The X-Men have starred in brilliant comics over the decades, all of which are informed by the best characters in the Marvel Universe. The X-Men are something of a unique beast when it comes to the characters; back in the mid ’70s and early ’80s, the X-Men weren’t the massive stars that they would be, but fans still read Uncanny X-Men like it was going out of style. The book did an amazing job of creating characters that would have long-term appeal, many of whom have gone on to bigger and better things. They’ve become Marvel’s most beloved characters, taking readers on decades long journeys. However, not all of them have been treated as well as Wolverine, Storm, or even Rogue. No, there’s one beloved X-Man that has all the potential in the Marvel Universe, but doesn’t get the spotlight that they deserve — Nightcrawler.
Nightcrawler has actually had a big couple of years. He starred in several very well-received Krakoa era one-shots, team books, and a solo series, got an all-new origin that actually makes sense, and was a member of the Quiet Council, becoming a leader in the nascent mutant nation. However, “From the Ashes” has been disappointing for Nightcrawler fans in that the character is back to nothing. Nightcrawler deserves much better than he’s getting and Marvel can easily make him into a major character with little work.
Nightcrawler is one of most interesting characters in the X-Men mythos. To begin with, there’s his look. Nightcrawler looked like a demon, but had the soul of a hero. He was a character of juxtapositions. The common people of Germany thought he was a monster from Hell, yet he was a devote Catholic. Nightcrawler was a very different kind of mutant right from the start, one that meant to show that judging a book by its cover is foolish. He’s a character based around movement, a kinetic joy to read about every time he’s on the page. Nightcrawler is a very different kind of mutant, and he grabbed fans immediately.
There’s something special about Nightcrawler that was apparent from the beginning, yet he’s always felt like the younger brother of the X-Men. His best friend Wolverine became the most popular X-Man of all time. Storm and Colossus are both considered major characters in the X-Men mythos, each of them having important storylines that cut to the core of what the X-Men are about. Nightcrawler, on the other hand, has Excalibur and that’s basically it. Nightcrawler never really got the spotlight of the other All-New, All-Different X-Men, but he had the exact same potential as the rest of them. That’s one of the things that people who never actually read Claremont’s Uncanny don’t understand — he gave every character so much to do, so much personality, so much history that any of them could be Wolverine level superstars. Nightcrawler from the beginning was a character who could be an A-lister immediately. Seriously, go back and look at his ’80s miniseries; it’s amazing and shows just how easy it is to put Nightcrawler in am entertaining solo series.
However, the main problem with Nightcrawler is a little different. Nightcrawler’s biggest problem is that Marvel has allowed him to drop back into the B-list of the X-Men. There’s no reason for Nightcrawler not to have, say, led the X-Men at this point. Nearly every member of the team that he spent the most time with has led an X-Men team at this point. Nightcrawler was always the sidekick to the other characters, and that’s where he’s stayed. Sure, Nightcrawler has led teams, but he’s never had the big chair. I think a lot of X-Men fans have gotten so used to Nightcrawler as the B-plus player of the X-Men — cool to play characters off of and fun in fight scenes, but that’s it — that even when he does something important, they just sort of overlook it. For example, in A.X.E. Judgment Day, Nightcrawler basically saved the world, using his powers to set up everything for the final battle against the Progenitor, but they had it all happen in Immortal X-Men instead of the main book. Most fans don’t even know about it. Marvel could have made Nightcrawler their next big push, but instead, he just stayed in his little corner of Krakoa.
Things are honestly even worse for Nightcrawler in “From the Ashes”. He’s a member of the cast of Uncanny X-Men, but there are so many other characters in the book that he’s playing the same role he always has — the funny, loving little brother. He’s been part of the supporting cast of Wolverine, again playing second fiddle, and acting as what is essentially Wolverine’s mom. Marvel doesn’t seem to have any plans to allow Nightcrawler to meet his potential, but they very easily could with a few simple steps.
The first step is to put Nightcrawler up front in a book that’s doing well. Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine sell very well, so they basically already have that set-up. Next, they actually have to focus on him. Nightcrawler is more than just the good Catholic who looks like a demon and wants to help everyone, and the books he’s in needs to show that. Maybe have him lead the new X-kids through a terrible situation that shows his abilities as a fighter and a leader. Finally, and this is the most important part, give him an enemy. All of the major X-Men have archvillains all their own — Wolverine has Sabretooth, Cyclops has Mister Sinister, Jean Grey has the Phoenix Force, Storm has Shadow King or Loki or Doctor Doom, Rogue has Mystique, et cetera — and Nightcrawler needs one of those. Follow those three steps and Nightcrawler would be in a better position.
That’s basically all Marvel has to do — give him a big spot somewhere popular, show off all of the great things about him, and give him a villain. Nightcrawler has everything he needs to be the best of the best. Nightcrawler gets trotted out whenever a creator wants to do a Claremont pastiche, but there’s so much more to him. Marvel has a potential A-lister on their hands if they’re willing to do the work.
Nightcrawler is one of Marvel’s best characters, but they don’t do nearly enough with him. Here’s how they can fix that. Read More