Tag: Azazel

X-MEN Villain Resurrection

Spoiler Warning!

This post reveals the ending of Wolverine and the X-Men #23

Do NOT keep reading unless you read that issue!

Seriously!

OK

Here it is:

Wolverine and the X-Men #23 courtesy Marvel
Wolverine and the X-Men #23 courtesy Marvel

The finale of the Frankenstein Murder Circus arc ended with comeback of a villain I wasn’t expecting! Jason Aaron dropped a supernatural bombshell but has he been warning us of this old enemy’s  return since the first issue?

Frankenstein’s Monster and a witch named Calcabring made an unholy alliance to enchant the X-Men into becoming circus freaks and helping the monster track his prey – the young Bishop of the new Hellfire Club aka the last Frankenstien!

The X-Men ultimately defeated Frankenstein, the witch and their circus of zombie clowns! On the final page we learned the witch has been serving Azazel! The demon looking mutant daddy of Nightcrawler appeared to have magically transported into our world!

courtesy Marvel Comics
courtesy Marvel Comics

Who is Azazel?

In a storyline called The Draco (Uncanny X-Men #426 – #434) writer Chuck Austen revealed that Nightcrawler’s father was Azazel. This mutant from Biblical times was banished by Angels to a dark brimstone dimension. He was able to escape the dimension for brief periods of time and visited Earth to father several demon-looking mutant children. Azazel fathered Kurt Wagner with Mystique. The X-Men stopped Azazel’s plot to claim the Earth via his teleporting demon children and the villain went into character no man’s land.

Azazel (played by Jason Flemying) was part of Sebastian Shaw’s Hellfire Club in X-Men: First Class. Director Matthew Vaughn didn’t reference the Nightcrawler connection and turned the reviled character into a sinister on- screen smash.

Uncanny X-Men #434 courtesy Marvel
Uncanny X-Men #434 courtesy Marvel

It appears Azazel’s popularity from the last film has inspired a comic book comeback. One of the many running storylines since Wolverine and the X-Men launched is the bamfs running wild at The Jean Grey School. The tiny Nightcrawler looking creatures escaped to the school when Beast opened a portal to their dimension. The little gremlins have been making mischief as the school (like stealing Wolverine’s whisky) but have they been agents of Azazel all this time? Could this lead to the resurrection of the real Kurt Wagner aka Nightcrawler?

Here’s my review of Wolverine and the X-Men #23.

By Editor

Wolverine vs. Frankenstein

Wolverine and the X-Men #23 courtesy Marvel
Wolverine and the X-Men #23 courtesy Marvel

It’s Alive! It’s Allllliiiiiivvvvvvveee!

Those mad scientists behind Wolverine and the X-Men create a smashing finale to the Frankenstein’s Murder Circus arc! Jason Aaron and Nick Bradshaw pack Wolverine and the X-Men #23 with horror, humor, action, dramatic character development and one hell of a surprise ending!

A witch’s magic mind control turned the X-Men into circus freaks. Idie became unexpected allies with a member of the new Hellfire Club. Frankenstein was obsessed with killing the sadistic little brat. The mutants were facing zombie clowns! Yes, zombie clowns! Trust me, Aaron and Bradshaw make it work!

In The Last Frankenstein we learn the young villain’s monstrous past, see a glimpse of hope that he might be redeemed and a potential rattling in the status quo in the Hellfire Club. Maximillian Von Katzenelbogen isn’t the only teen who undergoes a big change in this chapter. The blossoming attraction between Idie and Quentin Quire takes an interesting turn. Is the smitten Kid Omega possibly changing his arrogant bad boy ways as Idie sinks deeper into the dark side?

Nick Bradshaw is an artistic madman conjuring zombie clowns, teen angst and a poptastic splash page of Wolverine and the X-Men ready to to drop the big top on the murder circus! Doop fans will LOVE this issue!

I enjoyed every frame then Aaron and Bradshaw and pull a bombshell for theie final magic act! The comeback of a forgotten villain that may be tied to a running gag since the series began. This issue shows yet again this is the X-book is the most mutant fun you can have and maybe the most fun you’ll have with a Marvel title!

By Editor