Azrael is an antihero and superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Denny O'Neil and Joe Quesada and debuted in Batman: Sword of Azrael #1 (October 1992). Both the original version and subsequent version are typically Christian assassins and vigilantes with a profound connection to a secret religious order derived from the Knight Templars.
The original version of the character is Jean-Paul Valley Jr. a college student who discovers he is from a long hereditary line of assassins and enforcers of the Order of St. Dumas, an extremist sect of the Knight Templars who employs "Azraels" by manipulating and grooming them at a young age to silence dissent among their ranks and as field operatives for their agent. Ultimately rejecting their agenda and dogma, he instead joins alongside Batman as one of the "extended" members of the Batman Family, protecting Gotham City and dismantling the order. The character once also served briefly as Batman during the events of the Knightfall storyline as a more brutal substitute for Batman after his back was broken by Bane. He was also a member of the Justice League Odyssey.
While Valley serves as the primary incarnation, other versions of the character exist; in the character's comic book death prior to The New 52, Michael Lane served in the role of Azrael. An African-American and former Gotham City police officer, he is trained secretly to replace Batman and is approached by the Order of Purity, a less violent off-shoot of the Order of St. Dumas, and became his successor. In current continuities, they serve in the role concurrently.
Both Jean-Paul Valley and Michael Lane have appeared in associated DC media. Additionally, an original iteration of the character appears in the second season of Gotham, portrayed by James Frain.
Publication history Creation and development Writer Peter Milligan recounted about the creation of the character:
Quesada spoke on the design process of the character:
Publication in comic books The character first appeared in the 1992 four-issue miniseries Batman: Sword of Azrael as Jean-Paul Valley. He then became a supporting character in the monthly Batman titles, eventually taking over the role of BatmanManning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 260: "By Batman #500, the last chapter of the 'Knightfall' saga by writer Doug Moench and artist Jim Aparo and Mike Manley, Azrael was truly his own [version of] Batman". through the "Knightfall", "Knightquest", and "KnightsEnd" story arcs. One of its creators, Denny O'Neil, admitted to having difficulties with Azrael's transition from villain to hero: "If I'd known he was to become a monthly character, I might have set him up differently. The problem is that I had to turn a bad guy into a real hero, not just an anti-hero or lead. It's possible to do that, but it's difficult to retain the original characterization. You almost have to change his personality".
O'Neil characterized Azrael as contrasting to Batman: "Bruce is very aware of what he is and how that contributes to what he does. He is not moved by internal or external forces that he doesn't already understand. Jean-Paul, on the other hand, has virtually no idea who he really is. He is, in the worst possible way, ignorant. Think about it: he had a rotten childhood he can barely remember; conversely, Bruce remembers his childhood, which was, up until that one critical moment, a very happy and privileged one – all too well. So they are at extreme opposite ends of the psychological spectrum." The subsequent Azrael series, chronicling Valley's battles against the Order of St. Dumas, ran for 100 issues between 1995 and 2003. O'Neil modeled the series on Arthurian legends, comparing Azrael's quest to discover the truth about himself to the Holy Grail. Starting with issue #47, it was retitled to 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. Eventually, the character was killed off in the 100th issue of his series and would only make a handful of appearances in flashbacks and the Blackest Night storyline.
In 2007, Michael Lane was introduced as Azrael as part of the Battle for the Cowl, a storyline told in a three-issue miniseries format written by Fabian Nicieza."Batman: Battle for the Cowl - Enter Azrael", IGN, December 18, 2008"Fabian Nicieza Unleashes Azrael", Comic Book Resources, December 29, 2008 Over a decade after Valley's death, a re-invention of the character would emerge from Batman and Robin Eternal #10 in February 2016. The character would become a recurring character in several arcs of the Detective Comics title as part of the Gotham Knights team led by both Batman and Batwoman. In November 2018, Valley would also appear as a member of an incarnation of the Justice League team known as the Justice League Odyssey until its end in December 2020.
As part of the character's 30th anniversary, Valley is one of the characters featured in the Batman: Urban Legends title in late 2021 and early 2022. Subsequently, the character received a one-shot, Sword of Azrael: Dark Knight of the Soul and six-issue miniseries Sword of Azrael, which ran from late 2022 to early 2023.
Fictional character biography 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 Order of St. Dumas, a sinister religious secret society. For most of his life, he has been brainwashed by The System, a deep level of psychological conditioning.
Valley only learned of his new status upon the death of his father, who was also his predecessor, at which time his conditioning was activated and he was called upon to become Azrael. Batman: Sword of Azrael #1 When he was sent by the Order to kill weapons dealer Carlton LeHah, a rogue member of the Order who turned against the others and killed Valley's father, he crossed paths with Batman, who had been investigating the death. He worked with Alfred Pennyworth to find LeHah after he had captured Bruce Wayne, using the Batman costume to kill the other Order members. Valley worked 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. In doing so, he was shown the error of his ways and decided to fight alongside Batman against the criminals of Gotham, rejecting his "birthright" and seeking Batman's help in breaking his conditioning to forge his destiny. 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 (1993–1994), in which he stands in as Batman after Bruce Wayne is defeated and paralyzed by Bane. He decides that Bruce's tactics as Batman are obsolete and believes that he must fight criminals on their terms which makes him far more brutal and merciless, often even showing little regard for innocent bystanders. Against Bruce Wayne's orders, Valley fights and defeats Bane, wearing enhanced battle armor he designed and built under the influence of the System after he was narrowly defeated by Bane in their first confrontation. Batman #500 His performance as Batman is influenced by his Azrael conditioning. He grows increasingly violent and delusional, allowing the murderer Abattoir to fall to his death. Batman #508
Initially, Wayne is impressed enough with Valley to let him remain 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 psychic healer Shondra Kinsolving, Wayne confronts Valley to reclaim his identity. Valley refuses and attacks him, the confrontation eventually reaches its climax in the Batcave. Wayne knowing he cannot beat Jean Paul physically, tricks him into removing his armor, excluding his helmet, by leading him through one of the many tight caverns of the cave to the very spot where Bruce fell as a child, and by removing the plank that Wayne's father had installed, exposes Valley to bright sunlight, which snaps him out of his delusional state. Acknowledging Bruce Wayne as the true Batman, Valley apologizes and asks for his forgiveness, which Wayne accepts. Valley eventually returns to Gotham, regaining Wayne's trust.
Azrael is seemingly killed after being shot with two specially-coated bullets while battling LeHah. However, Azrael's body is never recovered, and his death went unconfirmed for several years of publication history. Azrael is revived as a Black Lantern during the Blackest Night storyline, which confirms him to have died.
The New 52
In The New 52 (a reboot of DC's continuity), Jean-Paul Valley was reintroduced in an arc of Batman & Robin: Eternal. His design was updated, with his main weapon being his sword rather than gauntlets. His character, however, was essentially the same, working as an enforcer for the Order of St. Dumas. In the comic, he defeated Bane and eventually turned on his handler and the Order to assist Red Hood and Tim Drake.Batman and Robin: Eternal #9
Grayson: Spyral's End Azrael would make an appearance in the Grayson title in one of its annual issues as one of the few people to have encountered Agent 37 during their work, particularly in an incident where both Azrael and Agent 37 team up to stop the Order of St. Dumas from getting access to a mystical artifact able to have a direct communication line to people in Heaven. Azrael is revealed to have connections to the people of Khortamor, residing in a small village in Kahndaq. As Azrael and others are brought together by a "Jim Corrigan" looking to figure out the identity of Agent 37, Azrael's story along with others (John Constantine, Harley Quinn, and Simon Baz) allows them all to figure out his identity as Dick Grayson due to his personality. Corrigan is revealed to be a disguised Grayson using a technology called "Hypnos" and wipes their memory by using nanites he secretly gave to them during the meeting to preserve his secret.
DC Rebirth In 2016, DC Comics would have a re-launch coined DC Rebirth of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comics, the initiative aiming to restore the DC Universe and have more of its story elements and characters more similar to their pre-Flashpoint portrayals. Jean-Paul Valley's appearances would be limited to the Detective Comics ongoing title starting with issue #934, making a few cameo appearances before joining the roster fully in issue #943 as a reoccurring character in the Gotham Knights team, a group of Bat-Family members led by Batman and Batwoman with a stricter adherence to Batman's rules.
"Batman: Detective Comics: Deus Ex Machina (Rebirth)"