Gotham: Who Is Azrael?

Next week's episode of Gotham is titled "Azrael," and fans of the show will be introduced to the character in a big way.

So who is Azrael, and why are your comicbook reading friends freaking out about the character coming to TV?

Azrael was revealed in the pages of DC Comics through a character named Jean-Paul Valley. Created in Batman: Sword of Azrael by Denny O'Neill and Joe Quesada (yes, the same one who is now the Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment) in 1992, Valley was a genetically engineered warrior, created by the Order of St. Dumas. Their Order trained a new Azrael every generation, and Valley's father before him was their warrior, their avenging angel.

When Jean-Paul as Azrael met Batman, the Dark Knight brought him under his wing and into the Bat-Family. After Bruce Wayne's back was broken by Bane, Azrael even took over as Batman for a time. It did not go too well, though, as his violent training took over and he went a bit crazy. He did come back as an ally, and fought alongside the Bat-family once more until his death.

Another Azrael took over eventually, Michael Lane (who can be seen in the Arkham games), who it was revealed came from another splinter sect of the Order of St. Dumas.

So, how is Azrael going to manifest on Gotham? Well, executive producer John Stephens told Comicbook.com he'll "have many of the hallmarks and traits that we know from the comics, but it will have a brand-new twist upon that character; the way we're going to bring that character into being on our show will be different than anything we've seen in the comics."

He also promised the character "will be identifiable as Azrael in all respects," and we should see that from the get-go. That means preternatural strength is probably a given. Looking at the images from the episode, it's safe to say the crazier personality traits are going to cross into Gotham as well.

Some Azraels have also had a flaming sword, but we'll have to wait and see if that makes it onto the TV show.

Gotham airs Monday nights at 8pm on FOX.