Horsemen of Apocalypse

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The Horsemen of Death in Uncanny Avengers v1 #10.

The Horsemen of Apocalypse are a team that feature in Marvel Comics.

Contents

History

Origin

The Horsemen of Apocalypse in X-Factor v1 #19.

The Horsemen of Apocalypse were a team of superhuman warriors gathered to serve the immortal Mutant known as Apocalypse. (X-Factor v1 #5)

Long ago, the living island of Okkara was split in half by the Twilight Sword releasing horde of invaders from the chasm between the two lands of Krakoa and Arrako. These invaders threatened to conquer the world but Apocalypse along with his first Horsemen fought them. En Sabah Nur was responsible for sealing the chasm by forcing Arrako into the chasm whereupon he set his Horsemen as sentinels to ensure that it was never opened again. (Powers of X v1 #4)

Across the centuries, a band of warriors were assembled to serve as the Final Horsemen of Apocalypse that were to be deployed when needed in times of need in the future. (Uncanny X-Force v1 #3) During the 11th century, the Horsemen were dispatched to kill a pagan named Folkbern Logan situated in medieval London. They were confronted by the Asgardian Thor who managed to kill them single-handedly. (Uncanny Avengers v1 #6)

During the Crusades, an incarnation of the Horsemen had served their master where alongside the Riders of the Dark helped vanquish the warlord Vlad Tepes. (X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula v1 #2)

Apocalypse

Thus, he managed to gather three of his new Horsemen and made preparations to select a new Death to join their ranks. (X-Factor v1 #15)

The Horsemen were on the Ship when Apocalypse brought X-Factor before him to convince them to join him. However, they refused leading to immortal Mutant ordering his warriors to destroy Manhattan. Before they could launch, they were attacked by X-Factor who looked to stop the Horsemen from completing their mission. It was then that Apocalypse decided to unveil his Horseman Death who was revealed to X-Factor to be their comrade Warren Worthington III. Transformed into Archangel, he helped fight and defeat X-Factor who were then taken captive. It was then that Archangel joined the other Horsemen as they proceeded with their attack on the city. (X-Factor v1 #24)

Apocalypse later approached the Hulk with the intention of making him into one of his Horseman. He was able to convince the gamma mutate to undergo the transformation to become the new War. (Incredible Hulk v2 #456)

This saw him transforming Lorna Davis into Pestilence, Sunfire into Famine and Gazer into War with the thief Remy LeBeau volunteering to become Death. (X-Men v2 #184)

Dark Angel Saga

The Final Horsemen in Uncanny X-Force v1 #14.

With Apocalypse gone, Clan Akkaba resurrected him in a new cloned body in the form of a boy with Ozymandias calling forth the Final Horsemen to be the child's protectors. They were deployed where they engaged X-Force who had been dispatched to eliminate Apocalypse. (Uncanny X-Force v1 #3)

The Apocalypse Twins came to gather four Death Seeds that they used to inhabit the deceased bodies of four individuals that included the Sentry, Banshee, Daken and the Grim Reaper. Restored to life, they came to be servants of the Twins where they came to be known as the four Horsemen of Death and set about accomplishing their masters goals. (Uncanny Avengers v1 #9)

House of X

The first Horsemen return in X of Swords: Stasis v1 #1.

Meanwhile, the original Horsmen of Apocalypse continued their invasion of Otherworld where their hordes of Amenthi daemons laid siege to the last watchtower of Dei Di'Lorr that was part of the Kingdom of Dryador. They massacred its inhabitants and claimed the region whilst leaving a fleeing messenger critically wounded as a sign of the danger of the threat besieging the area. Around this time, the Summoner arrived with two of the X-Men namely Banshee and Unus the Untouchable where he betrayed the Krakoans as was part of his family's plan. This led to Unus's capture and Banshee being badly wounded and left unconscious with the Summoner sent to take Sean Cassidy back to Krakoa in order to draw out Apocalypse to them. Weaving lies to his grandfather, the Summoner managed to trick Apocalypse and the X-Men into meeting the Amenthi daemonic horde within Otherworld. By this point, the Horsemen had laid siege to the Starlight Citadel itself but were unable to pierce its defences. By this point, the X-Men had arrived at the scene with Apocalypse being overjoyed at meeting his children. It was then that War badly wounded him as the Horsemen revealed their true nature as Amenth had not conquered them but rather they had taken over the dimension. This led to a battle between the Arrako-headed Amenth horde and the X-Men with the fight being stopped by Saturnyne who used her power to freeze all the combatants in their places. Despite being frozen, Death vowed that Arrako would not cease in its conquests with Saturnyne proposing a battle between champions. The Horsemen agreed and Saturnyne chose the X-Men to be Otherworld's champions were 10 swordbearers from both sides were to meet one another in battle. (X of Swords: Creation v1 #1)

At the height of the tournament, Genesis came to battle Apocalypse with the winner deciding the victor in the Contest of Swords. Apocalypse came to win the match but Annihilation took control of Genesis's body and reused to submit. Instead, she called forth the demonic hordes of Amenth to invade Otherworld with the Horsemen being called to join their mother in heading the invasion. (Excalibur v4 #15) Thus, the Horsemen gathered to help lead the siege of the Starlight Citadel at the head of Amenth's armies. Meanwhile, Apocalypse continued to battle Annihilation where he succeeded in ripping the Helm of Annihilation from the face of Genesis. He then donned it himself where the spirit in it attempted to take control of his body. However, Apocalypse did not aim to win the fight in the possession of his body but instead used his brief element of control to surrender Amenth in the tournament. As a result, Annihilation lost the Contest of Swords and Saturnyne removed the helm and re-shaped it into a spear that was a less powerful state and one more controllable. Thus, the battle was over and Genesis was freed from the years of servitude to the Helm of Annihilation. As the hostilities ended, Saturnyne decreed that each side could request one person from the other to live amongst them. Genesis requested Apocalypse join her whilst Apocalypse requested that Arakko along with all its Mutants be sent to join Krakoa. As a result, Apocalypse re-joined his wife Genesis and their children in the Horsemen who departed for their home but promised that they would return. (X of Swords: Destruction v1 #1)

Overview

In appearance, the Horsemen of Apocalypse were four superpowered beings that typically served the Mutant Apocalypse and followed his ideals of survival of the fittest. Their dictates believed that the weak polluted the gene-pool and had to be removed in order for the strong to thrive. (X-Factor v1 #15)

Each member took the name of one of the Horsemen from Biblical beliefs with these including Death, War, Famine and Pestilence. (X-Factor v1 #15) The transformation of a being into a Horseman required some rearrangement of the person's internal body and sometimes necessitated them re-learning some biological functions as a result. Phase 1 of the transformation was noted to be particularly painful as instruments burrowed deep into the flesh of the person. The transformation machine responsible for the task was said to have a life of its own and conducted the process independently from Apocalypse. Part of the process involved an instrument called the 'Claw of Horus' and another being the 'Juice of Thoth'. It was noted that the transformation also changed the mind of the potential Horseman where they became loyal to Apocalypse regardless of their former feelings over him. As such, it was said that the creature that entered the machine would no longer be the same one once they emerged as a Horseman. (X-Men v2 #184)

In the Age of Apocalypse, Apocalypse himself put his Horsemen through the War of Succession in order to determine which of them were worthy of ruling North America alongside him. After the battle, only four were left who remained by Apocalypse's side in this dark alternate reality.

Members

  • Phantom Bats of the Twelve Minds :
  • Abraham Kieros : a male who served as War.
  • Autumn Rolfson : a female who served as Famine.
  • Warren Worthington III :
  • Wolverine : the X-Man Wolverine was abducted by Apocalypse and replaced with a Skrull imposter in order to prevent the X-Men from knowing that their friend was captured. Once captured, he was placed in a fight against his nemesis Sabretooth with the winner becoming a Horseman of Apocalypse. Wolverine truimped over his foe and was selected to become Apocalpyse's latest incarnation of Death. As part of the transformation, his mind was blanked and brainwashed to serve Apocalypse. The adamantium within Sabretooth was stripped from his body and bonded to Wolverine's skeleton once more. In his service of his master, this fourth version of Death attacked the X-Men and killed his Skrull imposter. This alerted his former comrades about the abduction and that their friend was now Death. Wolverine as Death wore an elaborate costume and typically overed his face which prevented his identification. He also made use of an exotic appearing sword. He combined his resilient body with his skills making him a dangerous opponent to face.
  • Hulk : after a battle against the X-Men in their mansion, the Hulk came into conflict with Apocalypse which the mutant managed to win. Taking the defeated Hulk, Apocalypse transformed him into his newest Horseman incarnation of War. Wearing a unique set of armor, this War had a mask over his face, carried a sword and could fire a mechanical tendril from his other hand. In addition to this, his mind was conditioned to serve Apocalypse and he was let loose to fight against Juggernaut and the Absorbing Man where he easily managed to defeat the two. It was only after the Hulk's friend Rick Jones was wounded was the Hulk's mind touched and in a grip of rage he ripped the armor from his skin before leaping away. This incarnation of War was perhaps the strongest of all due to the nature of it's host namely the Hulk. He was incredibly powerful and easily able to fight against some of the most strongest beings on Earth. He made use of his tentacle as a whip in order to grab onto to foes and send them flying away. This War did not ride a robotic horse but leapt great distances. The sword he carried was also booby-trapped and detonated by remote.
  • Ahab :Ahab joined the immortal supervillain Apocalypse and became one of his elite Horseman, becoming a new incarnation of Famine within the group. His appearance changed greatly taking a more skeletal form with most of his face masked by a cowl with only his eyes available. He also carried a spear in his arm as his primary weapon. Together with his comrades, he sought out the Twelve in order for his master to gain god-like powers. However, during his service, he was sent into an alternate dimension by Mikhail Rasputin. His fate remains unknown in the main reality. In addition to his cybernetic body and the power to fire energy harpoons that sought their target; Ahab gained the ability to drain a victim's lifeforce resulting in emaiation or worse.
  • Gambit : after the return of Apocalypse, Gambit approached the supervillain and willingly offered himself as a servant. He intended to infiltrate Apocalypse's ranks in order to protect his comrades but miscalculated the transformation process which warped his mind as well as his body into a loyal servant. Thus, Gambit became an incarnation of Death and served in the Horsemen of Apocalypse. His appearance changed with his hair turning white and his skin jet black. Though his mind had been changed, a portion of his persona remained making him both Death and Gambit which remembered his love of Rogue which prevented him from killing her. However, he later attacked the Xavier Institute with Sunfire in order to free Polaris both of whom were his fellow Horsemen. In order to free all his ties to his old life, he attempted to kill Rogue but was stopped by Pulse's power nullification abilities. In his transformed state, this new Death had the ability to convert inert materials into toxic substances allowing him to transform breathable air into poisonous gases. Furthermore, he also potentially had the ability to ingest diseases and plagues similar to his comrade Polaris, as Pestilence.
  • Gazer : a male Horseman who was teleported to Apocalypse's sphinx-like vessel where he was forced to battle a Human archeologist known as Dr. Foster who stumbled on Apocalypse's tomb. The two fought for the position of War, a Horseman of Apocalypse. However, Gazer's weak nature meant that he would have lost the battle had it not been for Ozymandias who told him that he would owe the scribe more then his master in the future. Succeeding, he underwent the terrible and painful process where his skeleton was stretched and his mind conditioned to serve Apocalypse. He was then sent to battle the X-Men and Sentinel Squad O*N*E and returned to base where Ozymandias demanded he be repaid the debt. However, War did not fulfil his oath and revealed the truth to his master Apocalypse of Ozymandias's treachery. Later, during a fight with the X-Men, Ozymandias took his revenge and stabbed War from behind with a sword thus killing him. War was transformed to possess super strength and enhanced durability as well as the power to both absorb as well as rechannel solar energy. He was capable of discharging these as blasts of fire from his eyes. In addition to this, he also carried a spiked mace which flashed with electricity and rided a robotic horse that flew.
  • Sunfire : after the loss of his powers after M-Day, Sunfire was left in a hospital and had lost his limbs as well. It was at this point that Apocalypse approached him and offered him the chance for vengeance, something that Sunfire accepted. However, after being chained in the supervillain prison where he heard Gazer's tortured screams, Sunfire decided to escape and attempted to free him but Gazer was transformed already into War who defeated Sunfire who was taken to be forcibly converted into the Horseman Famine. After this, he was sent to attack the X-Men and used his new powers to cause Humans and Mutants to feel hungry as well as weak. While fighting, he was shot down by Havok and captured by Rogue who realized who h was and taken to a medical ward to he healed. Apocalypse sent War to retrieve Famine but Sunfire from free from the brainwashing and attacked War after which he escaped with the unconcious form of Gambit, now Death, where they attempted to return to their former lives but Famine encountered Mister Sinister who took Sunfire as a member of his Marauders. This incarnation of Famine had his powers returned to him through technological means despite them being lost to Rogue. He was capable of firing powerful heat blasts as was normal and had the power of flight. In addition to this, he was now capable of creating flashes of light that affected that part of the brain that controlled hunger. This left Humans and Mutants falling into a state of hunger where they felt weakened. His appearance was that as a flaming Human with skeletal shaped head.
  • Decimus Furius : male Roman from the year 281 who was orphaned after his parents died with him living on the streets when his mutation emerged and him being taken as a gladiator before he was recruited as the Horseman of War and one of the Final Horsemen of Apocalypse whose axe's strikes caused people to be infected with dark emotions forcing them to strike with anger and hatred. (Uncanny X-Force v1 #3)
  • Jeb Lee : a male Confederate spy from the year 1863 whose mutation manifested allowing him to transmit a bioauditory cancer through a living sound whereupon he was recruited as the Horseman of Famine of the Final Horsemen. (Uncanny X-Force v1 #3)
  • Ichisumi : a female Japanese geisha from the year 1833 whose mutation manifested into her releasing a swarm of yume beetles that targeted her enemies with her being recruited as the Horseman of Pestilence of the Final Horsemen. (Uncanny X-Force v1 #3)
  • Sanjar Javeed : a male Persian from the year 325 who was the bastard son of the king who developed a mutation that allowed him to transmit terminal diseases based on the metals he touched with him being recruited as the Horseman of Death of the Final Horsemen. (Uncanny X-Force v1 #3)

Notes

  • The Horsemen of Apocalypse was created by Louise Simonson and Walter Simonson where they made their first appearance in X-Factor v1 #15 (April, 1987).

Alternate Versions

  • In an alternate reality featured in Cable & Deadpool; a new set of Horseman were seen which included Blob (Famine), Angel (Death), an eight armed Spider-man (Pestilence) and Cable (War).
  • In another reality from where the Exiles came from; Thunderbird had been transformed into the Horseman War with his powers matching those of the Hulk.
  • In a What If reality; Wolverine was successfully rebonded to his adamantium skeleton by Genesis who transformed the X-Man into the Horseman War. However, once done, the War Wolverine went on a rampage against all criminals and villains leading to the deaths of Genesis and even Apocalypse himself until the superheroes of the world united against him. The War Watch was formed which sought to maintain the peace and the War Wolverine became a peaceful monk called Brother Xavier.

Gallery

In other media

Television

The Horsemen that appear in X-Men: Evolution.
  • In X-Men, the Horsemen of Apocalypse appeared in the 1990s animated television series where they formed by Apocalypse to serve him. Their ranks included Autumn Rolfson (Famine), Plague (Pestilence), Abraham Kieros (War), and Angel (Death).
  • In X-Men: Evolution, the final season showed En Sabah Nur being freed from imprisonment where he began his plans to forcibly evolve the human race. This saw him being opposed by both the Brotherhood of Mutants and the X-Men who he easily defeated in the first encounter. During these events, Mystique was killed when she sought to free Apocalypse but was tricked by Mastermind, Magneto was seemingly disintegrated in a confrontation with En Sabah and both Xavier as well as Storm were similarly destroyed when they confronted him. In reality, all four had been teleported into Apocalypse's pyramid where they were mind controlled by implants that amplified their abilities and made them followers of En Sabah Nur. These four became his Horsemen who were deployed when his numerous pyramids that were genetically evolving the Earth came under attack. Each of the Horsemen were deployed to protect a single pyramid with Mystique remaining behind to protect the Sphinx. The combined X-Men/Brotherhood allied with one another to defeat the Horsemen with Apocalypse eventually being defeated thus freeing those four from his command.
  • In Wolverine and the X-Men, the Horsemen of Apocalypse did not directly appear though a reference to them was made in the setting of the animated television series. It was shown that Warren Worthington III was captured by the Mutant Response Division who ended up severing his wings. This led to him seeking out Mister Sinister who transformed him into the Horseman of Death Archangel.

Films

  • In X-Men: Days of Future's Past, the post-credit sequence showed a group of riders in the background as En Sabah Nur assembled his pyramid wit this being a reference to the Horsemen of Apocalypse.
  • In X-Men: Apocalypse, the Horsemen of Apocalypse made an appearance as antagonists in the live-action film that served as the sequel to the previous movie. They were four followers of En Sabah Nur with it suspected that the Biblical Horsemen of the Apocalypse were named after them. In ancient Egypt, they were by their master's side as he transferred his essence into a new body but his human guards staged a rebellion in an attempt to kill him. They consisted of a female Death who was a telekinetic, a male red skinned War who could disintegrate organic matter, a white skinned Pestilence with super-strength and a dark-skinned Famine who could generate flames. The Horsemen were killed defending their master who was entombed beneath the rubble of his ruined pyramid where he remained there until the 1970's when En Sabah Nur awakened. Once awake, he began finding strong Mutants that he empowered to become his new Horsemen with him selecting Storm, Psylocke, Angel and Magneto. During the battle with the X-Men, Angel was killed whilst Magneto and Storm turned against En Sabah Nur who was killed leaving Psylocke the only survivor who escaped.

Video games

  • In X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse appeared in the setting of the action role-playing game. Their members were shown to be Abyss, Mikhail Rasputin, Holocaust, and Archangel.
  • In Marvel: Avengers Alliance, the Horsemen of Apocalypse appeared as antagonists in the video game. Within the game, a number of characters were turned into Horsemen that included Iceman (Death), X-23 (War), Beast (Pestilence) and Rogue (Famine).
  • In Marvel Heroes, the Horsemen of Apocalypse appeared as antagonists in the Age of Apocalypse event in the MMORPG video game.
  • In Marvel Contest of Champions, the Horsemen of Apocalypse were referenced in the setting of the mobile video game. It was revealed that Psylocke, Gambit, Wolverine and Archangel became Apocalypse's Horsemen though it did not specified who held which role.
  • In Marvel Realm of Champions, the Horsemen of Apocalypse were referenced in the setting of the mobile video game. They were mentioned in the backstory of the Pyramid X faction ruled by Apocalypse and who resided in the lands of Egyptia with Archangel, Psylocke, Magneto and Storm being its members. Archangel was said to guard the War Lands, Psylocke guarded the Plague Lands, Magneto guarded the Death Lands and Storm guarded the Famine Lands.

Appearances

  • X-Factor v1: (1987)
  • X-Men v2:
  • X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula v1:
  • Uncanny X-Force v1:
  • Uncanny Avengers v1:
  • Extraordinary X-Men v1:
  • Powers of X v1: (2019)
  • X of Swords: Creation v1: (2020)
  • X of Swords: Destruction v1: (2020)

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