Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #432

Issue Date: 
December 2003
Story Title: 
The Draco - part 4
Staff: 

Chuck Austen (writer), Philip Tan (penciler), Avalon Studios (colorist), Rus Wooten (letterer), Annie Thornton (assistant editor), Mike Marts (editor), Joe Quesada (editor in chief), Bill Jemas (president)

Brief Description: 

After Azazel stops the fight between the X-Men and his followers, several of the X-Men and Mystique join him at his dinning table, where he reveals that not only is he Satan, but he is the father of Nightcrawler! Mystique confirms this, and Azazel informs Kurt that his stepmother, Margali is a very good friend of his. When Professor Dibble reveals that despite the historical evidence he found he does not believe Azazel to be Satan, he is killed. Meanwhile in Canada, Mrs. Pare wishes she left Sammy with the Juggernaut, though when Juggernaut and Northstar show up, she panics and calls for help. Sammy shows up, and upon seeing what his father has done to him, Cain attacks Claude Pare, breaking his arm and tossing him through the house. Just then three of Alpha Flight arrive, wearing armor, surprised to see Northstar, and ready to fight Juggernaut.

Full Summary: 

In Azazel’s dimension, the X-Men engage in battle with his demon hordes, while Azazel himself orders everyone to stop; though no one listens. One of the mysterious demons, a blue winged woman called Jillian approaches Nightcrawler and tells him that she likes her men handsome and naked, like he is. Kurt asks her to put her knife somewhere else. Fed up with no one listening to him, Azazel unleashes a powerful blast, shocking both the X-Men and his followers. Stunned and separated from their opponents the X-Men turn to Azazel as he asks the blind woman at his feet to read their truths to find out whether they are rendered passive. Ginniyeh confirms that they are.

Azazel orders everyone, especially his follower Yidrazil, to gather themselves together. Yidrazil protests that the Angel still lives, but Azazel tells him that he will exist for a while longer before informing everyone that the portal back to Earth is destroyed and that he is exhausted from trying to hold it open. Azazel informs his followers that he will firstly need some time to recover, and that when he has he wants several of these people brought to his dining hall. Kiwi Black, Mystique, Archangel, Wolverine, whom Azazel calls ‘the Animal’, to which Wolverine tells him to kiss his ass. Azazel also wants Professor Dibble, the archaeologist and the one called “Abyss” but in particular the one Margali called Nightcrawler!

Azazel orders the others to be thrown into the tombs, or to be done with whatever his followers want to do to them. As Husk is led away, her boyfriend Warren Worthington a.k.a. Archangel, clutching the head of his best friend Iceman who was recently shattered into thousands of ice shards, rushes over to her, but Yidrazil strikes him down. Azazel frowns at Yidrazil, who smirks back and tells his master not to glare at him like that, adding that he hit Archangel with the flat.

Meanwhile in Vancouver, Canada the quaint home of the Pare family, where Mrs. Pare tells her husband Claude that he cannot keep hitting their son as he is just a little boy. Claude replies that he can do whatever he wants to him, as he is his son. Claude’s wife gets mad and remembering earlier when her husband told her that Sammy is not his son, she mocks that Sammy is only their son when he wants to beat him. When there is a knock at the door, Claude tells his wife that his name is on the birth certificate and orders her to get the door.

Walking over to the door, she shouts back that she never cheated on him, but perhaps she should have she says quietly to herself. She calls back that she should have left Claude a long time ago, instead of letting him treat their son as he does. She pauses before thinking she should have left him at the mutant school, adding that he was probably safer with that “Juggernaut” monster than with his own father. She shouts back to Claude and tells him that one-day someone is going to come and take Sammy away from both of them – opening the door, Mrs. Pare gasps when she sees who is there – Juggernaut and Northstar!

Juggernaut greets Mrs. Pare before informing her that he is here to see Sammy. Northstar’s attention is elsewhere as he hangs in the background, while Mrs. Pare just gasps. Claude gets up from what he is doing, obviously scared at the sight of Cain Marko the Juggernaut. Cain asks the Pares if they heard him, repeating that he is here to see Sammy. Mrs. Pare gets all huffy and tells Cain that he is not supposed to be here. Cain informs them that he is not here to cause trouble and that he just wants to see Sammy to make sure he is all right.

Mrs. Pare rushes from the room, repeating that Cain is not supposed to come here. Northstar asks Cain what she is talking about, to which Claude informs the two X-Men that there is a restraining order on Juggernaut. Searching through a draw, Mrs. Pare tries to find something, while Cain calmly states that he has come to see Sammy, to make sure he is all right. Jean-Paul asks Cain if what the Pares say is true, that there is a restraining order to prevent him from coming here. Mrs. Pare smiles when she finds what she was looking for, a device with a Maple leaf imprint on it, and she beings pressing the button furiously.

Cain asks her what the device is and what she just did, and Claude gets very defensive and raises his voice when Cain steps into the house as the handsome Northstar tries to pull him back. Cain asks Jean-Paul what the thing Mrs. Pare is pushing is, but Jean-Paul suggests they go. Suddenly, a meek ‘Cain?’ is heard from the doorway. Cain and Jean-Paul turn around, and Cain tells Sammy he is glad to see him – but his words are cut off, and his expression goes from joy to fury at seeing what is wrong with Sammy. His face is battered and bruised, but Sammy is so happy that Cain actually came.

Sammy “Squidboy” Pare rushes up to Cain and hugs him, asking if he can stay for dinner and how long he is going to be here for. Cain puts a hand on Sammy and turns to the parents. Sammy tells Cain he spoke to Carter – Cain steps forward to Claude, calling him a ‘son of a bitch’, but Claude protests, saying that he didn’t do that to Sammy, that the boy just fell is all. Cain literally screams at Claude, telling him he is a dead man!

Back in Azazel’s dimension, Azazel, Wolverine, Archangel, Nightcrawler, Mystique, Abyss, Professor Dibble, Jillian, Yidrazil, Ginniyeh and Kiwi Black sit around a large, but empty, dinning table, surrounded by hundreds of Azazel’s minions. Azazel tells the present X-Men that they have all destroyed some rather laborious long-range plans. Wolverine asks so what, to which Azazel frowns and tells Logan that he is obviously the surly, temperamental one who investigates, and therefore cannot be the leader.

Azazel asks who then is the leader, to which Kurt looks at Warren as he asks why there always has to be a leader and why cannot all be equals. Warren asks Azazel what business of his it is anyway, before asking where Paige is, what are they doing here, ‘And who the hell are you?’ Azazel smiles and tells Warren that he phrased that question appropriately, before informing everyone that he is Kurt’s father! Gasps all around, before Logan tells Azazel that he is ‘full of it’, though Mystique smiles and tells not as much as he may think.

Abyss states that in truth he is the parent of many of those here today, including Abyss. ‘No way’ the young mutant protests, before Kiwi Black is also said to be Azazel’s son. Azazel claims that many people not here today are his children also. Motioning to Ginniyeh, Azazel states that she has sewn her eyes shut so that her telepathic abilities to discern the truth might be more focused without distraction. Azazel informs the X-Men that there is no manipulation of truth in this room, and no need for it, ever. ‘Lies waste time…and destroy trust’ says an attendant standing next to Azazel.

Frowning, Kurt turns to Raven Darkholme and asks her if she is his real mother then, as she has hinted at it often enough. Mystique does not answer, but Azazel does for her, informing Kurt that Raven is his mother, at least genetically, however she has little claim to him after throwing him off that cliff. ‘Not very nurturing of her’ Azazel remarks, to which Mystique replies ‘Nor very effective obviously’. Azazel takes a drink as he adds that fortunately he was nearby at the time, and a good friend of his was willing to care for Kurt during his formative years.

Kurt is shocked by this startling revelation, ‘A friend…a friend of yours? You mean my stepmother Margali? She knew you?’ Kurt informs everyone that Margali told him she found him washed up on a riverbed! Azazel says that Margali’s story was rather effective as it took him out of the equation entirely. Azazel adds that it makes sense, as Margali was with gypsies who might have feared his intervention, given Kurt’s physical and who Azazel truly is.

Archangel asks Azazel again who he truly is. Azazel responds again that Warren’s question is appropriate, because he is Azazel, otherwise known as Semihazah, Duma, Keriel, Mastema, Beliar, Gadreel, Beelzebub and most commonly – Satan! Kurt looks as if he could cry at this revelation. ‘Lord knows I’ve thought of you as that a time or two’ says Mystique. Warren tells Azazel that he cannot expect them to believe all this, and Professor Dibble the archaeologist proclaims that he certainly doesn’t believe it.

Azazel asks Ginniyeh what the truth is, and the blind woman replies that Dibble lies, for he fears the truth, but he believes it – because of the historical evidence he has recently discovered. Dibble calls Ginniyeh a liar adding that he doesn’t believe any of it, stating that there is no historical evidence to suggest that “Satan” is anything more than myth and folklore. He tells Azazel that he doesn’t know what his game is, but he is a liar for sure.

With that, Yidrazil cracks his whip at Dibble, throwing the archaeologist off his chair and onto the floor, where Yidrazil stands over him, and kills him for insulting his lord. Kurt and the other X-Men stand aghast while Wolverine unsheathes his claws, as Azazel tells them he would not recommend calling him a liar in his own house.

Back in Vancouver, Cain lifts Claude Pare up and breaks his arm, and while Claude cries over his broken arm, Cain mocks him and tells him to shut-up about it. Jean-Paul tells Cain to let go, while Mrs. Pare presses the button some more asking where someone is. Cain asks Claude if he wants something to really cry about and he throws him through the wall onto the grass outside. Jean-Paul uses his super speed to rush from Cain to the injured human, and as he tends over the abusive man, three very good friends suddenly arrive – Vindicator, Sasquatch and Guardian!

Heather Hudson asks Jean-Paul what he is doing here and where Juggernaut is. Looking up at his former teammates, Heather and the handsome Guardian wearing re-designs of their cybernetic suits and Sasquatch covered in armor the witty French-Canadian says ‘Well, well…look at you three. Alpha Flight. All dressed up and ready to rumble in new designer armor. How chic’. From inside the house, Cain looks out, smashes his fists together and says ‘now we’re talking!’

Characters Involved: 

Archangel, Havok, Husk, Iceman, Jubilee, Juggernaut, Nightcrawler, Northstar, Wolverine, (all X-Men)

Carter Ghazikhanian

Guardian, Sasquatch, Vindicator II (All Alpha Flight)

Mystique/Raven Darkholme

Squidboy

Claude Pare, Squidboy’s father

Squidboy’s mother

Professor Dibble

Abyss

Azazel
Yidrazil, Jillian, Kiwi Black, Ginniyeh, and other mutants/demons with Azazel

Story Notes: 

The name ‘Kiwi Black’ and the tattoos on his face seem to suggest that Kiwi Black is one of the indigenous people of New Zealand, the Maori, also because Kiwis are birds that a native to New Zealand.

Margali Szardos being a close friend of Azazel’s would fit well with her mysterious and manipulative character.

The most important issues relating to Kurt’s origin are X-Men Unlimited #4, Uncanny X-Men Annual #4, the Excalibur # -1Flashback and Uncanny X-Men #428.

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