Star Trek’s First Klingon Played an Important X-Men Villain

Unfortunately, credits on “X-Men” are incomplete (after season 1, the end credits would only list the main cast), so sources differ as to when the recasting took place . But to my ear, Colicos voiced Apocalypse in four episodes: “The Cure” and “Come The Apocalypse” in season 1, and the two-part “Time Fugitives” in season 2. Even with his limited time, he was Colicos must deliver some unforgettable lines:

“I know more about this world than you have even dreamed! That is why I must destroy it!”

“The old world is passing. Together, we will forge a new one in fire and blood! From the dust of this world, I will build a better one!”

“Go forth my Knights, and let chaos cleanse the world!”

My personal favorite is “Time Fugitives,” when a man looks at Apocalypse in fear and exclaims, “A mutant!” A steel-eyed Apocalypse scowls and declares: “I am as far beyond mutants as they are beyond you!”

When “X-Men” premiered, Apocalypse had first appeared in the comics only six years earlier; Louise Simonson and Jackson Guice created him in 1986 as a villain for their comic “X-Factor.” Impressively, Apocalypse’s first appearance on “X-Men” adapts the only thing he was known for at the time: Turning the X-Men character Angel into one of his Four Horsemen, with new wings of steel.

As the first actor ever to play Apocalypse, when the character was still quite young, Colicos’ voice set the standard — for Blendick, of course, but also for future Apocalypse actors such as David Kaye and Oscar Isaac. That voice became a key part of why young “X-Men” fans (and even some future “X-Men” writers) remembered Apocalypse, with his dominance in the animated series securing a roster role And continuous in the comics.

Apocalypse’s real name, En Sabah Nur, apparently means “the first one” in Marvel Comics. (Actually, the three words for “The Seven Lights,” ie the dawn, are Arabic.) Just as Apocalypse marked the dawn of the race of mutants, all future Apocalypse actors draw on the excellent work of John Colicos in for them to keep the character alive.