Friday, March 31, 2023

The Azrael Saga, Part 3: Knightfall

 The epic conclusion!  Jean-Paul Valley has it all:  a cool new suit of armor, a reputation as a hero, and a girlfriend.  After taking over as Azrael from the Order of St. Dumas, breaking from the Order, and defeating Bane, it seems finally Jean-Paul is living his best life.  So it's time to start tearing it down!

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We start at some warehouse in Gotham (or wherever) where some lowlifes are doing criminal stuff.  Suddenly a figure bursts in with a flaming sword.  But it's not Jean-Paul Valley.  This dude is wearing white armor with a red cross that looks sorta like the Assassin's Creed guy:

He kills the guys and leaves a token of St. Dumas so the cops will think it was Azrael.

The next day, Jean-Paul is moving his stuff into his girlfriend Becky's apartment.  They're having fun until the news comes on with a report about Azrael killing a bunch of people.  Becky asks Jean-Paul, but he says it wasn't him.  So who was it?

That night, Azrael goes out in his cool armor to try to find someone who might have information.  He finds some homeless guy or something who says he saw a dude in white armor with a flaming sword.  While he might not be the most credible witness, Jean-Paul is pretty sure he's being framed.

He's spotted by a couple of cops and has to escape without killing them.  He gets back to his apartment and hides the armor.  On the news, the police are saying that Azrael has killed a bunch more people--some of them not even criminals!

As Jean-Paul & Becky consider what to do next, the new Azrael bursts into their apartment!  Jean-Paul tries to fight the guy, but without his armor, he's not a match for the guy.  He manages to get one of the dart throwers and the new guy retreats--taking Becky with him!  He says if Jean-Paul wants to see her alive again, he'll go to an address that Jean-Paul realizes is an Order safehouse.

He armors up and then goes to the safehouse, where Sister Lilha is there along with the new Azrael and Becky.  She says if Jean-Paul goes back with them to face judgment then they'll let Becky go.  After exchanging some words about what kind of monster Sister Lilha is, Jean-Paul agrees and takes off the armor.  He gets to say goodbye to Becky and then the new Azrael knocks him out.

He wakes up on a plane with his hands and legs shackled and the new Azrael watching him.  He tries to engage the new Azrael in conversation and the new guy finally takes off his mask and hood to reveal he's a black guy.  He says his name is Michael Lane and he was a cop until Jean-Paul killed his wife.  Jean-Paul protests his innocence and Michael reveals his wife was killed in one of the attacks by Bane's henchmen.  So even if Jean-Paul didn't kill her directly, he's the reason.  And then the Order gave him a suit of armor and sword to take down Jean-Paul and get revenge.  

Michael doesn't look great and when Jean-Paul mentions this, Michael tells him to mind his own business.  Jean-Paul asks him about "the System" or the training protocols installed in him when he was young, but Michael has no idea about that.  He was not brainwashed into serving the Order; he is doing it willingly for revenge.  Sister Lilha shows up to knock Jean-Paul out again.

When he wakes up, he's back in the Order's lair, again chained and facing some old white guys.  They're the high priests or whatever of the Order.  They accuse him of abandoning the Order, stealing its property, and deviating from its ways.  They ask him to respond to the charges and he says he's guilty and basically gives them the whole, "You're out of order!  The whole system is out of order!" type speech, though probably less Al Pacino shouty. But he wants a chance to clear himself the old-fashioned way in a trial by combat.  If he wins, he's innocent and can go free and the Order will leave him (and Becky) alone.  If he loses, then obviously he was guilty.  The high priests agree and so Nomoz appears with Jean-Paul's armor and mentions they will probably need a third Azrael soon because the cursed "Suit of Sorrows" is killing Michael.

So then Jean-Paul and Michael have to face off.  Cue the original Star Trek duel theme!  Jean-Paul gets some good shots in, but he's been knocked out twice and so is a little off his game while Michael is full of rage and fury.  He overwhelms Jean-Paul and gets him on his knees.  Jean-Paul takes off his helmet and tells Michael that if he truly believes Jean-Paul killed his wife, then he should strike him down.  Then he can be satisfied until the "Suit of Sorrows" finishes poisoning him and he joins his wife.

Michael hesitates.  He finally drops his sword and falls to the ground.  Fighting the "Suit of Sorrows" has only accelerated the poison.  The high priests call in some other assassins and guards to kill both Azraels.  Jean-Paul incapacitates them and then grabs Michael.  He finds a weapons locker or something to set off an explosion that will destroy the Order's lair.

On his way out, Nomoz stops Jean-Paul and slips him an antidote for the Suit of Sorrows poison.  Then he sarcastically wishes Jean-Paul luck before disappearing.  Jean-Paul carries Michael out into the snow, where he removes the Suit of Sorrows to give Michael the antidote.  There's a big explosion, followed by an avalanche as the Order's lair is blown up and covered in snow.  The Order of St. Dumas is gone and now Jean-Paul and Michael can begin the long journey home.

In the epilogue, Jean-Paul is back with Becky.  She's counseling Michael on overcoming his grief.  Michael has taken a job as a security guard at Jean-Paul's college while he recovers from everything.  Meanwhile, Jean-Paul is still fighting crime in his Azrael suit.  And they live sorta Happily Ever After...

In a cookie scene, we see Sister Lilha has survived and is building a new Order and vowing to destroy Azrael once and for all!

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So there we go, an epic saga that uses a lot of parts from the Azrael mythos.  This third part includes some stuff from the second Azrael series, the one featuring Michael Lane.  I hope I didn't stray too far from his character, because I'd hate to do to him what DC has done to Jean-Paul.

Anyway, tomorrow begins the A to Z Challenge of DC Multiverse action figures.  Gee, who do you think is the A entry?  I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count.

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