Origin

Young Nightcrawler

Kurt Wagner is the product of a love affair between two mutants, both with origins that have never fully been explained. His mother was the terrorist Mystique, who at the time was the wife of Baron Christian Wagner, believed to be the father of Nightcrawler for a long time. In truth, his father is the Neyaphem warlord, Azazel, who had a great master plan to impregnate earth women with his children so he could escape the brimstone dimension.

When Nightcrawler was born, the townsfolk were horrified by Mystique' son's demonic appearance and so she threw him into a river, shape-shifted into another form and then claimed that she had killed the son and the mother. Azazel would not allow his son to die, so he saved him and gave him to one of his other lovers (and servant) Margali Szardos to raise. Margali tells a different tale to hide the truth and says that Nightcrawler was discovered by her when she was walking by his house. She discovered his father, Eric Wagner, had died of a heart attack outside and found his mother lying next to him dead. Margali took him in and raised him along with her real children Stefan and Jimaine (later known as Amanda Sefton) at the Bavarian circus. She worked as a fortune teller to hide the truth about her sorcery. Kurt had amazing agility and soon his mutant abilities would manifest. Because of these gifts, he did acrobat shows for the circus audience, while people assumed it was a man in a costume.

When a millionaire circus owner from Texas approached them join his circus, he planned to move the circus to America and demanded that Kurt be in the freak show. Kurt was appalled at this, so he quit the circus and headed to Winzeldorf, Germany. He arrives there to find that his brother Stefan went insane and had been murdering children. Kurt battles him, hoping to stop the atrocity, but accidentally kills Stefan by breaking his neck. He tried to tell Margali about her son but she was not at the circus at the time. The coincidence is that, as children, Stefan had made Kurt swear to kill him if ever he took an innocent life. In turn, the villagers thought Kurt was the demon that killed the children.

Creation

Nightcrawler was created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum.Cockrum was working for DC comics at the time of his conception, he was originally supposed to be a demon from hell that failed a mission and was banished. He was to be a member of the Legion of Super Heroes. He made his debut in Giant Size X-Men #1 in 1975

Character Evolution

When he was first introduced, Nightcrawler struggled to be accepted by society at large, as well as by other mutants. Even so, he was usually a light-hearted character, quick to make jest or pull pranks on his fellow X-Men. He was also quite the ladies' man. As time went on, more focus was placed on Nightcrawler's Catholic faith and how he deals with the tragic experiences of his life. He became more of a sullen, introspective character, especially during his time with the team Excalibur. After returning to the United States, Nightcrawler planned to join the priesthood, but was forced back into the life of costumed adventuring before being officially ordained.

Major Story Arcs

Joining the X-Men

Professor X arrived in time to save Kurt from being killed by an angry mob and offered him a chance to join the X-Men. Kurt becomes a valued member of the X-Men and has gone on many missions since joining the team. Professor X originally gave Nightcrawler an image inducer to hide his appearance in public, but after being accused of being ashamed of his appearance by Wolverine, Nightcrawler threw the image inducer away. During the period when he still used the image inducer, Nightcrawler met an air-stewardess, Amanda Sefton, and often double-dated her and her friend Betsy along with Colossus.

Kurt became extremely happy with his new home and family the X-Men. Eventually he would battle Margali who blamed him for her son’s death. She cursed him into a pocket dimension resembling Dante's Inferno, and kept him trapped there. The X-Men, along with Doctor Strange, helped free Kurt and he explained to Margali about what really happened with her son. They reconciled immediately afterward. After the Beyonder left him behind during one of the X-Men’s missions, Kurt began to doubt himself . He spent days thinking about why the Beyonder left him, he eventually saved a girl from Arcade and in the process regains his confidence.

Further Adventures with the X-Men

Kurt Teleporting

Nightcrawler and his fellow X-Men were forced to rush to Washington at one point because of an assassination attempt on Senator Robert Kelly's life, which if executed would set in motion the Days of Future Past storyline. During the fight with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Nightcrawler met Mystique and was shocked at how similar their appearances were. When he questioned Mystique, she merely told him to ask his foster mother, Margali Szardos. Before Nightcrawler could question Mystique further, she disappeared. Nightcrawler wouldn't find out the mystery connecting Mystique and him for many years.

When fighting Dracula, the extent of Nightcrawler's religious faith became apparent when he used two stakes to fend off Dracula. Wolverine had previously tried this, but upon hearing Dracula taunt Wolverine and say that it would only work for those who believed, Nightcrawler used this knowledge to his advantage. Years later, the X-Men were fighting Nimrod, the supreme Sentinel. Nightcrawler decided to try injuring Nimrod by teleporting part of it away with him. Unfortunately, this trick had been tried on Nimrod before, so Nimrod simply fired an energy signature disruption at Nightcrawler, causing Kurt to disintegrate. No one even knew if he had survived. Nightcrawler had survived and merely teleported to the New York harbors. While there, he was almost killed by a mob. His teleportation powers had been damaged, and he could now only teleport a few times a day without seriously straining himself.

Mutant Massacre

Due to his teleporting "disability", Nightcrawler was easily beaten by Riptide during the Mutant Massacre, despite a warning from Wolverine. As a result, he wound up mortally wounded and left in a coma on Muir Island for several weeks. When he finally awoke, the X-Men were thought to be dead. Kurt then stayed at Muir Island to recuperate for the following few weeks. He also worked out the new limits of his powers: that he could only teleport once a day or else he risked seriously injuring himself.

Excalibur

When the X-Men were believed to be dead, after battling the Adversary in Dallas, Kurt and Kitty, unaware of their former teammates reincarnation, joined Excalibur. Fighting alongside Captain Britain, Meggan, Lockheed and Rachel Summers. His powers were still very limited at this time and he was usually limited to only being able to teleport once per day however he still maintained all his agility and was a valued member of the team.

While with Excalibur Nightcrawler developed feelings for Meggan. This caused tensions between him and Captain Britain. While at first Captain Britain assumed the leadership role of the team, it wasn't long before Nightcrawler showed his own qualities as a team leader and he took over the position.

Return to the X-Men

After Captain Britain left Excalibur for good, the team was disbanded. Kurt and his friends from Excalibur, Kitty and Colossus joined Kurt back to the United States and back to the X-Men. There Kurt is part of the newest X-Men group where he is re-joyed of seeing his good friend Wolverine and Storm again. Kurt quickly adjusts to the team once more and becomes a valuable asset.

Becoming a Priest

Kurt in Black

His own mortality and that of his teammates was very clear to him now. Despite all this, Kurt left the X-Men for some brief time to start an education to become a priest. Kurt succeeded after some months and remained in church most of the time. This however all changed when a group of mutants named the Neo attacked Kurt in his church. This was a group of mutants that had all lost someone when the High Evolutionary had briefly turned every mutant's power off. This had caused some of them to die (some where in the air or deep under water when it happened). When the Neo found that out that the X-Men had been involved, they wanted to kill them. Luckily, Kurt defended himself well, and was eventually saved by Dr. Cecilia Reyes, another mutant whom had become a member of the X-Men more recently.

After Kurt's good friend Colossus had perished curing the Legacy Virus, Kurt got a dent in his faith, not being sure what to believe if such a good man as Peter was to die. This and the destruction of the Island nation known as Genosha, with thousands of mutants laying dead, brought on a darker era for the X-Men, including Kurt.

Leader and Solo Adventures

Kurt becomes a leader of the Uncanny team for a period of time leading Wolverine, Psylocke, Marvel Girl, Cannonball, and Bishop. After a few missions with the Uncanny team, Kurt helps Storm liberate a part of Africa that was under oppression by Storm’s uncle.

Nightcrawler is given an assignment by Storm to investigate a mysterious murder of 13 children at Metro-General Hospital. The problem was all the kids were killed in a locked room. Nightcrawler meets the only survivor who doesn't want to talk to Kurt because of his demonic looks. Kurt then finds burnt hooves marks on the roof of the hospital. Kurt follows the marks roof to roof until they stop at a high rise. There is a party going on and the one throwing it is Dr. Childs. The spying is cut short by yelling in the streets. Another doctor says Dr. Childs is the one who killed the kids. He can't say anything else because he spontaneously burst into flames.

Kurt jumps from a building and then teleports the man into the lake. To Kurt's surprise, he is still burning and now Kurt is burning. Kurt calls Storm and tells her what happened. She asks him whether the burning was meta or mystical, and tells him he should contact Dr. Strange if it is mystical. Kurt goes to Limbo to talk to Amanda Sefton. She tells him that the boy who survived could be a magician and not know it. He tied knots into a string and doesn't know why. Kurt goes back with his image inducer and talks to the kid. The kid tells Kurt he started feeling hot and sick and then he started tying knots into his string and it went away. He then says Dr. Childs came in and asked him questions. The Dr. Childs came in and told Kurt the interview was over. Kurt yells back and says your not the legal guardian. But Dr. Childs shows a woman and says this is his legal guardian. The boy says that she is not. Kurt walks away with the woman's hands on the boy. He turns around to see a demon holding the boy.

Kurt talks to the boy again to be interrupted by a nurse, named Christine Palmer who tells him that Dr. Childs was being attacked by the boy's legal guardian. Kurt teleports down and Dr. Childs screams that he can't cross the circle. Kurt teleports and grabs the woman and teleports her into a church. Here a gas comes out of her and she faints. They go to limbo and figure out she was possessed by thirteen demons. She says how she was in a shelter and Dr. Childs came and got her out. But the demons inside her wanted out and they attacked Dr. Childs, that's when he put them in a circle to hold them inside her. They figure out that the boy has been keeping the fourteenth demon inside himself. Dr. Childs visit the boy and tells him their going somewhere private where they can continue his treatments.

Kurt goes back to the hospital to get Seth. But Dr. Childs already took Seth. Dr. Childs and the boy goes in a room filled with 13 demons in a circle. Dr. Childs goes up to one of the people and says reveal yourself, it was Kurt using his image inducer. Dr.Childs cuts the rope Seth used to keep the demon inside himself, he starts to fell hot and something is coming out of his chest. Kitty comes in and makes the boy intangible and the demon comes smoothly out. The demon kills the people at the party and Amanda comes in and sends the demons back to hell.

Kurt and the nurse, Christine, that he met in the hospital then started to date. They, Storm and Wolverine then explore the subway when a train goes straight by too fast. Kurt teleports them on the train while Christine jumps on Kurt. She checks the conductor to see whats wrong. Wolverine makes sure the passengers stay sitting down. Storm short circuits the wires. Kurt then sees a person out on the railroads. He teleports there and the man tries to kill him with a mining tool only to have him pass right by Kurt and disappear. Storm and Logan leave the city with Kurt and his girlfriend. The city wants to talk with someone who has been at the incident. The mayor tells Kurt about the disturbances and asks him to go in the subway and check it out. Nightcrawler is then in the middle of a group of ghosts. Kurt touches one of the ghosts and sees his whole history. He sees him working in the mines where that subway is. The ghost attacks Kurt so he fights back. Kurt then stops, asking the ghosts if they need help. They lead him to a tool that was left there by someone. He takes it to Beast with no results. Then he takes it to Amanda who tells him how old it is. Kurt goes to the mayor's speech and tells him to pat tribute to the workers who died in the mines. The ghosts are there and start vanishing.

Kurt is having dreams about his life and his history. He travels with his girlfriend and Logan to his circus. It's still there but it is engulfed by flames. Margali travels to limbo to see Amanda tied up and bruised by a demon. Kurt comes to the circus and helps everyone. He remembers someone there named Amos Jardine, who drugged him and put him in a cage. They then find that Amos is possessed by a demon. It is revealed that he is the same demon who caused Kurt's brother, Stephen, to go mad and kill some innocent children. Margali then captures the demon and asks him why he is here. Nightcrawler looks outside and sees three demons and a big group of zombies. Nightcrawler and Logan fight the demons and zombies. Just in time, Amanda comes in and destroys all the demons and zombies.

M-Day

When the Professor re-emerged after M-Day without his powers, he reveals to the team the destruction caused by Vulcan. Xavier then takes a team of X-Men, including Kurt, to go into space and after Vulcan. Kurt was one of the X-Men that returned home from space, along with a newly re-powered Xavier, Warpath, Darwin and the new member Hepzibah. Unlike the others, during the Extremists arc, Nightcrawler followed Xavier and attempted to help him on his adventure to find Magneto.

Messiah Complex

During the Messiah CompleX, Nightcrawler took out Exodus when the X-Men first attacked the Marauders, by teleporting him outside and slamming his face into the snowy floor. Kurt also beat Omega Sentinel and Mastermind when they were cornering Wolverine. He was then gravely injured by Scalphunter, who shot him. Nightcrawler was out of action until New X-Men #46, when he teleported all the injured out of the Med Lab after a Predator infiltrated the mansion, but was then teleported with the others to Muir Island by Pixie, and took part in the final battle.

Divided We Stand

Divided We Stand

After the X-Men were "disbanded" because of the supposed death of Professor X, Nightcrawler, Colossus and Wolverine go to Europe. While there, Wolverine and Nightcrawler have a war of pranks. The only prank revealed to the readers was when Wolverine messes with Nightcrawler's image inducer, making him appear as if he's Angelina Jolie. Nightcawler, as Jolie, is photographed with her new "boyfriend", Colossus. After a visit to Russia, the three are traveling back through Europe by train. Suddenly, they're ambushed by Red Room robots. Wolverine begins to fight, and Nightcrawler teleports Colossus outside. Both Colossus and Nightcrawler are then shot by one of the robots and begin to fall. Wolverine then jumps to catch Kurt, and puts himself underneath Nightcrawler, so when they hit land he'll take most of the force. When they wake, Wolverine is in a room connected to a machine that will shock him whenever their captor feels like it, until Colossus tells him what he wants - which is why The X-Men survived M-Day. Peter says no. The man then brings in Nightcrawler, who has a neck holder that will shock him if he tries to teleport. He threatens to kill him unless Colossus tells him what he wants. Peter reluctantly refuses. He then gives the order for him to be killed, but at the last moment, Kurt teleports onto Wolverine's restraints. The electric shock that then runs through Nightcrawler's body also overloads Wolverine's restraints. This means he is free to kill the guards. As Nightcrawler, Wolverine and Colossus make their escape, they encounter Omega Red. After a difficult fight, Omega is defeated by Nightcrawler teleporting him higher and higher into the air, and dropping him.

Second Coming

In Second Coming, When Hope and Cable return to the present , Cyclops dispatches a team to retrieve them and return them to safety. Nightcrawler is part of this and on the way the group runs into enemy forces whom they neutralise. Before any real interrogation starts, X-23 brutally executes one of the soldiers, causing the secret of X-Force to be revealed. Kurt threatens to quit in disgust, but Colossus convinces him otherwise and he reluctantly stays.

Later on, in Nevada, during the confrontation between Bastion and a multi-powered Rogue, Bastion ends up gravely injuring Rogue and moves in to kill Hope Summers. Nightcrawler teleports in between them and is subsequently impaled on Bastion's arm. Praying to God for "one last jump," Nightcrawler successfully teleports to Utopia with Hope and tells her that he believes in her before passing away.

Despite major flak for too many character deaths in the Marvel Universe holding little weight or necessity other than "killing for the shock of a character dying", the critical response of Nightcrawler's death was overall positive. Many critics stated that Nightcrawler's death was properly in line with the character's belief structure as well as moral implications.

Wolverine Goes To Hell

Kurt was next seen during the battle between Wolverine and the demon that was possessing his body. He realized that Wolverine would lose his mind and body if he did not help him. As a result, Kurt went to a special part of Wolverine's mind where he housed his image of Jean Grey so they can defeat the demon. When Kurt and Jean showed up in the battle they asked Kurt if he was a part of Wolverine's mind, however, he replied saying that he is the actual Nightcrawler. After the battle Kurt begged Wolverine to not seek revenge on those who did this to him, however, he refused to listen.

Amazing X-Men

Kurt died, and he was truly in heaven. This was everything he imagined it would be, but for some reason Kurt found himself "sitting on the edge of paradise", unwilling to experience more of the joys that heaven brings. Talking to another soul in heaven, Kurt revealed that he felt like there was another chapter of his life still to be written. That was when Kurt smelt that familiar sulfur smell, the same smell that appears when he teleports. After investigating and fighting some pirates that did not belong in heaven, Kurt found his father, Azazel.

At this time, the Bamfs revealed their real purpose for plaguing the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. They had created a portal, hidden in the walls, for the purpose of recruiting the X-Men by teleporting them to the afterlife.

Kurt and his father fight, but this fight is ended abruptly when Azazel taunts Kurt for not being able to leave heaven by teleporting out of heaven himself. Kurt then, although believing that his soul would be lost if he jumped down from heaven, jumped anyway, so as to figure out and stop his father's evil schemes.

Extraordinary X-Men

After the events of Secret Wars we see Nightcrawler again get captured by Mister Sinister. When the X-Men finally rescue him, he is unable to talk. Jean Grey looks inside his mind and discovers that while in Germany Kurt discovered a pile of dead mutant bodies that were killed by bigots. This was implied to be the main cause of his trauma.

Powers and Abilities

BAMF

Kurt's mutant power is teleportation. He is actually opening a portal to and traveling almost instantaneously through another dimension. When teleporting, Kurt leaves behind a whiff of brimstone and a characteristic "bamf" sound as the air rushes into the space where he once was. After some training sessions, Kurt has developed the ability to bring more with him when he teleports, including water or other people. Kurt's teleportation range is limited, but he can travel up to two miles. He must also have visited the place before, or he risks teleporting into a solid object, which could be fatal as two things cannot occupy the same space in that particular instant in time. Kurt has a spatial awareness, which means depending on the distance he teleports he has a way of not ending up in walls.

This style of teleportation is physically demanding not only for Kurt, but particularly for others he brings along with him who are not used to it. When used offensively, the stress of rapid succession of teleports can incapacitate a normal person or cause nausea. It has been hinted that his physiology may make travel less physically stressful. His teleportation is more easily done following the magnetic poles of the earth (north and south) he can travel about 3 miles north and south and 2 miles east and west. His power can also be used more aggressively than this: He can grab a hold of, say, a person's head, and then teleport, concentrating in taking only the head with him (AoA), effectively killing his enemy, although in the 616 reality, Kurt has never done this because of his high regard for human life.

The upper limits of his powers were shown during the Second Coming story arc. Rogue tells Cyclops that Kurt has teleported over 300 miles in under a minute with a passenger. After he has been impaled on Bastion's arm, Nightcrawler teleports from Nebraska to Utopia with Hope and Bastion's arm.

Kurt has many demonic traits in his appearance. He is covered with dark blue fur, has yellow eyes, long sharp canines, and pointed ears. His hands and feet are both larger than average, with two large fingers and a thumb on each hand and two large toes with a toe-like protrusion on his heels (which allows him to grip with his feet). Despite his unusual fingers, he is shown to possess superhuman dexterity. He also has a prehensile tail that is strong enough to lift his own weight, he can use his tail to fight with a sword, grab things and can even hang from it.

The dimension he travels through constantly bends the light around him, making him appear in shadow during normal daylight and rendering him nearly invisible in the dark. There has been dispute over whether Nightcrawler's agility level is actually superhuman, or if his life as a circus acrobat has caused him to be extremely (but not superhumanly) agile, although it has been suggested that his spine is unnaturally flexible. Kurt also possesses, speed, and stealth, as well as the ability to cling to any surface, and is a skilled swordsman.

Personal Information

Height: 5' 9"

Weight: 161 lbs.

Eyes: Yellow

Hair: Indigo

Skin: Blue

Unique Traits: Only three fingers on each hand, two long toes pointing forward and one long toe-like projection pointing backward, a prehensile tail, pointed ears, fang-like canine teeth, and his body is coated with a blue-colored fur.

Nationality: German

Place of Birth: Bavaria, Germany

Education: Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters (College Level Courses)

Occupation: Adventurer, former Priest, Circus Performer

Known Relatives: Azazel (Father), Raven Darkholme (AKA Mystique, Mother), Graydon Creed (Half-Brother, Deceased), Nils Styger (AKA Abyss, Half-Brother), Kiwi Black (Half-Brother), Margali Szardos (Foster Mother), Rogue (foster sister), Amanda Sefton (AKA Magik, Foster Sister), Stefan Szardos (Foster Brother, Deceased), Talia Wagner (AKA Nocturne, Alternate Timeline Daughter), Raze Darkholme (AKA Raze, Half-Brother from an alternate future), Charles Xavier II (AKA Xavier, Half-Brother from an alternate future)

Alternate Realities

Earth-295: Age of Apocalypse

The Nightcrawler of this reality is known as Kurt Darkholme. In addition to being very close to his mother, Mystique, he has a more pirate-like and vicious style, an example of this is when he teleports Deadpool's head away from his body. Here Kurt is a darker individual, who hates churches.He also carries two sabers, which he uses often. Kurt is sent by Magneto to Avalon to get Destiny. He and Mystique go and are attacked by the Pale riders.

During The Dark Angel Saga, The Uncanny X-Force get the aid of Dark Beast, who opens a portal to Earth 295, they are there in the search for a life seed; the only thing Dark Beast says can help Angel from becoming and heir to Apocalypse. Shortly after they arrive, Dark Beast finds the Life seed he had hidden in his lab; but he is then stopped by Nightcrawler, who takes the seed from him thinking it is only something Dark Beast wants to do harm with. Nightcrawler is shocked to see Wolverine, but still gets away from the team with the seed. X-Force chases after him, Nightcrawler loses grasp of the seed but Sunfire gets it and destroys it. Nightcrawler does suggest not destroying it but it was too late. Sabretooth of this world shows up, informs them all he knows who they are; from his Exiles days. They then lead X-Force to see what's left of the X-Men. Nightcrawler joins X-Force and some of the X-Men to search for Gateway, who is X-Force's only way home.

Age of Apocalypse

X-Force and the AoA X-Men, make their way to the Akkaba Prison known as The Sky where Gateway was being held. The team splits up and deals with the Black Legion and AOA Wolverine. They eventually find Gateway and get X-Force teleported back to their timeline. Once back in their own time X-Force was confronted by Archangel and the Four Horsemen, after a long fight Fantomex retreats and get's Gateway to teleport the AOA X-Men to help X-Force, together they defeat Archangel, the X-Men decide to go back to their timeline, Nightcrawler decides to stay in this time line and vows to kill, Dark Beast, AOA Iceman, Sugar Man, and any other villain that escapes the AOA timeline to this one. Some months later, AOA Nightcrawler desides he wants to return to his own reality, and does everything he can to do so, even if it means betraying his own teammates of X-Force. This eventually cost AOA Nighcrawler his life. He dies in issue 2 of the X-Termination mini-series.

Earth-2182

In another reality Nightcrawler fell in love with Scarlet Witch, and they had a daughter - Nocturne who eventually ended up in Earth-616. She sees Earth-616 Nightcrawler as a father-figure and they have become close friends.

First Appearance: X-Men Millennial Visions 2000

Earth-1610

Ultimate Nightcrawler

In the Ultimate universe, Nightcrawler was rescued by the X-Men from the Weapon X program. While accepted as a member of the X-Men for a time, he seems to be a bit insane, and have a fixation with Dazzler. He went so far as to kidnap Dazzler, keeping her in a cave where the other members of the team could not find her while she healed. After the kidnapping of Charles Xavier by Cable, Nightcrawler escaped the mansion, looking for a place where he can fit in. He was recently told about the Ultimate Morlocks, who he may seek out. Toad and Kurt were captured by the Morlocks and were called spies. When the Disbanded X-Men came to rescue them, Nightcrawler refused to leave and became the leader of the Morlocks.

Recently, Nightcrawler has rejoined the X-Men. After taking the power enhancing drug Banshee, Kurt now wields javelins of energy. His appearance has drastically changed. His hands are almost clawed and his tail is semi pointed at the end. He appears quite similar to his Earth-616 counterpart, except he makes gold-yellow smoke instead of purple when teleporting, and he appears to be much younger. Nightcrawler also joins Dazzler and his other teammates to help Colossus, whom he first despised for being gay. Eventually, the two made up, and the team of six, one being Cyclops, went off to fight Northstar, Colossus' boyfriend. They find him, but he appears to be dead, and Piotr looses his mind. Kurt then goes to Jean for help, begging her to help them save both themselves and Piotr who was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Jean helps, and both Dazzler and the rest go back to normal lives, but still part of the X-Men. However, Kurt Wagner and Dazzler his presumed girlfriend both pass away during Magneto's Ultimate Wave, which hits New York in the face, in Ultimatum issue 98. It was quoted by Jean that neither of them deserved to die, because both were referring to the beauty of life as humans, rather than mutants

Earth-9997

In the Earth X reality Nightcrawler was revealed to be Belasco.

Earth-15104

In the reality known as Here Comes Tomorrow, Nightcrawler is a henchman of Sublime/ Beast and have been infused with the powers of Cyclops, Madrox and Angel. He is known as Crawler.

Earth-58163

House of M

In the House of M reality Nightcrawler is a member of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Red Guard. He also appears as part of Apocalypse's Horsemen (alongside Angel and Iceman) during the attempted assassination of King T'Challa in Wakanda.

Earth-9997

The Nightcrawler of the Earth X reality became Belasco. He lost his arm while "bamfing" away from the Grey Gargoyle. His arm remained in stone but Nightcrawler appeared elsewhere in human form. The mutated populous of Earth-9997 feared and attacked him for his normalcy. He was beaten to death or near death by the mob when he was confronted by Mephisto who lead him to believe that Nightcrawler will always be feared because he is a demon. Nightcrawler then took on the guise of Belasco an evil sorcerer described by Dante Aligheri. He was subsequently trapped in ice by Mephisto and sent back in time accidentally by Captain America, where he would appear in front of Shanna, with little to no memory of his life as Nightcrawler.

Earth-597

The Earth-597 counterpart of Nightcrawler is a Nazi. He belongs to a team called the Lightning Force. The Lightning Force is a team from a world where the Nazis won World War II. Hence, the team is made made up of the same characters as their 616 counterparts Excalibur. The Lightning Force is lead by the Nazi Counterpart of Captain Britain, Hauptmann Englande.

This Nazi equivalent of Nightcrawler proved much stronger than the original. At the time, the original Nightcrawler was having severe problems with his teleporting. His 597 counterpart however had no problems, and quickly dispatched of the real one.

These events lead up to the Excalibur event Cross-Time Caper.

First Appearance: Excalibur #9

Earth-2149

In the Marvel Zombiverse, Nightcrawler is one of the last heroes to infected by the zombie plague. He was bitten by the zombified version of the Fantastic Four.

Earth-811

In the Days of Future Past reality Nightcrawler and Amanda Sefton had a daughter named Blue. Kurt, Amanda and a young Illyana were the first to be killed when the United State outlawed mutants.

Earth-904

In this reality Nightcrawler was a member of the Warriors Three.

Earth-12

In this reality Kurt Wagner is known as Nightcrawler and is a friend and teammate of Mimic of the Exiles.

First Appearance: Exiles #14

Earth-Professor's Secret Service

The X-Men deem themselves the representatives of their fellow mutants, and Professor X becomes the leader of Genosha. First Appearance: X-Men: Millennial Visions 2000

X-Men: The End

X-Men: The End

Kurt is married to another mutant who appear very much similar to him and they have a child named T.J. Wagner, But in this reality, T.J. is a boy. Nocturne also exists in this reality.

Earth-Dark Phoenix

In this reality Nightcrawler was put on trial with his fellow X-Men and Jean Grey (then possessed by the Dark Phoenix). Nightcrawler unknowingly battled against the Exiles.

First Appearance: Exiles #3

"What if the All-new, All-different X-Men have never existed?"

In "What if the All-new, All-different X-Men have never existed?", where Kurt was never recruited by Xavier and became a thief under the tutelage of Erik The Red. When he found out the X-Men's sacrifice, he fought the Dark Phoenix hiding behind the sun. He reasons that the X-Men would be remembered for what they did, and not for his own actions.

Other Media

Television

Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends

Nightcrawler guest-starred in the episodes of Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends. The X-Men have received a threat from a cyborg. Kurt then teleported to know him. He was then trapped by Cyberiad using a plasma bubble that is immune to his teleportation. Cyberiad created his hologram that let the other X-Men follow him into different difficult challenges for the X-Men. Nightcrawler was then saved and together they have defeated the Cyberiad. He was voiced by Stanley Jones.

Kurt was an X-Man who was often misjudged because of his inhuman appearance. Kitty Pryde also feared him at first. When the X-Men attempted on retrieving the stolen power circuit from the Brotherhood, Kurt was blocked by Blob. Knowing that he would have nothing to do against the Blob. he just teleported and faced Magneto along with Kitty Pryde. When the power circuit have been destroyed, Kurt have to stay in a machine to sustain a machine, however weakening him and will later cause his death. Kitty convinced him to get away from the machine. Kurt did not listen and continued for the sake of humanity. Professor X then instructed Kurt to teleport when it is nearly exploding. However, he was then led into Earth's atmosphere that would burn him. The X-Men thought that he was dead. Suddenly, they heard a sound from the locker. It was Nightcrawler who is safe yet exhausted. Kitty apologizes to him for misjudging him. He was voiced by Neil Ross.

Animated Series

Nightcrawler was shown as a 25-year-old mutant with demonic appearances. Mystique had a relationship with a wealthy baron who believed that Mystique is human (Mystique disguises with her shape shifting abilities.) When Nightcrawler was born, they were all scared by knowing that the baby was blue and looks demonic. Mystique and the baron decided to separate. Mystique then abandoned Nightcrawler. The X-Men met Nightcrawler when Rogue, Gambit and Wolverine are in Germany for a ski trip. Wolverine have heard a news that a demon is existing in the place. He later found out that it was not a demon but a mutant with demonic appearance but have a religious side within. The townsfolk burned the monastery for believing that Kurt was a demon. Logan convinced them about Kurt's good personality and learned the lesson of faith. After some events, Nightcrawler unexpectedly came to the X-Men for help to look for his mother that he have not known for his entire life. Jubilee wondered why he still wants to look for his mother even if she abandoned him. Nightcrawler admits that there are negative feelings that he felt for that, thus, his faith in God led him into loving his mother unconditionally. Mystique and Kurt have met and talked about the past. Though Mystique repeatedly rejected Kurt, he still says that he love his mother and that he would love her even through all that she have done to him. When Graydon Creed attempted on killing them, Nightcrawler have saved Mystique, though after being stuck in a flood, Nightcrawler was able to teleport. Mystique have survived using her shape shifting abilities. Full of regrets, Mystique realized how wrong she is to abandon such a good son like Nightcrawler and cried. He was voiced by Adrian Hough.

This version of Kurt Wagner is not entirely religious but insecure for his uncommon appearance. He went to Xavier Institute and was interviewed by Jean and Scott. Kurt found a new home who accepts him. Professor X gave him a device called holographic inducer that would let him appear normal. Mystique with the help of Toad then spied on the facility. Later revelations have revealed that Mystique was his mother and Rogue was his foster sister. It is also possible that Magneto was his father because it was revealed that he was the product of his genetic experimentation. A human named Amanda Sefton also dates with him regardless of his mutation. During the events that led Mystique to turn into stone, he tried his best to save her from being broken even with the Brotherhood stealing her statue form and Rogue's hatred for Mystique.

The Evolution version of Nightcrawler had multiple crushes on multiple female characters. The characters of Kitty Pryde, Tabitha Smith, and Amanda Sefton all have been fitted into this bill. Kurt starts off flirting with fellow member Kitty Pryde, fails, and they both become close friends, the closest in the X-Mansion. Tabitha Smith is a character Kurt seemed to have vague feelings for, but Amanda Sefton ended up being his girlfriend in the end. It was not specified if Kurt and Amanda ended up together, but they were just episodes before the series finale. He was voiced by Brad Swaile.

Wolverine & the X-Men

Kurt was on a ship going to Genosha together with other mutants. He became friends with Squid Boy and other mutants en route to Genosha. They defeated the Reavers with their united abilities while on the ship. His origins were shown through flashback, as the circus complex from canon comics are used in this incarnation. Kurt joined the refugees heading to Genosha instead of rejoining the X-Men when they came for him, sharing a tender moment with Kitty Pryde before declining. Then in Genosha, he met Scarlet Witch and was introduced to this new mutant haven. He developed a good friendship with her. However, Dust warned him about the true intentions of Magneto for creating Genosha, Nightcrawler became more curious and discovered Magneto's real intention. As a result, Scarlet Witch attacked him. However, his teleportation had saved him for the time being. He teleported with the best of his ability, over to the Institute and tried to inform the X-Men. But when he arrived , he was beaten by Mystique taking the form of his fellow comrade, Wolverine. Then, he was taken back to Genosha, and imprisoned.

After several days, maybe weeks, Mojo and his gang kidnap the Scarlet Witch and Wagner, and imprison them in a submarine forest. There they fought for their lives against a brainwashed Wolverine and several other dangers. In the end, they survived, including Wolverine, and made their way back to the institute. Kurt asked Scarlet Witch to come back with him, knowing well she didn't belong next to her father. She declined rather politely, and went back to her father, and he back to his former life. It was hinted several times in the episode Battle Lines that Kurt and Pryde resumed their close friendship.

It was hinted and shown several times that the Scarlet Witch harbors some intense feelings for Kurt. Her sister, Polaris, mentioned that she was 'in love with an X-Man,' which implies Kurt, because he and Wolverine were the only X-Men she's ever encountered, and Kurt's the only one she's spent enough time to get to know about. When Kurt yelled that she wasn't the love of his life during the battle in the submarine forest, the look on her face was priceless. She also went as far as kiss him. Kurt on the other hand, has expressed several times throughout the season that he does not love the Scarlet Witch, but may as well harbor some lingering feelings anyway.

Wagner's last scenes before the first season ended were with him fallen alongside Pryde during the three-way battle with Magneto's Sentinels, the Phoenix, and the Hellfire Club. His last scene was him standing behind Pryde, Soams, and Storm whilst Wolverine spoke to the holographic image of Professor X. He was voiced by Liam O'Brien.

Film

X2

This version, portrayed by Alan Cumming, shares much of the same history (the circus, Catholicism, and being native to Germany) with the comic book inspiration. One major difference between the comic book Nightcrawler and his film counterpart is that he wears ordinary civilian clothing as opposed to an X-Man uniform, as he is not actually a member of the X-Men in the film (or in the tie-in video game either), but instead an ally of the team. Also, the flash of smoke that accompanies Nightcrawler's teleportation ability appears a dark navy blue in the film, as opposed to the bright reddish-purple as it appears in the comics.

Unlike the traditional versions, in the movie Nightcrawler has blue flesh instead of blue fur. His skin is also decorated by angelic symbols which reflects the spirituality of the character's faith and his devout practice of Catholicism. In the film, Nightcrawler is brainwashed with a fluid from William Stryker's mutant son in order to attempt an assassination on the President of the United States. The opening scenes of the movie are almost a showcase of Nightcrawler's powers, with him versus the Secret Service, defeating them in a memorable fashion. Storm and Jean Grey are sent to find him and bring him back to the mansion, and Wagner goes with them. He helps Storm save the children and stop Stryker's Cerebro at the Alkali Lake facility and joins the team at the end, saving Charles when Stryker's Cerebro was destroyed.

Also, Nightcrawler's name is listed in William Stryker's files on Lady Deathstrike's computer.

Apocalypse

A younger version of Nightcrawler appears in the film, played by Kodi-Smit McPhee. We first see him when Mystique is looking for mutants. Kurt is held captive and is forced to battle Angel. He is eventually freed by Mystique. She takes him to Professor Xavier where Nightcrawler meets Cyclops and Jean. They go to see a movie together. When they return they discover that the mansion has been attacked. The X-Men are then again attacked by William Striker. Jean uses here telepathy to disguise their appearances. They sneak aboard Stryker's helicopter and follow them. They go to Alkali Lake. There they free a mutant that had been operated on that turns out to be Weapon X.

Nightcrawler then helps the X-Men battle Apocalypse, where hs is a pivotal part of the battle. He saves Beast's life and battles Arcangel. After Apocalypse is eventually defeated by Jean Grey, Nightcrawler joins the X-Men.

McPhee subsequently reprised his role in Dark Phoenix.

Video Games

X-Men

Nightcrawler in the arcade game

Nightcrawler is one of the main characters in the X-Men arcade game from Konami. He also appeared in other games around this time, such as X-Men for the SNES, X-Men: Madness in Murderworld, X-Men, and X-Men 2: Clone Wars.

X-Men: Next Dimension

Next Dimension

In this fighting game, Nightcrawler can teleport toward, behind, or above the opponent, following it with any attack he chooses. He also carries a large sword he uses to deadly effect. Nightcrawler's incredible acrobatic attacks rival the other agile fighters greatly, which include Beast and Toad.

Nightcrawler also appeared in the predecessor to this game, X-Men: Mutant Academy 2.

X-Men Legends

Nightcrawler also appeared as a playable character. He was voiced by Dee Bradley Baker.

X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse

Rise of Apocalypse

To his credit, Nightcrawler possesses the most powerful ultimate ability in the second game. He also has a special dialogue with Mister Sinister. Dee Bradley Baker reprised his role.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance

Ultimate Alliance

Nightcrawler also appears as a NPC in this game, once again voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. He is kidnapped by the Masters of Evil so that Doctor Doom can hook him up to the Mutant Amplifier, which is used to open up a doorway to Mephisto's realm. The heroes later encounter Nightcrawler and Jean Grey suspended in cages above the Infinity Vortex, and can only save one of them. If Nightcrawler is saved, Jean dies and later returns as the Dark Phoenix in the game's epilogue, and if if Jean is saved, Nightcrawler's death causes Mystique to murder Professor X in retaliation for the loss of her son. Nightcralwer was later added as a downloadable character to the Xbox 360 version of the game, finally allowing him to be playable.

X-Men: The Official Game

X-Men: The Official Game

Nightcrawler appears as a playable character in this game along side Wolverine and Iceman, the game is available for the Game Cube, Ps2, Xbox, Xbox 360 and the PC.

The game bridges the gap between X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand, with the ending explaining that Kurt resigned from the X-Men in order to pursue a more peaceful existence. Alan Cumming reprises his role from the movie.

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows

Nightcrawler appears as an NPC, voiced by Yuri Lowenthal.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Nightcrawler does not appear in the game (given that it is a prequel), but he is alluded to. During a tender scene between Mystique and John Wraith, it is mentioned that Mystique is pregnant with John's baby. John is heard suggesting "Kurt" as a potential name for the child. It is implied that the baby in question grows up to be Nightcrawler, explaining his blue skin (inherited from Mystique) and teleportation abilities (inherited from Wraith).

Marvel vs Capcom 3

Nightcrawler's cameo

Kurt appears in Trish's character ending. Trish mistakes him for a demon and attacks him, while Nightcrawler insists he is not a demon.

X-Men Destiny

Nightcrawler is one of the non playable X-Men characters in the game. In this game Nightcrawler is alive (meaning the game is not in the current X-Men continuity) and his look is drastically changed. Yuri Lowenthal reprises his role from Web of Shadows.

Marvel: Avengers Alliance

Avengers Alliance

Nightcrawler appears as an unlockable character in the Marvel: Avengers Alliance Facebook video game alongside many other X-Men personalities. He is an Infiltrator Class characters and uses his unique teleportation abilities in many of his attacks and passive effects. His alternate 'Swashbuckler' costume grants him a new passive effect and ability to switch him to a Scrapper Class character.

Marvel Heroes

Marvel Heroes

Nightcrawler appears as a playable character, with Liam O'Brien reprising his role from Wolverine and the X-Men.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order

Ultimate Alliance 3

Nightcrawler returns in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 as a playable character, with Liam O'Brien again reprising his role from Wolverine and the X-Men.

Music

Nightcrawler has also been mentioned in some musical media. He is mentioned (along with fellow X-Man, Kitty Pryde) in the Weezer song, In The Garage, even if it is a reference to owning an action figure. He also has inspired Indie rappers as seen on the web.

Merchandise

Figures from ToyBiz, Diamond Select and Hasbro