'Sword of Azrael' Changes Everything Fans Know About His Origin

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Spoiler warning for Sword of Azrael: Dark Knight of the Soul #1

The one-shot prelude to DC's new Sword of Azrael mini-series just changed everything Azrael fans knew about his origins. Azrael, who once filled in for Batman, now patrols Gotham by night while working in a hospice by day. But Azrael's latest opponent just revealed the avenging angel's deep-past connection to none other than Ra's al Ghul.

Azrael—otherwise known as the steadfastly religious Jean-Paul Valley—is most well-known for being a Batman fill-in during the 1990s. But Azrael's origins are much stranger than Batman's; Valley was brainwashed by the Christian group the Order of St. Dumas into believing he was God's avenging angel, Azrael. The Order is a fictional splinter group of the historical Knights Templar, who were active during the Crusades. Most recently, Azrael has been working on overcoming his more violent tendencies, as taught to him by the Order, while aligning himself with a more peaceful version of Christianity. Ra's al Ghul, meanwhile, is the once-immortal keeper of the Lazarus Pits, which grant healing powers and can help one avoid death. Recently, a Lazarus Resin—a synthetic ingestible version of the Lazarus Waters—has been developed, and is now being used around Gotham.

Related: Azrael Finally Gets The Following Batman's Replacement Deserves

Currently, Azrael is learning even more about DC Comics' version of the Knights Templar in the one-shot Sword of Azrael: Dark Knight of the Soul #1 by Dan Watters, Nikola Cizmesija, Ivan Plascencia, and Ariana Maher. Azrael is accosted by a strange opponent who calls herself the Poor Fellow, a callback to one of the historical names of the Knights Templar. In a flashback to 1152, the Poor Fellow