The long, winding history of Nightcrawler's past may be coming back to haunt him, as the heroic X-Men legend struggles against the "Monsterification" that has recently afflicted him, with a new variant cover for Legion of X #9 teasing the potential return of Nightcrawler's magical adopted mother, Margali Szardos.
Beginning in Legion of X #7, Nightcrawler has been experiencing a swift devolution into a monstrous creature, with mutant scientists like Mister Sinister and Doctor Nemesis unable to stem the progressive changes happening to the hero. With the terrifying monstrous evolution impacting the classic X-Men hero Angel as well, it is clear that this spiraling situation goes beyond Nightcrawler's control, and just might involve the powerful magic of Margali Szardos, a tumultuous character not seen since 2014.
Margali Szardos debuted in 1980's X-Men Annual #4, eventually established to be the adopted mother of the hero Nightcrawler, who saved him from death after his biological hiding the Soulsword within Nightcrawler's body without his knowledge for years after the death of Illyana Rasputina. Margali also had two biological children, Stephan and Jimaine, with Stephan being killed by Nightcrawler after he was possessed by an evil power, and Jimaine taking the name Amanda Sefton, traveling to America and ing the X-Men as "Daytripper" while engaging in an on-again off-again romantic relationship with her adopted brother Kurt.
Margali Of The Winding Way May Be Behind Krakoa's Monster Problem
The gorgeous variant cover for Legion of X #9 - which is written by Si Spurrier with art by Netho Diaz and Federico Blee - is illustrated by the talented fantasy-focused artist Ejiwa Ebenebe, who goes by Edge. Edge's cover corrupt Nightcrawler and Krakoa's mutants with monster-transforming magic. Margali Szardos is also connected to one of the X-Men's most reviled retcons of all time, which saw the demon Azazel established as the lover of both Margali and Szardos, making Nightcrawler the literal son of a demon, instead of just a confused Catholic man with the appearance of a demon, and it would be amazing if this retcon was somehow retconned again.
The teased return of Margali Szardos - manipulative and magical mother of Nightcrawler - is not guaranteed, as comic covers often don't directly connect to their internal plot, but it would be a true blessing if characters like Szardos and Amanda Sefton were to return to the X-Men's new Krakoan Age.
Source: League of Comic Geeks
Legion of X #9 from Marvel Comics debuts on January 11th, 2023.
