| Azreal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Series | DC Comics |
| Age | Unknown |
| Birthday | Unknown |
| Sex | Male |
| Species | Unknown |
| Height | 6'2" |
| Weight | 210 lbs (95kg) |
| Alignment | Neutral Good |
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Azreal is a superhero from DC Comics.
Background[]
If you were to look at Jean-Paul Valley, you wouldn’t expect much to be going on with him, a computer science student who by all means seemed to be heading for a good life, nothing exceptional, but good!
And then everything started to change when his father, quite literally, showed up and died on his doorstep in a suit of armor (or, in his dormitory, point is he pulled up dead). Enter the Order of St. Dumas, a cult with questionable means of justice. As it turns out, Jean was made into a fighter since his very early life, and even was a test tube baby prepared for this exact purpose for when the day came. After his father's death, the Order immediately decided to have Jean become the next Bringer of Death, Azrael. They unlocked the System within him to allow his prowess as a fighter, and killer, to skyrocket exponentially… at the cost of the bloodlust that came with it.
However, despite having the skills of a killer, and the System being brutal to put it lightly, Jean is a good man at heart. This resulted in Jean even managing to save Batman when he got captured, causing Azrael to ally with the Batfamily, and work within Gotham as another member of the iconic team! Despite Jean-Paul’s new status and what he had to fight against, things were going good!
When Batman’s back was broken by Bane, Azrael took up the mantle of the Caped Crusader. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as successful as one would think. While Azrael was almost on par with the Batman as a warrior, his method of fighting came with brutality, a slowly descending mental state, and the System’s influence growing to make him want to dispense not justice, but wrath. It came to a head, as he let someone, willingly, fall to their death. Azrael had gone from a protector and a worthy successor to Batman, to a madman crusader of vengeance. This inevitably caused Bruce, once he had recovered, to confront and defeat Azrael, taking the mantle of Batman back.
Beaten both back to his senses and out of the Azbat suit, Jean was lost, without a purpose, and without a home and suit. That was until Batman sought him out again, funded him, gave him the Azrael suit again, and granted him the opportunity to learn about himself and the Order of St. Dumas so he could figure out who he really was.
After bouncing around, meeting Ra's al Ghul, killing a fake Azrael, learning he’s a test tube baby that temporarily drove him insane (wait what-), and getting better after saving someone, being a guardian angel, saving Gotham from a pandemic, and surviving a erupting volcano on a island that was burning down after the System temporarily got its own body (wait double what-), he finally managed to destroy the Order of St. Dumas, preventing anyone from being spawned like him again. After that, Azrael ended up wandering around for the most part in terms of what his focus was. He dealt with a conspiracy rock star who was forming a cult to destroy Gotham, arrested Bane, helped Gotham rebuild after the cataclysm, and met a second Azrael who he was forced to kill, Azrael finally found somewhere to relatively settle down, a nice castle-like structure outside of the town Ossaville, where he had more episodic “villain of the issue” adventures.
Of course, after all this bouncing around and vengeance the Angel of Death brought, a man can make enemies. Enemies that would do anything to see a man killed. It all accumulated in one fateful night where two of Azrael’s greatest enemies, and one of his former allies in the destruction of St. Dumas, shot Azrael twice and tackled him off a towering building to his death. Fighting till the end, Jean was unable to know peace from the constant desire for war that the System brought, but perhaps in the afterlife, he’ll maybe, finally, know true peace from the strife.
…Or at least, that’s one way his story can end, as there is a happier one that occurs for our dear Angel of Death, thanks to the reboot known as the Flashpoint bringing him back! With the reboot reviving Azrael, he was put in a far better position in life than he was prior, though that much should be a given since there was borderline nowhere to go but up. He had camaraderie with Batwing, a place in the Batfamily, and in general a far better life than the one he had been given before (he had a weird experience being controlled by Darkseid once, but that was brief, was weird though).
He even ended up learning more about the System thanks to a chance encounter with another individual who had the System implanted in their mind, Brielle Arnier, AKA the angel Sariel. This encounter with another like him led him to reflect and communicate with the System more to learn about the System's origins, and to learn the fact that it was born from a Motherbox! This knowledge ended up shaking the System itself in confidence, as it no longer was truly a creation of God, forcing both Jean-Paul and the System to come to terms with each other. Jean-Paul admitted he was not innocent in the war Azrael had waged, and that he cannot blame it all on the System. And the System, even if it was never an Angel of God, still has a purpose.
Azrael would then stop Sariel from using the same Motherbox used to create the System in order to awaken the System in all those who have it dormant. He’d do so not by overpowering her, but by pleading with her and getting through to her about the fact that while both of them have endured and caused great pain in the name of striking down those they deemed unholy, it doesn’t have to be that way, and that they can become something better. With this, they convinced Sariel in a moment of hesitation and a swift motion, to destroy the Motherbox. Azrael had stopped her without striking her down. He had changed, and rather than an Angel of Death, it would be more apt to describe Azrael now as an Angel of Mercy. One who will spare those who can still see the light and be pulled away from the darkness.
Though watch out. While Azrael may be an Angel of Mercy, if you dare to threaten those he cares for, the innocent, and those who cannot protect themselves, Mercy may become Death yet again, and may God help you when the flaming wrath of Jean-Paul Valley descends upon you.
Powers & Abilities[]
- Genetic Enhancement: Raised in a test tube and put through various DNA experimentation in his fetal state, Jean-Paul's physiology allows him enhanced strength, speed and reflexes and even durability.
- Accelerated Healing:
- Enhanced Senses:
- Enhanced Durability:
- Enhanced Strength: Jean-Paul’s strength is enhanced to beyond normal human levels.
- Enhanced Stamina: Jean-Paul’s stamina is enhanced to beyond normal human levels.
- Enhanced Speed:
- Enhanced Reflexes:
- "Wrath of God": Proclaimed as the "Wrath of God", Jean-Paul possesses an empathetic-related ability to invokes awe and visions in the mind of his victims by touching them.
- Acrobatics:
- Computer Operation: Jean-Paul Valley studied Computer Programming at Gotham University.
- Hand-to-Hand Combat: Mental programming from The System has led Azrael to become a vastly above-average hand-to-hand fighter. While not on the same skill-level as Batman, he has proven himself more than capable of handling most physical threats. This was mainly due to that fact that his full combat potential was limited by his easily exploited Mental Illness. Batman has asserted in the past that if not for this factor, Azrael could become a better fighter than him.
- Intimidation:
- Investigation:
- Multilingualism: Thanks to the System, Jean-Paul is able to understand foreign languages.
- Mechanical Aptitude: Thanks to the system, Jean-Paul could design and create objects from scratch, as his batsuit.
- Swordsmanship: Jean-Paul is an expert swordsman.
- Swimming: Jean-Paul proved to be an excellent swimmer, crossing a turbulent river.
- Artistry: Bruce Wayne noted the talent of the artist from Jean-Paul.
- Medicine: He learned a lot while working with Dr. Leslie Thompkins.
- Meditation:
Equipment[]
- Suit of Sorrows: An advanced piece of armor that harbors an AI that identifies the weak points in enemies.
- Flight: The new suit redesigned by Batwing now gives the user the ability to fly through technological means.
- Murasame: A flaming sword crafted within the forge of the secret city of Gnosis.
- Battle Gauntlets:
- Projectile Blades: The blades telescope to the sleeves of the gauntlets and remain attached to prevent loss.
- Flaming Sword: A fire module on the base of the gauntlets feed fuel for the blades to ignite.
- Flamethrower:
- The Angel's Wrath: The Gauntlets were designed by Harold Allnut and allowed Azrael to shoot compact blasts of fire from his hands. These fire blasts were declared by Harold to be non-leathal, only incapacitating adversaries.
- Dagger: A knife on his scabbard-strap.
Feats[]
Strength[]
- Stronger than anyone in the bat-family.
- Defeated Bane on three separate occasions...
- ...and fought Deathstroke draw in a sword fight.
- Flipped a car while underwater
- Sent Nightwing flying with a hit
- Knocked Bane into a coma
- Hurt Geo-Force with a strike
- Threw Batman around like a stuffed toy
- Knocked out Nightwing with a goddamn microwave
- And knocked out Huntress with a freaking trash can
- Lifted large chunks of rubble (as seen above)
- Hello Chatted into a room
- Caught a punch from Bruce Wayne
- Batman says Azrael’s claws can slice through him like meat
- Broke a window
- Opened an elevator door
- Threw around a large statue like a baseball bat and tossed it away
- Crushed a wolf-creature’s head Omni-Man style
- Beat Calibex after he drained multiple people
- Dragged a boat from the bottom of a shallow to the surface
- Flipped a Mall Santa into the air
- Pried open a jammed plane door without his costume
- Juggled 600 pounds suitless
- Broke out of stone that he was trapped in
- Sliced a snow vehicle in half
- Chopped through a stone slab
- Fended off and defeated Black Protocol with Lucas
- Fought Cassandra and Batwoman
- Sliced through a part of a truck
- Cut through a truck
- Punched a hole right through Ascalon
- When he was younger, overpowered and foot dived his teacher
- Stated he’s getting stronger, faster and possibly smarter
Speed[]
- Can perform the same types of fear takedowns as Batman where he can view bullets from the heckler & Koch hk416 move incredibly slow as well as dodge them.
- Dodged a sniper shot from behind
- Caught up to a moving vehicle in a single jump
- Dodged a laser
- Jumped Four stories in a single leap
- Avoided cloud to ground lightning
- Blitzed two League of Assassin… assassins, that are noted to be some of the best in the League by Ra's al Ghul
- Saved and shielded Cassandra and Mercy from a detonating Doll Bomb
- Notably, Azrael was able to protect them before either even tried getting out of the way
- Defeated multiple armed thugs in four seconds
- Deflected laser strikes
- Nightwing claimed Jean swims like a shark
- Was too fast for a machine’s aim sensors to track
- Caught two darts fired directly at him
- Jumped four stories in a single leap
- Was certain he could have outran a police car on foot
Durability[]
- Withstood hits from Bane can brush off his own explosive gel exploding in his face only with slight irritation and it should be comparable in power to Batman explosive gel.
- Withstood two of Batman’s best blows
- Survived this large explosion
- Regularly walks through gunfire
- Has withstood being electrocuted
- Including being literally struck by lightning
- Tanked Firefly blasting him with flames
- Blocked blows from a Venom enhanced Bird
- Survived a landmine without his suit, albeit was knocked out
- Got stabbed by a flaming sword, but was fine and pulled it out
- Took a punch from Red Hood
- Got kicked through a window
- Withstood an electrical attack from Bruce Wayne, though was knocked down
- Survived a stab to the back
- Took a hit from the Batwoman’s Batterang and Cassandra swinging Lucas’ helmet on him
- Survived getting blasted back by electricity
- Survived being slammed into the ground hard enough to form a small crater
- Survived being stabbed by the flaming sword and grasped it in his arms
- Withstood a stand barrage from The Satan
- Perfectly fine after being caught in a large explosion
Skill[]
- Defeated Anarky, Tally Man, Scarecrow, Clayface, Bane, Batman, Nightwing, Ascalon, The Angel Satan, Sariel
- Helped Gotham rebuild after the Cataclysm
- Made peace with the System
- Stopped the Templars
- Destroyed the Order of St. Dumas
- Stalemated Catwoman and Deathstroke
- Went for three/four days without sleep
- Temporarily took the mantle of Batman, twice!
Weaknesses[]
- Mental Illness: The Sacred Order of St. Dumas purposefully built an almost split-personality into Jean-Paul Valley. While the "normal" persona of Jean-Paul Valley was quite passive and mild mannered and had no seeming irregularities, the Azrael persona is much more ragingly violent, and believes itself to be the manifestation of an actual biblical angel of vengeance. Originally, he was only able to manifest his superhuman abilities while in the Azrael costume and mindset. Later in his career, although he was still plagued by inner demons, and often even hallucinations, he gained better control over his two conflicting personalities, including the ability to utilize Azrael's abilities while acting as Jean-Paul.
Fun Facts[]
- Azreal first came to being within the 1990s era. In his case being October 1992 when he first appeared as Azreal on Batman: Sword of Azrael Issue #1 and as Batman on Batman Issue #489 on February 1993.
- Azreal is directly inspired by Moon Knight from Marvel Comics.