Of all the villains the X-Men have faced, Apocalypse might be the most formidable. You can’t find a more potent threat than the first-ever mutant, an ancient being who weaponizes his “Survival of the Fittest” mentality against anyone in his path. Introduced in 1986, he’s also one of the X-Men’s longest-running villains, but something always gets lost in translation when he’s brought from page to screen.
Apocalypse, also known as En Sabah Nur, got the live-action treatment with the bizarre, misguided X-Men: Apocalypse, a film that served as his introduction to many fans. It also, unfortunately, bastardized his character, burying a promising Oscar Isaac performance beneath layers of clunky prosthetics. It was a far cry from anything more seasoned fans of the franchise — like, say, fans who tuned into X-Men: The Animated Series — were expecting. The animated show delivered one of the greatest depictions of Apocalypse, setting a standard that has yet to be matched. How fitting, then, that its revival is reminding us what Apocalypse is capable of.
