Azrael - Agent of the Bat

Azrael first appeared in the Sword of Azrael miniseries which also featured Batman. That was way back in October 1992 almost six years ago. From this miniseries Azrael was presented as a new hero who saves the Batman's life. Also from this miniseries Azrael moved into the Batbooks where he was trained to fight crime by Robin and Batman. He became a major player in the Knightfall, Knightquest, and Knightsend crossovers which engulfed the Batbooks, and in which Azrael -- or Jean Paul Valley -- proceeded to be given the mantle of the bat. During his time as the Batman, Jean Paul recreated the Batman costume and persona. Instead of a vigilante who struck fear into criminals by his appearance Jean Paul created fear by physical violence which led him down a path of madness, a path where he let Abattoir die. Because of these deaths caused by the new Batman, Bruce Wayne decided to strip Azrael of his title as Batman. After losing the mantle of the bat Jean Paul was sent on a quest to find his identity by Batman. That was the beginning of the current Azrael series (began in February 1995).

After that brief history, lets get to the point at hand. DC is changing the name of the Azrael title from just "Azrael" to "Azrael - Agent of the Bat." I'm here to discuss the whys, hows, and wheres of this name change. Why is the name being changed? What could the change mean? Where will the book head storyline-wise after the change? I as an avid Azrael fan have followed him since the afore mentioned miniseries to the series right now, and I have loved the character and the current monthly series since the very first book. I await what could change for Azrael and the direction of his book eagerly, though know that this ranting is only my opinion of what could happen to the book (I have no facts to back them up.).

Firstly the reason for the name change: it could simply be just a financial reason. It is known that Azrael does not sell as much copies as other bat-related comics such as Robin or Catwoman, so by changing the name to AGENT OF THE BAT they could be simply just be trying to get in some new readers by giving the impression that the book is more related to Batman, and that regular Batman readers should take up this comic because it has something to do with Batman. Now this a logical reason for the change as it will bring in more of a readership and make more money for DC. This may not be the reason for the change in title as it could have more to do with story direction and the change could be more to do with Azrael taking up a new position in relation to the bat books. He could change to an operative of Batman's, hence the word AGENT in the title. There have been name changes before in DC comics to illustrate an change in storyline such as in the comic Deathstroke when Deathstroke was being hunted as an outlaw the title of the book changed from Deathstroke the Terminator to Deathstroke the Hunted. That was not a permanent change and the same could be true for Azrael. Those are the two main reasons that I can think of that may have caused the name of the book to be changed (if any of you readers can think of any others you're welcome to e-mail me with them at the address provided at the bottom of this forum.)

Now, I don't know if it has been announced what issue the name will be changed in since I'm always the last one to know everything (that happens a lot when you live in Ireland.). If it hasn't been announced yet, the change will probably take place in the fiftieth issue of the monthly which will no doubt be a extra sized issue which probably include some startling development or happening which will result in the name change. We can only guess what the change could be such as Jean Paul having to choose between BATMAN and his crusade to fight crime or sister Lilhy and her goal to re-establish the destroyed Order of Saint Dumas which spawned Azrael. If this was the case we would know what he would choose by the name of the title change. This is only a guess of what could happen. Another could be that Batman finally chooses to take Jean Paul's help in fighting crime as a result of the fact of the increased crime rate attributed to Gotham's quake. These are only guesses of what could happen, and there are many variations of the scenarios mentioned above or completely different ones.

The wheres of my rant are mainly where will the book go from the name change? Where will the story go? If the name change is not just financial then the book is heading in a different direction than it has been to this point. By changing the book so it has more to do with Batman they would have to take the story in a different direction. Currently Azrael has been wandering the Americas without a mission or an objective. When the series started he had an objective to discover himself, to find out more about his childhood, and try to control the system which controlled him. But this mission became more lost with each passing month. His quest would be touched on every so often, such as the Angel in Hiding storyline or the three Dark Forces issues, but this storyline became stale and unexciting, and it was often left for more exciting and fast storylines such as the Fall of Saint Dumas , and small storylines such as the Hitman One Off or Angel Insane story . By changing the name of the book they may change Azrael objectives he may be given missions by Batman which would give the book direction so that Azrael would not have to search the globe looking to discover himself or trying to find out if he is an angel or not. Although interesting as this story is it doesn't give the Azrael stories much excitement. By working with Batman or for him they could develop an Oracle, Black Canary relationship in which the two work together to get a common goal.

Also this change was hinted way back in Azrael Annual 2 in which the story was told from the future of the events of today. You'd have to have the annual to understand the story. Anyway, the annual foretold many of the stories which have past by us. In the annual Azrael meets the Joker, and the Joker brings forth an beast to attack Azrael. This has happened in Azrael issue numbers 27 & 28. Then the annual tells of Azrael meeting Alfred and been told about the Bane beast by Alfred which happened in Azrael 36. Then the annual tells of how he beats the beast as it happened in Azrael 39, and finally it tells how Azrael joins with the Batman to become one....which could represent the past when Azrael became Batman in the Knightfall storyline or what I believe in that it tells us how Batman and Azrael must join to be stronger. The annual also foretold the destruction of the Order of Saint Dumas and how Lilhy may lead Azrael to Hell or Paradise. All this was mentioned in the annual and my idea from the annual is reflected by the fact that Barry Kitson way back in issue twenty said in the letter column, "I think you'll find that the story gives some fun slants on Azrael's past as well as some nifty foreshadowing of his future. It's full of the neat allusions and distorted story reflections that the monthly book aims to contain."

Well, I've ranted for long enough, so I would invite you to write to me and tell me some of the storylines you think the change of name might spawn, anything else to do with Azrael, or anything I've said in this rant. E-mail me at airving@indigo.ie.

Column by Paul Irving with help from Cillian o' Brien

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NOTE: The opinions expressed within the column are not necessarily the view of DC FANZINE or any of the staff. DC FANZINE and related indicia copyright © 1998 DC FANZINE. DC FANZINE Logo TM and Copyright © 1998 DC FANZINE. All Rights Reserved.