Apollo (comics)

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Apollo is a comic book superhero who first appeared in the Stormwatch series, but is best known for his role in The Authority. While visually distinct, Apollo is very much cast in the mold of the Superman archetype.

Apollo is notable for being one of the few gay superheroes in print. He's married to fellow The Authority member Midnighter and both have adopted Jenny Quantum.

Contents

1 Stormwatch
2 The Authority
3 Powers
4 External links

Stormwatch

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 The 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 after 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.

This story is available in the Stormwatch graphic novel A Finer World.

The Authority

Authority Vol 1

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 UN. Rather, for the first time, these were super-humans fighting for a finer world on their own initiative.

Apollo and Midnighter's relationship was revealed in The Authority # 8, written by Warren Ellis. For the portrayal of Apollo and Midnighter, The Authority received a GLAAD award.

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 is 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. In one of the more controversial scenes in the Millar run it is implied the beating is followed by a rape at the hands of The Commander, a villain who is himself a Captain America pastiche (The Authority #14). The rape is followed by a scene of revenge in which it is implied that The Midnighter gores The Commander with a jackhammer. This rape-revenge cycle was to be repeated in the Transfer of Power storyline.

Apollo and Midnighter were married and adopted Jenny at the end of Millar's run. From this point on, Apollo is referred to as The Midnighter's husband, and vice versa.

Authority Vol 2.

Apollo was mainly neglected as a character during this run, although the Engineer does reveal to Apollo that she once had sex with The Doctor, something she has never told her lover, Jack Hawksmoor.

This also marks the appearance of the infamous canopied four-poster bed. In the most intimate scene between Apollo and The Midnighter yet, the pair wake at dawn in their bed on the Carrier. Some fans found this scene objectionable, especially on account of the canopy.

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.

Authority: Coup D'Etat and Authority: Revolution

Following a deadly mistake by US leaders, Authority team leader Jack Hawksmoor decides 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.

In Authority: Coup D'Etat, Apollo and Midnighter are 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."

In Authority: Revolution, 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.

Powers

His powers include super-strength, flight, and near invulnerability (he has been able to enter a lava flow to deactivate a volcano). His eyes are constructed to concentrate solar energy into laser like blasts. Apollo can also release energy in a sort of omni-directional blast, but this move is taxing.

Like Superman, Apollo's powers are dependent on the Sun. His body was altered to store and convert solar energy to power his abilities, which disappear or weaken if his solar reserves are low. Inversely, his powers also increase the more energy he has absorbed. 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 operate after 20 seconds in direct sunlight, though it would take him 1 minute to be able to fly and 2 hours to be at full charge.

He can survive in anaerobic environments for a short period, by the simple method of not breathing.

Apollo has been described a number of times as a Majestic-Class superhuman.

External links

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