WARNING: The following contains spoilers for X-Men #14 by Jonathan Hickman, Mahmud Asrar, Leinil Francis Yu, Sunny Gho & VC's Clayton Cowles and Avengers #38 by Jason Aaron, Ed McGuinness, Mark Morales, Jason Keith and VC's Cory Petit, on sale now.
For decades, Apocalypse was treated as a genuine threat to the entire Marvel Universe. Few heroes were even capable of standing up to his might. But in the Dawn of X era, he's become a surprising ally to the X-Men. As the truth of his past is explored further and further, another revelation from Avengers #38 further illuminates how he's been manipulated into becoming such a threat.
Apocalypse was manipulated into fighting Thor over the centuries by forces like Mephisto -- but revelations from X of Swords about the history of Apocalypse and his family make this crime far more heartbreaking.
Avengers #38 reveals that Mephisto has been manipulating his enemies over the years, setting off a number of titanic confrontations over the course of human history. This includes the ancient mutant Apocalypse, who was taunted by Mephisto into attacking Thor and continuing their on-again-off-again animosity. Seeing Thor and the rest of his Asgardian kind as "fake gods," Apocalypse faced off against Thor and his allies in a battle that included the Phoenix Force and the holder of the Eye of Agamotto. Mephisto had tricked Apocalypse to ensure the world grew to be one where only the fittest could survive.
But X of Swords has cast Apocalypse in an entirely new light, especially his commitment to improving the world through violence. Thousands of years earlier, Apocalypse was one of the countless mutants who lived on Arakko, the other half of Krakoa. After combating the dark forces of the demonic dimension Amenth, Apocalypse was forced to say goodbye to his wife Genesis and their children as they ventured into the dimension to continue the battle. Apocalypse had sought to accompany them into battle, but he was deemed too weak for the challenge. Instead, Genesis left him behind on Earth with a single clear order: ensure the world became stronger so it could one day venture into Amenth and rally behind the mutants of Arakko.
But Apocalypse didn't return in time, and in the ensuing centuries, the mutants of Arakko were defeated and corrupted -- including Genesis, who took the Helm of Annihilation and became a servant of the dark god of Amenth. These revelations have revealed that many of Apocalypse's previous misdeeds were somewhat altruistic. The terrible atrocities he committed over the centuries were all in a sympathetic bid to raise an army that could save his home and his family. Since joining with the X-Men in Krakoa, he's begun to see the merits of cooperation, even if only a little. If Apocalypse had realized this sooner, he could have potentially recruited powerful forces to the aid of the mutants, including the Asgardians.
But instead, Mephisto helped egg on the darker impulses that being a long-time warrior had instilled in him. Instead of ever reaching out to potential allies, Apocalypse isolated himself and fought off powerful forces like Thor in an attempt to prove that he and his allies were the strongest -- and finally able to try and save his family. The fact that someone like Mephisto may have used Apocalypse as a pawn in his own schemes is bad enough, but it may have assisted in the troubles that the X-Men have found themselves in. Instead of coming with an entire Marvel Universe at their back, the X-Men have had to betray alliances just to force a dual that could decide the fate of the world. Mephisto's actions prove even the smallest attack from the devil can lead to tragic results.