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Azrael
Azrael
	Michael Lane as Azrael in Azrael (vol. 2) #14, art by Guillem March.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	As Bat-Devil:; Batman #665 (June 2007); As Azrael: Azrael: Death's Dark Knight #1 (May 2009);
Created by	Grant Morrison (writer); Tony S. Daniel (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Michael Washington Lane
Species	Metahuman
Team affiliations	Order of Purity; Gotham City Police Department; Batman Incorporated; League of Assassins; United States Marines; Order of St. Dumas (media)
Supporting character of	Batman
Notable aliases	Bat-Devil, Azrael
Abilities	Advanced military and police training, granting him excellent unarmed combat skills, tactician skills, and is a skilled swordsman.; Suit of Sorrows; mystical armor that affords him enhanced speed, strength, and stamina but at the potential cost of his sanity. Also wields the mystical Sword of Sin and Salvation, the former attacking the target's mind over actions they harbor guilt over and the latter attacking the target's mind over certain "truths".;

Michael Washington Lane is an antihero character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He debuted in Batman #665 (June 2007) as the supervillain Bat-Devil, before later taking on the identity of Azrael, being the second character to do so, after Jean-Paul Valley.

In the DC Universe, Michael Lane is a former US Marine, GCPD officer, and devout Christian who was inducted into a secret program, jointed between the military and the GCPD, into creating a replacement for Batman in the event the hero is killed in action, and became a sleeper agent. Due to the experimentations done upon him, as well as various tragedies in his life and PTSD, he becomes more violent in his duties as a cop and is eventually dismissed. This event completely breaks Lane's psyche, and he goes insane, becoming Bat-Devil to exact revenge on Batman, whom he blames for his current state. After recovering, Lane is selected by the Order of Purity, a splinter faction of the Order of St. Dumas which disagrees with their method of enforcing their rules and faith, to becomes their own version of the warrior Azrael. As Azrael, he clashes with Nightwing and later Batman after the latter's supposed death. Eventually, Lane progresses through his mental illnesses and manipulations from both the Order of Purity and Ra's al Ghul, and becomes a deputized member of Batman Incorporated.

The Michael Lane version of Azrael has made several appearances in media, most notably in the Batman: Arkham game series, where he is voiced by Khary Payton.

Publication history

Michael Lane was introduced as Azrael as part of the Battle for the Cowl, a storyline told in a three-issue miniseries format written by Fabian Nicieza.^[1]^[2]

Fictional character biography

In 2009, a miniseries titled Azrael: Death's Dark Knight^[3] was produced as a tie-in to the Battle for the Cowl crossover event, with a later regular series.

The new Azrael is the Third "Ghost of Batman" to undergo Doctor Hurt's experiments, an ex-cop named Michael Washington Lane. He is approached by the Order of Purity to reclaim the mantle of Azrael after the Order's latest Azrael went mad and killed an undercover police officer. On his first night as Azrael, Lane fights Talia al Ghul (and her team of mercenaries led by Merlyn) and later encounters Nightwing.^[4] After convincing Nightwing that he was not responsible for the murder of the police officer, Nightwing persuades Talia to allow Michael to keep the Suit of Sorrows. In Batman and the Outsiders (vol. 2) #14, the character is displayed as a charming man who undergoes various purification rituals overseen by the Order of Purity.^[5]

Ra's al Ghul later attempts to manipulate Lane into destroying Gotham by having him commit suicide and be subsequently resurrected by the Suit, which had been dipped in a Lazarus Pit. Lane worked with metahuman Crusader to 'judge' Batman, Catwoman, and Red Robin for their past 'sins' to determine if Gotham should be saved. These included the insane obsession of Selina's sister that Selina is 'possessed', Robin not showing due reverence when he destroyed a church window to save hostages, and a childhood incident where Dick let another circus performer get assaulted because he was jealous. Although Lane is manipulated into perceiving the Bat-Family as having failed his tests, Batman convinces Lane to use his swords to test himself, revealing Ra's' plan in time for Lane to stop the planned destruction of new metahuman Fireball. Ra's intended for Azrael to detonate Fireball and make it appear as though Gotham had been destroyed by terrorists, inciting a wave of violence that would cleanse Earth and allow Ra's to take control.

Michael Lane has also appeared in The New 52. He was originally featured in Batwoman issue #2 as a cameo, which was written before the relaunch but published after; the art was however edited to remove him.^[6]

Skills, abilities, and equipment

Unlike the first Azrael, Michael has no inherent superpowers. Due to his advanced military and police training, Michael is considered an excellent hand-to-hand combatant and is a skilled swordsman.^[7] In the past, Michael was also an accomplished football player and athlete.^[8]

Equipment

The Suit of Sorrows, a cursed mystical armor, affords him several powers by granting him superhuman physical attributes the skills and memories of previous bearers. The suit is also highly durable, able to protect the bearer from rocket launchers and is bulletproof. It can also stimulate the effects of a Lazarus Pit and revive Michael within 3 days of death should he still have on the armor.^[9]

The Suit of Sorrows grants Lane superhuman physical attributes but at the potential expense of his sanity, becoming more violent while wearing it should he not be "pure". He also wields the Swords of Salvation and Sin, both magical swords able to induce mental images into a victims or the bearer's mind over certain "truths" (Salvation) and certain actions people have guilt over (Sin). When both wielded, they're potentially able to make a victim seek redemption. Due to their magical nature, they're able to cut through an opponent without leaving a physical mark.^[8]^[9]

In other media

Michael Lane / Azrael appears as a playable character in the handheld versions of Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.
Michael Lane / Azrael appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.
Michael Lane / Azrael appears in the Batman: Arkham franchise, voiced by Khary Payton:
- First appearing as a non-player character (NPC) in Batman: Arkham City, he observes Batman's work within the eponymous city prison. When Batman approaches Azrael, the latter warns him of the Order of St. Dumas' prophecy regarding Batman's end and promises that he will return before disappearing.
- Azrael appears as a playable character in Batman: Arkham Knight. Amidst the Scarecrow's attack on Gotham City, he approaches Batman once more, claiming he wishes to succeed him. With Alfred Pennyworth's help, Batman tests and monitors Azrael. Upon learning from Batman the Order secretly implanted a microchip in Azrael's brain to control him and intend for him to kill Batman, Azrael will either follow through on or reject his mission. Depending on the player's choice, Azrael will either attack Batman, who defeats him and sees him arrested by the Gotham City Police Department, or destroy his sword and leave to exact revenge on the Order.

References

^ "Batman: Battle for the Cowl - Enter Azrael", IGN, December 18, 2008
^ "Fabian Nicieza Unleashes Azrael", Comic Book Resources, December 29, 2008
^ Newsarama.com : Dan DiDio: 20 Answers, 1 Question - Batman and More, Newsarama
^ Azrael: Death's Dark Knight #1-3 (May 2009 - July 2009)
^ Tieri, Frank (w), Benjamin, Ryan (p), Crawford, Saleem (i). "A Family Affair" Batman and the Outsiders, vol. 2, no. 14 (February 2009). DC Comics.
^ Johnston, Rich (7 October 2011). "Batwoman #2 Deletes Azrael And Lady Blackhawk From The DC Universe". Bleeding Cool.
^ Manning, Matthew K. (2016). Batman Character Encyclopedia. New York. ISBN 978-1-4654-4498-1. OCLC 914290528.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ ^a ^b Nicieza, Fabian (2010). Azrael: Death's Dark Knight. Frazer Irving. New York: DC Comics. ISBN 978-1-4012-2707-4. OCLC 462880657.
^ ^a ^b Hine, David (2012). Batman: Gotham Shall Be Judged. Fabian Nicieza, Peter Calloway, Cliff Richards, Tomeu Morey, Sal Cipriano, Guillem March. New York: DC Comics. ISBN 978-1-4012-3378-5. OCLC 742511451.