Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner) is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Universe. He has been associated with both the X-Men and Excalibur, originally appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum, he debuted in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975). During the "X-Men: Second Coming" storyline, Nightcrawler is killed in an attempt to save Hope Summers in X-Force #26 (April 2010).

A mutant, Nightcrawler possesses superhuman agility, the ability to teleport, invisibility in deep shadows, and adhesive hands and feet. His physical mutations include blue skin, two-toed feet and three-fingered hands, yellow eyes, and a prehensile tail. In Nightcrawler's earlier comic book appearances he is depicted as being a happy-go-lucky practical joker and teaser, and a fan of swashbuckling fiction. Nightcrawler is a German Catholic and while this is not emphasized as much in his earlier comic book appearances, in later depictions Nightcrawler is more vocal about his faith.

Since his inception, Nightcrawler has had a regular presence in Marvel-related comic books and video games. He has featured in a small number of the 1990s X-Men animated series episodes and was a regular on its successors, X-Men: Evolution and Wolverine and the X-Men. In 2003, he was a major character in the film X2, and was portrayed by Alan Cumming.

Nightcrawler is originally stated to be from a small village called Witzeldorf in the German state of Bavaria.^[1] In the X-Men animated series, it is said to be Neuherzl,^[2] and in the movie X2, he makes repeated references to his time in the Munich circus, though it is never explicitly specified from where he originated.

Publication history[link]

Co-creator Dave Cockrum originally designed Nightcrawler to be part of a group of characters called The Outsiders (not to be confused with the later team The Outsiders), set in the universe of DC Comics' Legion of Super-Heroes series.^[3] As Nightcrawler had been rejected by DC,^[4] when Cockrum started work on the new X-Men in 1975, he brought the character's costume design (and overall unusual look) over to Marvel.^[5]

Although an X-Men character for years, Nightcrawler did not get his own comic book title (written and drawn by Cockrum) until November 1985, when Nightcrawler, along with Lockheed, accidentally traveled to several alternate dimensions, meeting strange beings such as the Bamfs (the Bamfs originally appeared in a story fellow X-Man Kitty Pryde told Illyana as a bedtime story in X-Men #153). After various adventures, Nightcrawler and Lockheed managed to get home safely.

A second four-issue limited series appeared in November 2002. Written by Chris Kipiniak and penciled by Matthew Dow Smith, it focused upon Nightcrawler's decision to become a priest and his attempts to fight a group of slave traders.

In September 2004, the first Nightcrawler ongoing title book was published by Marvel. Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa with covers and pencils by Darick Robertson throughout the series duration, it featured the story arcs "The Devil Inside", "Ghosts On The Rails", "The Winding Way", and the final twelfth issue entitled "Happy Birthday, Kurt!". At the end of "The Winding Way", Nightcrawler came into possession of Magik's Soulsword, which was stored inside his body. The Soulsword has several magical properties such as dispelling and blocking magical effects, and severely damaging magic users (while passing through normal humans and mutants harmlessly).

The series followed Kurt through mystery stories of a supernatural nature. At the time, other X-Men subsidiary titles were steadily losing sales^{[citation needed]}, and the Nightcrawler title was placed on hiatus by Marvel in February 2005, following issue #6; it did not resume publishing until June of that year. Despite the efforts of the creative team with "The Winding Way" story arc to tie in the previous stories, delve into Nightcrawler's past, and involve other X-Men franchise characters, the series was canceled with issue twelve.

Fictional character biography[link]

Origin[link]

Kurt Wagner was born with certain unusual physical characteristics, but his power of self-teleportation did not emerge until puberty.^[6] Margali Szardos, a sorceress and gypsy queen, allegedly found Wagner an hour after his birth, in a small roadside shelter in the Bavarian Alps^{[citation needed]}. She claimed to have found his alleged father, Eric Wagner, dead of a heart attack on the road outside, and Kurt's mother lying next to the baby dying^{[citation needed]}. However, this claim was later called into question, and it was subsequently proven ^[7] that Kurt's mother is Mystique, also known as Raven Darkholme, and his father is the demonic warlord Azazel.^[8] Mystique revealed^[7] that she threw him into a well after a large mob found out about Nightcrawler's existence, and Azazel admitted^{[volume & issue needed]} that he secretly saved his son from the fall, giving him to his lover and crony, Margali Szardos, to raise him. Margali took the baby to the small Bavarian circus where she worked as a fortuneteller, as a cover for her activities as a sorceress. Wagner was never legally adopted by anyone^{[citation needed]}, but was raised by all the members of the circus, who had no prejudices against mutants. Margali acted as Wagner's unofficial foster mother.

Wagner grew up happily in the circus, and his two closest friends were Margali's natural children Stefan and Jimaine. Long before his teleportation power emerged, Wagner had tremendous natural agility, and by his adolescence he had become the circus' star acrobat and aerial artist. Circus audiences assumed that he was a normal-looking human wearing a devil-like costume.

Years later, the Texas millionaire Arnos Jardine, who ran a large circus based in Florida, heard of the circus for which Wagner worked and bought it. Jardine intended to move its best acts into his American circus; however, he demanded that Wagner be placed in the circus' freak show. Jardine drugged him to prevent escape but a young mutant child with the ability to sense other mutants helped Kurt escape. Appalled, Wagner left and made his way toward Winzeldorf, Germany, where his foster brother Stefan was. He discovered that Stefan had gone mad and had brutally slain several children. When they were younger, Stefan had made Kurt promise to kill him if he ever took an innocent life. Two nights after leaving the circus, Wagner found Stefan and fought him, hoping to stop his rampage. In the course of the struggle, Wagner unintentionally broke Stefan's neck.^[9]

The villagers of Winzeldorf, who assumed from Kurt's appearance that he was a demon who was responsible for the child killings, discovered Wagner. They were about to kill him when they were all psychically paralyzed by Professor Charles Xavier, who had come to recruit Wagner into the X-Men.^[10] Wagner agreed to join the group, but before they left for America, he and Xavier went to the Bavarian circus so that Wagner could explain to Margali about Stefan's death. However, Margali was not there. She held Wagner responsible for murdering Stefan, and created a facsimile of the hell from Dante's Inferno in which to punish him years later. Yet through the use of Doctor Strange's all-seeing Eye of Agamotto, she learned the truth, and she and Wagner were reconciled. Wagner was also happily reunited with his foster sister Jimaine, who now lives in the United States and changes her name to Amanda Sefton, later becoming Kurt's girlfriend.^[9] Known as Nightcrawler, Wagner became a member of the X-Men.

Some time later, Nightcrawler fought Shagreen the Sorcerer, and became lost in various dimensions in his first major solo adventure.^[11]

Shortly after this, and once he had rejoined his teammates, a tactic designed to disable the super-Sentinel Nimrod backfired and Kurt found himself at the mercies of an angry mob (in a nod to his first appearance in Giant Sized X-Men #1) without his teleportation ability. He was rescued by Shadowcat, Colossus, and Magik but feared he had lost his ability for good.^[12] His power returned but left him drained and vulnerable when he used it, again leading to self doubt about his worth to the team. It may have been these feelings that led him to use his "multi-port" stunt to disable Vertigo during the Mutant Massacre. This tactic left him unable to escape Riptide's attack, leading to horrific injuries and his subsequent coma.^[13]

Excalibur[link]

While he recovers from these injuries, his fellow X-Men are apparently killed on a mission in Dallas. Not long after, Nightcrawler and Shadowcat leave to join Captain Britain in an adventure in the UK. They fought Gatecrasher's group of inter-dimensional mercenaries known as the Technet. The heroes work together so well, they decide to form a group they name Excalibur.^[14] Captain Britain originally assumes leadership of the group, but Nightcrawler gradually takes the responsibility. While Captain Britain and Meggan's relationship goes through a rocky time Nightcrawler becomes interested in Meggan, a feeling that is reciprocated but never consummated.^{[15][16][17][18][19][20]} During his time with Excalibur, he takes charge of the Technet, renaming them his 'N-Men',^[21] and he becomes romantically involved with his teammate Cerise before she leaves to stand trial for the Shi'ar.^[22][23][24] Later, his former girlfriend, Amanda Sefton, joins the team and the two continue their previous relationship^{[volume & issue needed]}. She leaves the team to take control of Limbo, a task that keeps her away from Earth, but the two remain close friends. Fearing it would be stolen from her, Amanda magically hides the Soulsword inside Nightcrawler's body^{[volume & issue needed]}.

Returning to the X-Men[link]

For a time, Kitty Pryde and Nightcrawler express some resentment over the X-Men's failing to contact them after their supposed deaths^{[citation needed]}. Following the wedding of Captain Britain and Meggan^{[volume & issue needed]}, Excalibur disbands and Nightcrawler returns to the X-Men with Shadowcat and Colossus^{[volume & issue needed]}. Yet, as soon as they return, they face a group of impostors following Cerebro, in the guise of Professor X.^[25]

Wanting to devote more time to priesthood, Nightcrawler shares team leadership with Archangel. However, his work as a priest is retconned to be an illusion; he had, in fact, never attained priesthood^{[volume & issue needed]}. He has also met his half-brothers Nils Styger, alias Abyss, and Kiwi Black. With them, Nightcrawler defeated his father Azazel, who had tried to use him as a pawn in escaping his prison.^[26]

At one point there is a slight attraction between Nightcrawler and Marvel Girl—manifesting in a kiss^[27] -- but nothing else came of it. Nightcrawler was balancing his feelings towards Marvel Girl and an attraction to Storm at the same time, while Storm was in somewhat of a romantic "friendship" with Wolverine .^[27][28][29]

Later^{[volume & issue needed]}, Nightcrawler served as the new leader of the Uncanny X-Men team alongside Wolverine, Bishop, Psylocke, Cannonball, and Marvel Girl. In the last mission against the Foursaken^{[volume & issue needed]}, Nightcrawler took Marvel Girl, Psylocke, Bishop, and Cannonball to Central Park. He later^{[volume & issue needed]} helped Storm liberate Africa from her uncle's control.

Afterwards, Professor X recruited him, along with Darwin, Havok, Marvel Girl, Warpath, and Polaris, to participate in a space mission to stop Vulcan from laying waste to the Shi'ar empire.^[30] During the battle with Vulcan, Nightcrawler helps get the injured Professor X and Darwin back to their spaceship.^[31] While there, trying to save Professor X, Lilandra sent the ship on its way back to Earth, leaving half the team behind.

Kurt is still part of Professor X's team, helping Charles find Magneto before the government does, while the rest of the team search for the Morlocks.^[32]

House of M[link]

Nightcrawler is part of Wolverine's S.H.I.E.L.D team and helps Mystique track him down.^[33] After his memory returns he assists in the final confrontation against Magneto.^[34] Upon their return to the true reality, he rapidly teleported around the mansion to find Wolverine on Cyclops's orders, as both men worried that Wolverine would have lost his powers and therefore be vulnerable to the metal poisoning caused by his adamantium skeleton.^[35]

Messiah Complex[link]

When the first mutant since M-Day appears, Cyclops sends Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Angel, Storm, and Colossus to find former Acolytes for information on the Marauders. It was predicted by Blindfold that Kurt would be seriously injured in the upcoming events and indeed this came true when he was shot by the Marauder, Scalphunter^{[volume & issue needed]}. Kurt seems to have nearly fully recovered from his injuries since he, along with Beast, the entire New X-Men team are teleported to Muir Island by Pixie.^[36] He takes part in the final battle.

Divided We Stand[link]

Still recovering from his injuries, Kurt is traveling through Europe along with Wolverine and Colossus. Kurt and Wolverine are currently involved in a "war of pranks" as Peter calls it. One of the many pranks involved Logan hacking into Kurt's image inducer to make him look like Angelina Jolie, which results in a picture of Angelina and Peter appearing in assorted tabloid newspapers^{[volume & issue needed]}. The three of them travel to Russia where they visit the cemetery where Peter's family is buried^{[volume & issue needed]}. Afterwards they go to a local bar, where they discuss the recent loss of Kitty Pryde and the destruction of the X-Men. A fight occurs in the bar, during which their cover is blown. Soon after, the three of them are captured by the Russian government which demands to know why all their mutants were depowered and why Colossus, Wolverine, and Nightcrawler retain their abilities. After a battle with Omega Red, the three heroes return to the US and rejoin the team now living in San Francisco.^[37]

Manifest Destiny[link]

Kurt, along with Wolverine and Karma ambush the Hellfire Cult after a series of mutant related hate-crimes happen around San Francisco.^[38] He also has taken it upon himself to build a new chapel at Graymalkin Industries, the X-Men's new home and base of operations.

During a training session in the Danger Room, he reveals he is trying to keep himself distracted because whenever he has time to think, he can't help but not think of Kitty, how the X-Men don't need him, and that Pixie is a better teleporter than he is. After battling (unsuccessfully) several simulated villains, he reprograms the Danger Room to show Kitty. He confesses he was sorry he wasn't there for her and hugs the simulation and cries. The simulation of Kitty replies that she misses Kurt too.^[39]

Nightcrawler briefly believes that he no longer has a role with the X-Men, especially due to Pixie's abilities in teleporting. A trip back to Germany renews his conviction through an encounter with a boy cursed by gypsies into demonic form, a brush with Mephisto, and a romantic fling before he returns to San Francisco to aid the X-Men against a foe they struggled with lacking his help.^[40]

Secret Invasion[link]

Kurt fights alongside the X-Men when the Skrulls invade San Francisco. He comes across a Skrull bible and, after studying it, he gives it to Beast who figures out how to deal with the Skrulls.^[41]

X-Infernus[link]

Pixie and Kurt are training when he brings up Pixie's Souldagger. Pixie summons her Souldagger and stabs Kurt in the chest, knocking him out. When Pixie removes her Souldagger, Magik's Soulsword emerges from his chest.^[42]

Magik teleports away after taking out Pixie, Mercury, Rockslide, and Beast. Kurt wakes up and stops Pixie from going after her and Pixie breaks down and apologizes for stabbing him. Later the X-Men gather and Kurt is put in charge of a team of X-Men to go help save Magik.^[43]

Upon entering Limbo, Kurt, Mercury, Colossus, Rockslide, Pixie, and Wolverine fight their way through many demons. Pixie, Mercury, and Rockslide are horrified at how brutal the older X-Men are towards the demons. An octopus type creature attacks Kurt until Pixie jumps in and kills it with her Souldagger.

Hearing the screams from the castle, Kurt teleports the X-Men into the throne room. Once there, Witchfire turns Colossus and Wolverine against Mercury and Rockslide. Kurt notices Illyana chained to a pillar and she asks him to stab her with Pixie's Souldagger, as it's the only way and he is the only one to do it because he is attuned to magic. She apologizes and he stabs her; at that moment Colossus punches Kurt and Witchfire finished making her fifth and final Bloodstone from the now demonic Pixie.^[44]

The fact however that Colossus and Wolverine have not killed him, makes Kurt realize they are not fully under her control. Using Pixie's Dagger, Kurt then pulls Illyana's Soulsword from her, and uses it to free Wolverine and Colossus of Witchfire's control. Unfortunately, the demon manages to use the Bloodstones to summon the Elder Gods. Through their combined efforts, the X-Men and Magik managed to banish both Witchfire and the Elder Gods, but not without losing four of the five Bloodstones. Furious at losing another part of her soul, Pixie flees. Being told by Illyana to let her go, Kurt consoles Magik about the theology of a soul, before she teleports them back to Earth. Kurt, along with Colossus, Cyclops, and the former New Mutants team, convinces her to stay with them and join the X-Men.^[45]

Necrosha[link]

After mutants rise from the dead and attack the island Utopia as part of the Necrosha storyline, Cyclops sends Nightcrawler to lead a team of X-Men consisting of Rogue, Trance, Magneto, Husk, Psylocke, Colossus, and Blindfold to investigate Muir Island. It is revealed that Proteus has been resurrected and has taken possession of Blindfold (who had the vision of going to Muir Island in the first place).^[46]

[edit] Second Coming and death

Nightcrawler flies with Wolverine and the rest of the team to Westchester when Cable and Hope are detected there. When Nightcrawler finds out about X-Force's lethal methods that have been kept from the rest of the X-Men, he argues with Cyclops. In Chapter Five of the X-Men: Second Coming storyline, Rogue and Nightcrawler fight an enhanced version of Bastion. When Bastion tries to kill Hope, Nightcrawler teleports to her aid, but Bastion detects Nightcrawler's mutant powers activating and extends his arm into the space in which Nightcrawler will materialize. Nightcrawler rematerializes around Bastion's arm, fusing with it, and is mortally wounded. With Nightcrawler's last breath, he teleports the girl to Utopia. As he dies upon their arrival on the island, Nightcrawler tells Hope that he "believes in her." Bastion reboots its system shortly after, with a three-fingered appearance.^[47]

Age of Apocalypse replacement[link]

Following a mission in which the team crosses over from the Age of Apocalypse universe to assist X-Force in preventing Archangel from destroying the world, the alternate version of Nightcrawler opts to remain in the main Marvel Universe with X-Force to hunt down fugitives from his timeline, including Sugar Man and Dark Beast.^{[volume & issue needed]} He is openly hostile concerning being mistaken with his alternate self; at one point he roughly shoves Kitty aside when she mistakes him for a returned-from-the-dead main universe Nightcrawler, declaring that he isn't back and doesn't know her.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Powers and abilities[link]

Kurt Wagner is a mutant whose primary mutant power is the ability to teleport himself, his clothing, and a certain amount of additional mass from one point to another virtually instantaneously. He does this by means of displacing himself through an alternate dimension briefly and reappearing in a desired, pre-selected location. He has been shown to be able to teleport distances of up to two miles (3 km) under optimal conditions, although this is usually his extreme limit, and he can become severely fatigued if he tries to teleport that distance (in one case, however, he teleports somewhere over 50 miles (80 km)).^[48] It can also be noted that via coordinates received telepathically from Professor Xavier, Nightcrawler has teleported an unknown (but presumably large) distance.^[49] In a final, dying effort to rescue the mutant messiah Hope, he manages to teleport them both from Las Vegas, Nevada to the mutant safehold Utopia, just off the coast of San Francisco, a distance of approximately 413 miles (665 km). Nightcrawler's teleportation ability is also affected by direction — north-south along Earth's "magnetic lines of force" is easier than east-west against them.^[50]

He possesses a limited unconscious extrasensory "spatial awareness" ability which prevents him from teleporting into solid objects within his immediate vicinity, but this ability diminishes the greater the distance he teleports. Because teleporting into other solid matter would cause severe injury or death, he will only teleport to an area he is familiar with or that he can clearly see at the time or has seen in the past. His power automatically displaces liquids and gases when he arrives.

The process of teleportation places a strain on his endurance and that of any passengers; carrying mass other than his body and clothing when teleporting adds additional strain through his body. Through practice he has been able to teleport with a passenger over a lengthy distance without exhausting himself. Extensive training has raised his tolerance for teleportation, but most of his passengers lack this tolerance. Therefore, one of his tactics is to grab opponents and make several quick teleportations with them. They usually become weakened or even pass out from the strain.

After Nightcrawler teleports, he leaves behind smoke and a faint scent of burning brimstone; this is a small portion of the atmosphere of the dimension he travels through when he teleports. His teleportation power is due to a biophysical/biochemical reaction he consciously triggers within himself. A loud "bamf" noise is always present whenever he teleports (being the sound of air rushing to fill the space he was just occupying). His teleporting also causes a slight change in the atmosphere before he arrives, although only superhumans with heightened senses such as Daredevil can register it.^[51]

In addition to his primary power of teleportation, Nightcrawler's physiology is unique in several different ways. His agility far surpasses that of an Olympic level gymnast, and his bone structure allows him great flexibility. His spine is more flexible than an ordinary human, enabling him to remain in a crouched position for a long time and perform contortionist-type feats without causing any damage to his spine. Nightcrawler's balance and bodily coordination are all enhanced to superhuman levels. He has the ability to cling to surfaces through microscopic suction cups located on the pads of his hands and feet. He also possesses superhuman dexterity, being able to manipulate items and fence with either hand, both feet, and his tail.

He has the ability to blend into shadows, both as a result of his indigo fur, and the dimensional portal which always surrounds his body and absorbs photons.^[52] At one point shortly after his initial introduction, it was suggested that he could actually travel through shadows (in much the same way Psylocke did after exposure to the Crimson Dawn) and this was shown in Bizarre Adventures, but never really touched upon after that. In the story, Vanisher removes some of the Darkforce that formed his costume and threw it at Kurt, who disappeared. He then reappeared from within the Darkforce on the ground, saying that it was like "a pool of shadow" and that he "fell right through it." His abilities have interacted with Vanisher's on other occasions, such as when the two found themselves transported to various alternate dimensions.^[53]

Nightcrawler has a prehensile tail, allowing him to grab onto objects with relative ease. His tail is strong enough to not only support his body weight, but also lift an adult man completely off the ground at the same time, and is deft enough to fight with while holding a sword or blunt object. Nightcrawler's eyes (which are constantly glowing) grant him a marked degree of heightened night vision.

Aside from the abilities granted by his mutation, Nightcrawler is a superb fencer and a very skilled hand-to-hand combatant, to the point of being able to stalemate super-beings as powerful as Captain Britain. He has also served as the team's pilot and medic when more qualified X-Men were not around to do so. He and Wolverine were also the mechanics of the X-Men's Blackbird jet for a long time. He is also recognized by other Marvel characters as the leading authority on teleportation, with Spider-Man and Daredevil contacting him for information and advice following their first encounter with Francis Klum. Nightcrawler deduced from analysis of photographs of a crime scene that a man had been killed by someone else teleporting inside the victim despite having never witnessed such a thing before.^[54]

For a long period, Kurt's body housed the Soulsword. Magik states that Kurt is attuned to magic and thus able to wield her Soulsword and Pixie's Souldagger.^[44]

Family relations[link]

Veteran X-Men writer Chris Claremont had intended for the mutant terrorist Mystique and her lover Destiny to have been Nightcrawler's biological parents.^[55] Mystique, being a shapeshifter, would have taken the form of a man and impregnated Destiny. However, Marvel felt the idea to be too controversial and an alternative origin was developed.^[56]

After hinting for many years that Mystique was indeed Nightcrawler's biological mother, it was confirmed by writer Scott Lobdell in X-Men Unlimited #4.^[7] In 2003, it was revealed that although Mystique was married to a wealthy German, Herr Wagner, Nightcrawler's father was Azazel, a member of a race of demonic-looking mutants known as the Neyaphem which date back to Biblical times that were banished to another dimension by a race of angelic mutants.^[8] The storyline was furthered by the revelation that fellow X-Man Archangel's healing blood did not heal Nightcrawler, and in fact caused him great pain.^[57]

Nightcrawler's siblings include his foster sister Rogue and half-brother Graydon Creed from Mystique; and Abyss and Kiwi Black from Azazel.

It is also revealed that in a parallel universe, an alternate Nightcrawler fathered a daughter with an alternate Scarlet Witch;^[58] this girl, named Nocturne, is a dimensionally stranded mutant bearing traits similar to Nightcrawler himself. Nocturne has since referred to Nightcrawler as her father. The demeanor of Nightcrawler is very similar to that of the Nightcrawler from Nocturne’s reality, so the two developed a close bond that resembles a father-daughter relationship.^[59]

Characteristics[link]

Nightcrawler is a mutant born with fine blue-black fur covering his body, two fingers with an opposable thumb on each hand and only two toes, each longer than a normal human being's, on each foot and a third toe-like projection on his heel, as well as pronounced, fang-like canine teeth, yellow eyes, pointed ears, and a 3+¹⁄₂-foot-long (1.1 m) prehensile pointed tail which can support his weight.

Among his more ironic character traits, Wagner is an extremely religious man. A devout Catholic, his demonic appearance obviously makes it very difficult to attend Masses. Despite this, as mutants in the Marvel Universe become more accepted, he even managed to almost become a Catholic priest; unfortunately his studies were interrupted by a villainous group known as "The Neo."

In contrast, Nightcrawler also has a knack for the spontaneous and exciting. He sees himself as a swashbuckler, usually comparing himself to Errol Flynn. He is, despite his looks, always charming and gallant, and several storylines contain Kurt's love life as a conflict to his religious nature. His days in the circus make him a gifted performer and showman. Kurt is also a jokester. He has a great sense of humor for someone in his situation. He always plays pranks on people; some even call him "Trickster" because his combined teleporting abilities and playful disposition enable him to play quite the joke.

Wagner has used a personal holographic device called an image-inducer on several occasions to produce a holographic image of himself as an ordinary human (occasionally Errol Flynn himself) so that he might interact with non-mutants in a normal fashion. After losing a bet with his friend Wolverine, however, Nightcrawler was made to walk through town in his normal form for all to see. To his shock, the reaction of the average person on the street was simply one of startled interest. He was even able to sneak a kiss from a surprised, but unafraid woman. Kurt was, eventually, attacked by a carload of anti-mutant bigots, but he prevented Wolverine from tearing them to shreds, preferring to be merciful to the ignorant. The entire experience emboldened him, and he has since largely forsaken the use of this device, using it only when absolutely necessary.

When Nightcrawler was first submitted as a character, it was for DC's Legion of Super-Heroes, but DC turned him down believing his look was too "Alien". Len Wein later sold the character to Marvel as an X-Men character, Len Wein has said that he wrote him as "a kind of tragic monster" and this was fairly apparent from his first scenes in Giant Sized X-Men #1 involving his flight from the mob and his subsequent reaction to them wanting to burn him down from the rooftop. It was Chris Claremont's scripting that evolved him into the swashbuckling hero he is today. Claremont stated that he took the idea that Nightcrawler thought "it was incredibly cool to be blue and furry." He also built up Nightcrawler's stout Catholic beliefs, a direct contrast to his demonic appearance.

Other versions[link]

In other media[link]

Reception[link]

Nightcrawler has received positive reception as a comic book character and as a member of the X-Men. Nightcrawler was ranked as the 133rd greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine.^[60] IGN also ranked Nightcrawler as the 80th greatest comic book hero of all time describing Nightcrawler as a mutant with the appearance of a demon and the heart of a preacher; IGN also states that as the X-Men enter one of their most uncertain periods, his legacy still looms large.^[61] In 2006, IGN also rated Nightcrawler at #7 on their list of Top 25 X-Men from the past forty years stating that religion is one of the few commonalities that could bring mutants and humans together and it is through his faith that Nightcrawler has stayed true to the X-Men for so long.^[62] In 2008, Marvel rated their top ten X-Men of all time. Nightcrawler ranked #4 on their list stating that far from a character consumed by doom and gloom, Nightcrawler's chivalry, flair for the dramatic and sense of humor have made him one of the most likable X-Men ever, a character you genuinely look forward to seeing leap into action.^[63]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Nightcrawler at Marvel.com
• BAMF Central - consolidation of Nightcrawler information about the Fuzzy Elf
• BAMF! - A huge Nightcrawler site, bios and info.
• Nightcrawlers v2.0 — Nightcrawler community that was often visited by Dave Cockrum
• Nightcrawler Spotlight at UncannyX-Men.net

Jennifer Lawrence
Lawrence at the 83rd Academy Awards, February 27, 2011
Born	Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (1990-08-15) August 15, 1990 (age 21) Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2006–present

Jennifer Shrader Lawrence^[1] (born August 15, 1990) is an American film and television actress. She had lead roles in TBS's The Bill Engvall Show and in the independent films The Burning Plain and Winter's Bone, for which she received nominations for the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Satellite Award, and the Screen Actors Guild Award. At age 20, she was the second youngest actress ever to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She is also known for playing Mystique in X-Men: First Class. In 2012, Lawrence achieved wider recognition starring as the heroine Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, an adaptation of Suzanne Collins' best-selling novel of the same name. Her performance in the film garnered her notable critical praise and marked her as the highest grossing action heroine of all time.^[2][3] Lawrence's performances thus far have prompted Rolling Stone to define her as "the most talented young actress in America."^[4]

Early life[link]

Lawrence was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, and has two older brothers. Her parents are Karen (née Koch), who runs a children's camp, and Gary Lawrence, who once owned a concrete construction firm, Lawrence & Associates.^[5][6][7] She acted in local theater^[8] and, by the age of 14, had decided to pursue an acting career, persuading her parents to take her to New York City to find a talent agent. Prior to finding success in Hollywood, Lawrence attended Kammerer Middle School. She graduated from high school two years early with a 3.9 average in order to begin a career in acting.^[5][9] While growing up and in between acting, Lawrence served as an assistant nurse at the children's summer day camp that her mother ran.^[10]

Career[link]

Early work[link]

Lawrence had never taken any drama classes/lessons for acting.^[5] She started out her acting career in the TBS comedy The Bill Engvall Show, playing the eldest daughter of Lauren Pearson. Written and created by Bill Engvall and Michael Leeson, the show is set in a Denver suburb and follows the life of 'Bill Pearson' (played by Engvall), a family counselor whose own family could use a little dose of counseling. The series went on the air in September 2007 and was canceled in 2009 after three seasons. Lawrence received the Young Artist Award for Outstanding Young Performer in a TV Series for her role in the show.

Lawrence had guest-roles in the television series The Devil You Know, Cold Case, Medium, and Monk.^[11]

In 2008, she appeared in a small role in the film Garden Party as Tiff. It was directed by Jason Freeland. The same year, Lawrence appeared on the big screen in Guillermo Arriaga's film directorial debut The Burning Plain, opposite Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger. Her performance in the film earned her the Marcello Mastroianni Award for best young emerging actor/actress at the Venice Film Festival in 2008.^[12]

Still in 2008, Lawrence had the lead role in another film director's debut, Lori Petty's family drama The Poker House, opposite Selma Blair and Chloë Moretz, where she starred as Agnes, a young girl victim of abuse.^[13] Lawrence was awarded the Los Angeles Film Festival for Outstanding Performance for her role in the film. She appeared in the music video for the song "The Mess I Made", from the 2009 album Losing Sleep by Parachute.

2010–present[link]

Lawrence's lead role in Debra Granik's Winter's Bone, which won best picture at the Sundance Film Festival in 2010, is generally cited as a breakout performance for her.^[14] She portrays Ree Dolly, a seventeen-year-old in the Ozark Mountains who cares for her mentally ill mother and her younger brother and sister. Ree then discovers that her father put their house and land up as a bond for a court appearance before he disappeared, and the family now faces eviction.^[15] The performance was highly acclaimed by film critics. David Denby, writing in The New Yorker, said "the movie would be unimaginable with anyone less charismatic playing Ree."^[16] Peter Travers from the Rolling Stone also spoke highly of her and noted that "her performance is more than acting, it's a gathering storm. Lawrence's eyes are a roadmap to what's tearing Ree apart".^[17] Receiving accolades for her performance, Lawrence was awarded the National Board of Review Award for Best Breakthrough Performance. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress on January 25, 2011, becoming the second-youngest actress to date to be nominated for the category,^[18] and also accrued nominations from the Golden Globe Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, and the Satellite Awards among others.

Lawrence had a role in The Beaver, a dark comedy starring Jodie Foster and Mel Gibson that was filmed in 2009, but which spent an extended period of time stalled due to controversies surrounding Gibson. It was released on May 6, 2011. Lawrence co-starred in the independent film Like Crazy, which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and received a wider release by Paramount Pictures.^[19]

On June 18, 2011, it was announced that Lawrence was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

In June 2011, she starred as shape-shifting villain Mystique alongside James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender in X-Men: First Class,^[20] a prequel to the rest of the X-Men film series and will be reprising this role again in the sequel. Lawrence's Mystique is a younger version of the character played by Rebecca Romijn in earlier X-Men films.

She is also set to star alongside Elisabeth Shue in Mark Tonderai's thriller House at the End of the Street,^[21] which completed filming in 2010 and is in post-production.^[22]

Lawrence was cast in David O. Russell's The Silver Linings Playbook, opposite Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro. She was originally cast to play "O" in the film Savages directed by Oliver Stone, but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.

In 2012, Lawrence replaced Angelina Jolie in Susanne Bier's period thriller, The Falling, based on the novel Serena by Ron Rash.^[23][24] She will be playing the role of Serena who learns that she can never bear her husband children and is set out to murder the woman who bore her husband an illegitimate son before their marriage.

[edit] The Hunger Games

In March 2011, Lawrence was offered the part of Katniss Everdeen in the film The Hunger Games, based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins. Despite being a fan of the books, Lawrence took three days to accept the role because she was initially intimidated by the size of the movie and what it may mean for her fame.^[25] She underwent extensive training to get in shape for the role, including stunt training, archery, rock and tree climbing, combat, running, parkour, pilates, and yoga.^[26][27] The film was released on March 23, 2012, and set the record for the third-largest opening weekend of all time, making a record-breaking $152.5 million in three days for a non-sequel film.^[28]

The fact that The Hunger Games emerged as a big box office hit with a female lead represents a dramatic shift for the action film genre because historically, among the "top 200 worldwide box-office hits ever ($350 million and up), not one has been built around a female action star" and for the first time ever, Lawrence contradicts that.^[29] She is currently the highest grossing action heroine.

Though the film generally received positive reviews, Lawrence's strong portrayal of Katniss Everdeen was the most highly praised with Todd McCarthy from The Hollywood Reporter saying Lawrence embodies Katniss, "just as one might imagine her from the novel" and "anchors" the whole film "with impressive gravity and presence", ultimately calling her "the ideal screen actress".^[30] Kenneth Turan from the Los Angeles Times stated that Lawrence is the "best possible performer as Katniss and is the key factor in making 'Hunger Games' an involving popular entertainment with strong narrative drive that holds our attention".^[31] Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert also agreed that "Lawrence is strong and convincing in the central role".^[32]

Lawrence will start filming the film adaptation of the second novel in the The Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire, this summer, which is scheduled to be released on November 23, 2013.^[33]

Personal life[link]

Lawrence lived in New York City for the first few years of her career, but now resides in Santa Monica, California.^[5] She likes to paint, knit sweaters and scarves, surf, and play the guitar.^[34][35] She has been dating English actor Nicholas Hoult since 2011.^[36]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jennifer Lawrence at the Internet Movie Database

Rebecca Romijn
Romijn at the The Heart Truth's Red Dress Collection Fashion Show, 2012
Born	Rebecca Alie Romijn[1] (1972-11-06) November 6, 1972 (age 39)[1] Berkeley, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress Model (former)
Years active	1991–2001 (model) 1997-present (actress)
Spouse	John Stamos (m. 1998–2005; divorced) Jerry O'Connell (m. 2007–present; 2 children)

Rebecca Alie Romijn ( /roʊˈmeɪn/ roh-MAYN; Dutch: [roːˈmɛin], born November 6, 1972, formerly Romijn-Stamos) is an American actress and former fashion model. She is best known for her role as Mystique in the X-Men films, and for her recurring role as Alexis Meade on the television series Ugly Betty.

Early life[link]

Romijn was born in Berkeley, California, United States. Her mother, Elizabeth (née Kuizenga), is a Community College teacher of English as a Second Language and textbook author, and her father, Jaap Romijn, is a custom furniture maker.^[2][3] Her father is a native of Barneveld, the Netherlands, and her mother is an American of half Dutch descent; she met Romijn's father while staying in the Netherlands on a teen-age exchange program.^[4][5] Romijn's maternal grandfather, Dr. Henry Bernard Kuizenga, was a Presbyterian minister and seminary professor.^[6][7] When questioned about always being glamourous and beautiful on the Ellen Show, Romijn revealed that as a child in her early teens she was in fact an insecure 'drama geek', and as a result of her growth spurt she suffered from scoliosis and was constantly in pain. Many sources say that she was once nicknamed the "Jolly Blonde Giant" because of her 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) height, but she has admitted to making that up "for a laugh".^[8] While studying music (voice) at the University of California, Santa Cruz,^[9] she became involved with fashion modeling and eventually moved to Paris for more than two years.

Career[link]

Among other jobs, Romijn started her modeling career in 1991. She modeled for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Victoria's Secret, bebe, Miller Lite beer, and for Anna Molinari on the runway, along with the likes of Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, and Christy Turlington. She also was the host of MTV's House of Style from 1998 to 2000. Romijn has been featured numerous times in annual lists of the world's most beautiful women by publications such as Maxim (2003–2007), AskMen.com (2001–2003, 2005–2006) and FHM (2000–2005).^[10] She also appeared as a guest in the animated talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast in an episode titled "Chinatown."

In 2000's X-Men Romijn had her first major movie role as Mystique; she returned to the role in 2003's sequel X2: X-Men United, and again for X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). In these movies her costume consisted of blue makeup and some strategically placed prosthetics on her otherwise nude body. In X2: X-Men United she shows up in a bar in one scene in her "normal" look, and also in X-Men: The Last Stand, she appears as a dark-haired "de-powered" Mystique. She had her first leading role in Brian De Palma's Femme Fatale (2002). She also has starred in movies such as Rollerball, The Punisher and Godsend. She played the leading role in Pepper Dennis, a short-lived TV series on The WB.

In January 2007 Romijn made her first appearance on the ABC series Ugly Betty as a full time regular.^[11] She plays Alexis Meade, a male-to-female transsexual and the sibling of lead character Daniel Meade. In April 2008, however, it was reported that Romijn would only be appearing as a recurring character in season 3 due to a change in direction by the writing staff (aligning, fortuitously enough, with Romijn's pregnancy, which would have been inconsistent with her character's storyline).^[12] In November 2007 Romijn made a guest appearance on the ABC series Carpoolers, where she played the ex-wife of the character Laird, played by her real-life husband Jerry O'Connell.^[13]

Romijn starred in the 2009 ABC series Eastwick,^[14] reuniting her with her former Pepper Dennis co-star, Lindsay Price, before ABC canceled the show on November 9, 2009.^[15]

She appears in an uncredited cameo in the 2011 film, X-Men: First Class,^[16] and currently appears as Jessie, a lab worker on the Adult Swim live-action show NTSF:SD:SUV::.

Personal life[link]

Romijn attended the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1990–91, where she lived in dorm 1 at Stevenson College. She studied music and participated in the dorm talent show, singing a musical comedy routine with a high school friend who joined her at UCSC. During the summer following her freshman year, Rebecca began her career modeling and did not return for her sophomore year.

She married actor John Stamos on September 19, 1998. During her marriage, she used the name Rebecca Romijn-Stamos in both her personal and professional life. The couple announced their separation on April 12, 2004, and divorced on March 1, 2005. She has since returned to using her maiden name.

Romijn was asked by Elle magazine in April 2002 whether making Femme Fatale had given her any new ideas about her sexuality. She said, "You know, in my early twenties I wondered if I was interested in women and so I kind of, well ... did my homework. And it turns out I'm pretty straight".^[17]

On September 19, 2005, Romijn announced her engagement to actor Jerry O'Connell. They were married on their ranch in Southern California on July 14, 2007. On July 28, 2008, it was announced that Romijn was pregnant^[18] Romijn and O'Connell welcomed twin daughters Dolly Rebecca Rose and Charlie Tamara Tulip on December 28, 2008.^[19] Dolly is from Dolly Parton's first name and Charlie is for O'Connell's brother.^[20]

Filmography[link]

Film[link]