For many years, it has been accepted that the X-Men villain Mystique was the mother of Kurt “Nightcrawler” Wagner. X-Men Blue: Origins #1 challenges this history. However, rather than retconning the story, the new comic restores the original history devised by Mystique’s co-creator, Chris Claremont.
Written by Si Spurrier and illustrated by Wilton Santos, Oren Junior, and Marcus To, X-Men Blue: Origins #1 builds on the recent Fall of X storyline. Mystique’s mind broke after resisting Professor X‘s attempts to evacuate all the mutants from Earth. She wandered the streets of New York City, searching for a missing baby, apparently lost in her memories of the past.
She eventually came to the attention of Nightcrawler, who was similarly stranded away from his allies. Ever compassionate, even to the mother he believed abandoned him, Kurt attempted to talk Mystique through her trauma. However, Kurt wound up uncovering the truth of his birth — and his parentage.
Mystique Is Nightcrawler’s Parent, But Not His Mother
The first major revelation came as Mystique recalled fleeing the lynch mob that thought she gave birth to a demon. Lost in memory, Mystique speaks of hiding her son in the forest so that she could go back and save her wife, Destiny. Beyond suggesting that Mystique did not abandon her son willingly, this confirmed that Destiny was present at Kurt Wagner’s birth.
Recalling her relationship with Destiny, Mystique explained that both took male lovers and had children, but only when it benefited them both. That changed when Destiny decided she wanted “a child conceived in love” with Mystique. To that end, Mystique changed her genetics for a night, so she could impregnate the woman she loved. Biologically, Destiny was Nightcrawler’s mother, and Mystique was his father.
The Azazel Question
In previous X-Men comics, Nightcrawler’s father was purported to be Azazel, an immortal mutant with teleportation powers. This discrepancy is also explained by Mystique, who confirms that Kurt Wagner’s birth had a purpose beyond affirming her and Destiny’s love. Indeed, Nightcrawler’s mother foresaw his future and made an impossible choice regarding it.
Destiny’s prophetic visions showed that Azazel would grow to become a threat to the world, “unless a child was born that he would assume was his own.” Beyond occupying Azazel’s paranoia about his heir replacing him, Destiny saw that Nightcrawler would grow into a true hero. One who would stop Azazel’s evil and save countless others.
To that end, Mystique rewrote her DNA with her powers so that it would match Azazel’s. While technically being her son, Nightcrawler would share genetic traits with Azazel. She also used her powers to fake her pregnancy, while Destiny was pregnant with Nightcrawler. Unfortunately, preventing the bad future Destiny saw required that they not raise their son themselves, though they fostered Rogue together.
Professor X Altered Destiny and Mystique’s Memories
Unfortunately, despite the noble thought behind their actions, Mystique and Destiny couldn’t cope with the knowledge that they’d given up their son. They sought out Professor X, who agreed to alter their memories. Destiny opted to forget about Nightcrawler completely, but Mystique refused to forget that he was her son. This caused her to develop false memories of abandoning her son to bridge the gaps Professor X left.
Chris Claremont’s Plan for Mystique and Destiny
As complex as Si Spurrier’s new history is, it does account for every aspect of Nightcrawler’s history to date. More, it makes Chris Claremont’s original character concept for Mystique and Destiny canon. It had always been Claremont’s intention to portray Mystique and Destiny as a couple and to establish them as Nightcrawler’s parents.
Unfortunately, the Comics Code Authority rules of the time forbade the explicit portrayal of gay or bisexual characters. This prohibited Claremont from teasing the romance, much less suggesting Mystique’s shapeshifting could allow her to impregnate another woman. With those rules long defunct, there was nothing to stop Spurrier from honoring Claremont’s intent and confirming Nightcrawler’s parentage.
X-Men Blue: Origins (2023) #1 is now available in comic shops everywhere.
