A few months back, we learned that Azrael was headed for "Gotham." What wasn't clear was how the show was going to treat the character. Executive producer John Stephens now has revealed that a brand-new twist can be expected upon Azrael.
"Gotham" season two left off with The Order of St. Dumas failing to destroy the Wayne Family and take over Gotham City. That doesn't mean, however, that the group will be slinking away, taking its defeat sitting down. Enter Azrael.
The Order's chief warrior, Azrael will be coming to "Gotham" in the second half of the series' second season. According to Stephens, the character will be highly recognizable to comic book fans because a lot of his hallmark traits have been retained, but with a brand-new twist.
"The way we're going to bring that character into being on our show will be different than anything we've seen in the comics," he said. "It will be identifiable as Azrael in all respects, just a version of him we've not seen before."
Several forms of Azrael have been introduced in the comic books but many may think of him as Jean-Paul Valley, the man who took over for Bruce Wayne when Batman broke his back. For "Gotham," however, it is likely that the character will be taking the form of The Order's warrior class. This means that it is also possible that Azrael will not just be one person but actually a group of warriors training and fighting to be the best.
Having Azraels as opposed to just a single character matches more with the comic books and also fits in with what a priest of The Order told Theo Galavan at the end of season two's fifth episode: "The day of redemption is at hand. Our brothers are crossing the ocean now, warriors unlike this city has ever seen."
So will the character be just one person, the champion among The Order's warriors or will Azrael represent an elite group of followers? Alongside knowing the answer, TV viewers will also be learning more about The Order once the next set of episodes start running.
"Wrath of the Villains," the second half of "Gotham" season two, is due to return Feb. 29.
Photo: JD Hancock | Flickr
