Azrael (comics)
Azrael is the name of two fictional characters in the DC Comics universe. Azrael is from a group of assassins who were created by The Sacred Order of Saint Dumas to "enforce God's Will". The name is taken from the name for the traditional Angel of Death.
Publication history
The character first appeared in the series Batman: Sword of Azrael, as Jean-Paul Valley, in 1992.
He then became a supporting character in the monthly Batman titles, eventually taking over the role of Batman through the "Knightfall", "Knightquest", and "KnightsEnd" story arcs. Writer/co-creator Denny O'Neil admitted to difficulty with Azrael's transition from villain to hero: "If I'd known he was to become a monthly character, I might have set him up differently ... The problem is that I had to turn a bad guy into a real hero, not just an anti-hero or lead. It's possible to do that, but it's difficult to retain the original characterization. You almost have to change his personality."
The subsequent Azrael series, chronicling Valley's battles against the Order of St. Dumas, ran for 100 issues between 1995 and 2003. Starting with issue #47, it was retitled Azrael: Agent of the Bat in an attempt to boost sales by tying the series in with the rest of the Batman mythos, including Azrael as part of the team of Batman, Robin, and the new Batgirl (Cassandra Cain).
