Azrael Takes a Shocking New Form as Gotham’s Old Testament Angel

Beyond being gorgeously terrifying, this new angelic form indicates the beginning of a new era for Jean-Paul Valley and Azrael the Avenging Angel.

Warning: SPOILERS for Sword of Azrael #5At last Azrael has revealed his true form as Jean-Paul Valley finally accepts his role as Gotham’s Avenging Angel. For his entire history, Jean-Paul has resisted Azrael’s conditioning, believing himself to be separate from the Angel’s personality. All that has changed, and readers finally see the terrifying combined form of both Azrael and Jean-Paul Valley.

Despite a competitive field, Azrael is truly one of Gotham’s strangest characters. Created in the 1990s as a temporary replacement for Batman, Azrael is the alternate and violent personality of the otherwise peaceful Jean-Paul Valley. Azrael, who believes himself to be an avenging angel of the Christian God, is a product of the religious conditioning perpetrated by the fictional Order of St. Dumas. The Order specializes in creating a long line of Azraels (and other “angel” personalities) throughout history. In recent issues of Sword of Azrael, not only has Azrael encountered more of these conditioned angels, he has also discovered that his origins may be a product of Apokoliptan technology rather than religion.

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Long before this Darkseid-related revelation, Jean-Paul struggled with his relationship to Azrael, always believing himself to be separate from the angel and his violence. All that changes when Jean-Paul accepts that he and Azrael are one being in Sword of Azrael #5 by Dan Watters, Pablo M. Collar, Nikola Cizmesija, Marissa Louise, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. When he admits that he, as Jean-Paul Valley, has “always” been Azrael, readers are shown his true angelic form in a glowing splash page. Many red wings sprout from Jean-Paul’s back. His skin is practically gold, and human eyes bloom across his body, including one large blue eye bursting from his chest. Despite all this, he is (importantly) in the shape of a man: Jean-Paul meets Azrael the angel.

Azrael’s New Form Is the Start of a New Age for Jean-Paul

Beyond being gorgeously terrifying, this new angelic form indicates the beginning of a new era for Jean-Paul Valley and Azrael. By accepting that he and the Azrael personality are, in fact, one being, Jean-Paul has claimed Azrael’s actions—in all of their violence—as his own. Jean-Paul’s confidence could have terrifying consequences for his enemies. His clear mind combined with Azrael’s zealousness and violence spell danger for anyone who gets in this single being’s way. Now that they’ve truly merged, nothing can stop Azrael.

As this Sword of Azrael miniseries draws to a close, Azrael’s new clarity will certainly mean triumph over his current enemies, all of whom are connected to his own origins through the Order of St. Dumas and the Knights Templar. What this new status quo for Jean-Paul and Azrael will mean for Gotham and the Batman family of characters is yet to be seen, but the violence and death that trail Azrael—especially with his newfound confidence—won’t likely be welcome in Batman’s city.

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Check out Sword of Azrael #5, available now from DC Comics!