X-Men Officially Debuts Iconic Villain's New Design, 40 Years After Debut

Published Oct 23, 2026, 9:30 AM EDT

Robert Wood is a writer and editor based out of Cheshire, England. He is the author of 'The False Elephant: and 99 Other Unreasonably Short Stories' - 100 stories, each told in exactly 100 words.

Rob got into comics via Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man and the UK anthology 'The Mighty World of Marvel,' which was running Frank Miller's Daredevil, Classic Hulk and Contest of Champions II.

Prior to journalism, he worked in copywriting and copyedited for Oxford University Press. He is on X as @PinchTwigs and Instagram as roobwoodjourno.

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Iconic X-Men villain Apocalypse has a jaw-dropping new design, as the ancient mutant's secrets are exposed like never before. With a skeleton crew of heroes delving deep into the Tomb of Apocalypse, they've come up against En Sabah Nur's secret weapon.

Debuting in 1986, Apocalypse is a villain originating from Ancient Egypt. Obsessed with strengthening mutantkind, Apocalypse has subjected them to countless trials, hoping to weed out the fittest of his species. His dedication to evolution won the favor of the cosmic Celestials, who enhanced Apocalypse with powerful armor and technology.

Recently, Apocalypse retired from his life of villainy, declaring the mutant Revelation his heir on Earth and embracing exile on Mars in the mutant settlement of Arakko. With Apocalypse gone, Hydra have taken the opportunity to raid his oldest hidden base, the "Tomb of Apocalypse."

X-Men's Apocalypse Has An Awesome New Look

In the recent Tomb of Apocalypse #2, Jubilee, Wolverine, Rictor and Shatterstar take down the Hydra soldiers attempting to raid Apocalypse's tomb, discovering a gigantic sarcophagus deep within the structure.

While Apocalypse telepathically urges the team to leave, Rictor refuses, demanding answers from his former mentor. As the sarcophagus opens, Apocalypse warns the team that there are safeguards in place he can't deactivate, just in time for them to be confronted by a gigantic being who appears to be a younger Apocalypse.

A colossal being with glowing red eyes, covered in ancient symbols, the villain grumbles that the mutant heroes "are not my future self." Is this some kind of robot implanted with Apocalypse's earlier memories, or some younger form of the ancient mutant summoned by his eldritch magic?

Will The Final Horsemen Finally Return?

As imposing as this new Apocalypse is, Tomb of Apocalypse #3 will also unleash some version of his Horsemen team, with the issue's summary warning, "whenever Apocalypse appears, his HORSEMEN are sure to follow!" Interestingly, Fabrizio De Tommaso's cover art implies this is a version of the Horsemen fans have met before.

The minotaur-esque villain fighting Jubilee on the next issue's cover bears a resemblance to Decimus Furius of the Final Horsemen. Introduced in Remender and Opeña's beloved Uncanny X-Force Volume 1, the Final Horsemen are Apocalypse's ultimate contingency plan - a group of lethal mutants plucked from across history and stored away for when all his other plans have failed.

X-Men's Final Horsemen Team
Created by Rick Remender and Jerome Opeña
Codename	Real Name	Powers	Weapon	Background	Current Status
Death	Sanjar Javeed	Can spread disease to targets in his vicinity	Various rings, with different substances expanding his repertoire of diseases	The illegitimate son of an ancient Persian king. Sanjar gifted stolen treasures to the populace, tragically activating his deadly powers.	Mysteriously resurrected under the codename 'Life' as leader of the Pan-Asian School for the Unusually Gifted
War	Decimus Furius	Enhanced physique (seemingly including healing factor)	Quadruple-bladed axe which infects anyone wounded by it with murderous rage	An ancient Roman mutant forced into gladiatorial combat.	Seemingly dead.
Famine	Jeb Lee	Can spread a deadly psionic 'cancer' to anyone who hears his music.	Union field drum (useful but not vital for powers - any percussion is effective)	A Confederate spy during the American Civil War, his missions resulted in the murder of his family, activating his mutant ability.	Seemingly dead.
Pestilence	Ichisumi	Vomits a colony of flesh-eating yume beetles, absorbing the maddening death memories of her victims.	Parasol, potentially used to anchor her identity	The daughter of a samurai, Ichisumi came to loathe her fellow geisha, murdering them upon the manifestation of her mutant power.	Conceived the villainous 'Apocalypse Twins' Uriel and Eimin with Warren Worthington III, current whereabouts unknown.

While the Final Horsemen's fates were seemingly settled in prior volumes, it makes sense that Apocalypse would restore the deceased members to life and sequester them in his tomb until they're needed again.

Future issues will reveal the identity of both this gigantic new Apocalypse and his Horsemen, as the X-Men voyage deeper into the most forbidden secrets of this iconic villain.

Tomb of Apocalypse #2 is available now from Marvel Comics.

The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.