North America was ground zero of Apocalypse's Empire. Manhattan was conquered by his forces and still lies in ruin. The skyline resembled charred matchsticks starkly jutting from a mist of billowing smoke and choking ash. Familiar landmarks such as the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building are horribly damaged. Rubble, trash, abandoned taxis and smoldering buses clutter the streets, while vermin run unchecked. Towering above all, symbolizing Apocalypse's complete domination, stands the imposing citadel that is the mad immortal's stronghold.

The eastern half of the continent, from Florida to the upper reaches of Canada, was under Apocalypse's direct control. The countryside, like New York City, was devastated. Shopping malls are now home to wild packs of dogs, the super highways are clogged with burned-out cars, and smoking human death camps known as 'breeding pens' pockmark the obliterated landscape.

Delegating his authority, Apocalypse had divided the western half of North America, now called 'The Badlands', and assigned it to the Four Horsemen, his chosen cadre. The northwest portion of the United States and a southern section of Canada were ruled by Holocaust, Apocalypse's most powerful henchman and alleged son. Mikhail Rasputin, brother of Generation Next's Colossus, controlled an equal portion of land adjoining to the east. The conniving Mr. Sinister held the Great Plains and an area of southern Canada where many breeding pens are found. The southwest region of the U.S. and a large portion of Mexico had fallen to the mysterious Abyss.

The once proud nation known as the United States, still scarred and bleeding from the ruthless power of Apocalypse and his Four Horsemen, has been butchered. The land of the free and the home of the brave is now the land of the hunted and the home of the scared.

The majority of Canada was not as heavily patrolled and is dotted with human hideouts. But the region has been heavily damaged; snow piles up unchecked, and packs of wolves roam the deserted cities. Across the northwest tip of North America, severing Canada from Alaska snakes the monstrous Wall of Apocalypse. Cutting across thousands of miles, this fence of death blocks the 'back door' human escape route, which runs across the Bering Straight into Asia.

Central America has been flooded, covered by leagues of churning sea. The southern half of South America was targeted by Apocalypse as a measure of 'genetic cleansing' and limited nuclear warheads, creating a Chernobyl-like wasteland of scorched earth, with mutated life forms and horrific radiation contamination, have pummeled much of it. The northern half is purportedly ruled by a cabal of super-powered humans under the control of Justin Hammer, but this has not been confirmed.

On an Antarctic peninsula, somewhere below the southern tip of South America, lies Avalon, the mutant haven. This hidden jungle land is the focus of much whispered speculation, yet has not been detected by Apocalypse. Those mutants in hiding here have constructed a small and primitive town. Home to prehistoric animals and vegetation, this pocket tropic is a true savage land.

Ringing North and South America, bisecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, stand the feared Perimeter Security Platforms. Spaced approximately 200 miles apart, these platforms resemble oilrigs from hell. Their purpose was to destroy anything attempting to enter or escape Apocalypse's empire. Following the fall of Apocalypse these platforms have remained silent, but it is unknown if they are completely disabled.

Free humans hold the continents of Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe. Compared to the Americas, they appear relatively untouched, but even these faraway lands have felt the cauterizing touch of Apocalypse.

France was completely wiped out. The country was once a receiving site for humans who were lucky enough to have escaped Apocalypse's empire, and was bombed ruthlessly; even Paris, the City of Lights, has been extinguished and lies under hundreds of feet of water. London has been fortified as the capital of the Human Council. Big Ben now overlooks a militarized zone whose crowded streets hum with rumors and paranoia. Muir Island, off the northern tip of Scotland, was the home to the monolithic sentinel processing plants. Moira MacTaggert, the island's previous occupant, constructed the plants there after she married the robots' creator, Bolivar Trask.

Wundagore Mountain, once rising out of the Slavic region, was believed to be no more. The site of Apocalypse and Magneto's second monumental battle, the mysterious mountain was completely obliterated, or so it seemed, but it has reappeared with the coming of the High Evolutionary. As a result of the massive explosion for which the Master of Magnetism was in part responsible, the Earth's electromagnetic field has been severely traumatized. The resulting chain reaction caused worldwide, global natural disasters: floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and wildfires that struck simultaneously. The world's weather patterns have been subsequently disrupted, triggering unprecedented occurrences of blizzards, heat waves, snowstorms and monsoons.

The southwest region of Africa has been transformed into the humans' military defense region. Sentinels patrolled Africa's southwest coast: behind the sentinel region are defense lines cut into the earth by the free humans. While these precautions are necessary, the activity unfortunately has further eroded the already sparse landscape.

Japan has also been bombed, by Apocalypse, into a radiated slag pile. Apocalypse targeted this island nation due to its developing economic system and growing population. Horrors like those that once befell Hiroshima and Nagasaki have now ravaged the entire country.

Taken as a whole, the planet Earth physically reflects the grim mood of despair, loss, and fear, which has consumed its population.

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