(Marvel Apes I#3/3) - Colobbus and the X-Apes joined a large force of assembled heroes, including Iron Mandrill, Captain America and the New Mutants, to oppose the Beyonder. Their coordinated assault pushed the Beyonder to the brink, and Iron Mandrill eventually unleashed a powerful energy blast that helped tip the battle, leading to the Beyonder's defeat.
(Marvel Apes I#2/1 - BTS) - Colobbus and the X-Apes became part of the Outcasts, which emerged as a loose resistance within the simian world, formed by super-powered apes who had learned a truth most refused to face, the heroic Captain America was no patriot at all, but a powerful über-vampire (secretly the undead Baron Blood in disguise). The Outcasts saw the danger and united in secret to oppose the growing corruption within their world's heroes, operating from the Sanctum Sanctorum, the former home of the late Doctor Strange, their sanctuary was mystically concealed within a shared memory and could only be reached through the Monkey's Paw. To most simians, the Outcasts were little better than the criminals they opposed and were actively hunted by "Captain America's" Ape-Vengers.
(Marvel Apes I#2/1) - Colobbus was present at the Sanctum Sanctorum when Speedball brought Dr. Fiona Fitzhugh and the Gibbon of Earth-616 to their hidden refuge to safe them from "Captain America", the Fantastic Four and Ape-Vengers after being accused for killing Reed Richards.
Comments: Created by Karl Kesel.
Marvel Apes I#2 (September, 2008) called the X-Men of Earth-8101 the X-Apes, they were previously known as the X-Simians in a back-up feature from Marvel Apes I#1. Since "X-Apes" is what was used in the actual story itself we'll use that in the profile.
Both Marvel Apes I#2 (December, 2008) and Marvel Apes I#3 (December, 2008) included a Bonobo-Pen Bulletin letter page that established that several Marvel Apes variant covers at the time were part of their reality with fun little solicitations of those issues. In the Bonobo-Pen Bulletin letter page for Marvel Apes I#2 (December, 2008) Colobbus was mentioned in the solicitation for the Astonishing X-Simians#18 and in the Bonobo-Pen Bulletin letter page for Marvel Apes I#3 (December, 2008) for the Uncanny X-Simians#18 where he was called "Colobus".
Included in Colobbus's affiliations is Illyana Rasputin, but this requires some explanation. In the Secret Wars II backup feature, a female primate can be seen standing between Dazzler and Warlock. This unidentified strawberry-blonde girl caused confusion because her hairstyle and colors did not match any obvious New Mutant or X-character from the era being referenced. After comparing her across multiple panels and tracing the layout back to its source, John Byrne's final published cover of Secret Wars II, the same mystery character appears there as well. The key clue comes from Sal Buscema's unused pencils for the original Secret Wars II cover, which reveal that the figure was intended to be Magik. Byrne had directly reused Buscema's abandoned composition but misrepresented Illyana's hairstyle and coloring. The Marvel Apes artist then copied Byrne's finished cover exactly as it appeared, reproducing the same visual error. Once Buscema's original pencils resurfaced, the character's pose, placement, and silhouette aligned perfectly, confirming that the "mystery girl" is simply a miscolored Illyana Rasputin.
The Marvel Apes limited series (2008) was conceived as a playful companion to the earlier Marvel Zombies phenomenon. Following the unexpected commercial success of Zombies, Marvel looked to replicate the formula by reimagining its superheroes in another offbeat, high-concept alternate reality. Writer Karl Kesel, inspired by Silver Age whimsy and the classic "What If?" tradition, pitched a world where Marvel's heroes and villains were evolved primates rather than humans. The project was greenlit as a four-issue miniseries, launching with a tongue-in-cheek promotional campaign that leaned into its absurdity while still delivering a surprisingly dark, satirical storyline. The series spawned several tie-ins and one-shots, positioning the Ape-Verse as both a parody of and homage to Marvel's multiverse storytelling.
Earth-8101 is the main Marvel Apes reality, but there are three others as well:
- Earth-81218, possible future of Earth-8101 set in the year 2099.
- Earth-90543, monkey Speedball was send back to his world and branded a traitor by the Ape-Vengers. This was a bad dream of the Gibbon.
- Earth-95019, diverged from 8101 when zombies invaded their world. The reset button was eventually pushed on the original Earth-8101, preventing the divergence.
Profile by MarvellousLuke
CLARIFICATIONS:
Colobbus has no known connections to
- Colossus - the original character that this ape was based on--Giant-Size X-Men I#1
- or any other "Colossus" characters
Images: (without ads)
Marvel Apes I#3, p30, pan1 (main image)
Marvel Apes I#3, p32, pan1 (facing the Beyonder)
Marvel Apes I#2, p23, pan1 (part of the Outcasts)
Marvel Apes I#3, p30, pan1 / Secret Wars II cover / Sal Buscema's unused pencils of the Secret Wars II cover (Magik comparison)
Appearances:
Marvel Apes I#2/1 (November, 2008) - Karl Kesel (writer), Ramon Bachs (pencils, inks), Tom Brennan (editor)
Marvel Apes I#2/2 (November, 2008) - Flourn (writer, editor of Bonobo-Pen Bulletin)
Marvel Apes I#3/2 (December, 2008) - Flourn (writer, editor of Bonobo-Pen Bulletin)
Marvel Apes I#3/3 (December, 2008) - Tom Peyer (writer), Mike McKone (pencils), Andy Lanning, Cam Smith (inkers), Stephen Wacker, Tom Brennan (editors)
First Posted: 11/19/2025
Last Updated: 11/19/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
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