History
Pestilence was one of four children born to Apocalypse and Genesis, the mutant leaders of Okkara. The four grew up to become the first iteration of their father's Horsemen. They were raised in Okkara,[1] although they did briefly leave Okkara to fight the Brood in 2620 BC, Egypt, alongside the Brotherhood of the Shield's founder, Imhotep.[6][7]
She was sealed away on Arakko, after Okkara had split in two, alongside her fellow Horsemen.[8] They ended up in the dimension of Amenth which was populated by endless hordes of Daemons. Her mother and the other mutants that were left on Arakko made the island their home and build towers to protect them from the threat of the Daemons.
However, after her mother fell at hands of Amenth's dark god and leader of the Daemons, Annihilation, the Daemons finally managed to destroy Arakko's towers and attack its mutant population. In a last ditch effort to save Arakko, Pestilence and the surviving mutants send the Summoner to Earth to find her father Apocalypse.[9] However, her mother was actually still alive and combined with Annihilation, which lead to the Daemons and Arakko's forces joining together and decided to invade Krakoa.[10]
After months have passed, Pestilence, alongside her siblings, the other Horsemen, began leading the Daemon armies, and assaulted Otherworld in order to access Krakoa. After reuniting with their father, the Horsemen and Summoner attacked Apocalypse and launched an attack on some members of the X-Men. The fight was broken up by the Omniversal Majestrix Saturnyne who offered each side to participate in the challenge of the Ten of Swords for victory, to which they agreed.[3]
After conquering the Last Watchtower of Del Di'Lorr, the First Horsemen annexed Dryador making it a province of Arakko. With their siblings Death and War actively participating as swordbearers in Saturnyne's tournament of champions, Famine and Pestilence were the current acting regents of the Fiefdom of Amenth.[5]
After Krakoa had won the tournament,[11] Famine and his sister Pestilence joined their mother in the war for Krakoa, but the Swordbearers of Krakoa were then joined by the Green Priestesses, the X-Men, the Captain Britain Corps, and the Vescora. The war ended when Apocalypse manage to conquer Annihilation and as a reward for winning the tournament he switched places with Arakko, leaving Apocalypse to finally be reunited with his wife and children and govern Amenth together.[12]
She and Famine stayed in Otherworld and continued to act as regents to Dryador, attending diplomatic meetings at the Starlight Citadel.[13]
Upon learning of the destruction suffered by the Great Ring of Arakko at the hands of Uranos, Genesis resolved to return to the Broken Land once again. With the demons and Summoners of Amenth bent to her will, in part through the whispers of Annihilation, she prepared her forces into invading Arakko.[1]
Through a portal, Pestilence and her siblings arrived to Planet Arakko to participate in the Arakkii civil war being fought between Genesis and the new regent of Arakko Storm's sides.[14] However, when Pestilence attempted to kill Storm, who was saved by the intervention of Nova, Death was infuriated at this act and soon killed his sister.[15]Attributes
Powers
Pestilence was an Omega-level mutant[15] with the following powers:
- : Pestilence can infect others using her poisoned arrows. Once someone is infected, they can infect others resulting in death and more disease.[3]
- : Given that the First Horsemen had fought alongside Imhotep in 2620 BC,[6][7] Pestilence and her siblings are over 4600 years old.
Paraphernalia
Weapons
- Bow and arrows
Transportation
Notes
- While Apocalypse and his original Horsemen were recruited by Imhotep,[7][6] it is not clear if they also joined Imhotep's Brotherhood of the Shield/Spear.[17]
- Even though Pestilence has been confirmed to be a female,[3] in one of her later appearances she was depicted as a male.[16] This is believed to be an editorial error.
Trivia
- According to Apocalypse, Pestilence was the best Horseman of Pestilence he ever had, while her successors were poor underwhelming replacers.[18]
- Pestilence's head design seems to be based on iconography depicting the ancient Egyptian deity Hathor. Her attire is also reminiscent of a mummy.
See Also
- 19 appearance(s) of Pestilence (First Horsemen) (Earth-616)
- 7 minor appearance(s) of Pestilence (First Horsemen) (Earth-616)
- 4 mention(s) of Pestilence (First Horsemen) (Earth-616)
- 39 image(s) of Pestilence (First Horsemen) (Earth-616)
- 9 quotation(s) by or about Pestilence (First Horsemen) (Earth-616)
- 2 victim(s) killed by Pestilence (First Horsemen) (Earth-616)
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 X-Men: Before The Fall - Heralds of Apocalypse #1
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 X-Men (Vol. 5) #12
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 X of Swords: Creation #1
- ↑ X-Men (Vol. 5) #13
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Hellions #5
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Moon Knight: City of the Dead #1
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 S.H.I.E.L.D. #1
- ↑ Powers of X #4
- ↑ X-Men (Vol. 5) #2–12
- ↑ X-Men (Vol. 5) #14
- ↑ X-Men (Vol. 5) #15
- ↑ X of Swords: Destruction #1
- ↑ Excalibur (Vol. 4) #22
- ↑ X-Men: Red (Vol. 2) #15
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 X-Men: Red (Vol. 2) #16
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Wolverine (Vol. 7) #6
- ↑ X of Swords Handbook #1
- ↑ Marvel Comics #1000