History
Nightcrawler is a mutant from Germany, where he performed in the circus. He has the ability to teleport. He decorated his blue skin with "angelic symbols" which reflected his faith and devout practice of Catholicism. This form of artistic body modification was self-inflicted brands or scars: "One for every sin".
Nightcrawler was brainwashed with a fluid produced by William Stryker's mutant son in order to attempt an assassination on the President of the United States. He was nearly successful, however, he was wounded and snapped out of the the trance in the final moments.
Storm and Jean Grey were sent to find Kurt. Wagner left with them and developed a friendship with Storm. At the Alkali Lake facility he was key in helping Storm save the mutant students Stryker had kidnapped and helped stop Stryker's Cerebro from killing anyone.[1]
Nightcrawler continued to be an X-Man after this, but later told Wolverine that he was going to leave the team because life as a X-Man was too violent for him. Wolverine accepted his decision.[2]Attributes
Powers
Abilities
Notes
- Alan Cumming portrays Nightcrawler in X2.
- This version of the character shares much in common with his comic book counterpart, including his origins in a Bavarian circus and Catholic religion.
- His scenes with Mystique leave it ambiguous as to whether or not they share any familial connection.
- One major difference between the comic book Nightcrawler and his film counterpart is that he wears ordinary civilian clothing as opposed to an X-Men uniform, as he is not actually a member of the X-Men in the film (or in the tie-in video game either), but instead an ally of the team.
- His strong sense of humor and 'prankster' nature were practically non-existent in the film, except for one scene where Rogue says she wishes she could overhear what the X-Men and Magneto are discussing around a camp fire. Nightcrawler replies that he could get closer to overhear without being seen, and a minute or so later the others round the camp fire notice him dangling like a bat by his tail from a tree branch just above and behind them. This is arguably the only indication of Nightcrawler's humorous antics in the film, which emphasizes the tragic aspect of the character instead of the clown-like aspect present in the comics and cartoon series.
- The flash of smoke that accompanies Nightcrawler's teleportation ability appears a dark navy blue in the film, as opposed to the bright reddish-purple as it appears in the comics. Unlike the traditional versions, in the movie Nightcrawler has blue skin instead of blue fur. His skin is also decorated by "angelic symbols" which reflects the spirituality of the character's faith. The existence of the skin was due to the difficulty of creating a furry hide on the actor, so the decision was made to give him blue flesh instead of fur.
- The opening scenes of the movie are almost a showcase of Nightcrawler's powers, with him versus the Secret Service, defeating them in a memorable fashion.
- Nightcrawler's absence from X-Men: The Last Stand was explained in its video game tie-in, X-Men: The Official Game. In the game, it is explained that Nightcrawler left the X-Men because he disagreed with their violent methods. In reality, Alan Cumming backed out after discovering his character's minimal role in the film, and did not want to go through the laborious make-up process for such a small part.
- While talking about the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past, James McAvoy, who portrays Charles Xavier in the film, mentioned Alan Cumming as a member of the cast. This was later addressed in a statement released a few days later, which confirmed Cumming would not be returning for the film.
Trivia
- Nightcrawler's teleportation was also known as 'Bamfing' due to the sound that was made when he teleported.
- In the video game X-Men Origins: Wolverine, John Wraith says to Mystique that she is carrying his baby and asks her if she likes the name Kurt. This is a reference to Mystique being Nightcrawler's mother (Azazel is his father in the comics.) It also explains why he has blue skin and the ability to teleport. However, the game isn't directly linked to the films and may not be considered canon.