Jean-Paul Valley
| Azrael | |
|---|---|
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance |
As Azrael: Batman: Sword of Azrael #1 (October 1992) As Batman: Batman #489 (February 1993) |
| Created by |
Jean-Paul Valley: Denny O'Neil Joe Quesada Michael Washington Lane: Grant Morrison |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Jean-Paul Valley Jr. Michael Washington Lane |
| Team affiliations |
The Sacred Order of Saint Dumas Batman Family |
| Notable aliases | Batman |
| Abilities | Master strategist and tactician Rigorous military and police training Peak physical conditioning Skilled hand-to-hand combatant and martial artist Artificially enhanced physiology, intelligence, combat skills, and metabolism Suit of Sorrows armor grants superhuman strength and reflexes Sword of Sin "burns with the souls of the damned" |
Azrael is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. Azrael is a member of a group of assassins who were created by The Sacred Order of Saint Dumas.
The character first appeared in the 1992 series 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 Batman through the "Knightfall," "Knightquest," and "KnightsEnd" story arcs. One of the 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."
The subsequent Azrael series, chronicling Valley's battles against the Order of St. Dumas, ran for 100 issues between 1995 and 2003. 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.
Michael Lane is now the new main character of the series Azrael, introduced as part of the Battle for the Cowl, a new storyline told in a three-issue mini-series format written by Fabian Nicieza.
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 Sacred Order of Saint Dumas", a sinister religious secret society. For most of his life, he has been brainwashed with The System, a deep level of psychological conditioning.
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Wikipedia