What Powers Will Apocalypse Have In X-Men: Apocalypse?

When I was a younger, skinnier comic book nerd than I am today, I always thought Apocalypse was an awesome villain. The X-Factor comics where he turns Angel into Archangel were just the bees’ knees, although one very nerdy thing about him always bothered me a bit: It seemed like Apocalypse’s powers were somewhat ill-defined, and that he could do whatever the writer at the time said he could do.

Obviously, that won’t do for Oscar Isaac’s version of the world’s first mutant in X-Men: Apocalypse, even though one scene from the movie’s first trailer definitely made it look like he can change his size and shape. Director Bryan Singer recently spoke to Collider to explain exactly what Apocalypse can do, and his insight might raise an eyebrow or two.

For starters, he won’t have the same power set he’s shown off in the comics, as fluid as it might have been over the years. What you’ll see him do in the movies is enhance the powers of other mutants, the better for transforming them into his Horsemen, along with creating psychic shields to keep Professor X and others out of his head.

He’ll also have one ability you definitely wouldn’t associate with him in print:

"He moves from body to body. Apocalypse himself is not a physical form, he’s an energy. What he does is he accumulates powers over the millennia by moving from body to body, and what’s wonderful is he thinks in the beginning of the film he’s found this great body. I don’t want to give away what the power of the body this mutant has but it’s a familiar one that you’ve seen a number of very famous mutants have. It kind of ends up being the wrong one because he gets stuck in it for a long time, but then suddenly he has this opportunity and that becomes his agenda."

That’s not completely out of character in comparison to the source material, as if anything, Apocalypse is a survivor. He’s practically immortal and certainly not above doing whatever it takes to stay alive and accomplish his goals. In that sense, body-hopping sounds like the perfect mutation.

Next: See Olivia Munn as Psylocke in X-Men: Apocalypse

Having his powers defined in any way will be helpful simply because filmmakers can’t take quite the same liberties as comic book writers when it comes to continuity. I’m sure Isaac’s Apocalypse will be powerful enough to be the biggest threat the mutant heroes of the world have ever faced when X-Men: Apocalypse hits theaters on May 27.