Warning: SPOILERS for Sword of Azrael #4One of Gotham's most tortured heroes, Darkseid. Though the two characters may seem worlds apart—literally and figuratively—Azrael's updated origin reveals a shocking and undeniable connection to both Darkseid and the New Gods of New Genesis. One Mother Box has just changed everything Jean-Paul Valley thought he knew about himself.
He may not have cornered the market on Darkseid, a frequent adversary of both Superman and the Justice League.
The connection between the very first Azrael and Mother Box is revealed in Sword of Azrael #4 by Dan Watters, Nikola Cizmesija, Marissa Louise, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. The issue opens on a flashback—shared by Valley/Azrael—in which the reader sees the original Dumas confront and kill a group of holy Knights Templar. In the foreground rests a Mother Box making its distinctive "ping" sounds. Dumas, clearly unaware of its alien origin, calls the Mother Box an "angel maker." Later in the issue, during a battle with another brainwashed "angel," Valley himself says, "There was never a holy light. Not in either of us. Just some kind of alien technology...and the experiments of zealots."
Azrael's Shocking Connection to Darkseid Changes Everything About Azrael's Origin
The creators of this new miniseries have clearly been building up to this revelation, as Azrael's story for some time has revolved around him digging into and discovering this revised version of his history. Though it isn't said outright, the implication from the Mother Box's appearance in the hands of Dumas is that the original Azrael, many centuries ago, was somehow created using the Mother Box's abilities. This is an exciting cosmological turn for Azrael, who was already one of Gotham's strangest heroes. Azrael has always been connected to a traditionally Christian God, and now he is connected to the Fourth World's New Gods, including the tyrant Darkseid. The question remains, however: can readers consider Azrael a kind of New God himself?
Azrael Now Knows He Is Closer to Darkseid Than God
Again, this is a thrilling expansion of Azrael's world and the true origins of the Angel system rooted in Jean-Paul Valley's mind. Whether Darkseid and/or the other New Gods will appear in the concluding chapters of Sword of Azrael is yet to be seen, but the connection between Azrael and the Fourth World is now undeniable. Readers should be excited to see what Azrael discovers next—especially if it connects him even further to Darkseid.
Check out Sword of Azrael #4, available now from DC Comics!
