Angel

Characteristics[]

Height- 6'0"
Weight- 150 lbs
Eyes- Blue
Hair- Blonde
Citizenship- American

History[]

Alias=Avenging Angel Archangel

Warren Worthington III is an Episcopalian born in Centerport, New York to Kathryn Worthington and Warren Worthington Jr. He was attending a private school in his adolescence when white feathered wings began to grow from his shoulder blades. At first, Warren felt he was a freak, but he soon learned that he could use his wings to fly and to help people. When there was a fire in his dormitory, he borrowed some props from the school's drama department, dressed up as a "heavenly" angel, and rescued his friends. He soon learned that he in fact was a mutant. He donned a mask and costume and called himself the Avenging Angel and became a solo adventurer, before being recruited by Professor Charles Xavier into joining the X-Men. Warren's status as a wealthy playboy, as well as being an outspoken individual who chafed at the notion of being told what to do, was the subject of much tension within the X-Men. In particular, Warren was in love with Jean Grey, who instead was in love with Scott Summers. Though he ultimately conceded Jean to Scott, Angel still harbors an unrequited love for Jean even as he found himself a girlfriend of his own, Candy Southern. While pursuing Sauron in the Savage Land, Angel was attacked by Pteranodons and fell to his death. He would have remained dead if not for the "Creator", who was Magneto without his costume. Magneto provided the necessary medical treatment needed to revive Angel from death and provided Angel with a new blue and white costume. Unknown to Angel, the costume also had a device installed that would let Magneto gain control over Angel, which he did months later when he made an attack on the X-Men. Around this time, Angel publicly reveals himself as a mutant after discovering that his uncle, Burt Worthington, not only had murdered Warren's father, Warren Worthington, Jr., but also poisoned his mother in order to ensure his inheritance of the Worthington fortune.

X-Factor[]

When the original X-Men were captured by the mutant island Krakoa, Professor X created a new team of X-Men to rescue them. When this new team of X-Men decided to stay, Angel and the rest of the original team, with the exception of Cyclops, left the team. He and Iceman went to Los Angeles, where they founded the Champions with Hercules, the Black Widow, and Johnny Blaze. Following the apparent death of Jean Grey and Cyclops' subsequent exile from the team, Warren rejoined the X-Men to help pick up the slack. During this time, Angel grew increasingly disturbed by the behavior and actions of Wolverine, and after some time, quit the team in protest. He was once kidnapped by the Morlock leader Callisto, who intended to force Angel to be her lover. Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Sprite arrived in time to stop Callisto from cutting off Angel's wings (believing that without them, Angel would be unable to flee her). Storm fought and defeated Callisto for the right to be the leader of the Morlocks, effectively freeing Angel in the process. Shortly thereafter, Angel joined the Defenders, with his fellow former X-Men Beast and Iceman and girlfriend Candy Southern as members. Using Angel's Colorado penthouse as their base, the group had several adventures before most of the group (excluding Angel, his girlfriend, and his fellow ex-X-Men) were killed freeing fellow New Defender Moondragon from being possessed by a malevolent spirit. Angel pondered retirement following the collapse of the Defenders team, but the return of Jean Grey (having been in stasis while an alien demigod impersonated her and ultimately died) once again kept him from stepping away from the limelight. Jean Grey was furious at the increase in anti-mutant hysteria in the two years she was away, let alone the X-Men's decision to align themselves with X-Men villain Magneto. To appease Jean's desire for action, Warren organized X-Factor. He recruited his old prep school friend Cameron Hodge to run the team, unaware that Cameron hated mutants and in particular, Warren. Since Cyclops was still married at the time, to Madelyne Pryor, Angel's love for Jean found its way to the surface as Jean turned to Warren for emotional support in lieu of Cyclops' coldness towards her. This in turn destroyed Warren's relationship with Candy Southern, after Candy caught Warren consoling Jean after she discovered Cyclops' marriage (thinking they were having an affair).

Archangel[]

X-Factor's formation would signal a brutal period of upheaval in Warren's life. Cameron Hodge used Warren's trust in

running X-Factor to further fuel anti-mutant sentiment via portraying X-Factor as "Mutant Hunters" for hire. A run-in with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants would result in the group's leader, Mystique, exposing the fact that Warren was financially backing X-Factor, which created a public relations nightmare for Warren, due to his outed status as a mutant. Worse yet, Warren's wings were mutilated during the Mutant Massacre by the Marauder Harpoon, although Thor's intervention saved his life. When the wings developed gangrene, Cameron Hodge willfully signed the paperwork, against Angel's wishes, to have Warren's crippled wings amputated. Despondent over the loss of his wings, Warren escaped the hospital and commandeered his private jet, which exploded in the air as the rest of X-Factor watched helplessly from below. It was ultimately revealed that Hodge had sabotaged Warren's ultra-light airplane in order to finish off his nemesis, under the cover of an apparent suicide. However, seconds before the explosion, Warren was spirited away by the ancient mutant Apocalypse. Apocalypse offered the despondent Angel a deal: serve him as his Horseman Death and he would give him his wings back. Apocalypse subjected Angel to extensive genetic alterations, giving him blue skin and organic metal wings, which could cut through almost anything and could fire his metal feathers as projectiles. He also gave him the title of "Death," the leader of his Horsemen, complete with extensive mental conditioning to make him obey Apocalypse's dark plans. Death would be unveiled to X-Factor during their second meeting with the Horsemen, with Warren sadistically exploiting his friend's shock at seeing him alive to defeat them in combat. As he led the Horsemen of Apocalypse to attack Manhattan, it was Iceman who helped Warren break free of Apocalypse's control by making Warren think he murdered him. Free, Warren refused to rejoin his teammates however as the effects of his metamorphosis had left Angel changed to the core. No longer was he the handsome playboy billionaire, but an emotionally damaged individual whose wings reflected his newfound bloodlust. The bloodlust was ultimately fueled when he tried to seek out Candy Southern, only to find out that she had gone missing. Warren learned that Candy had discovered all of Hodge's secrets (most notably his embezzlement of Warren's fortune to finance the creation of his anti-mutant militia "The Right") only to be abducted and lobotomized to keep her silent. In the confrontation that followed, Hodge murdered the brain-dead Candy in front of Warren. Warren responded by decapitating Cameron Hodge (who ultimately survived due to a deal with demons, granting him immortality). Warren (going by both "Death" and "Dark Angel" at this point in time) ultimately settled on "Archangel" as his new codename as he finally rejoined X-Factor. After the Inferno and an adventure in space with his teammates, Warren met and became romantically involved with Charlotte Jones, a New York City Police officer and single mother. It was with Charlotte's help that X-Factor freed Warren from the Ravens, a cult of near-immortal psychic vampires. It was during this battle that Warren being alive was made public knowledge, allowing him to regain control over the surviving business holdings held by his family, regaining his wealth as a result. Soon afterwards, X-Factor rejoins the X-Men following the defeat of the Shadow King on Muir Island.

Angel Again[]

After rejoining the X-Men, Archangel's brooding behavior would lessen, after Jean revealed to Warren that his wings (which Warren long believed had a mind of their own) were actually operating off of Warren's own subconscious desires for violence. This combined with Warren's accidental decapitation of Mutant Liberation Front member Kamikaze, led Warren to try and reject the dark cloud that had hung over his head ever since gaining his new wings. His relationship with Charlotte Jones faded as Warren began dating fellow X-Men member Psylocke. In an attempt to put his dark days behind him, Warren retired his "Death" uniform in favor of the blue/white costume Magneto had made for him. After Psylocke was eviscerated by X-Men prisoner Sabretooth during an escape attempt, Warren and the X-Men tracked him down and captured him, but not before he was able to badly damage Warren's metal wings. Over time, the damage to his wings spread. Eventually, the metal wings shattered completely, revealing that his feathered wings had been growing back within them and broke them apart from the inside. This followed a visit from Ozymandias, who told him that he was indeed one of Apocalypse's chosen ones. Reclaiming his original powers, Warren still retained his blue skin color. Angel was one of several X-Men who were present when Gambit's culpability in the events of the "Mutant Massacre" were made public by Magneto, which turned him against his teammate. Shortly afterwards, with the X-Men broke and their mansion stripped bare due to the US Government, Angel volunteered money to help keep the team going, though this would require his reclaiming full control over his family company to do so. Angel would return to the team following the events of "The Twelve", where his wings (temporarily) further mutated into wings made of light and he gained talon-like hands and healing powers, which Warren used to restore the mobility of crippled Horseman of Apocalypse War. Returning to the X-Men, Warren found his relationship with Psylocke gone, as she had begun dating new X-Men recruit Thunderbird III. When Rogue left the X-Men to join Storm's splinter group (X-Treme X-Men), Angel was promoted to head of the X-Men's field team. Angel's squad fought the anti-mutant "Church of Humanity" group, Mystique and her newest incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and tangled with the Vanisher, who had gone into business with several medical companies to create a designer drug that could give humans mutantlike powers. Angel also became entangled within a love triangle with rookie X-Man Paige Guthrie and the mutant prostitute Stacy X. Furthermore, during a battle with Black Tom Cassidy, Angel's regression to his pre-"Death" state was complete when Angel reverted to his normal Caucasian skin color when Cassidy (now turned into a plant-type vampire) attempted to drain Angel's life force from him. His healing powers from "The Twelve" also manifested themselves again, in the form of the revelation that Angel's blood had miracle healing properties.

Decimation[]

Following the death of Jean Grey, Warren and Paige took an extended leave of absence from the team. Warren began doing overseas charity work at this point, in the form of a charity called "Mutants Sans Frontières" in Zanzibar, where he then proceeded to help stop a coup with the aid of Professor X's newest charges from nearby Genosha. In Excalibur, Warren met up again with Callisto. As Paige reminded Warren of his history with Callisto, Viper attacked, but Warren and Callisto managed to defeat Viper together. In Generation M, Angel faked having lost his wings in order to capture the Ghoul, a deranged serial killer who used his retained mutant powers to murder ex-mutants. Though not an active member of any team, Warren reunited with the other surviving original X-Men — Cyclops, Iceman, and Beast — in a mission to stop Bishop from recapturing the fugitive mutants, though Bishop later joined them in their rescue attempt.

World War Hulk[]

Angel joined with fellow former Champions member Hercules, Namora, and Amadeus Cho in order to calm down the rampaging Hulk. Afterward, Angel discovered that Amadeus Cho had hacked into Warren's bank accounts and stolen several million dollars from Warren, to help him further aid the Hulk.

Messiah Complex[]

Angel is part of the team which investigates the new mutant birth in Alaska. He is later part of the team who is looking for former Acolytes. He is next seen part of the same team, but attacking the Marauders. Warren goes against Mister Sinister, but is easily defeated once Sinister recovers from Emma Frost's mental attack. Angel is knocked out, but recovers and is present with the X-teams for the final battle over the fate of the baby.

Divided We Stand[]

Angel is later seen flying over San Francisco, going to meet with Hepzibah, Warpath, and Iceman, when he stumbles across an area that looks as if the 1960s never ended. He contacts Scott and Emma, asking them for assistance before suffering the mind-altering effects of the zone, which are revealed to be caused by Martinique Jason. Angel and the three other ensnared X-Men are sent by Martinique to confront Scott and Emma. Emma manages to free them from the illusion and during the fall-out battle, Angel rescues the mayor of San Francisco. Thankful for the assistance and for the idea of having real superheroes in their city, the mayor then talks to Cyclops and Angel about helping them resettle the X-Men in San Francisco.

Archangel Returns[]

In X-Force (vol. 2) #4, Warren is brutally attacked by a mind-controlled Wolfsbane. During the attack, Wolfsbane savagely rips Warren’s wings from his back and runs away, taking the wings with her. For reasons yet unknown, Warren's healing factor fails to heal him, and some theorize that like Jay Guthrie, his healing factor was directly linked to his wings. Wolfsbane later delivers them to the Purifiers, who reveal that a mysterious agent known as the Apocalypse Strain is present in Warren’s body, and is the chief component of the wings themselves. The Purifiers use the Apocalypse Strain to modify an army of Purifier agents, giving them the same metallic wings that Archangel once had. Meanwhile, although Elixir is able to heal all of Warren's injuries, he cannot regrow his wings due to interference from the Apocalypse Strain. Later in the story, Warren is gripped by a series of excruciating seizures that not only mysteriously regenerate his techno-organic wings, but also transform him back into Apocalypse's version of Death/Archangel, complete with blue skin and a techno-organic version of his uniform. X-Force attacks Archangel, who eventually asks for relief from the pain of losing his wings and transforming into Archangel. However, at the last minute, Archangel escapes into the night, intent on taking vengeance against the Purifiers. Warren arrives at the Purifiers' headquarters and slaughters most of them in a blood-maddened rage. However, once the battle is over, he reverts to his normal Caucasian, feather-winged appearance. He comments to Logan that he can still feel the metal wings inside him however, and that they want to come out again. According to Elixir, Warren's transformation is permanent, implying that he is fully capable of transforming back into Archangel again at any time. In an attempt to understand what was done to both Wolfsbane and Angel, the pair of them are placed in a room together, where Rahne is forced to gaze at Warren. The mere sight of him causes her to become murderous once again, and she attempts to rip the wings from Warren's body once more. The sight of a psychotic Wolfsbane, as well as the fear of having his wings torn from his body again, causes a defensive reaction in Warren, reverting him back into his violent Archangel persona. Since then, Angel has taken dual membership with both the X-Men and X-Force, though Cyclops forbids Angel from telling the rest of the team about the return of his Archangel powers. However, while recruiting a scientist for Beast's "Science Squad", the X-Club, Angel was forced to transform into Archangel in order to destroy a giant rampaging monster. Beast reacted in anger that Angel had not told him that his "Death" powers had returned, creating tension between the two friends, due to Angel knowing telling Beast would expose the latest incarnation of X-Force and effectively end Cyclops' latest tenure as leader if the truth about his personal black ops squad became public knowledge. During the X-Club's recent trip to 1906 in order to discover the origins of the modern mutant race, Angel transformed into Archangel a number of times to help further their mission.

Second Coming and the new X-Force[]

Angel's old nemesis, Cameron Hodge, was resurrected by the purifiers, much to Warren's dismay. He was sent into the future to stop an endless wave of Nimrods flooding into the dome created by Bastion encasing the X-Men's new base of Utopia and much of the San Francisco Bay Area After the events of Second Coming, Cyclops ordered the disbanding of X-Force. Wolverine continued to see a purpose for X-Force however and reformed it in secret with Deadpool, Fantomex, Psylocke and Angel as members.

Their first mission was to find a newly resurrected Apocalypse and end his evil once and for all. X-Force fought their way into his stronghold and defeated his Horsemen only to find that Apocalypse had been reborn as a child with no memory of what he had done before. Clan Akkaba had been raising and conditioning the child in order to resume his post as Apocalypse. They contemplated killing the child but arguments broke out between the members on whether or not this new Apocalypse could be trained and taught to be good. In the end not even Archangel could bring himself to end the child but their argument was ended when Fantomex shot the boy in the head.

Unbeknownst to the rest of X-Force however, the death of Apocalypse started a "succession protocol" which would choose a new Apocalypse from one of Apocalypse's Horsemen of Death. Warren was chosen and his Archangel persona began to grow stronger and more violent. X-Force managed to narrowly defeat him when Archangel tried to kill a reporter that had found out about X-Force. X-Force traveled to the "Age of Apocaylpse" universe in order to find a Life Seed; the only thing that could save Warren from his transformation. When they returned with the seed however it was too late and Archangel had already ascended as the new Apocalypse and rallied his forces.

Archangel wanted the Life Seed for his own since he planned to destroy all life on Earth and needed the Life Seed to start over again. X-Force managed to defeat him together with the X-Men from the Age of Apocalypse and Psylocke stabbeed Archangel with the Life Seed. Instead of killing him however, the Life Seed used Archangel as "soil" to grow an entirely new person. This resulted in the return of Warren - now with techno-organic wings - and no memory of who he was.

Back to the School[]

Wolverine decided to bring Warren to his newly re-opened school for mutants in order to teach him come to grips with his new self. The new Warren (knowing nothing about mutants or who he was) believed he was an Angel and displayed new powers like energy blasts and the ability to resurrect dead creatures. Eventually, Angel attempted to prove he was a real Angel by flying to Heaven. When he reached the edge of space however he fell and was caught by Evan Sabahnur (a child clone of Apocalypse created by Fantomex). Evan was going through an identity crisis himself due to being called "Apocalypse" by his fellow students. Angel revealed that he had a new ability to see people's true essences and that when he looked at himself he saw something much more than a mutant. Evan asked him to look at him and tell him what he saw. When looking at Evan, Warren could only see the image of Apocalypse but he lied and told him he saw a good person and a hero.

When Cyclops came to the school to recruit people for the conflict between the X-Men and Avengers, Angel decided to join him in order to protect his new people.

Powers and Abilities[]

Powers[]

Wings: Angel possesses the superhuman ability to fly by means of his natural wings, which span 16 feet from wingtip to wingtip. Fully feathered like a bird's, the wings have a very flexible skeletal structure, enabling him to press them to the back of his torso and legs with only the slightest bulge visible under his clothing. Angel flies by flapping his wings, as a bird does.

Aerial Adaptation: Angel's entire anatomy is naturally adapted to flying. His bones are hollow like a bird’s, making him weigh far less than usual for a man of his build. His body is virtually devoid of fat and possesses greater proportionate muscle mass than an ordinary human does. His eyes are specially adapted to withstand high-speed winds which would hurt the average human eye. He possesses a special membrane in his respiratory system enabling him to extract oxygen from the air at high velocities or altitudes.

Peak Human Strength: Due to his body's natural mutation, Angel possesses greater physical strength than an ordinary human equal to him in body weight and can lift about 500lbs.

Superhuman Stamina: Angel's musculature produces less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of an ordinary human. He can physically exert himself at peak capacity for several hours before the buildup of fatigue toxins in his blood begins to impair him. His physical stamina while in flight is considerably greater. Angel can fly non-stop under his own power for a maximum of approximately twelve hours. Contrary to some reports, he couldn't make a transatlantic flight solely on his own power. During his one attempt to do so, he hitched a ride on an airplane for part of the way.

Superhuman Durability: The tissues of Archangel's body are somewhat harder and more durable than that of an ordinary human, though he is far from invulnerable. While he can be injured in ways comparable to an ordinary human, his body is structured to withstand the friction caused by flying at high speeds. He can also withstand impact forces that would severely injure or kill an ordinary human with only mild to moderate discomfort.

Regenerative Healing Factor: Angel possesses an accelerated healing factor that enables him to repair damaged tissue with much greater speed and efficiency than an ordinary human. He can completely recover from non-fatal injuries such as slash and punctures within a matter of hours and injuries as severe as broken bones within a few days. This ability extends to being transferred by blood, thus he can heal others who come into contact with his blood, provided they have the same blood type.

Flight: Angel's normal cruising speed averages around 70 miles per hour (112 kph), though he is capable of diving swoops that reach up to 180 miles per hour (290 kph). He can fly at 150 miles per hour (240 kph) without the help of a tail wind for up to half an hour at a time before tiring to an appreciable degree. Though he generally flies beneath the height of the clouds ([6,500 feet)(1981 meters)he can reach a height of 10,000 feet (3000 meters)with little effort. With severe strain he can attain the highest recorded altitude of a bird in flight (African geese at 29,000 feet (8840 meters) above sea level), but he could only remain that high for several minutes.

Conditionally Techno-Organic Wings: Angel was given techno-organic wings by Apocalypse as part of his conversion to the Horseman of Death. These wings enabled him to fly approximately at Mach 1 as well as being razor-sharp and able to shield his body by covering him up. Its feathers could double as flechettes that could be thrown as weapons, some of which were covered in a neurological agent that could stun a foe. Eventually, these wings decayed, revealing feathered wings underneath. Later, after his organic wings were lost for a second time, the techno-organic wings regrew and his blue skin color returned. After killing those who took his organic wings, he reverted to his original Angel form. It's since been revealed that whenever under stress, his Archangel abilities can return, though he lacks complete control over this more aggressive form. After being stabbed by the Life Seed and cured of his Archangel persona, the new Warren had Techno-Organic wings instead of feathery ones.

Energy Blasts: After his transformation by the Celestial Life Seed, Warren displayed the ability to fire energy blasts.

Resurrection: After his transformation by the Celestial Life Seed, Warren displayed the ability to resurrect dead creatures.

Essence Vision: After his transformation by the Celestial Life Seed, Warren displayed the ability to see the "true essence" of whomever he looked upon. He has so far used this ability twice. When looking at himself, he sees something more than a mutant and when looking at Evan Sabahnur, he sees Apocalypse.

Abilities[]

Skilled Combatant: Archangel is a solid combatant, especially in aerial hand-to-hand combat.

Business Sense: He is a talented businessman whose wealth ranks him in the lower part of the Fortune 500 list.

Strength level[]

He is at peak physical strength for his age.

Paraphernalia[]

Image Inducer "Hulk smash!"

Gallery[]

Main article: Angel/Gallery

Notes[]

Angel used to be involved in long love triangle with Cyclops over Jean Grey when they were teenagers.
Angel formerly dated Candy Southern who was later killed by Cameron Hodge.
Angel is a member of the Hellfire Club, a position he inherited from his father, though he doesn't often officially associate with them, and is not a member of the Inner Circle.
Angel was in a long-term relationship with Psylocke, but they eventually broke up with they realized they were too different. They rekindled their relationship when Psylocke helped him keep his Archangel persona under control but broke up after the Life Seed erased all of Warren's memories.
Despite the fact that both his Angel and Archangel personas were destroyed by the Lifesed, the fact that no other Horseman has ascended would suggest that Warren is still the Apocalpyse of his world.