Hero of The Day: I'm just a harmless fuzzball

Real name: Kurt Wagner
Status: active
Affiliations: X-Men, X-Treme Sanctions Executive
Previous affiliations: Excalibur
Notable relatives: Azazel (father), Mystique (mother), Graydon Creed, (half-brother, deceased), Abyss (brother), Rogue (foster sister), Margali Szardos (adoptive mother), Amanda Sefton (adoptive sister), Stefan Szardos (adoptive brother), Nocturne (daughter from alternate universe)
Notable powers: Teleportation, night vision, enhanced agility & reflexes, prehensile tail, ability to stick to walls.
First appearance: Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975)

History: A native of Germany, Nightcrawler is a mutant, born with blue fur covering his body, 2 fingers plus a thumb on each hand, and only two toes on each foot, as well as long canine teeth, yellow eyes, pointed ears, and a prehensile pointed tail. Abandoned as a child, he was taken in by the gypsy witch Margali Szardos and raised as one of them. As a teenager, his mutant nature also bestowed on him superhuman agility and reflexes, the ability to see in the dark and to become near-invisible in the dark, and the power to teleport short distances, leaving behind the smell of brimstone. This ability is known informally as "bamfing". When he teleports in the comics, he leaves behind a cloud of smoke which is usually lettered with the sound effect *bamf*, the noise of air rushing in to fill the space he has just vacated. Nightcrawler only teleports to places he can see or has been to before, so that he does not risk appearing inside a wall or other solid object. He can, apparently, displace liquids and gases when he teleports. He appears to be able to cling to surfaces in a manner similar to Spider-Man, although this ability has been infrequently used by writers in recent years. Nightcrawler is an accomplished martial artist and fighter (he can even fence with his prehensile tail).

As a young man, Wagner spent some time in the Munich circus, but eventually his appearance left him persecuted and hunted. He was rescued from a mob by Professor Charles Xavier, who invited him to join his second team of X-Men. There, Wagner adopted the name Nightcrawler.

With the X-Men, Nightcrawler at last found a home and a family, and his humorous, swashbuckling Errol Flynn-like nature came to the fore. He also found a close friend in his fellow X-Man Wolverine.

After some years with the X-Men, Nightcrawler sustained a serious injury while fighting the Marauders, and, while he and fellow X-Man member Kitty Pryde- Shadowcat- were recovering, the X-Men appeared to die during a mission in Dallas (in reality, the X-Men were saved from death by Roma, and transported to the Australian outback). Not long after, Nightcrawler and Shadowcat left to join Captain Britain in an adventure in the UK. After working together so well, they decided to form the group Excalibur. Leadership of the group was originally assumed to be Captain Britain's, but, over time, Nightcrawler gradually assumed leadership of the group. After Excalibur disbanded (following the wedding of Captain Britain and Meggan) he eventually returned to the X-Men. For a time, Kitty Pryde and Nightcrawler expressed some resentment over the X-Men's failing to contact them after their supposed deaths.

Among his more interesting character traits, Wagner is an extremely religious man. A devout Catholic, his demonic appearance obviously makes it very difficult to attend church services. Despite this, as mutants in the Marvel Universe become more mainstream, he even managed to almost become a Catholic priest, unfortunately, his studies were interrupted by a villain known as "The Neo."

Wagner has, at various points, used a personal holographic device (known as an image-inducer) to appear as a normal human, though this device is rarely used unless absolutely necessary.

It was recently revealed that his biological mother, previously unknown, is the mutant terrorist Mystique (as has been hinted at to varying degrees, since they first appeared together). It was also revealed that, though Mystique was married to a wealthy German at the time (Herr Wagner, one would assume), Nightcrawler's father was Azazel, a member of a race of demonic-looking mutants dating back to Biblical times, who were banished to another dimension by another race of angelic mutants.

Comic book writing-veteran Chris Claremont had originally intended for Mystique and Destiny to have been Nightcrawler's biological parents (Mystique, being a shapeshifter, would have taken the form of a man and impregnated Destiny.) Marvel, however, felt the idea to be too controversial and an alternative origin was developed.

Nightcrawler currently serves as a member of the Uncanny X-Men alongside Storm, Bishop, Psylocke, X-23, and Marvel Girl.

The Ultimate Universe version of Nightcrawler reveals a much more militant young mutant, who leaves a burst of yellow smoke and flame when he teleports. His Weapon X origins link him more closely with Ultimate Wolverine and Rogue than with his other teammates. He possesses a far more rebellious attitude than in the original comics, but also shows hints of a softer, extremely caring side.

Powers and abilities: Kurt Wagner is a mutant with several superhuman advantages. His greatest power is his ability to teleport himself and some additional mass (he's teleported as much as a car) from one location to another. He does this by means of entering an alternate dimension briefly and reappearing in a desired location. He has to be familiar with the area he is teleporting to. He posesses a "spatial awareness" which stops him from teleporting into solid objects, but this ability diminishes the farther the distance he teleports.

Nightcrawler has superhuman agility similar to that of Spider-Man. He has enhanced reflexes. His endurance, stamina, and physical strength are all roughly the maximum possible for a human being of his size, but they do not reach superhuman levels. He has an ability to cling to surfaces in a manner that is also similar to that of Spider-Man. He has limited abilities to blend into shadows, as a result to his connection to the dimension that he teleports through- this is also the explanation for why he constantly appears in shadow, even in direct light (described in Excalibur #65). He has a prehensile tail strong enough to lift an adult man completely off the ground and deft enough to fight with a sword. Nightcrawler has heightened night vision.

Aside from the abilities granted by his mutation, Nightcrawler is a superb fencer and hand to hand combatant. He studied theology for several years and nearly became an ordained priest. Although a seemingly irreverent practical joker, he has a very well defined hierarchy of moral values and ethical standards, making his behavior a great example to his team members.

As a result of his days in the circus, Nightcrawler is a gifted performer capable of acrobatic feats and juggling routines impossible for normal human beings and highly captivating. He also has a wonderful sense of humor.