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Nearly 50 years after he first BAMF-ed into the pages of Giant Size X-Men #1, Marvel Comics will reveal the "definitive Nightcrawler origin story" in X-Men Blue: Origins #1. Spinning out of Fall of X and Uncanny Spider-Man, the "mythos-shattering" one-shot from writer Si Spurrier (Nightcrawlers) and artists Wilton Santos (Excalibur) and Marcus To (New Mutants) "will deliver a rousing saga that spans mutant history with revelations that X-Men fans have longed for," Marvel said in a release. It's a story decades in the making — one birthed by a line of dialogue in 1980's Uncanny X-Men #142.
It was there that the blue-skinned mutant called Nightcrawler noticed his resemblance to the shape-shifter Mystique, who knew his name. "Could it be, Kurt Wagner, that you are not so unique as you once thought?" Mystique said. She then prompted him to ask his mother, the Romani arcanist Margali Szardos, for answers. In 1993's X-Men Unlimited #4, the circus performer-turned-X-Man discovered that Raven Darkhölme — the woman called Mystique — was his mother, a revelation that was confirmed by his half-brother, Graydon Creed.
According to Creed, Raven was the widow of the recently deceased German Baron Christian Wagner when she gave birth to a "two-fingered, pointy-eared, blue-skinned monstrosity." Her cover blown, Mystique fled a mob of townsfolk... and accidentally dropped her child at the falls while escaping. Baby Kurt was then hurled into the waters below by the villagers believing they were expunging a demon.
More of Mystique's mysterious past was uncovered in 2003's Uncanny X-Men #428, which confirmed she is Kurt's blood mother. It was an affair with the red-skinned, demonic-looking mutant Azazel that birthed Kurt — and Raven's "Mystique" moniker. That issue revealed that it was Mystique who abandoned her child by dropping him over a waterfall, only for baby Kurt to teleport to safety.
The 2010 one-shot X-Men Origins: Nightcrawler #1 detailed Kurt's circus life and his religious upbringing after villagers chased the "devil child" away from his adoptive mother, Margali. Kurt found sanctuary at a church with Father Wagner, until an anti-mutant mob burned it down — and nearly cost Kurt his soul by committing the sin of killing. He was then found by Professor Charles Xavier, who used his mutant abilities to make the townspeople think the "demon" died in the church fire. His adopted identity, Kurt Szardos, died in the fire... and Kurt Wagner, the X-Men's Nightcrawler, was born.
And now the full truth about Nightcrawler's origins —and Mystique's origins — will be revealed in X-Men Origins: Blue #1, on sale November 29. See the official solicit and preview pages below.
X-Men Origins: Blue #1 THE DEFINITIVE NIGHTCRAWLER ORIGIN STORY! This is the one you can't miss, True Believer! You think you know how the beloved blue devil came into this troubled world? You think you know the tale of his mendacious mamma Mystique? You don't! Mother and son reunite in a mold-shattering tale that exposes secrets held for decades and redefines both characters forever. A collector's item in the making.
Written by: Simon Spurrier Art by: Marcus To, Wilton Santos, Oren Junior, Ceci de la Cruz Cover by: Francis Manapul Page Count: 40 Pages Release Date: November 29, 2023
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