Clan Akkaba

Clan Akkaba
Clan Akkaba Symbol
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula #1 (April, 2006)
Created by	Frank Tieri Clayton Henry
In-story information
Type of organization	Religious Cult; Terrorist
Base(s)	Various
Leader(s)	Apocalypse
Agent(s)	Ozymandias Kabar Brashir Margaret Slade Hamilton Slade Frederick Slade Jack Starsmore Blink Chamber

Clan Akkaba is a fictional cult appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The cult appears in X-Men comic books and was created by Frank Tieri and Clayton Henry. Members of the cult are the descendants of the mutant supervillain Apocalypse and first appeared in the X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula miniseries.

History

Origins

The name Akkaba has its origins in the time of ancient Egypt, before the arrival of the time travelling Pharaoh Rama-Tut who would one day become Kang the Conqueror and Immortus. Akkaba was a small but promising lone settlement situated on the very edge of the Amentet and the Valley of the Kings. Its members were very superstitious and prided themselves on their culture, which they considered separate and distinct from the rest of Egypt. Their fear of the unknown proved to be their undoing as news spread throughout Egypt about a new Pharaoh who had fallen from the sky and seized control of the throne.

They took this as an ill omen and when one of them gave birth to a gray child with blue lines running across his lips and face, they quickly cast the child out who eventually become Apocalypse. Baal and the Sandstormers later massacred the entire village in search of the child bathing the city in blood. The only survivor was En Sabah Nur, the first one, so named by his new father Baal. ^[1]

Domination

When Apocalypse fully realized his power and defeated the Pharaoh and his army, Egypt entered a new age, one in which his children walked among them. Apocalypse forged his clan, Clan Akkaba, after his birthplace and those who had abandoned him and left him to die. During this time the site of Akkaba reached somewhat of a renaissance as great monuments were erected there.

At this point, the clan began forming customs, most notably living by the mentality of survival of the fittest. Members would deceive, betray and even kill their own kin to get closer to their leader, Apocalypse. ^[2] At Egypt's peak, the clan's influence of the world was similarly large. However, following the attacks by Alexander the Great and his Persian armies, the clan's sphere of influence moved onto Ancient Rome. ^[3]

19th century

Victorian Clan Akkaba.

For thousands of years, the group had the mission of safeguarding the legacies and mantras of their lord and ancestor. Once in the new world, they gathered many riches and placed themselves in notable and influential positions to better influence and control the world. As the clan grew, it evolved, holding true to its ‘survival of the fittest’ creed, they continued to battle and kill each other to gain Apocalypse's favor. They officially adopted the formally custom of marking themselves with a blood-red tattoo of their clan's sigil, the more powerful the individual member's level of mutant power, the larger the tattoo on their body. Although it is unknown what threats they faced early on in the new world, Margaret Slade, the eldest known Akkaba member at the time, noted that when she was a girl she witnessed Apocalypse cut a whole tribe of N’Gari demons to pieces. Still, the current chairman Kabar Brashir, who was roughly the age of her eldest son Hamilton, had witnessed the clan summon Apocalypse thirty-six years ago when he was a boy. At that time, the most prominent members of the council were Margaret Slade and her sons Hamilton and Frederick Slade, who were considered to be among the most powerful descendants of Apocalypse at that time. ^[4]

Dracula

Clan Akkaba vs. Dracula's vampires.

During the Victorian era the clan was set upon by Dracula and they were nearly exterminated. A string of mysterious murders started to take place surrounding members of the clan. When their leader Hamilton disappeared, they were left with no choice but to summon their lord. In 1897, they awoke Apocalypse in order to deal with the threat of Dracula, who unbeknownst to the members of the clan, was turning members into vampires in order to battle Apocalypse. Dracula sought revenge for his earlier defeat and the way the Dark Lord previously shamed him. As punishment for being weak in requesting a boon from him, Apocalypse killed one of the members of the Akkaba.

The ensuing battle saw the massacre and extermination of all members of Clan Akkaba except Jack Starsmore and Frederick Slade and their disbandment by decree of Apocalypse. With help from Apocalypse and Abraham Van Helsing they manage to kill Dracula, although the master vampire would frequently return and suffer many more deaths. The continuation of the Akkaba line is secured by Ozymandias through Frederick Slade having a child with a woman referred to as Miss Ferguson. Ozymandias, realizing an opportunity to get revenge on Apocalypse, secretly plans to reshape the clan in his image for use against his lord eventually.

Re-Birth

The New Clan Akkaba

The new clan Akkaba assembled in modern times under Ozymandias and an elderly Fredrick Slade. This new clan has also revealed that Chamber is a member of their bloodline being a descendant of Jack Starsmore. While the Starsmore family never forgot about Apocalypse, Chamber rejected their offer of membership. ^[5]

The Apocalypse Solution

Deadpool, whom Warren Worthington had been paying to search for Clan Akkaba, finds a Celestial ship buried underground where the clan kills one of their own during a ritual. Deadpool ends up caught but not before the rest of X-Force are alerted. X-Force is able to rescue Deadpool and defeat the savage creature that attacked him but the temple itself makes a temporal jump forcing the team to retreat. Warren then comments that the creature they defeated was War and not only was the Clan trying to resurrect Apocalypse, but they had also revived his final horsemen. Later it is revealed that Apocalypse has been revived as a young boy and was being taken care of by the Clan Akkaba's members themselves. ^[6]

The clan was teaching him that X-Men are tricking mutants into being locked away, telling them it's for their own good. He is told that the X-Men are tyrants and Apocalypse is the savior. That the worshipper of X (Uncanny X-Force) will come to kill him because he threatens their grip on power, and it is his birthright to usher in the salvation of homo superior by bringing about the Age of Apocalypse. When the X-Force came to kill Apocalypse, they were instead defeated by the final Horsemen of Apocalypse. Ozymandias told the young Apocalypse they should kill the X-Force, but the boy did not want to kill anyone, but Ozymandias ordered the horsemen to kill them. Apocalypse is then relocated into his chamber, but Psylocke managed to reach him, however after seeing that Apocalypse is a child now and has no idea about his former life she has no desire to kill him. But Archangel saw otherwise and wanted to kill the boy as he saw no rehabilitating could cleanse the nature of Apocalypse, and almost kills him but is unable to make himself finish the deal. The group agree to take the boy and train him only for Fantomex to kill him by shooting him between his eyes.

Dark Angel Saga

After the death of Apocalypse, the Death Seed in Warren has activated and he started his ascension to become the heir of Apocalypse as the Archangel persona takes control; due to this, he has taken control of the Clan. He and the Dark Beast traveled to Akkaba Metropolis, a large hidden underground city located underneath the North Pole, established at an unknown point in the past by the Clan Akkaba. After taking the Life Seed from the X-Force that was recurred from the Age of Apocalypse timeline and The World he used them to start a new evolution line in a location after making Genocide kill everyone in it. Seeing the result he wanted to do this to the entire planet so he, the clan and the mutants who sided with him would be seen as Gods for the new evolved creatures. He was seen in bed with Pestilence. When the plan failed and Angel was cured from the Death Seed, Dark Beast takes control of the clan under the instruction of Archangel and Pestilence is revealed to be pregnant from Archangel.

Later the Apocalypse Twins, the children of Archangel and Pestilence, travelled to the Metropolis and destroyed the city and almost decimated the Clan Akkaba in its entirety. ^[7]

Customs

• Survival of the Fittest

The creed 'Survival of the fittest' plays a fundamental role within the clan. Being deemed the fittest is a title worthy of great honor among the members as It signifies that the individual is the closest to Apocalypse in terms of power. The individual would also lead the group in Apocalypse's absence. Various tests and trials are to be undergone by a member who wishes to achieve this title, including battling any other member who questions the legitimacy of their position. ^[2]

• The Inner Council

The Inner Council is formed of the leaders and those showing talent or possessing enough of Apocalypse's blood to be next in line or challenge the fittest for their title. ^[8]

• Summoning

For threats that are perceived to precede the group's extinction, a summoning ritual is performed to summon Apocalypse. Consequently, the ritual requires the death of one of the Inner Council as the request for help naturally implied their weakness. ^[8]

• Secrecy

Marks from dead members' bodies that imply the existence of the group are removed. The group is never referred to and is assumed to not exist when outside of the clan house and outsiders are not invited. Violating these precautions entails a member's death. ^[4]

• Tattoos

Members are branded whether at birth or during early chlidhood. Either the amount of Apocalypse's blood found in the child's system, or the strength of the bloodline determines the size of the tattoo. An example would be Hamilton and Chamber, who both possess strong doses of Apocalypse's blood as the other murdered members in the 18th century have small tattoos. ^[9]

Powers and abilities

Each member possesses a degree of Apocalypse's shape-shifting ability. There are members that are shown to have developed abilities of their own such as fire-breathing (Jack Starsmore), spatial displacement (Blink, Frederick Slade), and even bio-blasts (Chamber).

References

1. The Rise of Apocalypse #1
2. X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula #3
3. X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #1
4. X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula #1-4
5. New Excalibur #9
6. Uncanny X-Force #1
7. Uncanny Avengers #8
8. X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula #2-3
9. X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula #1

External links

• Frank Tieri on Apocalypse vs Dracula and Clan Akkaba