X-Men: The Animated Series showrunner explains why Apocalypse doesn't work in live-action movies

"Apocalypse is like the ultimate Mutant bad guy," Larry Houston. If anyone on Earth is qualified to make this claim, it's probably Houston, who directed all 76 episodes of the original X-Men: The Animated Series and serves as executive producer of Marvel's follow-up show, X-Men '97. "When we did Apocalypse in 1992, we wanted to establish that this guy is so powerful and so unbeatable that the only way you defeat him is to out-think him," Houston says. "Because he had too many superpowers back then." Ahead of X-Men '97 season 2, which features Apocalypse as its primary villain, Polygon caught up with Houston and Eric Lewald (one of the Animated Series showrunners and an EP on '97) to discuss the return of the infamous "first Mutant," why he's the perfect antagonist for season 2, and why it's so hard to get Apocalypse right in live-action. In the Marvel universe, Apocalypse is the first-ever Mutant, born into slavery as En Sabah Nur in Ancient Egypt. His power is nothing short of complete control over his own body at an atomic level, giving him the ability to shapeshift, regenerate, and grow to a massive size. He also has super strength and is essentially immortal. Combine that with