Jean-Paul Valley is the enforcer for Order of St. Dumas and is known as Azrael.
History
Jean-Paul Valley was trained by the Order of St. Dumas and also met Bruce Wayne during his time as a student, becoming familiar with his fighting style. He had already guessed that Bruce was only there to learn the art of fighting and wasn't surprised that he left. Jean-Paul himself however became an enforcer for the order and carried out various tasks for them, eventually earning the name of "Azrael" from the clerics.[1]
When Catwoman stole the Shawl of Magdalene from a monastery, he tracked her down to Gotham City and decided to wear an imposing armored suit similar to that of the famous Batman, in order to strike terror into the hearts of criminals. After finding Selina who was running away from Batman following another one of her thefts, he caught her and took her to an alley after stopping the dark knight from reaching him. Batman however eventually found him while he was demanding Selina to tell him about the location of the shawl. Azrael was made to flee after partially inhaling knockout gas during the battle against him.[1]
Azrael however had realized that Batman was none other than Bruce Wayne after noticing how he fought and went to the Wayne Manor, where he forced Alfred Pennyworth to call Bruce back home. Bruce met with Azrael who calmly asked for his help in finding the shawl. He agreed on the condition that he not harm Catwoman and Alfred re-designed his suit to have a bat-like appearance. They later confronted the Penguin, whom Catwoman had admitted to stealing the shawl for, at the Iceberg Lounge and discovered he had it stolen for another employer. Instead of revealing the name however, he had Mr. Wing attack them both.[1]
Batman told Azrael to perform the "Sword of Salvation" when Wing grabbed them, kicking him in the gut. Azrael chased after the Penguin and forced him to reveal his client's name - Mr. Freeze, but his brutality shocked Batman. He tossed the Penguin off the balcony, stating he must suffer in place of Catwoman, forcing Batman to save the crime lord and allowing him to find the shawl on his own. He reached the Iceland skating rink, which Freeze was hiding in, and discovered his wife Nora Fries' corpse covered with the shawl.[2]
Freeze wouldn't listen to him even wen he showed sympathy and stated the shawl couldn't revive the dead, encashing him in ice with gun. Batman soon broke him out and shattered Mr. Freeze's helmet by using the sonic emitters in his Batarangs, before using the shawl to save his life. Azrael promised to help him whenever he needed him again in return, while returning the shawl to a church of his order.[2]
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
- Peak Human Condition
- Acrobatics
- Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced): Azrael's fighting ability is enough to make Batman re-consider in engaging in a drawn-out duel with him.[1]
- Swordsmanship
- Intimidation
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Armored suit
Weapons
- Flaming sword
Notes
- Azrael was created by Dennis O'Neil and Joe Quesada, first appearing in Batman: Sword of Azrael #1. However, the DCAU version of Azrael first appeared in Batman: The Adventures Continue #7 by Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, and Ty Templeton.
Related
- 3 Appearances of Jean-Paul Valley (DCAU)
- 7 Images featuring Jean-Paul Valley (DCAU)
- Quotations by or about Jean-Paul Valley (DCAU)
- Character Gallery: Jean-Paul Valley (DCAU)
Footnotes