Post by Z451 on Feb 20, 2014 1:32:44 GMT
Jean-Paul Valley
Jean-Paul Valley, a university graduate student of computer science in Gotham City, is unaware that he is the latest in a line of assassin-enforcers for "The Sacred Order of Saint Dumas", a sinister religious secret society.
For most of his life, he has been brainwashed with The System, a deep level of psychological conditioning.
Valley only learns of this upon the death of his father, who was also his predecessor, at which time his conditioning is activated and he is called upon to take up the mantle of Azrael.
When he is sent by the Order to kill a weapons dealer, a rogue member of the Order who had turned against the others and killed his father, he crosses paths with Batman, also investigating the death of Valley's father.
He works with Alfred Pennyworth to find the weapons dealer after he has captured Bruce Wayne, using the Batman costume to kill the other Order members.
As Valley works with Alfred, demonstrating a detective's intuition in tracking Lehah's movements and later risking himself to rescue Bruce despite his traditional mission of vengeance, he is shown the error of his ways and decides to fight alongside Batman against the criminals of Gotham, rejecting his "birthright" and seeking Batman's help in breaking his conditioning to forge his own destiny.
His name is not revealed to Alfred and Bruce until the end of the story, at which point he claims it was his father's name too.
However a later storyline in his solo series stated his father's name to be Ludovic Valley.
Valley is given a job as a security guard at WayneTech headquarters, and also becomes an apprentice crimefighter alongside Batman and Robin, learning basic detective work.
Valley plays a pivotal role in the "Knightfall" story arc (1993–1994), in which he stands in as Batman after Bruce Wayne is defeated and paralyzed at the hands of Bane.
He decides that Bruce's tactics as Batman are obsolete and believes that he must fight criminals on their terms which makes him far more brutal and merciless.
Against Bruce Wayne's orders, Valley fights and defeats Bane, wearing enhanced battle-armor he designed and built under the influence of the System after he was narrowly defeated by Bane in their first confrontation.
His performance as Batman is influenced by his Azrael conditioning.
He grows increasingly violent and delusional, allowing the mass murderer Abattoir to fall to his death, thereby also allowing one of Abattoir's still-living hostages to die.
Valley also has control problems with Tim Drake's partnership, which climax when Valley almost strangles him to death and bans him from the Batcave.
He seals off the Batcave from Wayne Manor and the Drake property, and eschews working with Commissioner Gordon and the Gotham police.
Valley also suffers from continuous hallucinations of both his father and St. Dumas who tell him that he is the real Batman and that he must avenge his father's death.
Initially, Wayne is impressed enough with Valley's results to let him remain as Batman, but when Drake tells Wayne of Abattoir's death, he resolves to reclaim the Batman mantle.
With his back repaired thanks to the sacrifice of Doctor Shondra Kinsolving, and his fighting instincts rehabilitated after lessons with Lady Shiva, Wayne goes after Valley to reclaim his identity.
After a prolonged battle, stretching from a mobster's penthouse to Gotham Bridge before culminating in a final showdown in the Batcave.
Bruce tricks Valley into to removing his armor, which somehow snaps him out of his delusional state.
He apologizes and asks for his forgiveness, which Bruce accepts, but tells him to leave immediately.
Valley subsequently departs Wayne Manor after acknowledging Bruce Wayne as the true Batman.
Valley lives among the homeless population of Gotham for several weeks, befriending an alcoholic former psychiatrist named Brian.
Valley is sought out by Bruce Wayne who feels responsible for his mental breakdown after becoming and losing the mantle of Batman.
Bruce grants him a small fortune in money, information on the Order of St. Dumas' whereabouts and resources to explore his origins.
Along with Brian, he discovers the evil conspiracies within the order of St. Dumas, and they help a nun named Sister Lilhy escape.
With the help of Ra's al Ghul he discovers that he is a genetically engineered test tube baby, and his genes have been spliced with those of animals.
He returns to Gotham for several crossover events, including Underworld Unleashed, Contagion, Legacy, and Cataclysm.
He also discovers that his father's killer, Carlton LeHah, is still alive.
Valley attempts to regain Batman's trust after the events of KnightsEnd.
Batman gives Azrael small missions to carry out to test him and prove himself; but it isn't until Azrael saves the lives of a group of U.S. senators (one of which tries to plead to congress for the funds to rebuild Gotham City after it's devastating earthquake) that Batman begins to fully trust him again.
Prior to those events, Batman sent Azrael after Nicholas Scratch who was planning to kill a senator who wanted the federal money to save Gotham City.
While pursuing Scratch, Azrael was framed for the senator's murder after he was strangled to death moments before Azrael arrived to save him.
After being framed, Azrael is given a new costume designed by Batman and uses it for a time, especially during the "No Man's Land" storyarc.
After foiling Scratch's plan of framing him for murder Azrael returns to his original costume and battles supposed hallucinations that are supposed to represent both his father and St. Dumas himself.
Toward the end of the series, Azrael is plagued by apparently supernatural occurrences in the form of possible miracles.
Azrael is seemingly killed in the series' final issue, shot with two specially-coated bullets while battling Scratch and LeHah.
Scratch was arrested, and LeHah falls into the river with Azrael.
However, Azrael's body is never recovered.
His death went unconfirmed for several years.
In Booster Gold (vol. 2) #10, a note can be seen written on time traveler Rip Hunter's chalk board reading "Jean-Paul Valley Lives!".
In the following issue, another note says "Azrael comes and goes."
Azrael appears in Blackest Night #4 (October 2009) as an undead member of the Black Lantern Corps; although at first it had not been confirmed whether it was Jean-Paul Valley or another Azrael (such as Ludovic Valley, who died in Gotham City).
However, it was later revealed, in the index section of the Blackest Night tabloid vol.1, that it was in fact Jean-Paul.
Jean-Paul Valley makes a cameo at Batman's funeral service in Neil Gaiman's 2009 story, Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?, a story which is metaphysical in nature.
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Record:
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electricferret.freeforums.net/thread/3514/superman-true-batman-incorporated
For most of his life, he has been brainwashed with The System, a deep level of psychological conditioning.
Valley only learns of this upon the death of his father, who was also his predecessor, at which time his conditioning is activated and he is called upon to take up the mantle of Azrael.
When he is sent by the Order to kill a weapons dealer, a rogue member of the Order who had turned against the others and killed his father, he crosses paths with Batman, also investigating the death of Valley's father.
He works with Alfred Pennyworth to find the weapons dealer after he has captured Bruce Wayne, using the Batman costume to kill the other Order members.
As Valley works with Alfred, demonstrating a detective's intuition in tracking Lehah's movements and later risking himself to rescue Bruce despite his traditional mission of vengeance, he is shown the error of his ways and decides to fight alongside Batman against the criminals of Gotham, rejecting his "birthright" and seeking Batman's help in breaking his conditioning to forge his own destiny.
His name is not revealed to Alfred and Bruce until the end of the story, at which point he claims it was his father's name too.
However a later storyline in his solo series stated his father's name to be Ludovic Valley.
Valley is given a job as a security guard at WayneTech headquarters, and also becomes an apprentice crimefighter alongside Batman and Robin, learning basic detective work.
Valley plays a pivotal role in the "Knightfall" story arc (1993–1994), in which he stands in as Batman after Bruce Wayne is defeated and paralyzed at the hands of Bane.
He decides that Bruce's tactics as Batman are obsolete and believes that he must fight criminals on their terms which makes him far more brutal and merciless.
Against Bruce Wayne's orders, Valley fights and defeats Bane, wearing enhanced battle-armor he designed and built under the influence of the System after he was narrowly defeated by Bane in their first confrontation.
His performance as Batman is influenced by his Azrael conditioning.
He grows increasingly violent and delusional, allowing the mass murderer Abattoir to fall to his death, thereby also allowing one of Abattoir's still-living hostages to die.
Valley also has control problems with Tim Drake's partnership, which climax when Valley almost strangles him to death and bans him from the Batcave.
He seals off the Batcave from Wayne Manor and the Drake property, and eschews working with Commissioner Gordon and the Gotham police.
Valley also suffers from continuous hallucinations of both his father and St. Dumas who tell him that he is the real Batman and that he must avenge his father's death.
Initially, Wayne is impressed enough with Valley's results to let him remain as Batman, but when Drake tells Wayne of Abattoir's death, he resolves to reclaim the Batman mantle.
With his back repaired thanks to the sacrifice of Doctor Shondra Kinsolving, and his fighting instincts rehabilitated after lessons with Lady Shiva, Wayne goes after Valley to reclaim his identity.
After a prolonged battle, stretching from a mobster's penthouse to Gotham Bridge before culminating in a final showdown in the Batcave.
Bruce tricks Valley into to removing his armor, which somehow snaps him out of his delusional state.
He apologizes and asks for his forgiveness, which Bruce accepts, but tells him to leave immediately.
Valley subsequently departs Wayne Manor after acknowledging Bruce Wayne as the true Batman.
Valley lives among the homeless population of Gotham for several weeks, befriending an alcoholic former psychiatrist named Brian.
Valley is sought out by Bruce Wayne who feels responsible for his mental breakdown after becoming and losing the mantle of Batman.
Bruce grants him a small fortune in money, information on the Order of St. Dumas' whereabouts and resources to explore his origins.
Along with Brian, he discovers the evil conspiracies within the order of St. Dumas, and they help a nun named Sister Lilhy escape.
With the help of Ra's al Ghul he discovers that he is a genetically engineered test tube baby, and his genes have been spliced with those of animals.
He returns to Gotham for several crossover events, including Underworld Unleashed, Contagion, Legacy, and Cataclysm.
He also discovers that his father's killer, Carlton LeHah, is still alive.
Valley attempts to regain Batman's trust after the events of KnightsEnd.
Batman gives Azrael small missions to carry out to test him and prove himself; but it isn't until Azrael saves the lives of a group of U.S. senators (one of which tries to plead to congress for the funds to rebuild Gotham City after it's devastating earthquake) that Batman begins to fully trust him again.
Prior to those events, Batman sent Azrael after Nicholas Scratch who was planning to kill a senator who wanted the federal money to save Gotham City.
While pursuing Scratch, Azrael was framed for the senator's murder after he was strangled to death moments before Azrael arrived to save him.
After being framed, Azrael is given a new costume designed by Batman and uses it for a time, especially during the "No Man's Land" storyarc.
After foiling Scratch's plan of framing him for murder Azrael returns to his original costume and battles supposed hallucinations that are supposed to represent both his father and St. Dumas himself.
Toward the end of the series, Azrael is plagued by apparently supernatural occurrences in the form of possible miracles.
Azrael is seemingly killed in the series' final issue, shot with two specially-coated bullets while battling Scratch and LeHah.
Scratch was arrested, and LeHah falls into the river with Azrael.
However, Azrael's body is never recovered.
His death went unconfirmed for several years.
In Booster Gold (vol. 2) #10, a note can be seen written on time traveler Rip Hunter's chalk board reading "Jean-Paul Valley Lives!".
In the following issue, another note says "Azrael comes and goes."
Azrael appears in Blackest Night #4 (October 2009) as an undead member of the Black Lantern Corps; although at first it had not been confirmed whether it was Jean-Paul Valley or another Azrael (such as Ludovic Valley, who died in Gotham City).
However, it was later revealed, in the index section of the Blackest Night tabloid vol.1, that it was in fact Jean-Paul.
Jean-Paul Valley makes a cameo at Batman's funeral service in Neil Gaiman's 2009 story, Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?, a story which is metaphysical in nature.
Links
DC Wiki
Comic Vine
Copyright Owner
DC Comics
Record:
W: - 1
electricferret.freeforums.net/thread/4598/megastory-agent-raven-azrael-raizo
L: - 1
electricferret.freeforums.net/thread/3514/superman-true-batman-incorporated