The release of X-Men Apocalypse will be imminently upon us. I have been awaiting this film for a long long time. Regular followers of mine may know that Apocalypse is my favourite character from X-men. I have been hooked since I first saw him the 90’s cartoon. I had to go back and find more material on him from his first appearance in 1986 X-Factor to the Apocalypse vs Dracula mini series of comics, I just couldn’t get enough. So imagine my uncontrollable delight when I learned that Apocalypse was the big bad in the latest X-men film.

You will have seen from a previous blog post that the leaked pictures of Apocalypse on set mortified me! I won’t go into that again, but that just was not how Apocalypse should look. Thankfully with some post production wizardry, Apocalypse looks much more acceptable.

I have read some early reviews of the film that say, quite frankly, it is not very good. But that doesn’t concern me. I have really enjoyed the last 2 X-Men films and unless this one is an absolute monstrosity, I am willing to forgive allot for a nice conclusion to the trilogy.

What I am more concerned with is Apocalypse himself, and hoping that they have done a decent job in portraying him. The images of him from the trailer look OK to me. Not great in all honestly but passable. The character is believably Apocalypse. I would have liked to have seen him bigger and I would have liked to have seen him with constantly white eyes but in appearance at least it is OK.

I like the fact that they have scrapped the frustrating A on his belt from the 90’s cartoon and some of the comics, and I like the hint at the arm cables that are so famously him. I would have liked to have seen them fully represented but, they are not present in every interpretation of the character, so I like the nod. I also like the ambiguous look of him. Is he machine? Is he flesh? Is he wearing armor? It’s not easy to tell and nor should it be. It’s very ambiguous in the comics and so I’m pleased to see, it is here too.

Now lets talk powers. In the film it implies that Apocalypse grows his powers by stealing them from other mutants. He has done this but in the comics it isn’t a common thing – in the comics, Apocalypse is powerful (really powerful) from birth and enhances himself by merging with alien technology. We see this in the film, but it appears they are pushing a ‘stealing powers’ angle too.

Apocalypse’s powers have varied greatly over the years but a couple of things have been constant. His ability to transform his body at will (which hopefully we will see in the film) and his ability to grow in size. This power is a favourite of fans and it looks like we see him doing it in the trailer. But wait – he is fighting a walking Charles Xavier, so is this battle a psychic battle and Apocalypse growth a representation of his telepathic dominance over professor X? I think it may be, and if so I’m OK with that. Yes I would have liked to have seen a 200 foot Big Blue destroying a city, but actually, he doesn’t do that in other media, so why should he in the film. despite his power Apocalypse is a strategist and shadowy figure who manipulates from behind the scenes.

So I will review the film in a few days once the main reviews have died down. It will be an in depth assessment of Apocalypse himself rather than the film, so if you want to be educated in the ways of the comic, then check back in a few days! Above all else, go see X-Men Apocalypse, and hopefully, enjoy the film.

Chris