The Evolution of the X-Men’s Archangel in Comics (2024)

For sixty years, the X-Men have stood as the Marvel Universe's foremost mutant heroes. While the team itself has branched and evolved in a myriad of ways since their introduction, so too has its original members.

While the most demonstrably transformed of the first generation of X-Men is almost certainly Hank McCoy (aka Beast), each member of the original team has changed in their own ways. Unfortunately for Warren Worthington III (aka Angel), his latest transformation in Dark X-Men #2 (by Steve Foxe, Jonas Scharf, Frank Martin, Tom Muller, Jay Bowen, and VC's Clayton Cowles) is the most horrifying of them all and a grand departure from where he started.

Warren Worthington III's Original Stint as Angel

In Warren Worthington III's first appearance back in 1963's X-Men #1 (by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby), he had been brought into the team after a short-lived career as a superhero known as the Avenging Angel. As part of the team, Warren cut his codename down to simply Angel and was given the kind of training he could have only dreamed of before. Soon enough, his life was a whirlwind of adventures across the globe and even time itself. While the former gave Warren the chance to spread his wings, the latter gave him a chance to see what kind of world he would be helping to usher in as a hero, and what parts of it he should look to avoid bringing about where possible.

These early years were profoundly formative for Warren, especially after he was rescued from Krakoa following a disastrous mission that necessitated the formation of Professor X's second team of X-Men. Upon his return, Warren and nearly every other member of the original X-Men team left to seek out something better on their own. In the years that followed, Angel went through numerous wardrobe changes and worked alongside just as many fellow heroes, but he always came back around to the X-Men in one way or another. Eventually, this came in the form of X-Factor, which he founded alongside his fellow original X-Men.

The Horseman of Death

Tragically, Warren seemingly lost his life after a series of devastating blows dealt by his former confidant and longtime nemesis Cameron Hodge. While Warren miraculously survived the plane crash that supposedly killed him, it was only because of the intervention of Apocalypse. Despite his survival, the Warren who emerged in X-Factor #19 (by Louise Simonson and Walter Simonson) was nothing like the Angel his loved ones grew up with.

As Apocalypse's Horseman Death, the only resemblance Warren bore to his former self was his wings, although even those had been transformed. Rather than being adorned in white feathers, Warren's new, techno-organic wings were covered in razor sharp metal feathers that could be launched in lethal vollies. This Warren was faster, stronger, and more volatile than ever, so much so that he bested his fellow Horsem*n in brutal combat. If not for the defeat of Apocalypse, Warren would have likely decimated New York City single-handedly. Thankfully, Warren was freed form Apocalypse's control in the end, yet that didn't take away any of his guilt over the atrocities he had commited as Death, nor the shock of his new physical form.

The X-Men's Original Archangel

Even after the defeat of Apocalypse and regaining his freedom, Warren's body and mind remained altered in horrifying ways. Every day was a struggle against the inner killer he had become. Whereas he would have once been a beacon of joy and hope, Warren was reduced to a font of somber self-loathing. As easy as it would have been for him to fall apart entirely, he instead pushed back against his deadly Archangel persona and attempted to do as much good as was possible given the circ*mstances.

As it turned out, Warren was still capable of playing the role of a hero, as he proved by lending his aid to the X-Men as Archangel. Through overwhelming struggle, Warren shed the worst parts of his new persona and slowly reverted to his human appearance, albeit briefly.

Learning to Cope With His Inner Archangel

In a convoluted series of events, the death of a young Apocalypse triggered the Death Seed the original had placed within Warren to begin transforming into the latest version of the mutant tyrant. While Warren was eventually freed from the hold the Death Seed and its Ascension Protocol had over him, this came at the expense of his memories. For months after his apparent return to relative normalcy, Warren was convinced that he was a real angel sent from heaven rather than a mortal mutant, leading to him making some nearly disastrous decisions in the hopes of confirming his deeply disturbing delusions. .

Again, the disconnect between who he was and what he thought he should be drove Warren to the brink, and once his memories returned, so too did the Archangel persona. Things grew so tense that Warren was willing to have his wings amputated, leading to the creation of an army of doppelgängers that he was forced to reabsorb into himself. In doing so, Warren once again lost all sense of self, which he only recovered in pieces throughout the months that followed. Fortunately, he was ultimately able to come to terms with who he was, regaining control over his transformations and officially finding himself in a place where he could move on from the worst chapters of his life.

Angel on Krakoa and Newfound Career

When Krakoa was founded, Warren was one of the first to make a home for himself on the mutant island nation. Warren was also one of the first to throw himself into battle against any that would threaten Krakoa's safety or sovereignty. This included the battles that would cost him his life before being resurrected by The Five, as well as the battles that could only be fought inside a boardroom.

As co-CXO of X-Corp alongside Monet St. Croix, Warren was given a chance to put his business acumen to the test without having to worry about what his mutant status would make others think of him. This made it all the more tragic when Orchis tainted the mutant medicines produced by X-Corp and used them as one prong of their multi-stage attack on the X-Men. With everything he had fought for and helped to build now being used to turn mutants into the world's worst villains, Warren wasted no time in embracing his Archangel side once more to take the fight to Orchis from the shadows.

The Goblin Queen and Orchis' Archangel

Although Warren did help to free a handful of mutants who had been taken captive by Orchis forces after the fall of Krakoa, his capture at their hands has turned him into the villains' latest weapon. Thanks to the magic of the Goblin Queen, Warren has been refashioned into a whole new kind of Archangel, one who will surely rain nothing but death and destruction down upon his former allies and teammates.

Presumably, this version of Archangel has all the abilities that were already a part of his power set, yet the gilded skull that now comprises his head implies that there are worse things to come. At this point, there is no telling what new powers the Goblin Queen may have bestowed upon her personal Angel of Death. And, considering how desperate Orchis is to see mutantkind eradicated entirely, there is no telling how far he will be willing to go to see his masters' dream come to life.