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"The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of the death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me."
―Kurt Wagner[src]

Kurt Wagner, also known as Nightcrawler, was a mutant with a demonic appearance, the power of teleportation, superhuman agility, reflexes, stamina and a prehensile tail. He was a member of the X-Men, but he took a leave of absence from the team; due to their violent lifestyle.

Biography[]

X2: X-Men United: The Movie Prequel: Nightcrawler[]

A trapeze performance at the Szardos Traveling Circus in Canada goes horribly wrong when Amandas Sefton nearly plummets to her death, if not for a hasty rescue by the mutant teleportation ability of her foster brother Kurt Wagner, also known as the Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler receives a few broken ribs, and is chastised by his foster mother, Margali Szardos, for changing the cues in the middle of the performance before the net had been rolled out for the performers. Nightcrawler is not as concerned for his health so much as the heartache he feels over Amanda's relationship with the trapeze artist, Werner.

Nightcrawler visits a church, and Amanda Sefton follows him, without his knowledge. Amanda reveals that she cares for him more than a foster brother, and the two share a kiss. They make the decision to leave the circus, to find a new life together. Meanwhile, back at the circus, Margali interrupts Amanda and Werner making out in Margali's trailer. and Margali asks Amanda where her foster brother is. Amanda tells her mother she has no idea, and recommends she visit a local church.

In the nearby woods, Nightcrawler makes a dash for freedom with what he believes to be Amanda Sefton, unaware that his mind is under the control of one of William Stryker's telepathic prisoner, Mutant 12. Stryker's soldiers apprehend Nightcrawler, and transport him to the Weapon X facility in Alkali Lake. Mutant 12's power wears off, and Kurt finds himself in a cell with William Stryker, an inhibitor collar preventing him from teleporting to safety. Stryker interrogates Nightcrawler, but the mutant refuses to cooperate with him.

As Amanda and Margali worry about Kurt's whereabouts, Stryker's soldiers beat Nightcrawler to a bloody pulp for praying. Amanda and Margali are left no other choice but to leave with the circus, hoping he chose to go his own way, as opposed to the alternatives. Back at Alkali Lake, Nightcrawler attempts to comfort Lady Deathstrike in their cell. Kurt believes her dying following her Adamantium bonding process, and she unleashes her claws for the first time. Stryker's soldiers rush into the cell, and Kurt learns that that the Weapon X Project had her claws grafted with the indestructible metal, before they knocked him unconscious.

Amanda and Sefton argue over the choices that they've made being responsible for Kurt's sudden disappearance, Stryker gives Nightcrawler the opportunity to kill his abusive guards. Kurt declines such savagery, and reiterates that his love of God will see him through. Amanda and Margali come to terms that Nightcrawler may never return, and Kurt reassures a rapidly healing and unconscious Lady Deathstrike that they will escape from their cell. One of Stryker's guards reveals that Amanda's love for him was merely a telepathic illusion to fool the mutant, and that she could never love a freak like him. The information wounds him more than all of Stryker's physical torture.

Stryker then performs a medical procedure on Kurt to control his mind. He forces Nightcrawler to teleport to the location of the soldier responsible for the revelation about Amanda, where Kurt slashes his throat with a Bowie Knife. Nightcrawler returns to Alkali Lake, where Stryker proclaims it time for the mutant to visit the president. Later, Amanda visits a church in Calgary, and asks God to watch over Kurt, no matter where his travels may take him.

X2: X-Men United[]

Nightcrawler is brainwashed with a fluid from William Stryker's mutant son, Jason, in order to attempt an assassination on the President of the United States. Nightcrawler engages the Secret Service, easily defeating them and nearly killing the President but is stopped when a secret service agent manages to shoot him in the arm snapping him out of his trance.

Later, Storm and Jean Grey are sent to find him and bring him back to the mansion, under Xavier's orders. They find Wagner at an abandoned church. After a brief struggle and examining his wounds, he agrees to return with them. After being contacted by Logan, they arrive at Bobby Drake's house and pick up the children, and he introduces himself. Later the X-Jet is attacked by military F-16s and a hole is made in the jet after a missile struck it and Rogue was sucked out. Nightcrawler then teleported outside and saved her. The jet was saved by Magneto and they settled in the woods for the night. Nightcrawler was the only one of the group who knew where Stryker was due to him previously being one of his experiments.

After arriving at Alkali Lake, Nightcrawler helps Storm save several children escape, however they, along with every mutant, are hit by pain when Professor X uses Cerebro to target all mutants and kill them, however this is only brief as Magneto quickly opened the doors to the room and ended their pain, only to redesign it to target humans and re-lock the doors. Nightcrawler and Storm teleport inside and stop Jason's illusions. When the dam begins to crumble, Nightcrawler teleports Storm and Charles out of the room and they escape to the X-Jet. The jet begins to malfunction and Jean Grey goes outside to save them, she prevents Wagner from teleporting out to get her and appears to have died in the water. Later, Nightcrawler and the X-Men inform the President of what could happen in the future between mutants and humans.

X-Men: The Official Game[]

After the scuffle at Alkali Lake, Kurt takes up residence at Xavier's school and becomes the latest inductee to the X-Men team. Upon realizing Stryker stole crucial parts from Cerebro, The X-Men return to Alkali Lake to retrieve them. Given the fact the base had flooded, Kurt was selected as the best candidate to maneuver through the ruins, using his agility, acrobatics, and teleportation.

Upon reaching Cerebro, Nightcrawler had to fight Sentinels. When Multiple Man attacked the Brooklyn Bridge, Storm and Nightcrawler come to stop him. Storm is left fighting the clones and Nightcraler finds the real one. He defeats him, sending him to a prison. During this time after Kurt is haunted by visions of Jason Stryker, having left him to die within Dark Cerebro. Originally rationalizing it as his guilt, he realizes it is truly Jason when Storm sees the apparition as well.

After a while, Jason reaches out to him asking for help. Though he is indeed deceased, Kurt succeeds in helping Jason's spirit be freed. Later at the mansion, Nightcrawler tells Charles Xavier and Hank McCoy that he is a peaceful man and does not want to fight. He left to Germany to try and reconcile the violent lifestyle, but was told that regardless of his choice whether or not to remain on the team, he was allowed to come back and would always have a home at the school. Nightcrawler thanked the Professor before returning to his native land, taking his leave of absence.

X-Men: Days of Future Past[]

At some point during the Sentinel Wars, Nightcrawler was killed and his rosary necklace was put on a mural of mutants that had died.

Character traits[]

In X2: X-Men United, Kurt was a devout Catholic. He was also a timid, yet polite, friendly, peaceful and religious individual who dislikes any form of violence; as he felt guilt, shame and remorse for his violent actions against several members of the secret service, and for almost assassinating president McKenna; despite the fact that Kurt was under the influence of William Stryker's mind control serum and not in control of his actions at the time.

In X-Men: The Official Game, despite Kurt's peaceful and pacifistic nature, he was an excellent hand-to-hand combat and martial arts; as his combat skills had earned him even the respect from his teammate, James Howlett. Kurt's peaceful and pacifistic traits was the main reason why he took a leave of absence from the X-Men; in order to reconcile the team's violent lifestyle.

Powers and Abilities[]

Powers[]

  • Mutant Physiology: Nightcrawler was a mutant who possessed the power of teleportation. He also had a demonic appearance with pointed ears, blue skin and a pointed prehensile tail. Whenever Nightcrawler teleports; he leaves behind black smoke.
    • Teleportation: Nightcrawler could teleport to any location at great distances.
    • Wall-Crawling: Nightcrawler was able to cling to solid surfaces; such as walls, by using his hands and feet.
    • Superhuman Agility: Nightcrawler was far more agile than normal humans and most other mutants.
    • Superhuman Reflexes: Nightcrawler's reflexes were much faster than normal humans and most other mutants. He could effortlessly dodge automatic fire and decisively teleport before being shot at. His reflexes appear to be equal to Angel's. Whilst the time between disappearing and reappearing was almost one second, for Nightcrawler it feels like 6 seconds. This proves that 1 second was roughly 6 seconds long from Nightcrawler's perception.
    • Superhuman Stamina: Nightcrawler possessed far more stamina than normal humans and most other mutants; allowing him to remain physically active for long periods of time.
    • Prehensile Tail: Nightcrawler could use his tail as an improvise whip; to send his opponents flying several feet away. His tail could also be used for more lethal applications.

Abilities[]

  • Master Hand-To-Hand Combatant/Martial Artist: Nightcrawler was an extremely skilled hand-to-hand combat and martial arts. He was able to best several members of McKenna's secret service relatively easily. Nightcrawler's combat skills combined with his teleportation powers and superhuman physical attributes; makes him a formidable opponent alone in single combat.
  • Camouflage: Due to Nightcrawler's dark blue skin and dark clothes, he could blend into the shadows or the night; making it extremely difficult, if not impossible for his opponents to see him.
  • Bilingual: As a native German, Kurt spoke that language fluently, in addition to English; albeit with a thick German accent.

Weaknesses[]

  • Awareness: Nightcrawler has to be able to know where he is going, otherwise he could end up in solid matters, such as a tree or wall.
  • Blindness: Nightcrawler has to be able to see where he is going, otherwise he could end up in solid matters, such as a tree or wall.
  • Physical Contact: Nightcrawler could only teleport objects or other individuals with him, as long as he maintains physical contact with them.

Relationships[]

Appearances/Actors[]

Trivia[]

  • In X-Men: The Official Game which fills in the gap between X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand, Nightcrawler tells Xavier he does not want to be an X-Man, for their lives are too violent and he is a peaceful man.
  • Another popular theory is that John Wraith, who appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, is Nightcrawler's father due to his teleporting abilities. This was even confirmed in the movie's tie-in game but the game is non-canon.

Gallery[]

X2: X-Men United[]

X-Men: The Official Game[]

See Also[]

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