| Azazel | |
|---|---|
 Azazel | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Uncanny X-Men #428 (August 2003) |
| Created by | Chuck Austen Sean Phillips |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Mutant |
| Team affiliations | Hellfire Club Dark X-Men |
| Notable aliases | Satan Beelzebub Beliar |
| Abilities |
|
Azazel is asupervillain appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Created byChuck Austen and Sean Philips, the character first appeared inUncanny X-Men #428 (August 2003). He belongs to the subspecies of humans namedmutants, who are born with superhuman abilities. He is the father of theX-Men'sKiwi Black[1][2] and was originally the father ofNightcrawler as well until that was retconned in 2023.
The character was played byJason Flemyng in the filmX-Men: First Class (2011) and by Eduardo Gago Munoz in theMarvel Cinematic Universe filmDeadpool & Wolverine (2024).
Azazel's first appearance was inUncanny X-Men #428 (August 2003) during "The Draco" storyline, written byChuck Austen. The character's name comes fromAzazel, an angel from theBook of Enoch mentioned first at chapter 8 verse 1. His origin story was presented inThe Uncanny X-Men #433 (2004).
Azazel is said to be one of the oldestmutants, belonging to an ancient group of demonic mutants called the Neyaphem.[3][4] The Neyaphem were banished to the Brimstone Dimension by a group of angel-like mutants known as the Cheyarafim.[5][6][7] Due to his power of teleportation, Azazel is able to return to Earth for brief periods of time. His main scheme to return to Earth permanently is to impregnate women, as his children are linked to his dimension and he can use them to create a stable gateway between dimensions.[8][7][9] He meetsMystique inGermany, where she is married to a rich castle lord Christian Wagner.[10] Mystique is introduced to Azazel, whom Christian knew as a business partner. Mystique has an affair with Azazel and subsequently uses his genetic information, combined with her own, to impregnateDestiny. Destiny had had a vision of Azazel conquering Earth and sought to stop him by making him believe that he had a son.[11][12] Christian later discovers Mystique and Destiny together and is killed by Mystique. The villagers soon find out about Christian's murder and come after Mystique and her newborn sonKurt, who possesses a similar demonic appearance to Azazel.[13] Mystique escapes by transforming into one of the villagers and drops Kurt by a tree while she goes back to save Destiny. Kurt is taken in byMargali Szardos and comes to be known as Nightcrawler.[14][15][16]
Azazel's children, includingAbyss andKiwi Black, are called to sacrifice themselves to open a portal and bring his army to Earth. The X-Men go through the portal and confront Azazel, who torments them and makes them believe that he isSatan. In the end, the X-Men defeat Azazel and his army and banish him to an unknown oblivion. The X-Men escape along with Abyss and Kiwi Black.[17]
Mystique recruits Azazel to battleWilliam Stryker, who has been resurrected and begun using dark magic. Azazel is attacked by Weapon X-Force, but quickly overpowers the team and obliges the request because of the ties Mystique has with both him and Sabretooth, as she is the mother of the sons of both men (Azazel is the father of her son Nightcrawler, andSabretooth is the father of her sonGraydon Creed).
Azazel kills all of the members of Weapon X-Force, as they are all sinners who are already designated for eternal damnation. Due to all members of Weapon X-Force possessing regenerative self-healing, Azazel keeps them in suspended animation with the use of his teleportation abilities. Frozen in time, the team's souls are transported to Hell to complete the mission and returned to their bodies afterward.[18][19]
Azazel is eventually welcomed to the new mutant island ofKrakoa, created byProfessor X,Magneto, andMoira MacTaggert. He enters through the teleportation gateway alongside other villainous and fractious mutants, who are invited to join the nation to heal mutantdom and start over as a species.[20][21][22] Azazel later joins theDark X-Men, only to be killed by the "Bamf Dragon", an alternate universe version of Nightcrawler who was transformed into a demonic dragon-like form.[23]
Azazel is an immortal mutant.[24][25][26] He is able to transport himself and others through great distances.[27][18][28] He is able to project bolts of paralyzing energy, manipulate the minds of others, and change his appearance.[29] Azazel can also cast magic spells.[18][19]
Andre Young ofWhatCulture ranked Azazel 10th in their "10 Most Evil X-Men Villains" list.[5]CBR.com ranked Azazel 7th in their "10 Most Powerful Comic Book Villains With Demonic Origins" list,[30] 9th in their "X-Men: The 5 Deadliest Members Of The Hellfire Club (& The 5 Weakest)" list,[31] and 29th in their "Age Of Apocalypse: The 30 Strongest Characters In Marvel's Coolest Alternate World" list.[32]
An alternate universe version of Azazel from Earth-295 appears inAge of Apocalypse. This version is a member ofClan Akkaba and Weapon Omega's Minister of Death.[33][32]
A zombified alternate universe version of Azazel fromEarth-2149, also known as theRed Terror, appears inSecret Wars.[34]
Mystique reveals that she used Azazel's genetic code as the basis for her transformation, meaning that Nightcrawler does indeed share a genetic connection to Azazel even though the demon is not actually his father. This connection is no coincidence, as it's revealed that Destiny had a vision that Azazel would conquer the world if they didn't distract him by making him think he had a son, leading to the birth of Nightcrawler.
By the end of Dark X-Men Azazel has been murdered by a demonic version of his former "son" Nightcrawler, a fitting end for one of the vilest X-Men "heroes" to ever cross a comic panel.
