Azrael’s New Origin Ties Gotham’s Most Brutal Hero To Darkseid | Pretty Reel

Warning: SPOILERS for Sword of Azrael #4 One of Gotham’s most tortured heroes, Azrael, has a new origin, and it ties him directly to Darkseid. While the two characters may seem distant from each other, both literally and figuratively, Azrael’s updated origin reveals a shocking and undeniable connection to Darkseid and the New Gods of New Genesis. One Mother Box just changed everything Jean-Paul Valley thought he knew about himself.

He may not have cornered the angst and self-flagellation market, but Azrael the Avenging Angel is definitely one of Gotham’s most brutal characters. A product of ’90s DC Comics, this Batman replacement was previously believed to be the result of pure religious conditioning. Brainwashed by the radical Order of St. Dumas, Jean-Paul Valley transforms into the next in a long line of Azraels, a violent voice and personality who believes he must do the vengeful work of a Christian God. In the new Sword of Azrael miniseries, Valley (and Azrael) learns more about his ancient origins and the original Saint Dumas, who appears to have been in possession of a Mother Box, a technological marvel native to the New Genesis planets and Apokolips. . Apokolips, of course, is also home to the terrifying and power-hungry Darkseid, a frequent adversary of Superman and the Justice League.

The connection between the very first Azrael and Mother Box is revealed in Sword of Azrael #4 by Dan Watters, Nikola Cizmesija, Marissa Louise, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. The issue opens with a flashback – shared by Valley/Azrael – in which the reader sees the original Dumas confronting and killing a group of Templar saints. In the foreground rests a Mother Box emitting its distinctive “ping” sounds. Dumas, unaware of its extraterrestrial origin, calls the Mother Box an “angel maker”. Later in the issue, during a battle with another brainwashed “angel,” Valley himself says, “There never was a holy light. Not in us. Just some kind of alien technology…and the experiments of fanatics. »

Azrael’s Shocking Connection To Darkseid Changes Everything About Azrael’s Origin

The creators of this new miniseries have clearly constructed this reveal, as Azrael’s story has been revolving around him for some time to dig in and uncover this revised version of his story. Although not stated clearly, the implication of the Mother Box appearing in the hands of Dumas is that the original Azrael centuries ago was somehow created using the abilities of the Mother Box. It’s an exciting cosmological twist for Azrael, who was already one of Gotham’s weirdest heroes. Azrael has always been connected to a traditionally Christian God, and now he is connected to the New Gods of the Fourth World, including the tyrant Darkseid. The question remains though: can readers see Azrael as some kind of New God himself?

Azrael Now Knows He’s Closer To Darkseid Than God

Again, this is an exciting expansion of the world of Azrael and the true origins of the Angel system rooted in the mind of Jean-Paul Valley. Whether Darkseid and/or the other New Gods will appear in the final chapters of Sword of Azrael is not yet known, but Azrael’s connection to the Fourth World is now undeniable. Readers should be excited to see what Azrael finds out next, especially if it connects him even more to Darkseid.

Discover Sword of Azrael #4, available now from DC Comics!