While it may seem obvious that the main villain of a X-Men saga named the Age of Apocalypse would be Apocalypse himself, that actually isn’t the case as one comic issue makes it clear the big-bad of AoA isn’t who fans think.
The Age of Apocalypse is the splintered timeline of the Earth-616 universe. Contrary to popular belief, the Age of Apocalypse timeline isn’t an original universe within the Marvel Comics multiverse the same way the Ultimate Universe is designated Earth-1610. Sure, AoA earned the designated number of Earth-295, but it wasn’t formed upon the creation of the multiverse. Instead, AoA came to be after alterations were made to Earth-616’s timestream following the events of Legion Quest. In the Legion Quest storyline, the son of Charles Xavier, Legion, traveled back in time to kill Magneto as he was trying to make the world a better place by eliminating this constant thorn in the X-Men’s side. However, Legion attacked his father, Xavier, instead and accidentally killed him, thereby erasing himself from existence and throwing the world into chaos. With no one around to stop him, Apocalypse launched his assault on the world and effectively conquered most of the planet, with what remained of humanity prominently on the chopping block.
In Gambit and the X-Ternals #2 by Fabian Nicieza and Tony Daniel, Gambit and his team of mutant outlaws were sent on a mission by X-Men leader, Magneto (as he formed the team in this timeline) to steal the M’kraan Crystal as that is the only way the heroes can reset the timeline, save Xavier’s life, and keep this terrible future from coming to pass. In this issue, Gambit and the X-Ternals have made it to the approximate location of the M’kraan Crystal where they are met by the full force of the Shi’ar Imperial Guard. The Shi’ar is a well-established intergalactic empire that is usually led by Charles Xavier’s close friend, Lilandra, after he and the X-Men fought alongside her to earn Lilandra the deserved-title of Emperor–making the Shi’ar the X-Men’s greatest ally in the cosmos. In this reality, however, the Shi’ar aren’t led by Lilandra as Charles Xavier wasn’t around to establish a psychic link with her, so the X-Men never helped her reclaim her throne. Therefore, the Emperor of the Shi’ar is still the man the X-Men fought against in the original Earth-616 reality: D’Ken.
D’Ken is the Greatest Villain of Age of Apocalypse, Not Apocalypse
D’Ken is Lilandra’s brother who ruled the Shi’ar with an iron fist and a ruthless desire for cosmic cruelty and planetary atrocities in the name of imperial expansion. Because of this, Lilandra was determined to win the throne away from him, and with the X-Men’s help in Earth-616, she was successful. Unfortunately, D’Ken murdered Lilandra in the Age of Apocalypse timeline, leaving him as the ruler of the Shi’ar Empire with no one around to stop him. The reason this is so terrifying is that, like Gambit and the X-Ternals, D’Ken is also aware of the universe-altering powers of the M’kraan Crystal, and he seeks it to reach his own sinister ends. Unfortunately, D’Ken has no way to control the M’kraan Crystal’s power–meaning his attempts at controlling it could very well lead to the end of existence itself.
Apocalypse is obviously the Earth’s biggest threat within the Age of Apocalypse as he threw the planet into a state of violence and fear, but on a cosmic level, En Sabah Nur isn’t even a blip on the villainous radar whereas D’Ken (a villain who wouldn’t be in power if not for the changes within the AoA timeline) threatens all existence–proving that Apocalypse isn’t the greatest villain of X-Men’s Age of Apocalypse timeline, D’Ken is.
