani Son storyline and X-Cutioner's Song.There was Rise of Apocalypse, which detailed his rise to power in ancient Egypt. Oh, and let's not forget Age of Apocalypse, where he gets his wish and we see a world where the strong have survived. Quite frankly, it's still my benchmark for a great read.

Is it any wonder I was waiting to get my hands on this figure?

The package is the standard Marvel Universe carded blister, primarily blue cut with white. The back has the requisite historical blurb, product shot, and “also available” product placements squished together with all the legalese that no one ever reads. You ever kept “this package for future reference”? I didn’t think so (you MOC dudes don’t count).

The figure itself is based on Clayton Crain’s artwork in X-Force I believe. It’s an awesome re-design of the character that gives him a more sinister look. It’s as if all the fights with the X-Men have taken their toll and he’s being sustained by various tubes and assisted living equipment.

The execution of the toy is somewhat middling. At first, I thought it was great, being based off the Juggernaut body. They’ve used it on bunch of other figures as well, like the Classic Avengers Hulk and Thanos. I’ve also got the Son of Hulk figure and it shares the same buck.

For Apocalypse, Hasbro gave him a new head, arms, hands, knees, and feet.

 

While the new parts are nice, he still feels too muscle-bound. Apocalypse is not the Hulk, so having him as wide as he is tall feels kind of off-putting. The proportions just don’t ring true.

The harnesses also feel like they might have been made for another figure. The cup of his jock strap for instance is much longer than might be necessary and it tends to wiggle around. The shoulder pads are over-sized, which makes him look bigger. The tubing, though, is the worst part and the fact that it’s such a simple problem to rectify only aggravates my aggravation at the oversight.

They are too short.

The length of the tubing really limits his upper body articulation since they are connected to the backs of his elbows. If he bends his arm forward at the elbow, the entire shoulder pad on that side pushes forward. As a result, he’s limited to I-am-a-menacing-bastard-who-will-squash-you poses.

Which still turns out pretty well.

Honestly, the tubing issue and the re-use of an old mold don’t really kill my enjoyment of this figure. The buck is a great design for this body type, and the character doesn’t need a whole lot of articulation. There aren’t as many quality control issues for the newer Marvel Universe figures and at P500.00 (compared to the P1300.00 asking price for 6” figures these days) it’s a pretty nice package.

The scale issue may be a deal breaker to some though. He doesn’t so much as tower over people as mid-rise condos beside them.

Now I just need to drop that P8000.00 for that X-Force Archangel and I'm all set.