In the harsh, unforgiving desert of ancient Egypt, ruled by Rama-Tut, a band of nomadic raiders found an infant, gray-skinned and freakish in appearance, abandoned by the settlers of Akkaba. The nomads took the child for their own, giving him the name En Sabah Nur, “The First One,” and teaching him to be "strong" in order to survive the desert as a child. This idea, that "the strong will survive," would shape Apocalypse's actions throughout time.

When En Sabah Nur was an adult, he was captured with his nomadic clan and forced into slave labor under the Grand Vizier Ozymandias. He quickly became a rebel and was even killed by agents of Ozymandias, only to be revived soon after due to his mutant powers. Believing himself "strong" and blessed, En Sabah Nur discovered Rama Tut’s technology underneath Egypt, and soon destroyed the Egyptian rulers around him and twisted Ozymandias into the being he is today.