History Comicbook / Azrael

A new Azrael showed up in a three-issue ''Battle for the Cowl'' miniseries titled ''[[LongTitle Battle for the Cowl: Azrael:]] [[ColonCancer Death's Dark Knight]]'' (May-July, 2009). Written by Fabian Nicieza and later David Hine, drawn by Frazier Irving. It starred [[Characters/BatmanSupportingCast Michael Lane]], formerly the "Bat-Devil" from ''[[Comicbook/GrantMorrisonsBatman Three Ghosts of Batman]]''). Then ''he'' got his own series, starting in December, 2009, and ending in May 2011 after 18 issues. This was followed by Lane's Azrael appearing in a sort of mini-BatFamilyCrossover called ''Judgement on Gotham''.

* ChristianityIsCatholic: Taken UpToEleven. Justified in that the Order of St. Dumas was an offshoot of Catholicism and was extremely obscure for centuries. There were only about half a dozen members of '''the entire religion''' in the first miniseries.

''However'', what appears to be [[spoiler: an amalgamation of both versions of Azrael]] has shown up in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' in a side mission which may lead to a more prominent part in the sequel. And indeed, he does appear in another side mission in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight''. [[spoiler: He's Michael Lane, sent by the Order to kill Batman. The player has to make the choice of whether he attempts to go through with the action (whereupon he is disarmed and arrested) or breaks free of his mental conditioning and goes off to destroy the Order.]]

[[redirect:Characters/BatmanAzrael]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/azrael1_2143.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300: Jean-Paul Valley, the first Azrael.]]

Franchise/TheDCU's Azrael first debuted with the 4-issue ''Batman: Sword of Azrael'' miniseries (October, 1992-January, 1993). Created by writer Denny O'Neil and artist Creator/JoeQuesada. The reason Azrael was created was to introduce a replacement for Franchise/{{Batman}} during the ComicBook/{{Knightfall}} arc. For more information on [[LegacyCharacter the characters that have been Azrael]], click [[Characters/{{Batman}} here]].

The original ''Azrael'' series was started in February 1995, which featured Jean-Paul Valley trekking around the world as Azrael following his stint as Batman, funded by Bruce Wayne, trying to discover his origins with the Sacred Order of St. Dumas. After that, his series kind of flattened out thanks to Jean-Paul being ExiledFromContinuity ''and'' being turned into a StaticCharacter. After being heavily involved in the Comicbook/BatmanNoMansLand arc, the series (now renamed ''Azrael: Agent of the Bat'') mainly showed Azrael's random adventures. The series eventually fizzled out in an anti-climatic ending at issue #100 (May, 2003) with the death of Jean-Paul. {{Iron|y}}ically, Jean-Paul just so happened to die at the same time that the ''[[ComicBook/BatmanHush Hush]]'' arc over in Batman's corner of the DC Universe was about half-way through, which concerned Batman re-evaluating how he interacted with most of his allies and enemies. [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg Except for Jean-Paul Valley, Azrael]].

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Azrael_Michael_Lane2_1757.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300: Michael Lane, the second Azrael]]

A new Azrael showed up in a three-issue ''Battle for the Cowl'' miniseries titled ''[[LongTitle Battle for the Cowl: Azrael:]] [[ColonCancer Death's Dark Knight]]'' (May-July, 2009). Written by Fabian Nicieza and later David Hine, drawn by Frazier Irving. It starred [[Characters/BatmanSupportingCast Michael Lane]], formerly the "Bat-Devil" from ''[[Comicbook/GrantMorrisonsBatman Three Ghosts of Batman]]''). Then ''he'' got his own series, starting in December, 2009, and ending in May 2011 after 18 issues. This was followed by Lane's Azrael appearing in a sort of mini-BatFamilyCrossover called ''Judgement on Gotham''.

For a while, there was no word on the future of Azrael in the wake of the 2011 DC Relaunch. However, Michael Lane has appeared in ''Batman Incorporated'' #10, where he loans Batman the Suit of Sorrows.

''However'', what appears to be [[spoiler: an amalgamation of both versions of Azrael]] has shown up in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' in a side mission which may lead to a more prominent part in the sequel. And indeed, he does appear in another side mission in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight''. [[spoiler: He's Michael Lane, sent by the Order to kill Batman. The player has to make the choice of whether he attempts to go through with the action (whereupon he is disarmed and arrested) or breaks free of his mental conditioning and goes off to destroy the Order.]]

In ''ComicBook/BatmanAndRobinEternal'', Jean-Paul finally makes his return, once more as Azrael and as a member of the Order. He's also one of a number of children connected to the mysterious BigBad Mother.

In ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'', Azrael is one of the many characters featured in ''ComicBook/DetectiveComicsRebirth''. He even gets a temporary costume that is a ShoutOut to the one he wore as Batman.

Jean-Paul Valley shows up in ''Batman: The Adventures Continue'', a digital-first comic series set in the Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse, even donning the Azbats armor there.

An older, eviler Jean-Paul Valley appears in ''ComicBook/BatmanCurseOfTheWhiteKnight'', but inspired to become a villainous Azrael by ComicBook/TheJoker in a bid to destroy Gotham, and eventually dons the AzBats suit. In a surprising twist, it's revealed ''he'', not Bruce, is the true heir to the Wayne Family (due to a secret from their ancestors, where Bruce's anscestor murdered Valley's and stole his identity, meaning all family members after him, including Thomas, Martha, and Bruce, aren't actually members of the actual Wayne line).
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!!Azrael provides examples of:

* AdaptationalHeroism: While still threatening, willing to kill and on the dogmatic side, Jean-Paul is ''much'' nicer in ''Batman: The Adventures Continue'' than he was in the mainstream comics. He's also old friends with Bruce Wayne, both having attended the Order of St. Dumas (Bruce only stayed for training and JP was always disappointed Bruce slept in during sermons).
* AdaptationalVillainy: In the same breath, in ''Batman: Curse of the White Knight'', due to dying of cancer and learning an ancient secret about Gotham's origins and how it connects to him, Batman, and the Joker corrupting him by claiming to deliver a mission from God (the secret being [[spoiler:Jean-Paul is in fact the true heir to the Wayne Family, as Bruce's true ancestor, [[AbusivePrecursors Bakkar]] murdered Edmund Wayne and stole his identity, helping building Gotham City. However, Wayne had a family left behind, and eventually Jean-Paul was born unto them, and by modern day, ''he'' is the true heir to the Wayne Family and fortune, not Bruce]]. This drives him to becoming an murderous imposter of Batman, murdering the entire Rogues Gallery in Arkham Asylum and even ComicBook/JamesGordon himself, and rampaging across Gotham to provoke Bruce into facing him, and that by killing one or the other could they lay claim to the mantle of Batman.
* AdventureTowns: Ossaville (Population [[spoiler:56]] less than 28. Have a Nice Day), the new homebase for Jean-Paul Valley after the ''Losses'' arc (73-75), became one of these after ol' Az settled down there.
* AgeLift: In his original debut, Jean-Paul is a college student, a little younger than Dick. ''The Adventures Continue'' makes him the same age as Bruce.
* TheAlcoholic: Brian Bryan. [[spoiler: Temporarily, anyway]]
* AlternateCompanyEquivalent:
** Besides the obvious differences, he has a lot in common with ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}.
** [=AzBats=] was deliberately designed to be a Straw version of Marvel's [[ComicBook/ThePunisher Punisher]] and other ultra-violent heroes. The comparison is especially noticeable in a Batman / Punisher crossover published during his tenure.
* AntiHero: Slides all the way down the scale in ''ComicBook/{{Knightfall}}''.
* AntiHeroSubstitute: Jean-Paul Valley for Batman during the ''ComicBook/{{Knightfall}}'' arc.
* {{Archenemy}}: Jean-Paul Valley had ''two;'' [[YouKilledMyFather Carleton Lehah]] and [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Nicholas Scratch]]. Averted for Michael Lane, who hasn't been active nearly long enough in order to get a real archenemy, though [[ThemeSerialKiller the Crusader]] came real close.
* ArtisticLicenseReligion: The second series is filled with this.
** According to this book, ''faith'' is the eighth deadly sin. Which makes no sense at all when you take a look at Hebrews Chapter 11, in Literature/TheBible. Yeah, you'd think they'd want to take a look at that thing before going around bashing Christianity. (While the Russian Orthodox Church has an eighth deadly sin, it's despair, not faith.)
** And the Apocrypha is real; they're defined as the parts of the Bible that existed in the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Tanakh as used by Hellenistic Jews) but not in the Masoretic (standard Hebrew text used by Rabbinical Judaism). However, a traditionalist Catholic wouldn't use the term "Apocrypha"; since they're considered inspired scripture in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions, the proper term is "deuterocanon" (secondary canon). (If you're interested in that sort of thing, an inexpensive copy of the NRSV + Apocrypha should hold the full set.) Needless to say, DC takes liberties...
* TheAtoner: Jean-Paul Valley after the events of ''ComicBook/{{Knightfall}}'', and Michael Lane after his stint as Bat-Devil during ''Three Ghosts of Batman'' arc.
* AxCrazy: Jean-Paul Valley's original Azrael could get pretty AxCrazy, though he wasn't as nearly as crazy as Michael Lane, who makes a habit of killing people deemed as "sinners".
* BadassBoast: Most of the Azraels have a penchant for this, combined with a mild case of LargeHam. Take, for example, this one give by Jean-Paul Valley to ComicBook/{{Huntress}}:
-->'''Azrael:''' We fought once tonight. You lost. If we fight again, you'll lose again. This time, you might not get up. If you raise your weapon, I'll break your arm before you can trigger it.
* BadassBookworm: Jean-Paul Valley.
* BeardOfSorrow: Jean-Paul Valley sported one of these following the ''Losses'' arc, though he soon shaved it after a pep talk from Franchise/{{Batman}}.
* BigBadFriend: Michael Lane's [[spoiler: assistant, Adrian Paratino, actually works for Ra's freakin' al Ghul]].
* BigBrotherInstinct: Jean-Paul Valley has this towards {{Comicbook/Batgirl|2000}} (Cassandra Cain). Though he did say that he "[[ExactWords liked her]]."
* BladeBelowTheShoulder: JPV has ''two.'' See DualWielding and FlamingSword entries below, as well as top-most trope picture.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy:
** This happens to Jean-Paul when he's under the influence of The System.
** It's also how he's first presented following his post-''Flashpoint'' reintroduction.
* CanonDiscontinuity: Jean-Paul Valley stated at the end of the Batman: Sword of Azrael mini-series that he and his father shared the same name. However, according to Azrael: Year One, his father's name was Ludovic Valley. This could be explained as simply Jean-Paul being mistaken, considering his [[WellDoneSonGuy somewhat strained relationship with his father]]...
* CharacterDevelopment:
** After his stint as an AxCrazy Batman, Jean-Paul Valley went through ''a lot'' to redeem himself and become a more mentally stable person, and reached a point where Batman would consider him equally trustworthy as most members of the Bat-family.
** Sister Lilhy turned evil and allied with [[CostumeCopycat Faux-Azrael]] in order to [[OhCrap re-found the Sacred Order of St. Dumas]].
* ChestInsignia:
** Michael Lane's Suit of Sorrows has a Christian cross on it, though before he took the suit, the cross was modeled after the bat-symbol, indicating [[Franchise/{{Batman}} the previous owner of the suit]].
** Also, Jean-Paul Valley's first costume had the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleur-de-lis fleur-di-lis]] on it, and his second costume had a red bat-symbol.
* ChristianityIsCatholic: Taken UpToEleven. Justified in that the Order of St. Dumas was an offshoot of Catholicism and was extremely obscure for centuries. There were only about half a dozen members of '''the entire religion''' in the first miniseries.
* ChurchMilitant: With the Sacred Order of St. Dumas and Michael Lane's Azrael.
* ClearMyName: Jean-Paul Valley had to do this at least three times, and it got more and more stale every time it happened.
* CloakOfDefense: Azrael's cape can protect him from small-arms fire.
* CluelessChickMagnet: Jean-Paul, you dork. Oracle has a stuffed doll of you next to her computer (Check issue 82 of his series if you don't believe me). ComicBook/{{Huntress}} considers your team-ups ''dates.'' And you have the balls to wonder why you can't get a girlfriend. But then again, seeing as how he has a [[VitriolicBestBuds tense relationship]] with ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}, [[FridgeBrilliance maybe he just doesn't want to tick him off even more by going out with his either of his [Nightwing's] exes]]. The ''ComicBook/{{Knightfall}}'' novelization explains that he would really, really like to talk to girls, but he didn't exactly have a normal childhood. Anyone who wasn't part of the Order of Saint Dumas was considered unclean by his father, and as himself, Jean-Paul has a crippling lack of social confidence, even after learning the truth.
* CoolCar: Averted for Jean-Paul Valley. Apparently, [[SarcasmMode nothing says "angel"]] or "agent of the [[Franchise/{{Batman}} bat]]" like a navy blue sports car with some slight modifications. According to the "Az you like it" column in the back of ''Azrael: Agent of the Bat'' 81, the authors turned down the suggestion that he be given wings (Get it? Wings? Angel?) with the excuse "What? And get rid of his car?"
* CostumePorn: Jean-Paul Valley's first costume ''and'' Michael Lane's Suit of Sorrows.
* DarkerAndEdgier: The second series is ''made'' of this.
* DeadpanSnarker: Jean-Paul Valley has his moments...
* DecoyProtagonist: The very first Azrael we see is killed off in the second page for the first miniseries. He son, Jean-Paul Valley, takes up the mantle.
* {{Deprogram}}: The System is some form of this.
* DesignerBabies: JPV's strength, speed and toughness was genetically enhanced by the Order of St. Dumas.
* DeusAngstMachina / DeathByOriginStory: This happened to Michael Lane in a degree that rivals [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Tim Drake]]'s DeusAngstMachina. His son was hit by a car and died at age three. His wife committed suicide within a year. Only six months after her death, Michael's two siblings (his last living relatives) were murdered by an apparent [[ReligionOfEvil Satanic cult]].
* DirtyOldMan: Subverted for [[TheShrink Brian Bryan]], though he has stated concerning Lilhy, "If I were twenty years younger..."
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: A lot of people have noted that Michael Lane's costume looks like something out of ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed''.
* DoingInTheWizard:
** With Jean-Paul Valley's series, what wizard?
** Completely {{averted|Trope}} in Michael Lane's series, where the Suit of Sorrows is only described as "cursed" or "magic."
* DualWielding: Jean-Paul Valley had two [[FlamingSword flaming Katar-like blades]] on his wrists, and Michael Lane carried ''two'' flaming swords.
* {{Expy}}: During the aftermath of ComicBook/{{Knightfall}} while he is [[TakeUpMySword filling in]] for Bruce as Franchise/{{Batman}}, his {{darker and edgier}} (and [[BrainwashedAndCrazy crazy]]) version of The Dark Knight starts off as a commentary on [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks comics of the time]], but slowly he explicitly becomes Creator/FrankMiller's [[Comicbook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns Dark Knight]], cemented when he makes himself gauntlets with metal claws.
* FlamingSword: Most of the Azraels had at least one, or a variation thereof.
* ForgottenFallenFriend: Did this guy even have a memorial in the Batcave? From his death through to ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'''s CosmicRetcon, the poor guy only made one page cameos in ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'' and Neil Gaiman's ContinuityPorn (but out of continuity) ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheCapedCrusader'' story.
* FreudianExcuse: And a pretty darn good one at that. Extensive SleepLearning combined with "[[{{Deprogram}} the System]]" and becoming a WellDoneSonGuy like Jean-Paul did would mess most people up pretty bad. See entries for SleepLearning, {{Deprogram}}, and WellDoneSonGuy for more information.
* TheGlassesComeOff: Jean-Paul used to wear glasses prior to becoming Azrael, and still did occasionally afterwards. It was mentioned once that he wears contact lenses for the costume.
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Sister Lilhy.
* IHaveManyNames: The Avenging Angel, The Dark Knight of God, Batman, the Punishing Angel, Agent of the Bat, and Death's Dark Knight.
* IdiotBall: Batman continuously showed bizarrely poor judgment in allowing Michael Lane to operate as Azrael. Lane was mentally unstable to begin with after enduring Doctor Hurt's experiments. On top of that, Batman allowed him to keep the Suit of Sorrows, an enchanted suit of armor which gives its wearer superhuman strength and endurance, but slowly drives them insane. Lane's ever-stronger association with a distinctly cult-like religious order also somehow does not alarm Batman. Predictably this all ends in disaster.
* InnocentFanServiceGirl: Sister Lilhy, oh so much.
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes:
** Unless you count ''[[ComicBook/{{Knightfall}} Batman: Sword of Azrael]]'', only ''two'' issues of JPV's main series were collected in a trade paperback (issues 15 and 16 in the fairly rare ''Batman: Contagion''). A few more from the ''[[ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand No Man's Land]]'' crossover have collected in recent editions. The rest are scattered in issue form.
** {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Michael Lane's series. It got two trades out; the first collected his ''Death's Dark Knight'' miniseries and a ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' and ''Detective Comics'' annual starring him in a two-part story. The second collected the first six issues. Another trade meant to cover the "Killer of Saints" arc was announced, but later cancelled, and no more were announced after the series was cancelled, unless you count the trade paperback for the agonizingly [[{{Flanderization}} character-shredding]] ''Judgement On Gotham'' [[BatFamilyCrossover crossover]].
* KilledOffForReal: Until ''ComicBook/BatmanAndRobinEternal'' reintroduced him.
* KnightTemplar: The Sacred Order of St. Dumas was actually a splinter group of the ''original'' Knights Templar.
* LegacyCharacter:
** This whole Azrael thing has been going on since the 15th century, apparently, passing from father to son, and ending with Jean-Paul Valley. The same applies for Michael Lane's Azrael, who's is only the most recent incarnation of a line of Azraels who work for Sacred Order of St. Dumas splinter group the Order of Purity. All they need is the Suit of Sorrows and a volunteer. All of the people who wore the Suit of Sorrows were eventually driven insane by it. Heck, it only took six weeks to do the trick for Michael Lane's predecessor.
** Whether there was a legacy post-''Flashpoint'' is open.
* LimitedWardrobe: Jean-Paul Valley was infamous for only wearing jeans and T-Shirts in most of his civilian appearances.
* MadLibsCatchphrase: Jean-Paul has "Know that you are/men call you [something bad]"
** BorrowedCatchphrase: When the Joker takes his costume: "Know that the Joker is the one wearing the groovy threads now!"
* MaskOfPower: After a fashion for Jean-Paul - only his Azrael persona (see SplitPersonality entry below) has his ''badass'' combat skills, and he can only activate this persona by putting on his Azrael mask.
* MassOhCrap: All of the Azrael's are ''very'' good at instigating these. Take this example found in Plus #1, were Azrael (Jean-Paul Valley) teams up with ComicBook/TheQuestion:
--> '''Azrael:''' Know that you are evil. Know that you are abominations. Know that you will be punished.
--> '''[[WesternTerrorists Terrorists:]]''' (''MassOhCrap expressions'')
--> (''CurbStompBattle ensues'')
* MeaningfulName: Azra'il was the name of the Spirit of Death in ancient Tunisian mythology. Becoming Azrael has a tendency to make one somewhat AxCrazy.
* MissionFromGod: Michael Lane is convinced that he's on one of these, though considering how around the bend he is, thanks to the Suit of Sorrows...
* MookFaceTurn:
** Michael Lane once worked for [[Comicbook/GrantMorrisonsBatman Dr. Hurt of the Black Glove]], and accepted an offer to become Azrael as his way of atoning for his perceived role in the demise of Franchise/{{Batman}}.
** Sister Lilhy used to work for the Order of St. Dumas before deciding to help out Jean-Paul.
* NaughtyNuns: Sister Lilhy is implied to have turned into this.
* NerdGlasses: Jean-Paul Valley, though he did look okay in his round glasses.
* NinetiesAntiHero: Jean-Paul Valley. Notably one of the first to actually be treated as... ''bad''.
* [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Ninja Angel Knight Vigilante]]: Frequently lampshaded in Jean-Paul Valley's early days. In the words of the ComicBook/{{Hitman}}:
-->'''Hitman:''' He about half thinks he's an angel... an [[OurAngelsAreDifferent angel with a Bullet Proof Vest]].
* NoSocialSkills: Jean-Paul Valley suffers from this.
* ObliviousToLove: Sister Lilhy just can't take any of Jean-Paul's hints, so the poor guy just gave up.
* OffscreenAfterLife: When Jean-Paul Valley dies in the final issue of his series, he says "It looks just like the earth." And he was sporting his famous smile, so that's a good thing. [[spoiler: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] for Michael Lane, who briefly went to someplace that was obviously meant to be purgatory]].
* OhCrap: Not only are the Azraels good at instigating these, but it occasionally happens to them too. For instance, Jean-Paul is going about in a run-down part of town as Azrael in issue 32 of his series. He's just been fixed up by this old woman, when he realises that he left his car unattended. His [[OhCrap sudden realization]] and reaction to this are priceless.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Apparently, the residents of the DC Universe's idea of an angel is either someone dressed up in crusader armor or someone dressed up, well, like in the picture at the top of this page.
* OutdatedOutfit: After a fashion. Ludovic Valley's decidedly more crusader-esque costume was one of the factors that contributed to his death.
* OvershadowedByAwesome: Jean-Paul Valley, thanks to "the System," is an incredible fighter, but he lacks the experience and finesse of Franchise/{{Batman}}, making him inferior to him. However, the Caped Crusader has acknowledged that if Jean-Paul could just get his head screwed on straight, he would have the potential to become an even ''better'' fighter than him.
* PingPongNaivete: Sister Lilhy, who went from TheChessmaster to DamselInDistress and back again throughout the course of the series. This applied to Jean Paul to.
* PowerTrio: Jean-Paul Valley, Brian Bryan, and Sister Lilhy.
* PoweredArmor: The final version of the Azbatsuit was this. Can't say much for Jean-Paul's taste in color schemes though. Also, Michael Lane wears a suit of crusader armor called the Suit of Sorrows, which is made from the fragments of the armor of 100 crusaders slain in battle. It gives him enhanced speed, strength, and stamina. [[spoiler: The only drawback is that it will eventually drive him insane, as has happened to all of the people who wore the suit before him.]]
* RedBaron: "Azrael, ''Agent of the Bat!''"
* RedEyesTakeWarning: The masks Jean-Paul wore as Batman in ''ComicBook/{{Knightfall}}'' once he switched to the armors sported red eyes instead of the classic white (or DependingOnTheArtist once he donned the helmet, a red visor).
* ReligionIsMagic: Michael Lane's Suit of Sorrows and his swords? Natch.
* RepetitiveName: Jean-Paul Valley's closest confident was an alcoholic ex-psychiatrist named Brain Bryan.
* ScaryImpracticalArmor: Jean-Paul Valley's final Azbatsuit was very much this. Also, Michael Lane's [[PoweredArmor Suit of Sorrows]]. Although it gives the wearer enhanced strength, speed, and agility, and protects the wearer from all harm, [[spoiler: it will eventually drive the wearer insane]]. Not only that, but in RealLife, mail armor would be ineffective against bullets, which would make any shots taken ''worse.''
* ServileSnarker: Adrian Paratino, Michael Lane's assistant, is ''very'' snarky.
* TheShrink: Jean-Paul's friend Brian Bryan initially proclaims himself the "worst psychiatrist to ever practice the healing arts", but he becomes more competent as he helps Jean-Paul deal with the System ([[spoiler: and loses his addiction]]).
* SleepLearning: How "the System" works. Or, to be accurate, [[OverlyLongName Subliminal Messages Played While You Are Sleeping Throughout Your Childhood Learning.]]
* SociopathicHero: Sometimes with Jean-Paul, ''all the time'' with Michael Lane.
* SplitPersonality: Jean-Paul Valley again. His Azrael persona is significantly different from his civilian identity of Jean-Paul Valley. As the [[ChurchMilitant sect]] that trained him was a largely medieval organization, he would often take a course of action that could have been more easily accomplished using modern technology. For example, during the ''Contagion'' arc, when a deadly plague was spreading through Gotham City, Azrael had to get the recipe for a cure to the hospitals. His solution to this was a mad rush across military lines, and though he succeeded, he discovered upon arriving at his destination that his allies had already sent the cure recipe to the hospitals by email. This is contradictory to the mindset of Jean-Paul Valley, who, being a student of programing, would be completely aware of such a solution. A third though less developed personality is Batman. This personality manifested during Jean-Paul's stint at the Caped Crusader, and remanifested near the end of his series. It combined the intellect of Jean-Paul Valley and the bloodlust of Azrael, but lacked the compassion of Jean-Paul.
* StealthHiBye: Jean-Paul's inability to pull this off during his [[AntiHeroSubstitute stint as Batman]] was Commissioner Gordon's first clue that there was a new Batman in town.
-->'''Gordon:''' [...] Blame him... My God.
-->'''Azbats:''' Something wrong, Commissioner?
-->'''Gordon:''' You're still ''here''.
-->'''Azbats:''' So?
-->'''Gordon:''' ''Usually'' I turn and you're gone.
-->'''Azbats:''' I wasn't certain we were finished talking.
-->'''Gordon:''' That never stopped you before.
-->'''Azbats:''' I'll be going then.
* SuckSessor: Jean-Paul Valley to Franchise/{{Batman}} during the ComicBook/{{Knightfall}} arc. The whole reason it ever happened was to show fans why Bruce Wayne's Batman ''wasn't'' a brutal AntiHero like ComicBook/ThePunisher.
* SuperStrength: The Order messing with Jean-Paul's biology before he was even born seems to have instilled some degree or superhuman strength and agility. At the end of his own series he was experiencing further developments for unclear reasons, which raised his strength to "twist steel rebar into a pretzel with your bare hands" levels.
* TakeUpMySword: Jean-Paul Valley when Franchise/{{Batman}} (Bruce Wayne) appoints him as his SuckSessor after [[ComicBook/{{Knightfall}} Bane broke Bruce's back]].
* TemporaryScrappy: Jean-Paul Valley was promoted as this when he turned into [[FanNickname Azbats]] and the majority of the fans were displeased, though in reality his character was far from it.
* ThemeSerialKiller: The Crusader (Michael Lane's archenemy) murdered members of the Order of Purity in manners based on the martyrdoms of various Christian saints.
* TomatoInTheMirror: This happened to Jean-Paul Valley a few times, what with "the System" and all.
* TragicDream: After an exhausting day being Batman, Jean Paul Valley reflected that after working for the Order of St. Dumas, which wanted to re-conquer Jerusalem for Christianity, and then being a TemporarySubstitute for Batman, who wants to stop crime in Gotham City, he found the fanatical, obsessive Dumas to be the wiser man: sure, Jerusalem was never conquered again, but it was a tangible goal, one that eventually could be achieved by someone... stopping crime in Gotham is a madman’s dream.
* TragicHero: Jean-Paul Valley (a little) near the end of his series, though Michael Lane is this full force.
* TrickedOutGloves: The golden gauntlets.
* TwoGuysAndAGirl: Jean-Paul Valley, Brian Bryan, and Sister Lilhy, again.
* {{Tykebomb}}: Apparently, Jean-Paul was subjected to subliminal messages and other mental conditioning since he was a little kid.
* VitriolicBestBuds: Jean-Paul Valley with ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}, and Michael Lane with Adrian Paratino.
* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: [[Comicbook/BirdsOfPrey Ora]][[ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} cle]] to Jean-Paul, Adrian Paratino to Michael Lane.
* WeakButSkilled: Jean-Paul Valley started out at this back in ''Batman: Sword of Azrael''. He had all the training thanks to the system, but his body was described by [[TricksterMentor Nomoz]] as "soft and flabby." The remedy for this? A month or two of constant mountain climbing.
* WellDoneSonGuy: Played straight. Jean-Paul had ''terrible'' issues with both his real father, Ludovic Valley, and his adoptive father figure, [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]]. The elder Valley had always been distant from Jean-Paul, and rarely even saw him, let alone had extended interactions with him. Even in Jean-Paul's "system" induced dreams and visions, Ludovic is condescending and unsatisfied with Jean-Paul's actions. But then again, it was revealed in ''Azrael: Year One'' that Ludovic was actually trying to get him to safety, away from the Order of St. Dumas when he mentioned the instructions, so maybe he wasn't such a bad father. And then there's ''Batman.'' Imagine if ''your'' father was Batman. (Maybe Jean-Paul could identify with Damian.) Indeed, their relationship has been compared to a very athletic father looking down on an intelligent but physically lacking son. On the other hand, Jean-Paul's father issues led him to identify with a lot of the villains he fought.
* WillTheyOrWontThey: Jean-Paul Valley got this with Sister Lilhy a lot.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: The Suit of Sorrows is said to have driven all of its wearers insane. It only took 6 weeks to take this effect on Michael Lane's predecessor.
** Likewise with Jean Paul Valley, "the System" gave him badass fighting skills, but also made him go insane during the ''ComicBook/{{Knightfall}}'' saga.
* WolverinePublicity: Why do you think they renamed Jean-Paul's series "Azrael: Agent of the [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bat]]" at issue 47?
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* InTheBlood: Averted for Jean-Paul Valley, who's father was basically an old-school version of Michael Lane, though Jean-Paul ''did'' become the new Azrael.

* AdaptationalVillainy: In the same breath, in ''Batman: Curse of the White Knight'', due to dying of cancer and learning an ancient secret about Gotham's origins and how it connects to him, Batman, and the Joker corrupting him by claiming to deliver a mission from God (the secret being [[spoiler:Jean-Paul is in fact the true heir to the Wayne Family, as Bruce's true ancestor, [[AbusivePrecursors Bakkar]] murdered Edmund Wayne and stole his identity, helping building Gotham City. However, Wayne had a family left behind, and eventually Jean-Paul was born unto them, and by modern day, ''he'' is the true heir to the Wayne Family and fortune, not Bruce. This drives him to becoming an murderous imposter of Batman, murdering the entire Rogues Gallery in Arkham Asylum and even ComicBook/JamesGordon himself, and rampaging across Gotham to provoke Bruce into facing him, and that by killing one or the other could they lay claim to the mantle of Batman.

* AdaptationalVillainy: In the same breath, in ''Batman: Curse of the White Knight'', due to dying of cancer and learning an ancient secret about Gotham's origins and how it connects to him, Batman, and the Joker corrupting him by claiming to deliver a mission from God (the secret being [[spoiler:Jean-Paul is in fact the true heir to the Wayne Family, as Bruce's true ancestor, [[AbusivePrecursor Bakkar]] murdered Edmund Wayne and stole his identity, helping building Gotham City. However, Wayne had a family left behind, and eventually Jean-Paul was born unto them, and by modern day, ''he'' is the true heir to the Wayne Family and fortune, not Bruce. This drives him to becoming an murderous imposter of Batman, murdering the entire Rogues Gallery in Arkham Asylum and even ComicBook/CommissionerGordon himself, and rampaging across Gotham to provoke Bruce into facing him, and that by killing one or the other could they lay claim to the mantle of Batman.

The original ''Azrael'' series was started in February 1995, which featured Jean-Paul Valley trekking around the world as Azrael, funded by Batman, trying to discover his origins with the Sacred Order of St. Dumas. After that, his series kind of flattened out thanks to Jean-Paul being ExiledFromContinuity ''and'' being turned into a StaticCharacter. After being heavily involved in the Comicbook/BatmanNoMansLand arc, the series (now renamed ''Azrael: Agent of the Bat'') mainly showed Azrael's random adventures. The series eventually fizzled out in an anti-climatic ending at issue #100 (May, 2003) with the death of Jean-Paul. {{Iron|y}}ically, Jean-Paul just so happened to die at the same time that the ''[[ComicBook/BatmanHush Hush]]'' arc over in Batman's corner of the DC Universe was about half-way through, which concerned Batman re-evaluating how he interacted with most of his allies and enemies. [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg Except for Jean-Paul Valley, Azrael]].

Jean-Paul Valley shows up in ''Batman: The Adventure Continues'', a digital-first comic series set in the Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse, even donning the Azbats armor there.

* AdaptationalHeroism: While still threatening, willing to kill and on the dogmatic side, Jean-Paul is ''much'' nicer in ''Batman: The Adventure Continues'' than he was in the mainstream comics. He's also old friends with Bruce Wayne, both having attended the Order of St. Dumas (Bruce only stayed for training and JP was always disappointed Bruce slept in during sermons).

* StealthHiBye: Jean-Paul's inability to pull this off during his [[AntiHeroSubstitute stint as Batman]] was Commissioner Gordon's first clue that there was a new Batman in town. The below scene doubles as a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}}.

* WellDoneSonGuy: Played straight. Jean-Paul had ''terrible'' issues with both his real father, Ludovic Valley, and his adoptive father figure, [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]]. The elder Valley had always been distant from Jean-Paul, and rarely even saw him, let alone had extended interactions with him. Even in Jean-Paul's "system" induced dreams and visions, Ludovic is condescending and unsatisfied with Jean-Paul's actions. But then again, it was revealed in ''Azrael: Year One'' that Ludovic was actually trying to get him to safety, away from the Order of St. Dumas when he mentioned the instructions, so maybe he wasn't such a bad father. And then there's ''Batman.'' Imagine if ''your'' father was Batman. (Maybe Jean-Paul could identify with Damian.) Indeed, their relationship has been compared to a very athletic father looking down on an intelligent but physically lacking son. On the other hand, Jean-Paul's father issues led him to [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments identify with a lot of the villains he fought]].

The original ''Azrael'' series was started in February 1995, which featured Jean-Paul Valley trekking around the world as Azrael, funded by Batman, trying to discover his origins with the Sacred Order of St. Dumas. After that, his series kind of flattened out thanks to Jean-Paul being ExiledFromContinuity ''and'' being turned into a StaticCharacter. After being heavily involved in the Comicbook/BatmanNoMansLand arc, the series (now renamed ''Azrael: Agent of [[Franchise/{{Batman}} the Bat]]'') mainly showed Azrael's random adventures. The series eventually fizzled out in an anti-climatic ending at issue #100 (May, 2003) with the death of Jean-Paul. {{Iron|y}}ically, Jean-Paul just so happened to die at the same time that the ''[[Franchise/{{Batman}} Hush]]'' arc over in Batman's corner of the DC Universe was about half-way through, which concerned Batman re-evaluating how he interacted with most of his allies and enemies. [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg Except for Jean-Paul Valley, Azrael]].

* BrainwashedAndCrazy: This happens to Jean-Paul when he's under the influence of The System.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Unless you count ''[[ComicBook/{{Knightfall}} Batman: Sword of Azrael]]'', only ''two'' issues of JPV's main series were collected in a trade paperback (issues 15 and 16 in the fairly rare ''Batman: Contagion''). A few more from the ''[[ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand No Man's Land]]'' crossover have collected in recent editions. The rest are scattered in issue form.

* AntiHeroSubstitute: Jean-Paul Valley

* AxCrazy: Michael Lane, slowly getting even more AxCrazy as his series winds down to a close. Jean-Paul Valley's Azrael could get pretty AxCrazy too, though he didn't make a habit of regularly killing people.

* BigBrotherInstinct: Jean-Paul Valley has this towards {{Comicbook/Batgirl|2000}} (Cassandra Cain).

* ChestInsignia: Michael Lane's Suit of Sorrows has a Christian cross on it, though before he took the suit, the cross was modeled after the bat-symbol, indicating [[Franchise/{{Batman}} the previous owner of the suit]].

* DoingInTheWizard: With Jean-Paul Valley's series, what wizard?

* TheGlassesComeOff: Jean-Paul Valley used to wear glasses prior to becoming Azrael, and still did occasionally afterwards.

* LegacyCharacter: This whole Azrael thing has been going on since the 15th century, apparently, passing from father to son, and ending with Jean-Paul Valley. The same applies for Michael Lane's Azrael, who's is only the most recent incarnation of a line of Azraels who work for Sacred Order of St. Dumas splinter group the Order of Purity. All they need is the Suit of Sorrows and a volunteer. All of the people who wore the Suit of Sorrows were eventually driven insane by it. Heck, it only took six weeks to do the trick for Michael Lane's predecessor.

* MaskOfPower: After a fashion for Jean-Paul- Only his Azrael persona (see SplitPersonality entry below) has his badass combat skills, and he can only activate this persona by putting on his Azrael mask.

* NinetiesAntiHero: Well, with Jean-Paul Valley at least, and only sometimes.
** A ''lot'', actually. Notably one of the first to actually be treated as... ''bad''.
* [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Ninja Angel Knight Vigilante ]]: Frequently lampshaded in Jean-Paul Valley's early days. In the words of the ComicBook/{{Hitman}}:

* TemporaryScrappy: Jean-Paul Valley was promoted as this when he turned into [[FanNickname Azbats]] and the majority of the fans were displeased, though in reality, his character was far from it.

* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: Oracle to Jean-Paul, Adrian Paratino to Michael Lane.

* WellDoneSonGuy: Jean-Paul Valley had ''terrible'' issues with both his real father, Ludovic Valley, and his adoptive father figure, [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]]. Indeed, their relationship has been compared to a very athletic father looking down on an intelligent but physically lacking son. On the other hand, Jean-Paul's father issues led him to [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments identify with a lot of the villains he fought]].

* DeusAngstMachina / DeathByOriginStory: This happened to Michael Lane in a degree that rivals Tim Drake's DeusAngstMachina. His son was hit by a car and died at age three. His wife committed suicide within a year. Only six months after her death, Michael's two siblings (his last living relatives) were murdered by an apparent [[ReligionOfEvil Satanic cult]].

* StealthHiBye: Jean-Paul's inability to pull this off during his [[AntiHeroSubstitute stint as Batman]] was Commissioner Gordon's first clue that there was a new Batman in town. The below scene doubles as a CrowningMomentOfFunny.

* WellDoneSonGuy: Jean-Paul Valley had ''terrible'' issues with both his real father, Ludovic Valley, and his adoptive father figure, [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]]. Indeed, their relationship has been compared to a very athletic father looking down on an intelligent but physically lacking son. On the other hand, Jean-Paul's father issues led him to [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming identify with a lot of the villains he fought]].

* DesignerBabies: JPV's strength, speed and toughness was enhanced by the Order of St. Dumas by pre-nataly modifying his genetic structure.

* DesignerChild: JPV strength, speed and toughness was enhanced by the Order of St. Dumas by pre-nataly modifying his genetic structure.

* FanNickname: Let's see here...
** There's "Az."
** A lot of people refer to Jean-Paul Valley as Batman as "[=AzBats=]."
*** Little known fact; [[FanNickname "AzBats"]] was actually coined by ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}.