Nuclear Weapon Incident

The Nuclear Weapon Incident was a short yet pivotal event in the early 1980s.

Background

As Apocalypse gathers his Four Horsemen and gives them special armor, Magneto is contacted telepathically by Professor X through Cerebro. Apocalypse notices the communication, alerting him to the existence of Cerebro, which he considered to be extraordinary. Angel, Psylocke, and Storm, who are standing by, also become aware of this.

Incident

Apocalypse promptly uses his powers to take over Xavier's mind, and by extension Cerebro. Apocalypse began using it to harness the minds of military forces around the world to launch Earth's entire nuclear arsenal into space so it cannot be used against him, much to the confusion of governors who had no idea who was turning the keys or authorizing the launch. He also destroyed several submarines. As Mystique attempts to free Charles, Havok destroys Cerebro with his powers. Angered, Apocalypse and the horsemen teleported to the X-Mansion to kidnap Xavier.

Aftermath

Havok's attempt at attacking Apocalypse ends hitting a generator and causes a massive explosion that destroys the mansion, with everyone inside except for Havok only surviving due to Quicksilver's intervention. William Stryker identified X-Mansion as the origin of the mutation that caused the Nuclear Weapon Incident, leading him to kidnap Mystique, several students, and Moira MacTaggert to question them in spite of their truthful pleas of innocence.

Trivia

• The entire event is played to the sound of Ludwig van Beethoven's 7th Symphony, but to a remix marketed as "Beethoven Havok".