Credits on “X-Men” are unfortunately incomplete (after season 1, the end credits would only list the main voice cast), so sources differ on when the recasting happened. By my ear, though, Colicos voiced Apocalypse in four episodes: “The Cure” and “Come The Apocalypse” in season 1, and the two-parter “Time Fugitives” in season 2. Even with his limited time, Colicos got to deliver some unforgettable lines:
“I know more of this world than you have even dreamed! That is why I must destroy it!”
“The old world passes away. Together, we shall forge a new one in fire and blood! From the ashes of this world, I will build a better one!”
“Go forth my Horsemen, and let chaos cleanse the world!”
My personal favorite is in “Time Fugitives,” when a man looks at Apocalypse in fear and exclaims, “A mutant!” A steel-eyed Apocalypse scowls and declares: “I am as far beyond mutants as they are beyond you!”
When “X-Men” premiered, Apocalypse had only debuted in the comics six years prior; Louise Simonson and Jackson Guice created him in 1986 as a villain for their comic “X-Factor.” Tellingly, Apocalypse’s first appearance on “X-Men” adapts the one and only thing he was known for at the time:Â Turning the X-Men character Angel into one of his Four Horsemen, with new wings of steel.
As the first actor to ever play Apocalypse, when the character was still quite young, Colicos’ voice set the standard — for Blendick, of course, but also for future Apocalypse actors like David Kaye and Oscar Isaac. That voice became a key part of why young “X-Men” fans (and even some future “X-Men” writers) remembered Apocalypse, with his dominance in the animated series ensuring a continued A-list role in the comics.Â
Apocalypse’s true name, En Sabah Nur, supposedly means “the first one” in Marvel Comics. (In reality, the three words are Arabic for “The Seven Lights,” i.e. dawn.) Just as Apocalypse marked the dawn of the race of mutants, every future Apocalypse actor draws on John Colicos’ exemplary work as they keep the character alive.