Wednesday, July 11, 2012

The Amazing Nightcrawler - Superhero



...most people were afraid of me. But I didn't hate them. I pitied them. Do you know why? Because most people will never know anything beyond what they see with their own two eyes.
- X2- X-Men United
Why? ‘Cause it’s comic-con. And he’s awesome, and German, and as far as I know, the only Catholic superhero. In any case, Kurt Wagner, AKA the Nightcrawler, is a very rare, positive, and accurate depiction of Catholicism in mainstream media.


Making his debut in 1975’s Giant X-Men #1, the Nightcrawler has BAMF'd his way through forty years of comics, three animated series, multiple video games, and a key role in a major motion picture. It all started when a shape-shifting mutant, Mystique, hooked up with an actual demon, Azazel (you may recognize him from X-Men: First Class). Since Nightcrawler's blue skin and pointy ears blew Mystique's cover as a non-mutant, she abandoned him to a river, where he was later picked up by a traveling circus.

Among the ranks of freaks and geeks he had somewhat of a safe haven despite his monstrous appearance, but as a mutant, he knew he would always be an outcast to the rest of the world (pitchforks and torches gave him that impression). Despite his demonic ancestry, he would go on to find solace in God, even living in a monastery for a time. His exemplary faith is so compelling that some of the X-Men (Storm, Jubilee, and even Wolverine) have to pause to contemplate his words. Below, a video that better illustrates his origin and his interesting effect on Wolverine:



Cutting through the twists, turns, and multiple histories typical of a comic character, Nightcrawler was later recruited to join the X-Men by Professor Xavier, whose mission it is to alleviate the majority population's fears of mutants by using their abilities for good. Nightcrawler's abilities include hyper agility, teleportation/inter-dimensional travel (BAMF!), and his feet allow him to walk on walls. He also has an awesome tail, is a prankster, and loves a good swashbuckling adventure.

More on Nightcrawler:
Watch X-Men The Animated Series on Netflix!

2 comments:

  1. Awesome post! Have you checked out this site? http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/comic_book_religion.html/

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