Summary
- A founding member of the X-Men, Angel was originally corrupted into becoming Archangel during Marvel's X-Factor comics.
- Often flipping back and forth between his regular and Archangel forms, Warren Worthington's time as a hero rarely lasts.
- In Dark X-Men #2, Marvel Comics once again explores the tragic cycle Angel has been trapped in for decades.
The following contains spoilers for Dark X-Men #2, now on sale from Marvel Comics
Fall of X has been pushing the X-Men to the brink in more ways than one. With the mutant heroes scattered across the globe and embarking on separate missions to do as much good as they can, they've found it impossible to keep all their remaining allies safe from the reach of Orchis. This is especially true for one of the foundational members of the team, who is going through his worst nightmare all over again.
Orchis has captured Archangel and corrupted him into a new grim form in Dark X-Men #2 (by Steve Foxe, Jonas Scharf, Frank Martin, and VC's Clayton Cowles). It's a horrifying fate for a founding member of the X-Men, turning him into a vicious weapon for the X-Men's greatest enemies. It's also only the latest example of Warren Worthington being turned evil, which has become a tragic constant for the hero over the years.
How Orchis Turns Archangel Against The X-Men
Dark X-Men focuses on Madelyne Pryor, who has found herself a unique wildcard in the modern Marvel Universe. As the Queen of Limbo, Madelyne has established peace with the rest of the universe and set up shop in New York City with the Limbo Embassy. In Fall of X, this demonic door has become an unexpected haven for mutants on the run from Orchis. Heroes like Gambit and Maggot have been forced to team up with her self-styled Dark X-Men, working to protect a world that hates and fears them. However, they've already suffered serious blows. Orchis captured Archangel, and Havok nearly died in battle.
While the latter survived thanks to Madelyne Pryor, the former has been taken prisoner and given over to the Goblin Queen, a captured variant of Pryor who has been completely taken over by her demonic side. With Archangel in her hands, the Goblin Queen quickly went to work, transforming him into something wicked. By the end of Dark X-Men #2, this newly corrupted incarnation of Archangel is unleashed onto the world, targeting mutants under Callisto's care. Described as "Death himself," this version of Archangel quickly slays many mutants before the Dark X-Men arrive to confront him. It's a nightmarish fate for a founding member of the X-Men, but given his history in the Marvel Universe, it's also an unsurprising one.
A Brief History Of The X-Men's Archangel Being Turned Evil
Warren Worthington III was a founding member of the X-Men as Angel and spent his initial years in the Marvel Universe as a heroic figure. He even branched out from the team to join the Champions alongside Beast, Iceman, Ghost Rider, Black Widow, and Hercules. But during Angel's tenure with the original incarnation of X-Factor, the events of Mutant Massacre resulted in his wings being irrevocably damaged. Spiraling and overwhelmed with grief, Worthington ended up falling under the sway of Apocalypse. The villain transformed Angel into his Horseman of Death by giving him a new lethal set of metallic wings. This was when Angel shifted identities to become Archangel and began a reoccurring cycle of being corrupted against his will into a villainous form. Although he quickly broke free of Apocalypses' influence, Archangel wrestled with his new form for years.
Warren Worthington's tenure with the Uncanny X-Force eventually resulted in the Archangel persona taking full control of him, corrupting him into Dark Angel and risking the future of the entire world. His teammates were eventually forced to put him down, leading to a period where Angel had his memory and mind wiped to a blank slate. He was later tricked into joining up with the Akkaba cult, becoming a prominent preacher for their dark gospel before being saved by Magneto and Betsy Braddock. Even as Warren eventually recovered, the modern Archangel has been forced to contend with his dark side breaking loose in Legion of X and X-Corp, against his will and by his own accord, respectively. This history of being corrupted into a darker form even extends to the version of Angel who was plucked from the past for a time alongside the other original X-Men. His time-displaced younger self was one of the X-Men transformed during The Black Vortex, briefly giving him a cosmic upgrade that nevertheless pushed him to make harsher decisions.
Archangel Is Caught In A Tragic Story Loop
Angel being turned evil against his will seems to have become a foundational element of the character, one that keeps repeating itself. It's something of a multiversal constant. Even variants of Angel like the Fallen from Mutant X and many versions of him in What If...? went through similar transformations. This new version of Dark Angel even carries the moniker of "Death" again, similar to his original state after being transformed by Apocalypse. It's notable how even Orchis seems content to do so, weaponizing one of the founding X-Men against his fellow mutants and other survivors of the latest Mutant Massacre.
Angel is far from the only X-Men member who's been turned against their allies. In the Krakoa Era, Wolverine was forcibly cloned and used as a weapon by Beast — who has fully embraced a grim role in the modern Marvel Universe as a villainous force. Angel is just the latest mutant to be caught in Orchis' efforts to turn mutants against themselves. Given his history of being corrupted into villainous forms, it makes sense why he'd be one of the mutants targeted for transformation. It adds another layer to Angel's tragic history of being turned into a monster, a deep irony given his natural good looks and typically heroic demeanor. If history is any indicator, it's only a matter of time before the X-Men restore their ally to his natural form — at least for now.