Apollo is a minor villain in the OVA crossover Cyborg 009 vs. Devilman. He appears in the prologue segment to the first episode.
Appearance[]
Apollo appears as a young cyborg teenager with bright red hair, arching red eyebrows, and golden amber eyes. His hair is in the shape of a flame, constantly rippling as if burning like fire.
As a Greek-themed cyborg, Apollo wears a short white chiton (tunic), a brown belt with a gold buckle, a dagger sheath at his left hip, a pair of dark brown gladiator sandals, a white ankle-length cape held by a gold brooch on his left shoulder, and two gold bracelets on both wrists with another pair on his upper left arm.
Personality[]
Like his manga and Cyborg Soldier incarnations, Apollo is arrogant and condescending, believing himself to be a god. He believes that humanity needs gods to save and guide them, and believes that anyone with power who doesn't aspire to be a god are "trash". He taunts Joe Shimamura about his limited abilities, wondering if he has any other abilities besides his Accelerator to rely on. He will not back down from a fight, and relentlessly escalates the battle, willing to go several hours while beating up Joe.
Apollo has some affection for his sister Helena, as he was completely taken aback when she threw herself in front of him to stop him from killing Joe, burning herself in the process. The distraction proves to be his downfall, as his concern for Helena prevented himself from escaping his fall into Magma Island's volcano.
History[]
Many years before the events of the OVA, Apollo and his sister Helena were unnamed human psychics (called "intentional mutants" in the prequel light novel adaptation) specifically born in a Canadian Black Ghost facility among the various test subjects overseen by Dr. Adams Teufel. The twins were eventually taken by Dr. Gaia and Dr. Uranus for the start of their Mythos Cyborg project; the scientists would grant them their mythological names, but also take away their memories of being ordinary humans.
After the 00 Cyborgs traveled to Magma Island to stop the Mythos Cyborgs, a battle ensued which left only Apollo and Helena undefeated. Apollo engaged Joe and the two cyborgs fought all across the island, while Joe's fellow 00 Cyborgs watched from the sidelines, too injured to be of aid. Apollo taunts Joe about his lesser fighting ability and inquires if he has other abilities that he has hidden, to which Joe replies that he has "nothing but courage".
Apollo and Joe's battle eventually takes them to the edge of an active volcano. Apollo calls the 00 Cyborg "trash" for not wanting to become a god and change the world. Joe resolves to keep fighting until Apollo is stopped, when Helena, who had been watching the fight, throws herself between them in an attempt to stop them. In doing so, Helena is severely burned by Apollo's flames.
Helena pleads for Apollo to stop fighting Joe. Apollo protests that he cannot stop as humanity needs a god to save them, but Helena, knowing Joe's compassion, tells her brother that Joe will be the one to save the world. Apollo's distraction proves to be his undoing when the spot he is standing on crumbles beneath his feet, causing him and Helena to fall into the volcano and into the molten lava below.
The volcano, shortly after this, erupts, causing Magma Island to be overcome and sink into the ocean while the 00 Cyborgs somberly look on.
Abilities[]
Apollo's incarnation in Cyborg 009 vs. Devilman retains possibly all of his abilities from his manga and Cyborg Soldier incarnations. Due to being a "mutant warrior", Apollo possesses psychic abilities, including the ability to levitate himself and control fire. He can control the form of his flames, either using heat blasts or firing hot lasers from his index fingers. Unlike Chang Changku of the 00 cyborgs, who has similar fire powers, Apollo can adjust the heat of his blasts, going up to 8,000 degrees. He also possesses an Accelerator and is a capable fighter. His larger choice of abilities almost helped him overpower Joe, his opponent, had Helena not intervened.
Apollo's psychic abilities, along with the revelation in the prequel light novel that Black Ghost had a large group of super-powered children (of which he and his sister Helena were members), foreshadows the explanation behind the cryokinetic ability of Abel, as well as Seth and his twin sister Eva's psychic abilities.
Trivia[]
- While most other characters had been cast with new actors, this OVA incarnation of the character was once more voiced by Akira Ishida (who had voiced Apollo in Cyborg Soldier).
- For the purpose of introducing the 00 cyborgs in the OVA, the entire "Mythos Cyborgs" plot was severely abridged, with Apollo only receiving brief characterization.
- As Helena and her sacrifice is meant to parallel the arc of Eva later on, Apollo serves as the foreshadowing and counterpart to Seth, though much less powerful and with no demonic angle. There are further parallels drawn in the light novel between Helena/Eva and Apollo/Seth, as the siblings of each pair seem close and agreeable with each other and have similar brainwave patterns. Seth's abilities and adrenaline level are also said to be much similar to that of Apollo, although in a self-destructive way that led into his coma.