Angel

Name: Warren Kenneth Worthington III

First Appearence: Uncanny X-Men #1

   Born into luxury, Warren was heir to Worthington Enterprises, a multi-million dollar company. Besides his wealth, Warren was also quite handsome, and became quite the lady's man. He charmed the woman wherever he went. When he reached puberty, feathered wings grew from his back. For a time he concelled them for fear of other's reaction but after a time he welcomed them and became a super-hero in his own right. Taking the name Avenging Angel he did his best to uphold law and order all by himself. When Charles Xavier first founded the X-Men he took notice of this Avenging Angel and invited him to be in the first class of students at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.

   It was there that he met all the other original X-Men, who's number included Cyclops, Beast, Iceman and the lovely Marvel Girl. Though he got along well with the other young men, it was Jean Grey whom he took most notice of. She was attractive, smart, powerful and in no way head over heels in love with Warren. Though he professed his adoration time and again, she paid it no real notice, and instead developed a close friendship with him.

   Along with the other X-Men, he became increasingly skilled in the use of his wings and heightened senses. Angel was never as serious about being a hero as Cyclops, but he trained hard and though his powers were not the most powerful, he proved his worth.

   Candy Southern and Warren Worthington became an item, just before Dark Phoenix died on the moon. The two were both fully in the spot light, Warren for his wings and riches and Candy for her beauty. Although Warren left the X-Men after having difficulties with Wolverine, he was always ready to be a reserve member if such a need arose.

   It was Warren who first learned from Mr. Fantastic that Jean Grey had not died on the blue part of the moon. Instead she had been cocooned at the bottom of New York Bay. Her re-apperance revived the other four original X-Men to the life of heroes. The five of them decided that they would form a team called X-Factor. X-Factor was seemingly a team of humans that rounded up mutants and punished them for their crimes. They also formed a team of renegade mutants calling themselves the X-Terminators so that they could use their powers without fear of being recognized as X-Factor. X-Factor's true purpose was to help mutants learn to use their powers and protect them from the world. Worthington Enterprises was the company that funded both teams.

   The teams ruse worked for a time. It was finnaly Mystique that leaked the news to the public that Warren was a mutant and funding X-Factor. Momentarily after he heard this news, Candy caught him in what appeared to be a compromising position with Jean. Although nothing was happening, Candy stormed out furious. It was after these two crushing personal defeats that Angel descended into the Morlock Tunnels to save Artie from the Marauders.

   When he finnaly found Artie, trouble was not far behind. If he fled with Artie, it was likely that they Artie would get caught in the fighting. Instead he told Artie to run, while he blocked the passageway Artie had taken. Vertigo, Blockbuster and Harpoon were the Marauders that confronted Angel. He took down Vertigo with little problem, but the giant Blockbuster held him to the wall while Harpoon speared his wings. If not for Thor, Warren would have died but instead he was rushed from the Alley to the hospital.

   In the hospital, it was revealed that Warren's wings had been so heavily damaged he could never again fly. To Warren there was no reason to live if he could not fly. While his hopes and dreams were shattered, Apocalypse arrived.

   The deal was simple. I give you wings and you become my henchman. To Warren there wasn't anything to consider. In his state of mind, anything was worth sacrificing to re-gain the joy of flying. Angel agreed to the bargain. Apocalypse used his technology and genius to transform the once feathered wing into organic metal. These new wings were superior in every way to Warren's old ones. They shot metal 'feathers' that paralyzed their targets, and his wings were razor sharp, capable of cutting through most objects. Warren's pale skin was also dyed light blue and his personality changed from the rich playboy into a man full of hate and anger. He had been recreated in every sense of the word and thus with the passing Angel, Archangel was born.

   X-Factor suceeded in freeing him from the clutches of Apocalypse but they never truly freed him from Apocalypse's influence. Archangel's wings seemed to have a mind of their own and on multiple occasions they killed without Warren's knowledge. Warren also became very grim and bitter about life, always seeking revenge on Apocalypse.

   Cameron Hodge, Warren's college roommate and current financial wiz for X-Factor, became increasingly hateful of mutants and eventually stole all of Warren's family fortune. With this money he formed The Right, who sought to destroy mutants everywhere. To accomplish his feindish goals, he kidnapped Candy Southern. Warren tried to save her but moments before he reached Hodge, he had killed her. Enraged, Warren seemingly killed Hodge by cutting his head off. When Cameron Hodge resurfaced in Genosha, the madman was more machine than man. He had made a deal with a devil for immortal life and at the time only his head was truly alive. Although the X-Men finnaly defeated him, they knew he would never be truly defeated and that his absolute hate for Warren would never diminish. Much later Warren met Candy again. She was transformed into a phalanx and bonded to Cameron Hodge, who was also Phalanx. Candy eventually sacrificed her life to save Warren but Hodge would continue to live on as a Phalanx.

  Warren's bitter personality continued and only briefly was he ever truly happy. For a time, he was involved with New York City detective Charolette Jones and with her he smiled again, but eventually he abanndoned her without any real break-up.

   When Archangel finnaly confronted Apocalpse during the X-Cutioner's Song storyline, Warren stood by while Apocalypse slowly died. Archangel savored every moment. Still the villian's seeming death did not calm the storm that raged within him.

   It wasn't until much later that Warren ever knew peace. Though he had met the British and Asian Psylocke, the two had never taken any keen intrest in eachother. The two first bonded over the unusual coincidence that they were both members of the Hellfire Club (not the Inner Circle though!). Since their encounter with Shinobi Shaw, the two quickly became fast friends and then lovers. Both had been used by others and changed but survived. Their common pasts gave them a greater understanding of who the other was and what they had gone through. With eachother the two finnaly found everything they had never thought they would experience in life. The two had found love.

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