X-MEN characters exist in the books and the animated shows and the live-action movies. In the books, their voices exist in our imaginations. In the various animated series and the movies, the characters live concretely in the voices of their actors. Everyone hears them the same. The current live-action movie guest-stars one of my favorite X-MEN characters: Apocalypse. The actor portraying him is among the great performers of our time, Oscar Isaac. He does a fine job. Yet, for me, and for millions of fans around the world, “our” Apocalypse will always possess the uncannily resonant voice of the late John Colicos. One of my great regrets while making X-MEN:TAS was never having a chance to meet John. This was not only because he contributed so much to our show. I was stunned to discover that he was my single favorite Star Trek villain, KOR (“koor”), the first Klingon commander ever portrayed. John’s performance as Kor was first broadcast 49 years ago. I’ve enjoyed it many times since, but it burned into my memory in one viewing. He promised to turn Mr. Spock’s mind into a “ve-ge-ta-ble,” and I never pronounced the word the same way again. On our series, he was the single most larger-than-life villain we had. John made Apocalypse’s ancient soul believable. He made a horrifically powerful villain vulnerable as he pondered the Sisyphean of his existence. He made us feel for him. (Oscar Isaac was quoted as saying he “Went to the cartoons for a deeper take on the character.”) So when we leave the theater after enjoying the craft of X-MEN: APOCALYPSE, let’s remember the man who made the character immortal.
