Apophis (Stargate)

Revision as of 14:06, 1 August 2016

Apophis is a television villain that features in Stargate: SG-1.

Biography

While all Goa'uld have a liking for war, the character Apophis was uniquely militaristic. On the show, he has gone on foot into battle or battle-like situations, a marked contrast to most other Goa'uld, who are seen to generally stay as far away from danger as possible. He is seen in not sumptuous cloth, but rather a version of a Jaffa military uniform, except with a gold rather than silver-gray color. The only other System Lords known to do this was Heru-ur.

Just as in Egyptian mythology, Apophis was the nemesis of Ra, the Supreme System Lord of the Goa'uld Empire. When Daniel Jackson and Jack O'Neill killed Ra in the original Stargate movie, they inadvertently increased Apophis' power and allowed him to launch attacks against both Earth and Abydos through the Stargate, though these also appeared to be host raids intended to find matured humans suitable as Goa'uld hosts. During these attacks, Apophis kidnapped Daniel's wife Sha're, who became the host of Apophis' queen Amonet, as well as Sha're's brother Skaara, who became host to his son, Klorel. SG-1's war against Apophis and their quest to find and rescue Sha're were main focuses of the show in the first few seasons.

After several minor skirmishes between SG-1 and Apophis' forces, Apophis eventually launched an all-out attack on Earth with two motherships and an army of Jaffa during season 2 of the show. Earth's nuclear arsenal proved ineffective against Apophis' Goa'uld technology, but the attack was ultimately foiled by SG-1 after Daniel Jackson discovered a Stargate address for a Stargate on one of the ships, allowing SG-1 to sneak on board and destroy the two ships, resulting in the loss of Apophis' fleet and army. Apophis himself was thought to have perished along with his mothership, he is seen to escape at the last minute through the ship's onboard Stargate.

However, the destroyed motherships and Jaffa represented a significant portion of Apophis' forces, and his standing amongst the other Goa'uld was severely weakened. During season 2, Apophis brainwashed Teal'c's son, Ryac, in hope of compelling the shol'va to rescue his offspring, so that the virus implanted in two of Ryac's artificial teeth would kill every living thing on Earth. However, Teal'c was able to destroy the virus and save his son's life at the same time. Lastly, Apophis fathered a Harcesis as his next host and sent Amonet back to Abydos so the System lords wouldn't be aware. When the baby was born, he came to claim the child but was tricked into thinking Heur'ur took the child. He soon came under attack from the new most powerful and evil Goa'uld, Sokar. Towards the end of season 2, Sokar crushed Apophis' remaining forces and captured and tortured Apophis.

He eventually managed to escape and fled from Sokar. After being pursued by Sokar's minions, he was found during an offworld mission of SG-1 after his Death Glider crashed. Apophis demanded asylum from SG-1 and the Tau'ri, his greatest enemies, who (reluctantly) granted it to him. While he was in Earth custody as a prisoner of the SGC, each member of SG-1 had the opportunity to confront Apophis one-on-one as he lay on his deathbed.

Apophis' host, a young Egyptian scribe, also briefly reasserted himself, describing the torture of being forced to watch for thousands of years as Apophis used his body to commit unspeakable crimes. Daniel promised to give the host a proper Egyptian burial. Apophis eventually died from the injuries Sokar's torture inflicted on him, and his body was returned to Sokar, who promised not to destroy Earth. Sokar then revived Apophis through the use of a sarcophagus, in order to torture him for the rest of eternity.

Apophis became a prisoner on Sokar's prison moon Ne'tu, where his face was badly scarred. Through unknown means he was able to assume a new identity, going by the name Nao'nak, and he became the First Prime of Bynarr, the Lord of Ne'tu. Apophis eventually managed to lead a rebellion on Ne'tu, on which SG-1 was also being held captive at the time, during which he saved the life of Major Samantha Carter, only so he could later torture her for information. Once again, each member of SG-1, except for Teal'c, had a one-on-one confrontation with Apophis, during which they were able to resist his torture and bravely declare their defiance against him. Using a drug known as the "Blood of Sokar" and the Tok'ra memory recalling device, he plunged SG-1 into some of their old memories, such as Carter's memory of her mother's death and Jack O'Neill's last meeting with his son Charlie, trying to find out their secrets such the IDC, the Asgard homeworld, how to get back to Earth and where the Harcesis child is.

Apophis eventually ringed up to Sokar's mothership, culminating in a face to face showdown between Apophis and Sokar. Apophis' actions combined with the efforts of SG-1 and the Tok'ra (who blew up the moon while Sokar was in orbit around it) managed to bring about the death of Sokar and the destruction of his mothership. Apophis was thought to have perished along with Sokar, but had managed to escape at the last moment by taking a Ring Transporter to Sokar's palace.

After the death of Sokar, Apophis gained control of Sokar's massive fleet and became the most powerful Goa'uld up to that time. He also adopted Sokar's style of dress, switching from his old Egyptian look to the more Satanic wardrobe favored by Sokar. He attacked and reclaimed Chulak, killed several other Goa'uld including his long-time rival (and nephew) Heru-ur, and was one step away from destroying the System Lords and conquering the galaxy when his fleet was incinerated by an artificial supernova created by SG-1 and the Tok'ra.

Apophis once again managed to escape the destruction of his fleet, only to find himself confronted by an enemy even he couldn't survive: the great nemesis of the Asgard, the Replicators. The Replicators overran Apophis' mothership and killed most of his Jaffa. Apophis attempted to seize SG-1's mothership with the aide of a captured and brainwashed Teal'c, but that ship also became infested by the Replicators, and Apophis could only watch helplessly as his remaining Jaffa were killed by the invading menace.

SG-1 managed to sabotage the mothership, causing it to crash into Delmak with both Apophis and the Replicators onboard. The resulting explosion was massive enough to be seen from space. Right before impact, he was trapped inside his own personal shield at the helm of the ship, surrounded by Replicators and unable to do anything except scream when he realized his ship was about to collide with the planet. Even in death Apophis managed to strike one last blow against SG-1 in the form of his brainwashing of Teal'c, which lasted even after Apophis' death and required extreme measures to cure that almost cost Teal'c his life.

Overview

Personality and attributes

Powers and abilities

Notes

• Apophis was portrayed by Peter Williams for the Stargate: SG-1 television series.
• The character was based on the Egyptian mythological deity Apophis.

Appearances

• Stargate: SG-1:

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