Changes: Apollo (Wildstorm Universe)

Apollo was a former U.S. soldier and the leader of a black ops StormWatch team so secret that no-one but the first Weatherman, Henry Bendix, knew of its existence. Apollo was a normal human, bio-engineered by Bendix to have fantastic abilities including super-strength, heat vision, and a high degree of invulnerability. Apollo derives his power from solar energy, and becomes vulnerable to attack when that energy is depleted.

Of the seven-member team, only Apollo and Midnighter, Apollo's future husband, survived. Due to circumstances surrounding the mission, they went rogue and spent the next five years undercover fighting for a finer world in the alleyways of America.

After Bendix's fall in 1998, Christine Trelane discovered files hinting at the existence of Apollo and The Midnighter. Jackson King, formerly Battalion, now the new Weatherman, ordered them found, not being sure if they were heroes or villains. Apollo and Midnighter were tracking weapons made in the "Nevada Garden", a leftover of the first Engineer. He ordered Fahrenheit and Hellstrike to tag them with fetishes so they could be transported into SkyWatch. Apollo and Midnighter first attacked the StormWatch team, believing them under Bendix's orders. However, they ceased the attack once they were told Bendix was dead. With King's help, they destroyed the Nevada Garden, and Trelane gave them new lives away from Stormwatch.

In 1999, Jenny Sparks convinced both Apollo and The Midnighter to come out of retirement to join a new team, dubbed The Authority. The Authority distinguished itself from other super-human teams in that it answered to no governing body or external authority, such as the United Nations. Rather, for the first time, these were super-humans fighting for a finer world on their own initiative.

Throughout the course of their membership into the Authority Apollo and Midnighter's relationship was revealed later. And also Apollo developed a friendship with Jennifer Sparks, who felt comfortable in confiding with him.

On December 31, 1999, Jennifer Sparks died. Her spirit was reincarnated in an infant girl born the next day in Singapore. As soon as the child was identified, a bloody battle breaks out between competing forces--including The Authority--for control of the child, code-named Jennifer Quantum. Apollo was severely beaten in the course of the battle. After the battle, the Commander raped Apollo. Consequently, the Midnighter gored the Commander with a jackhammer.

When the Authority battled a renegade Doctor, a powerful shaman who usurped the powers of the Authority's Doctor and ends up regretting his crimes and repenting, Apollo fries him to a crisp with his eye-beams.

When Seth Cowie defeated and captured the entire team (minus Midnighter), Apollo is depowered and kept on board the Authority's Carrier which is then used by the G-7 nation's Authority. The Authority's replacement are, in reality, government lapdogs and are cruel, homicidal and masochistic. Apollo is used as a punching bag by two of the villains, Teuton and Last Call, who are his and Midnighter's replacements respectively. Teuton almost rapes him before the Midnighter appears and shoots Apollo's assailant through the back of his skull. Apollo himself then fries the head off of Midnighter's replacement and later does the same to The Machine, who had taken the powers of Apollo's friend the Engineer. After having killing the G7 Authority and the miserable defeat of Seth Cowie, Apollo and Midnighter were married and adopted Jenny Quantum.^[1] From this point on, Apollo is referred to as The Midnighter's husband, and vice versa.

Apollo participated in the beating of Kevin Hawkins, an SAS agent and rampant homophobe. Apollo had forgiven Kev for actually killing the Authority in the past but this was one step too far.

Human on the Inside

The U.S. President orders an assault on The Authority which results in doubts, depression, and human foibles overcoming them. The Midnighter kisses another man, but when he confesses this to Apollo, Apollo becomes enraged and strikes him, sending The Midnighter through a wall. This is the first time that Apollo and The Midnighter have become physically violent with each other.

Coup D'Etat & Revolution

Following a deadly mistake by US leaders, Authority team leader Jack Hawksmoor decided that the time has come to remove the US executive branch and run the country their way. The takeover goes smoothly, but the occupation does not go as planned. Shadowy forces intervene to destroy the Authority and put corporate interests back in power.

During this Apollo and Midnighter are then sent to raid the base of Stormwatch: Team Achilles, but they find it booby-trapped. After narrowly escaping with their lives, their next mission is to eliminate the US military's super-human training camp. Midnighter returns with the declaration that the program was "Not so special."

The Midnighter receives a revelation about the future which compels him to leave The Authority, permanently. He leaves Apollo and Jenny Quantum without an explanation and returns to the underground. Following a humiliating nuclear incident in Washington, DC, Hawksmoor resigns as President of the US and announces elections. The Authority disbands. From 2005 to 2008, Apollo raises Jenny alone in San Francisco, under the watchful eye of the US Government.

When Jenny is eight years old, a series of events propels her to take matters into her own hands and rebuild the team. She causes herself to jump in age to fourteen years, precipitating a verbal confrontation with her father, Apollo. With Apollo's support, she sets about to round up the surviving members of The Authority, including The Midnighter. In a painful moment between Jenny, Apollo, and Midnighter, Jenny tells Midnighter that she is "the product of a broken home."

In the battle that follows, Henry Bendix reveals that he has gained control over The Midnighter through a Trojan Horse strategy which delivered nanites into Midnighter's body. The Midnighter then fights Apollo and Jenny. Midnighter tells Apollo that he must kill him if he gets the chance, but Apollo refuses. Midnighter, with the aid of a device stolen from Dr. Krigstein's laboratory, defeats Apollo in battle, but Jenny is able to engage Midnighter long enough so that the Engineer can remove the mind-control implants and restore Midnighter.

Worldstorm

Apollo (along with Midnighter and Jenny Quantum) battles Captain Atom and his allies (notably Grifter) in a attempt to stop the destruction of the Wildstorm universe. He kills Grifter in the battle by incinerating his head, but he is later killed by Captain Atom in retaliation. Though after Void recreates the Wildstorm universe, Apollo lived on.

Utopian

While recharging himself and is taken down by U.S. Military forces during his attempt to aid injured people in Afghanistan.

World's End

During the events of World's End, Apollo is separated from Midnighter and the rest of the Authority when a thick layer of smog covers the Earth, preventing sunlight from reaching the surface. Apollo was forced to remain in the photosphere to absorb the radiation he needs to survive, visiting the surface in brief periods to help the team. While on the surface, environmental conditions sap his powers, giving him a gaunt appearance and limiting his ability to fight.

He's later infected by the Warhol Fever, a super power-inducing virus, that evolves and becomes sentient by incubating in his body. Claiming to be "The Burn", the virus overrides his mind and attempts to escape into The Bleed. The Authority was forced to put Apollo in suspended animation, frozen and in an anaerobic room to keep the infection from spreading.^[2]

When Kaizen Gamorra and his forces attacked the Carrier and stole its technologies, Apollo was released into Gamorra Tower from the rest of Gamorra island, causing pure havoc. Apollo confronted Kaizen and kills him by incinerating his head. Apollo was sealed inside Gamorra Tower and the entire building was dropped into the Norwegian Trench so The Burn will go dormant in the cold environment.^[3]

Apollo was later subsequently cured of his infection after Midnighter traveled to Scotland where he stopped a mad Habib bin Hassan and was given an apple by Gaia Rothstein that cleansed Apollo's infection. The two couple finally embraced after a long time.^[4] He and his husband later decided to stay on Earth after the Carrier left the planet, subsequently separating from the Authority, as Apollo's life is depended on Earth's sun. Both Apollo and Midnighter then helped the heroes of Earth in battling the Knights of Khera, in which Apollo fought the Majestic-level Sebastian and beaten when the Kheran warlord punched him to a un-sunlit Wales.^[5] Fortunately, he was teleported out of Wales by Stormwatch technician Link over five miles above the North Pole where he was fully recharged and able to destroy the Kheran's terraforming machines.^[6]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Solar Absorption: Like Superman, Apollo's powers are dependent on the Sun. Unlike Superman however, his powers are far more directly dependent on the sun. Whereas Superman's abilities are somewhat more 'internal', needing only exposure or access to sunlight to activate, Apollo's body behaves much more directly like a battery, which discharges and recharges. His body was altered to store and convert solar energy to power his abilities, which disappear or weaken if his solar reserves are low. Conversely, his powers also increase the more energy he has absorbed.

Nigh-Invulnerability: He has walked and survived in the Sun without any sign of discomfort and has been able to easily enter a lava flow to deactivate a volcano.

Healing: Though commonly invulnerable to mostly all attacks Apollo can be injured by depletion of his solar energy reserves. While he is still durable he is susceptible to physical damage. When presented with solar energy his wounds heal within a matter of minutes if not seconds normally.

Laser Vision: His eyes are constructed to concentrate solar energy into laser like blasts, literally concentrated sunlight. The limit of his Laser Vision has not been discovered but it is so powerful that he has scorched the entire surface of the Moon without any effort.

Solar Energy Blasts: Apollo can also release his solar energy from other parts of his body (hands, mouth, etc) or in an omni-directional flare, but these moves are somewhat taxing.

Flight: He can fly as well. He has been shown to easily cross the entire globe in less than 30 Seconds.

Self-Sustenance: He can survive in anaerobic environments indefinitely (he flies in space, even all the way to the moon and into deep space), by the simple method of not breathing, as his body is entirely sustained by his solar energy. He also does not require food or drink, though he apparently enjoys both.

Superhuman Strength: Apollo has vast level os superhuman strength and has been described a number of times as a Majestic-Class superhuman, meaning that his powers rival those of Mr. Majestic, or are at least similarly beyond the frame of reference of most humans and superhumans.

Superhuman Speed

Superhuman Stamina

Abilities

Expert Combatant

Weaknesses

Solar Depletion: Apollo can drain himself through overuse of his powers since living on the Carrier does not provide him with a constant exposure to solar energy. However, even when drained he will be able to fly(barely) after 20 seconds in direct sunlight, though it would take him 2 hours to be at full charge. This can be somewhat circumvented by transporting (using the Carrier's 'Door' system) into close proximity to the sun. This is in contrast to Superman, who can never "run out" of power. He may weaken, but it's in the same vein as an athlete who has exhausted himself, rather than a car that has literally no fuel left to function. He is still nearly invulnerable, and very strong. Apollo will die if he completely depletes his solar stores, and his strength/resilience drop accordingly when weakened to the point where he's essentially normal. It has been seen that his power can be easily depleted when he is blocked off from solar energy when it has no way at all to reach him and he expends energy. The signs of this are he becomes increasingly withered and aged.

Paraphernalia

Transportation

Photosphere of Earth, formerly The Carrier

Trivia

Apollo is gay and married to The Midnighter and is the adoptive father of Jenny Quantum
Apollo is the confidant to the Engineer, like his relationship with Jenny Sparks. He would tease her, calling her his 'fag hag'.

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 | Identity                = Secret
 | Affiliation             = [[The Authority]] formerly [[Stormwatch Zero]]
-| Relatives               = [[Midnighter (Earth-50)|Midnighter]] (husband), [[Jennifer Quarx (Earth-50)|Jenny Quantum]] (adoptive daughter)
+| Relatives               = [[Midnighter (Earth-50)|Midnighter]] (wife), [[Jennifer Quarx (Earth-50)|Jenny Quantum]] (adoptive daughter)
 | Universe                = Earth-50
 | BaseOfOperations        = [[The Carrier]]