Tag: Nightcrawler

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

X-Men vs. X-Men in X-Termination

 

X-Termination: Alpha #1 courtesy Marvel

       X-Termination Revealed!

  The teams Astonishing X-Men, X-Treme X-Men and Age of Apocalypse will clash in a major crossover in March 2013. Marjorie Liu, Grek Pak and David Lapham (writer of the three books) tell Marvel.com about the collision of X-Men from alternate realities. The talented trio is writing X-Termination Alpha #1 together before the story hits each title.

  “I think we each write our X-Family books from a non-standard perspective. We’re exploring areas outside of the usual X-Men dynamic. Alternate worlds, alternate takes on characters,” said Lapham, “I’ve never met either Marjorie or Greg before and what made this engaging are these story sessions, e-mails, and conference calls we’ve had to develop this crossover event. That has been enormously fun and engaging with everybody playing ideas off each other. I had never really done that, and was a bit wary about it. So far AGE OF APOCALYPSE has operated in its own space. But the plan always was once we established the AoA series to start to tie it to the regular Marvel Universe.”

  X-Termination: Alpha #1 will focus on the Age of Apocalypse Nightcrawler trying to get back to his own universe. As we’ve seen from Uncanny X-Force: The Final Execution this Kurt is ruthless and willing to betray his own teammates to achieve his goal.

   “It’s a cliché, but ever so true: Home is where the heart is. And AoA Nightcrawler’s heart is in another world. In fact, our world still doesn’t feel all that real to him. It’s not where he grew up, where he made friends, fell in love, and lost his love. All these people aren’t his people. And that lack of connection and empathy will prove to be incredibly dangerous,” said Liu.

Age of Apocalypse #13 courtesy Marvel

  “The AoA is Nightcrawler’s home. That’s where his family and friends are, that’s where he’s spent his whole life fighting Apocalypse and then Weapon Omega.  That’s what he was trying to liberate. Just because he leaves to another place and has an adventure doesn’t mean he turns his back on all that and says “this new universe is a lot safer and cushier. I think I’ll stay here while my loved ones suffer.

 We see that in the real world all the time, a political exile from another country comes to the safety of the United States only to return to fight in their homeland even at the price of their life. And with Nightcrawler it’s a step further; as much sympathy as he’s had for what he’s seen and done here in the Marvel Universe, he just can’t bring himself to feel it’s a completely real place. The Marvel Universe is some kind of dreamland. The AoA is real,” said Lapham.

“As far as the greatest damage he could cause. Well, that’s part of our crossover event…”

X-Treme X-Men #12 courtesy Marvel

“As I intimated back when we launched X-TREME X-MEN, eventually our story curls back around to the Marvel Universe. The stakes are huge—multiple realities are at risk, including our own, and something’s definitely gonna break,” said Pak.

 Age of Apocalypse #13 will serve as a prologue to the event. In that series – Wolverine of that reality is Apocalypse and Jean Grey is still alive. X-Treme X-Men #12 picks up the story. Pak’s book stars Dazzler (along with alternative reality versions of Emma Frost, Wolverine and Nightcrawler) on a mission to kill ten evil variations of Professor X.

  Logan has worked with the AoA Nightcrawler but in Astonishing X-Men other members of team meet this version of their beloved team member who died in Second Coming to save Hope.

  “None of them will have an easy time. Imagine your best friend died, and then you found him again, alive, except he has no memory of your friendship, lived a totally different life, and doesn’t want to have anything to do with you? That would hurt,” said Liu, “You might tell yourself it shouldn’t, that it all makes perfect sense, that this isn’t the same person you loved, but that wouldn’t really matter, would it?”

Astonishing X-Men #60

  When asked if we might see Wolverine vs. Wolverine?

  “There’s more than one Wolverine in the multiverse, and who is to say they will all get along?” teased Liu.

For more from the writers here’s the Marvel.com link.

By Editor

(All this Nightcrawler talk makes me miss the real Fuzzy Elf! I want him back – I don’t care how they explain it!)

This is where it all began: the original Age of Apocalypse still rocks.

 

 

Wolverine vs. Nightcrawler in X-Termination

courtesy Marvel

  X-Termination. Worlds Collide. March 2013.

  Looks like there might be unfinished business between Wolverine and the treacherous Nightcrawler from the Age of Apocalypse in this Marvel teaser!

  Before I give you my theory I feel like I must give you a:

 

SPOILER WARNING:

 

IF YOU HAVE NOT READ RECENT ISSUES OF UNCANNY X-FORCE YOU MAY NOT WANT TO READ THIS THEORY!

 

SERIOUSLY

 

OK HERE IT IS

 

Uncanny X-Force #33 courtesy Marvel

  The alternate dimension version of Kurt joined Logan’s Uncanny X-Force team. The AoA Nightcrawler was tracking down the AoA Blob who murdered Kurt’s wife.

  In The Final Execution storyline Wolverine’s team were trying to rescue Evan before the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (including the AoA Blob) could trigger the child into becoming Apocalypse.

  Kurt was manipulated by Mystique, stabbed Wolverine and betrayed the team to get his revenge on Blob. There’s only one more issue of Uncanny X-Force by Rick Remender. The book is relaunched with a new creative team and roster in 2013.

What does X-Termination mean?

1. Logan and the traitor will have a rematch in Rick Remender’s Uncanny Avengers storylines since Wolverine is a member?

2. More Age of Apocalypse characters will spill into our universe or vise-versa?

3. This AoA Kurt will get a fatal case of SNIKT from Wolverine and the real Nightcrawler will be brought back from the dead?

 4. There will be a new X-Terminators series in 2013 (or Uncanny X-Terminators?)

5. Since Age of Ultron is the big Marvel event (also in March 2013) I think this will be a crossover in the second-tier X-books.

I just want the real Fuzzy Elf back!

By Editor

 

Traitor Strikes Uncanny X-Force

 

Uncanny X-Force #33 courtesy Marvel

  This week is the finale of Rick Remender’s Final Execution in Uncanny X-Force #33. It’s been brutally violent, insanely ambitious and packed with “OH —-!” moments.  This may be Wolverine’s covert team but the incredible way Remender evolved Psylocke, Angel, Deadpool and Fantomex has been masterful.

   As Final Execution concludes it’s the manipulations of Mystique at her best (or should I say baddest?) and the Age of Apocalypse Nightcrawler that may seal the face of the team.

  This series has not been just about these dark heroes but about a child named Evan. A kid murdered, brought back as a clone, kidnapped and mentally tortured. This poor child is Apocalypse. The heroes of this series have shattered the lines of right and wrong and the story of Evan is the story of good and evil and can it be altered? Does a child destined to be a force of evil be changed?

  In the final chapter of The Final Execution in Uncanny X-Force #33 Logan’s team strikes back at the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in an effort to save Evan but they were betrayed by one of their own.

  Remender told Comic Book Resources he’s leaving the title with December’s Uncanny X-Force #35. The last chapter of Final Execution will be the series finale.

“There were a lot of different factors involved. It was a very tough decision to make and it came down to a conversation I had about it with Kieron Gillen about how long I would stay past this. He said, “Know when to get off the stage.” That’s something that we maybe overlook.

  I’m now doing “Uncanny Avengers” and “Captain America” and I realized that in order for me to do those and not want to blow my brains out, I might have to walk away from “Venom,” “Secret Avengers” and “Uncanny X-Force.” That was a bummer because I put so much into building them and getting the trains out of the station. I love all the characters, but that’s just the reality. With “X-Force,” I feel like this final story, which I’m very excited and have been building towards for a while now, pretty much wraps up everything we’ve been doing. It says everything I wanted to say about a kill squad while also really digging into the X-Universe that I loved so much as a kid growing up. So it really did come down to the fact that it was time to get off the stage.

  Hopefully, I’ll be able to stick a nice landing with “Final Execution” and people will really enjoy it, so the series will never have that part where it tapered and stopped being as good. That’s the upshot. You do your best work — and we all have — and then you wrap things up and walk away from it.”

 

By Editor

 

Nightcrawler: Warlord! From the Vaults

  I’m posting to you from Eastern North Carolina for the holidays where I’ve had time to dig into my comic vaults – those comics I couldn’t take with me to Seattle 13 years ago – but thankfully I have a Mom who understands what’s important to a good geek son so she packed them away carefully. Here’s a flashback I want to share.

  I still miss Kurt Wagner. Nightcrawler will always be my favorite X-Man. Kurt was born looking like a fearsome demon but with a gentle soul. I was moved by how some writers played upon the tragic irony of Kurt’s life. A caring man of faith hated and feared because of genetics he couldn’t control.

Excalibur #16 courtesy of Marvel.com

 My favorite Nightcrawler stories were when he was portrayed as a swashbuckling adventurer. Excalibur #16 featured Kurt Wagner, Warlord. Kurt was in fun form in sword battles with monstrous warriors and seductive encounters scantily clad princesses. This was Chapter Five on The Cross-Time Caper which found Excalibur swirling through multiple dimensions trying to find a way home. In this world – the Excalibur lost their powers and became sword wielding heroes right out of John Carter, Warlord of Mars. The team all has their moments but this issue was a showcase for the dashing, swashbuckling Kurt – including an encounter with a blue skinned beauty. Chris Claremont and Alan Davis partnership on Excalibur still remains a favorite of mine filled with action, fantasy, humor and one of my favorite portrayals of Nightcrawler.

Stay tuned for more From the Vault posts next week! Merry Christmas.