The next heir of Apocalypse has officially been revealed, and he used to be one of the most underrated mutant heroes of all time.

After months of sifting through the mutants gathered together to compete for Apocalypse’s favor, the ancient villain has finally settled on which of those he assembled will carry on his legacy. As seen in the pages of X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse #4, it is none other than Douglas Ramsey, better known as Cypher, who has claimed that title. Unfortunately, taking hold of it means undergoing a transformation unlike any Cypher has experienced before, and what emerges from that process is nothing less than a Revelation.

Written by STEVE FOXE Art by NETHO DIAZ Inks by SEAN PARSONS Colors by ALEX SINCLAIR Letters by VC’s CLAYTON COWLES Design by JAY BOWEN Main cover art by DOTUN AKANDE Variant cover art by PACO MEDINA & JESUS ABURTOV

Introduced in 1983’s New Mutants #13 by Chris Claremont and Sal Buscema, Doug Ramsey was born to a relatively well-to-do family. Doug’s father was even the attorney who helped Charles Xavier navigate many of the legal issues that came along with opening his iconic School for Gifted Youngsters. During the years that followed, Doug became close to several of Xavier’s superpowered students, though he never exhibited any mutations of his own.

Despite Doug’s seeming lack of any powers, Xavier became convinced that the boy was indeed a mutant like himself. As it turned out, Doug was very much a mutant, albeit one whose abilities were among the most passable anyone could imagine. Rather than undergoing any sort of physical transformation of wielding the kind of power that would instantly draw attention to himself, Doug was gifted with the power of omnilingualism, making him able to understand and communicate in any and every language as Cypher.

Prior to joining the New Mutants in any official capacity, Doug was instrumental in helping the team stave off what appeared to be a wanton attack. When his allies called on him for help, he used his abilities to communicate with the roving techno-organic mutant member of the alien Technarchy, Warlock. Soon enough, Doug and Warlock developed a nearly inseparable bond of their own, with the two becoming synonymous with one another as their shared story unfolded throughout more than four decades.

X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse #4 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.

Source: Marvel Comics