WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Cable #6 by Gerry Dugan, Phil Noto, VC's Joe Sabino and Tom Muller, on sale now.
In one of the final battles of Marvel's X of Swords crossover, Gorgon, a mutant leader of Krakoa has fallen in combat for his people. But the way in which he died managed to gain him the admiration of one of Krakoa's most powerful and hard to impress citizens: Apocalypse. Typically, Apocalypse is someone who admires strength and acceptance of it for the sake of survival, so one could not be blamed for thinking that Gorgon's death would just be something he outright ignored, if not despised. But even though he lost his fight, Apocalypse still saw fit to praise him.
In Cable #6. Gorgon went into his fight, the twenty-fourth bout of Saturnyne's trials by combat, with the knowledge that his people were losing heavily. And considering that the prize was access to Krakoa and by extension the rest of the Earth, things were looking pretty dire. But Gorgon managed to use his opponent, the White Sword, as a means to even the playing field. The White Sword could summon a hundred warriors to defend him and combat. Saturnyne, ever the advocate of fair play, allowed him to use this power in combat.
But Gorgon managed to pull off a surprising feat, slaying 13 of White Sword's warriors and earning enough of Saturnyne's mercy for her to count those deaths as points in Krakoa's favor, effectively evening the score in just a few minutes. Unfortunately for Gorgon, the earlier fights had exhausted him, leaving him defenseless. White Sword, not wishing to give Krakoa any more points, took his blade and struck down Gorgon, who showed no fear whatsoever. His last deeds on Otherworld impressed Apocalypse, who impressed upon his remaining companions that this was how a mutant should die, fearless and defiant.
This is a surprising reaction from Apocalypse. As one of the oldest and most powerful mutants alive, Apocalypse has developed an extremely protective, if not harsh worldview regarding his species. It is no secret that he favors a "survival of the fittest" mentality. So for him to compliment someone who couldn't survive is a sign that he respects their attitude and deeds enough to overlook the failure to not be taken by death. And perhaps he admired Gorgon's death not just because he took it like a mutant, but because his fight had actually done more to continue Apocalypse's views.
Even though he lost, Gorgon used his sacrifice to level the playing field. He had taken out enough of White Sword's warriors that it made his enemy's teammates compel White Sword to join the fight. They feared Gorgon's abilities that much. And something Apocalypse respects in a mutant is when their enemies have a healthy dose of fear for their gifts. But more than that, Gorgon's death gave the Krakoans a chance to win the tournament, undoing a massive losing streak that even his own teammates admitted was insurmountable before Gorgon entered the fray.
While Gorgon may not have been able to survive his fight, he managed to ensure that his people would have a chance to survive in his place. This act of sacrifice and the protection of mutantkind may ultimately be what swayed Apocalypse to praise the fallen warrior. That being said, Apocalypse is not an unfeeling brick wall. He has doled out praise upon those deserving of it. Most recently, he complimented Rictor for embracing his full power when fighting the Externals. But this also reinforced Apocalypse's desire to protect mutants, for, in the process of battling them, Apocalypse also pointed out that Rictor was the future of mutants.
Thankfully, it seems that not everyone who receives Apocalypse's praise needs to die to get it. Since this fight, Gorgon has since been resurrected in a sense with a relatively cheerier outlook, but it's not clear how much of the original Gorgon is still there. However, this mutant leader was still able to do something that only a handful of mutants have ever done by living up to Apocalypse's impossible standards.