| Azrael | |
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Cover to Batman: Sword of Azrael #1 (1992). Art by Joe Quesada and Kevin Nowlan. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | As Azrael: Batman: Sword of Azrael #1 (October 1992) As Batman: Batman #498 (August 1993) |
| Created by | Denny O'Neil Joe Quesada |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Jean-Paul Valley Jr. Michael Washington Lane |
| Team affiliations | Sacred Order of Saint Dumas Batman Family Black Lantern Corps |
| Notable aliases | Batman |
| Abilities | Special armored costume. Artificially enhanced physiology, combat skills and intelligence. Computer expert |
Azrael is the name of several fictional characters in the DC Comics universe. They are a group of assassins who were created by The Order of St. Dumas to "enforce god's will". The name is from the traditional Islamic Angel of Death.
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The character first appeared in the series Batman: Sword of Azrael, as Jean-Paul Valley, in 1992.
He then became a supporting character in the monthly Batman titles, eventually taking over the role of Batman through the Knightfall, Knightquest, and KnightsEnd story arcs.
The subsequent Azrael series, chronicling Valley's battles against the Order of St. Dumas, ran for 100 issues between 1995 and 2003. Starting with issue #47, it was retitled Azrael: Agent of the Bat in an attempt to boost sales by tying the series in with the rest of the Batman mythos, including Azrael as part of the team of Batman, Robin, and the new Batgirl (Cassandra Cain).
Michael Lane is the next Azrael introduced as part of the Battle for the Cowl storyline in a three-issue mini-series written by Fabian Nicieza.[1][2]
Jean-Paul Valley, a university graduate student of computer science in Gotham City, is unaware that he is the latest in a line of assassin-enforcers for "The Sacred Order of Saint Dumas", a sinister religious secret society, and had received training and mental conditioning to prepare him for this role since before he was born. For most of his life, he has been brainwashed with "The System", a deep level of psychological conditioning.
Valley only learns of this upon the death of his father, who was also his predecessor, at which time his conditioning is activated and he is called upon to take up the mantle of Azrael. When he is sent by the Order to kill a weapons dealer, a rogue member of the Order who had turned against the others and killed his father, he crosses paths with Batman, also investigating the death of Valley's father. He works with Alfred Pennyworth to find the weapons dealer after he has captured Bruce Wayne, using the Batman costume to kill the other Order members. As Valley works with Alfred, demonstrating a detective's intuition in tracking Lehah's movements and later risking himself to rescue Bruce despite his traditional mission of vengeance, he is shown the error of his ways and decides to fight alongside Batman against the criminals of Gotham, rejecting his "birthright" and seeking Batman's help in breaking his conditioning to forge his own destiny.
His name is not revealed to Alfred and Bruce until the end of the story, at which point he claims it was his father's name too. However a later storyline in his solo series stated his father's name to be Ludovic Valley.[3]
Valley is given a job as a security guard at WayneTech headquarters, and also becomes an apprentice crimefighter alongside Batman and Robin, learning basic detective work.
Valley plays a pivotal role in the "Knightfall" story arc (1992–1994), in which he stands in as Batman after Bruce Wayne is defeated and paralyzed at the hands of Bane. Against Bruce Wayne's orders, Valley fights and defeats Bane, wearing an enhanced battle-armour he designed and built under the influence of the System. His performance as Batman is influenced by his Azrael conditioning; he grows increasingly violent, allowing the mass murderer Abattoir to fall to his death, thereby also allowing one of Abattoir's still-living hostages to die. Valley also has control problems with Tim Drake's partnership, which climax when Valley almost strangles him to death and bans him from the Batcave. He seals off the Batcave from Wayne Manor and the Drake property, and eschews working with Commissioner Gordon and the Gotham police.
Initially, Wayne is impressed enough with Valley's results to let him remain as Batman, but when Drake tells Wayne of Abattoir's death, he resolves to reclaim the Batman mantle. With his back repaired thanks to the sacrifice of Doctor Shondra Kinsolving, and his fighting instincts rehabilitated after lessons with Lady Shiva, Wayne goes after Valley to reclaim his identity. After a prolonged battle, stretching from a mobster's penthouse to Gotham Bridge before culminating in a final showdown in the Batcave, Valley is forced to remove his armour, subsequently departing Wayne Manor after acknowledging Bruce Wayne as the true Batman.[3]
Valley lives among the homeless population of Gotham for several weeks, befriending an alcoholic former psychiatrist named Brian.
Valley is sought out by Bruce Wayne who grants him money and resources to explore his origins. Along with Brian, he discovers the evil conspiracies within the order of St. Dumas, and they help a nun named Sister Lilhy escape. With the help of Ra's al Ghul he discovers that he is a genetically engineered test tube baby, and his genes have been spliced with those of animals.
He returns to Gotham for several crossover events, including Underworld Unleashed, Contagion, Legacy, and Cataclysm. He also discovers that his father's killer, Carlton LeHah, is still alive, and gains a new archenemy, Nicholas Scratch.
He also changes his costume considerably for a time, after being framed for murder by Scratch. Azrael returns to his original costume and battles supposed hallucinations that are supposed to represent both his father and St. Dumas himself. Toward the end of the series, Azrael is plagued by apparently supernatural occurrences in the form of possible miracles.
Azrael is seemingly killed in the series' final issue, shot with two specially-coated bullets while battling Scratch and LeHah. However, his body is never recovered.[3] His death went unconfirmed for several years. In Booster Gold (vol. 2) #10, a note can be seen written on time traveler Rip Hunter's chalk board reading "Jean-Paul Valley Lives!". In the following issue, another note says "Azrael comes and goes." Azrael appears in Blackest Night #4 (October 2009) as an undead member of the Black Lantern Corps; although at first it had not been confirmed whether it was Jean-Paul Valley or another Azrael (such as Ludovic Valley, who died in Gotham City). However, it was later revealed, in the index section of the Blackest Night tabloid vol.1, that it was in fact Jean-Paul.[4]
Jean-Paul Valley makes a cameo at Batman's funeral service in Neil Gaiman's 2009 story, Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?, a story which is metaphysical in nature.
In 2009, a mini-series titled Azrael: Death's Dark Knight[5] was produced as a tie-in to the Battle for the Cowl crossover event, with a later regular series.
The new Azrael is the Third "Ghost of Batman" to undergo Doctor Hurt's experiments; an African American ex-cop named Michael Washington Lane. He is approached by the Order of Purity to reclaim the mantle of Azrael after the Order of Dumas' latest Azrael went mad and killed an undercover police officer. On his first night as Azrael he fights Talia al Ghul and a new team of mercenaries led by Merlyn and Nightwing. After convincing Nightwing that he was not responsible for the murdered police officer, Nightwing persuades Talia to allow Michael to keep the Suit of Sorrows. In Batman And The Outsiders (vol. 2) #14, the character is displayed as a charming man who undergoes various purification rituals, overseen by the Order of Purity.[6] The character is currently active in Gotham City.
Valley is not the only Azrael in the DC Universe:
The source of Azrael's abilities is a post-hypnotic training regimen known as The System. The details of The System are never fully explained, but it is understood that training begins before birth and includes genetic modification, prenatal electric shock, and the use of apes as surrogate mothers. The end result is a human being who is inhumanly strong and fast and has a raging split personality triggered by the donning of the Azrael costume. The split personality is apparently coached to believe it is an actual Biblical angel of vengeance. His weapons include wrist-mounted swords which ignite flames and can also be launched from the gauntlets. Azrael also dons bullet- and flame-proof armor.
It is implied towards the middle of the series that all Azraels have been imparted with some form of The System, but that the training and genetic tampering have been updated and changed significantly in the Order's 500-year history. The System also somehow separates an Azrael's civilian identity from his powers, in that they are only super strong or super fast while in costume. However, towards the end of his life Jean-Paul was able to manifest these abilities while in his normal personality.
Azrael is also an expert with computers. When he was first introduced in Batman: Sword of Azrael #1, it was revealed that Jean-Paul was studying computer programming in college and during Knightquest he frequently dealt with Tim Drake's (then newly appointed as Robin) attempts to hack the Batcave's computer system successfully, once stating that Tim was overconfident in his abilities and that a far more experienced hacker now inhabited the cave.
Jean-Paul also trained as a detective when he was with Batman's team, although he also demonstrated some deductive ability during his early days as Azrael when working with Alfred and Nomez to track down Lehah and the captured Bruce.
Azrael's original costume consists of special red and gold armor. After becoming an "Agent of the Bat", he dons silver and black armor with a red cape and a stylized red bat symbol on the chest. Later on, he dons red armor with golden gauntlets, boots, shoulder pads and a blue cape. He sometimes carries a flaming sword, and also uses two retractable daggers hidden in the gauntlets of his costume. On page 71 of the updated edition of Batman: The Ultimate Guide to the Dark Knight, Scott Beatty implied that Azrael's changing costumes were reflections of the changes in Azrael's life from an agent of St. Dumas to an agent of the Batman to his own man.[3] The gauntlets were taken by Kate Spencer, the current Manhunter, and are used in her outfit.
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