Apophis (Stargate)

Template:Stargate character In the science fiction television show Stargate SG-1, Apophis was a Goa'uld based on the god Apep of Egyptian mythology. Apophis first appeared in the pilot episode "Children of the Gods" and was the show's main antagonist and the principal enemy of SG-1 for most of the first four seasons. Apophis had all the standard characteristics of the Goa'uld, including arrogance, cruelty, and megalomania. He was also extremely lucky and very resourceful, having managed to escape what appeared to be certain death on several occasions. The character was portrayed by Peter Williams.

While all Goa'uld have a liking for war, Apophis was unusually militaristic; he has been seen to go on foot into battle or battle-like situations; his usual dress is not sumptuous cloth but rather a version of a Goa'uld military uniform, except with a gold rather than silver-gray color. The only other System Lord known to do this was Heru-ur.

Just as in Egyptian mythology, Apophis was the nemesis of Ra, the Supreme System Lord of the Goa'uld Empire; he is apparently also Ra's brother, a fact found in a rare version of the myths. When Daniel Jackson and Jack O'Neill killed Ra in the Stargate movie, they inadvertently increased Apophis' power and allowed him to launch attacks against both Earth and Abydos through the Stargate, though these also appeared to be host raids intended to find matured humans suitable as Goa'uld hosts. During these attacks, Apophis kidnapped Daniel's wife Sha're, who became the host of Apophis' queen Amonet, as well as Sha're's brother Skaara, who became host to his son, Klorel. SG-1's war against Apophis and their quest to find and rescue Sha're were one of the main focuses of the show in the first few seasons.

After several minor skirmishes between SG-1 and Apophis' forces, Apophis eventually launched an all-out attack on Earth with two motherships and an army of Jaffa. Earth's nuclear arsenal proved ineffective against Apophis' Goa'uld technology, but the attack was ultimately foiled by SG-1, resulting in the loss of Apophis' fleet and army. Apophis himself was thought to have perished along with his mothership, but in fact he had escaped at the last minute through the ship's onboard Stargate. However, the destroyed motherships and Jaffa represented a significant portion of Apophis' forces, and his standing amongst the other Goa'uld was severely weakened. He soon came under attack from the most powerful and evil Goa'uld, Sokar.

Sokar crushed Apophis' remaining forces and captured and tortured Apophis. He eventually managed to escape and fled from Sokar. After being pursued by Sokar's minions, he was found during an offworld mission of SG-1 after his deathglider crashed. Apophis demanded asylum from SG-1 and the Tau'ri, his greatest enemies, who (reluctantly) granted it to him. While he was in Earth custody as a prisoner of the SGC, each member of SG-1 had the opportunity to confront Apophis one-on-one as he lay on his deathbed. (Apophis' host, a young Egyptian scribe, also briefly reasserted himself, describing the torture of being forced to watch for thousands of years as Apophis used his body to commit unspeakable crimes.) Apophis eventually died from the injuries Sokar's torture inflicted on him, and his body was returned to Sokar, who promised not to destroy Earth. Sokar then revived Apophis through the use of a sarcophagus, in order to torture him for the rest of eternity.

Apophis became a prisoner on Sokar's prison moon Ne'tu, where his face was badly scarred. Through unknown means he was able to assume a new identity, going by the name Nao'nak, and he became the First Prime of Bynarr, the System Lord of Ne'tu. Apophis eventually managed to lead a rebellion on Ne'tu (on which SG-1 was also being held captive), during which he saved the life of Major Samantha Carter, only so he could later torture her for information. Once again, each member of SG-1 (except for Teal'c) had a one-on-one confrontation with Apophis, during which they were able to resist his torture and bravely declare their defiance against him. Using a drug known as the Blood of Sokar and the Tok'ra memory recalling device, he plunged SG-1 into some of their old memories, trying to find out their secrets such the IDC, the Asgard homeworld, how to get back to Earth and where the Harcesis child is.

Apophis eventually ringed up to Sokar's mothership, culminating in a face to face showdown between Apophis and Sokar. Apophis' actions combined with the efforts of SG-1 and the Tok'ra (who blew up the moon while Sokar was in orbit around it) managed to bring about the death of Sokar and the destruction of his mothership. Apophis was thought to have perished along with Sokar, but had managed to escape at the last moment by taking a Ring Transporter to Sokar's palace.

After the death of Sokar, Apophis gained control of Sokar's massive fleet and became the most powerful Goa'uld up to that time. He also adopted Sokar's style of dress, switching from his old Egyptian look to the more Satanic wardrobe favored by Sokar. He attacked and reclaimed Chulak, killed several other Goa'uld including his long-time rival (and nephew) Heru-ur, and was one step away from destroying the System Lords and conquering the galaxy when his fleet was incinerated by an artificial supernova created by SG-1 and the Tok'ra. Apophis once again managed to escape the destruction of his fleet, only to find himself confronted by an enemy even he couldn't survive: the great nemesis of the Asgard, the Replicators. The replicators overran Apophis' mothership and killed most of his Jaffa. Apophis attempted to seize SG-1's mothership with the aide of a captured and brainwashed Teal'c, but that ship was also taken over by the replicators, and Apophis could only watch helplessly as his remaining Jaffa were killed by the invading techno-bugs. SG-1 managed to sabotage the mothership, causing it to crash into a planet with both Apophis and the replicators onboard. The resulting explosion was massive enough to be seen from space. The last we ever see of Apophis, he was trapped at the helm of the ship, surrounded by replicators and unable to do anything except scream when he saw that his ship was about to collide with the planet. Even in death Apophis managed to strike one last blow against SG-1 in the form of his brainwashing of Teal'c, which lasted even after Apophis' death and required extreme measures to cure that almost cost Teal'c his life.

Trivia

While the near-Earth asteroid 99942 Apophis was ostensibly named after the Egyptian god, two of the three discoverers of the asteroid, Roy A. Tucker and David J. Tholen are reportedly fans of Stargate SG-1, and had the fictional character in mind while naming the asteroid. In 2004, 99942 Apophis was believed to be scheduled for impact with Earth in 2029. In spite of jokes by Stephen Colbert as recently as January 24, 2006, the asteroid has been determined to have an impact probability of less than 1 in 45,000 on April 13, 2036. NID Agent Malcolm Barrett's reference to an asteroid impact "in about 20 years" in "Smoke and Mirrors" has absolutely nothing to do with 99942 Apophis, as that episode aired in 2003; the asteroid was discovered a year later.

Like Daniel Jackson, Apophis had a tendancy to be presumed dead, when in fact he was still alive:

• Believed to have been killed when his motherships were destroyed orbiting Earth in "The Serpent's Lair". Later learned to have ringed aboard a mothership holding a Stargate in "Family".
• Actually died in "Serpent's Song". Later learned to have been revived by Sokar in "Jolinar's Memories."
• Believed to have been killed aboard Sokar's mothership when it was caught in the destruction of Ne'tu in "The Devil You Know". Later learned to have ringed to Delmak in "Maternal Instinct".
• Presumed to have died when his fleet was wiped out by Vorash's sun going supernova, but revealed to have jumped to hyperspace in "Exodus".
• Presumed dead when Replicators overran his mothership. Later revealed to have escaped with a small bodyguard in "Enemies".

Even after his final death, Jack O'Neill began to tell Teal'c that he was one hundred percent sure Apophis was dead, but stopped mid sentence to correct it to only ninety nine percent.