PESTILENCE
Earth-13393

Real Name: Ichisumi

Identity/Class: Alternate Earth (Earth-13393, 3960 AC) human mutant, citizen of Japan

Occupation: Horseman, loyal follower of Apocalypse

Group Membership: Horsemen of Apocalypse (Death/Sanjar Javeed, Famine/Jeb Lee, War/Decimus Furius)

Affiliations: Apocalypse (En Sabah Nur), Cyber-Hounds, Ozymandias

Enemies: Clan Askani, Mother Askani (Rachel Summers), Nathan Summers of Earth-92131, X-Men of Earth-92131 (Cyclops/Scott Summers, Forge/Daniel, Jean Grey, Morph, Storm/Ororo Munroe, Wolverine/Logan)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Atlantic Basin, Earth-13393 (3960 AC)

First Appearance: X-Men '97: The Animated Series cartoon - "Days of Past Future" (June 1, 2026)

Powers/Abilities: Pestilence is a mutant capable of producing a vast swarm of nearly omnivorous yume beetles from within her body, releasing them through her mouth by dislocating her jaw. The beetles can rapidly devour and disfigure their victims and are psychically connected to Pestilence. After feeding, they return to her and transfer the thoughts and memories they absorbed from their victims.

Height: Unrevealed (5'6" by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed (115 lbs. by approximation)
Eyes: Black
Hair: Black

History:

(X-Men '97: the Animated Series cartoon - "Days of Past Future" - BTS) - Growing up in a dystopian world ruled by mutant supremacist Apocalypse, the mutant woman Ichisumi was chosen to become one of Apocalypse's Horsemen. After a painful process she became the Horseman Pestilence alongside a Famine, War and Death. However at the time Apocalypse was stuck in a regenerative state thus forcing Pestilence and the Horsemen to stand watch while he was left invulnerable to attack.

(X-Men '97: the Animated Series cartoon - "Days of Past Future") - <3960 A.D.> When Apocalypse's right hand man Ozymandias believed he'd found the perfect new vessel for Apocalypse he came to inform his master. Revealing that the Askani'son, Nathan Summer would be the vessel that would ensure he would never endure the pain of regeneration again, Apocalypse ordered Pestilence and the Horsemen to go with Ozymandias in search of the child.

    Ozymandias and the Horsemen went to locate Nathan Summers just as a group of X-Men had been flung through time by Mother Askani. Deciding to leave the X-Men to raise Nathan Summers in the dystopian future, Cyclops and Jean Grey took their child away from the Clan Askani. Now vulnerable to attack, Ozymandias first send a group of the Cyber-Hounds to counter the mutants before sending Pestilence and the Horsemen to attack Cyclops and Jean Grey. Unfamiliar with these Horseman, Pestilence and her partners easily gained the overhand and overpowered the senior X-Men and took them and Nathan prisoner aboard Apocalypse's slave train to deliver him to his citadel.

    Eventually managing to free themselves from their shackles, Jean Grey, Cyclops and Nathan Summers made their way to the front of the slave train where they once again faced Pestilence and the Horsemen. Their fight was suddenly interrupted by the arrival of the remaining time-lost X-Men who immediately engaged the villainous forces. Pestilence became caught in one of Storm's powerful attacks, seemingly taken out after which the slave train crashed into Apocalypse's citadel. With their defenses breached, Apocalypse, still stuck in his regenerative state, fled his citadel.

(X-Men '97: Strike Files I#2 - BTS) - When Mother Askani appeared before Nathan Summers in a dream he saw flashes of Pestilence and Apocalypse's Horsemen to remind him his philosophy was wrong.

Comments: Created by Rick Remender and Jerome Opena;
    adapted by Brian Ford Sullivan and Marvel Studios. (see Appearances list for full list of artists)

When, in 2015's Secret Wars, the Multiverse was destroyed following the incursions of planets it appeared as if Reality-92131 was drafted onto Battleworld as the Westchester domain. However, this has since been debunked. As such the reality seen in the two volumes of X-Men '92 (2015 and 2016-2017) now have their own reality-designation of Earth-15730. The X-Men '92: House of XCII (2022) series was inspired by both the animated series and Hickman's House of X run but is its own separate reality. The limited series X-Men '97 (2024), however, is Reality-92131 and bridges the gap between the original X-Men: The Animated Series cartoon and the new X-Men '97: The Animated Series cartoon.

Profile by MarvellousLuke

CLARIFICATIONS:
Pestilence has no known connections to

• PESTILENCE, the original this version was based on--Uncanny X-Force I#2
• or any other alternative Pestilence

images: (without ads)
X-Men '97: The Animated Series cartoon - "Days of Past Future" (main image)
X-Men '97: The Animated Series cartoon - "Days of Past Future" (powers)
X-Men '97: The Animated Series cartoon - "Days of Past Future" (defeated)

Appearances:
X-Men '97: The Animated Series cartoon - "Days of Past Future" (June 1, 2026) - Brian Ford Sullivan (writer), Emmett Yonemura (director), Ryan Meinerding (head of visual development and character design), Amelia Vidal (lead character designer), JB Ballard, Anthony Sellitti, Mariah Wilson (staff writers), Roger Oda (art director), David D. Au, Jay Baker (assistant directors), Naseer Pasha (animation lead), Jarret Ballard, Joseph Gonzales, Christopher Graybill, Hilda Karadsheh, Marisa Ledina, Anthony Martin, Russell McCoy, David Miller III (composite artists), Marty Walker (lead retake animator), Anise Borno, Fabian Corona, Allister Jones, William Justin King, Miles Lehman, Travis Lockhart, Chayadol Lomtong, Daisy Schofield (retake animators), Walter Kim, Derek Kosol, Mark Taihei (prop designers), Marvin Britt, Justin Brown, Sol Choi, Chase Conley, Tim Divar, Elsa Garagarza, Andrew Huerta, Lora Innes, Ibraheem Jara, Kathy J. Liu, Marvin Madrid, David Maximo, Doug Murphy, Chris Palmer (storyboard artists), Jordan Willis (storyboard revisionist), Marvel Studios (animation), Larry Houston, Eric Lewald, Julia Lewald, Beau DeMayo, Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt, Louis D'esposito, Kevin Feige, Brad Winderbaum (executive producer)
X-Men '97: Strike Files I#2 (July, 2026) - Steve Foxe (writer), Marcio Fiorito (pencils, inks), Martin Biro, Darren Shan (editors)

First Posted: 08/16/2026
Last Updated: 08/16/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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