For decades, Nocturnal has been the X-MenThe sweet-natured teleporter, saving innocents and his teammates even when the odds seem impossible. However, as Marvel fully reboots its mutant heroes, Kurt Wagner goes from helpful hero to lethal marksman. But if you think Nightcrawler's new use of his powers makes him dangerous, wait until you meet his son.
In a new trailer for Ultimate Wolverine #1 (included below), the Wolverine of this new continuity escapes captivity and faces off against some of his most beloved X-Men allies. This new version of Logan is shown facing off against Colossus and Mystique, as well as a deadly Nightcrawler, who quickly teleports in to immobilize Wolverine with machine gun fire from numerous directions.
Chris Condon, Alessandro Cappuccio, Bryan Valenza and Cory Petit's Supreme Wolverine is the last entry in the new Marvel movie Final Universe line, representing a timeline where Wolverine was captured and experimented on by the hideous Directorate X, overseen by main timeline allies Colossus and Magik, as well as major villains including Mystique and Omega Red. However, he does not intend to stay there for a long time.
Nightcrawler Turns Evil as an Ultimate Wolverine Villain
And the former hero isn't alone as other members of the X-Men team go dark
Marvel's new Ultimate Universe takes place in a timeline where the villain Maker has altered the history that fans know, distorting an entire reality and installing himself as a secret global tyrant. To defeat the heroes who could have stopped him, the Creator killed them, corrupted them, or ensured they never gained powers. In Wolverine's case, the Creator turned Logan into his regime's deadliest assassin, codenamed Winter Soldier.
The story of Condon and Cappuccio in Final Universe: One Year Later revealed that the Creator assigned a corrupted Colossus to rule the Eurasian Republic, capturing mutants and imprisoning them in Directorate X, where abuse and experimentation turns them into workers or weapons for the Creator. It appears this project is overseen by important X-Men characters, including Nightcrawler, who is portrayed as an armed priest. In this world, he appears to be closer to his biological mother, Mystique.
Is Nightcrawler really evil?
There's still a chance the iconic X-Man could be a definitive hero of the universe
Fans shouldn't necessarily give up on Nightcrawler just yet. Although he is on the side of truly evil people, the Creator hides secrets within secrets, and Kurt may not know the true nature of Directorate X or the Eurasian Republic. His role as a priest suggests that, in this world, his faith won out over his superhero career, suggesting that he may have retained some form of his ingrained morality. Although he is shown shooting Wolverine, it's not hard to imagine that Nightcrawler may have taken Mystique's rifle after she was taken down by the 'Winter Soldier'.
Alternatively, Nightcrawler could be a full collaborator with Colossus and the Maker. With heroes like Hulk, Moon Knight, Sunfire, and Nick Fury working for the bad guys in this reality, it's entirely possible that the Creator has found a way to turn Nightcrawler to the dark side. If so, that's bad news for Wolverine, as the brief fight in the trailer shows just how deadly Kurt's powers are when he's in the heat. However, no matter what weapon he wields, Nightcrawler's powers are not as frightening as his son's.
Salamander, son of Nightcrawler, has a deadlier version of his powers
He found a way to burn enemies alive using teleportation
Nightcrawerl's son Salamander was introduced in 2000 X-Men: Millennial Visions. This comic imagines the X-Men of 2035, with the mutant heroes doing battle against an army of Morlocks. Fascinatingly, Salamander has a version of Nightcrawler's power to leap across the Brimstone Dimension. However, instead of using this dimension for teleportation, the Salamander opens a portal to the location and releases its “burning plasma” over your opponents.
It's a smart, dark twist on Nightcrawler's powers, especially since – aside from the stench of his teleportation clouds – fans are rarely made to remember that Kurt's powers work by shifting to another dimension and then quickly reemerging in a new location on Earth. . Salamander is a darker take on the idea, presenting a world where the X-Men have become a much crueler and less freedom-focused team. In fact, X-Men: Millennial VisionsThe idea of Nightcrawler's son has a lot in common with the new Ultimate Universe.
Nightcrawler is one of the most heroic members of the X-Men, so it will be interesting for fans to see a world where he is a trained assassin. However, it also happens that when everyone else failed him, the original Wolverine he could always count on his best friend Kurt Wagner – a tradition that Final Universe version of Nocturnal may still be able to defend, though clearly not on the characters' first encounter.
Supreme Wolverine will arrive on January 15th from Marvel Comics, Final Universe: One Year Later is available now.