| Real name: Kurt Wagner Occupation: Adventurer Identity: Secret Legal status: Citizen of West Germany with no criminal record Place of birth: Somewhere in the Bavarian Alps Group affiliation: X-Men, formerly Excalibur Base of operations: Xavier Institute, Salem Center, Westchester County, New York. First appearance: GIANT SIZE X-MEN #1 Height: 5'9'' Weight: 195 lbs. Eyes: Shining Yellow, no visible pupils Hair: Indigo Known superhuman powers: Nightcrawler can teleport himself, his clothing and a certain amount of additional mass from one point to another almost instantaneously. During teleportation, he leaves behind smoke and the smell of burning brimstone -- actually part of the atmosphere from the unknown dimension through which he travels. In addition to tremendous natural agility, Nightcrawler possesses the unconscious ability to blend into deep shadows. History: Since birth, Kurt Wagner has resembled a demon appearance, but his powers of self-teleportation did not emerge until puberty. His unusual physical characteristics -- including indigo-colored fur, a prehensile tail, pointed ears, fang-like canine teeth, three-fingered hands and two-toed feet -- caused his mother to abandon him, because the people of their village wanted to kill the newborn. Margali Szardos, a sorceress and gypsy queen, found Wagner less than an hour after his birth in a roadside shelter in the Bavarian Alps. Margali took the baby to the small Bavarian circus where she worked as a fortuneteller, a cover for her activities as a sorceress. There, circus performers who harbored no prejudices against so-called "freaks" raised Wagner, and Margali acted as his foster mother. Nightcrawler since has discovered his birth mother to be the X-Men's adversary Mystique -- which makes the X-Man Rogue his foster sister and assassinated presidential candidate Graydon Creed his half-brother. When a Texas millionaire who wanted to cast Wagner in his American freak show bought the Bavarian circus, the young mutant quit and made his way toward Winzeldorf, Germany -- where his foster brother, Stefan, was living. Wagner discovered Stefan had gone mad and slain several children. Two nights after leaving the circus, Wagner found Stefan and fought him, hoping to end his rampage. During the struggle, Wagner unintentionally broke Stefan's neck. When the villagers discovered Wagner, he was assumed to be a demon responsible for the killings. They were about to kill him when psionically paralyzed by Professor Charles Xavier, who had come to recruit Wagner into the X-Men. Believing the X-Men had died in battle, Nightcrawler joined with the shapeshifter Meggan, Shadowcat, Captain Britain and Phoenix II to form Excalibur -- England's premier team of heroes. Excalibur disbanded following the wedding of Captain Britain and Meggan, and Wagner returned to the United States to rejoin the X-Men. |
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