Marvel Comics has been making tweaks to Nightcrawler's origin story for years now, but the hero finally has a definitive history...and it's quite the twist!
In the pages of X-Men Blue: Origins #1, Nightcrawler - who is currently suited up as the Uncanny Spider-Man - finally confronts his mother, Mystique. Recent events have led to many of her long-suppressed memories being unlocked and that's led to a big change when it comes to Kurt Wagner's parentage.
The issue reminds us that Mystique was once disguised as the wife of Baron Christian Wagner, later having an affair with the mutant demon Azazel and subsequently falling pregnant with his child. However, in reality, Mystique was still sleeping with her lover Destiny and, after transforming into a man, impregnated her fellow mutant.
They conceived a child together to cement their love and in the hope of starting a life together; with Destiny pregnant, Mystique faked her baby bump and later pretended to have given birth to the boy who would one day become Nightcrawler.
Why? We later learn that Destiny's psychic powers mean she saw a future where the demon would lay waste to the world. However, distracting him with the idea of a son (whom he spent years searching for) ensured that this post-apocalyptic future never came to pass.
Professor X later changed Mystique's memories at her request but the big news here is that she's not a shape-shifter; instead, she's a "gene-shaper," meaning the mutant can rewrite "the genomic instructions in every single cellular nucleus of her body. All at once. And all without conscious thought." In other words, she's very much gender-fluid, explaining how she conceived a child as a man with another woman.
It's an intriguing twist and one which brings Nightcrawler and Mystique closer together. Will Kurt now track down his mother, Destiny? That remains to be seen, but this is what Chris Claremont originally wanted for the characters, meaning his scrapped idea has finally come back around and been cemented as the new status quo.
After the devastating events of the Hellfire Gala, Kurt Wagner is on the run - and having the time of his life?! On the darkest of days, he is the spark in the shadows! Swashbuckling about NYC in disguise, the Uncanny Wallcrawler sets aside his mutant angst and dedicates himself to the hero's life: saving civilians, hanging with fellow wallcrawlers, battling baddies, and hunting down the best pizza on the planet. But he can't ignore the mutant plight forever… Between X-Men Blue: Origins #1 and this joyful series, Nightcrawler will be shaken to his foundations - and have a hell of a good time doing it!
X-MEN BLUE: ORIGINS #1
Written by SI SPURRIER
Art by WILTON SANTOS & MARCUS TO
Cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
Variant Cover by RUSSELL DAUTERMAN
On Sale 11/29