The X-Men are comprised of multiple iconic figures. Everyone knows Professor X, the mutant race’s de facto leader, and the force of will who first forged a group of mutant teens into a superhero team. But what some Marvel fans may not know is that there was one original X-Men member who was fighting crime even before Xavier came along. Here’s everything you need to know about Warren Worthington III’s time as The Avenging Angel of New York.
With an impressive 16ft. wingspan and an ethereal silhouette, it’s no reason Warren goes by the name “Angel”, but the comics have often struggled with his purpose – after all, in a world where half the heroes can fly, the guy with actual wings is just in the way. It’s partly this that keeps getting Angel transformed into deadlier forms, both as Archangel – one of the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse – and later by the Black Vortex, which gave him fiery cosmic wings. But before Marvel started piling on the enhanced powers, Warren had to come up with his own solutions to fighting crime as a winged wonder.
In X-Men vol. 1, #55, “Where Angels Dare to Trend”, readers are treated to the details of Professor X tracking down Angel and recruiting him into the X-Men team, along with the other founding members. Readers observe Angel tackling the Grady Gang – a New York crime organization – and halting their robbery. He soars down, whips out his gas gun, saves the day, and even leaves his vigilante business card at the scene. The other members of the X-Men are thrilled to discover another mutant, and one on the TV no less! So they drop by to recruit Warren, but the Avenging Angel insists that he works solo.
Jump forward to X-Men #56, “The Flying A-Bomb!” and Warren isn’t taking kindly to his visitors. They overstay their welcome and he attacks. Professor X watches using his telepathy and is a tad amused by the scuffle until it gets too out of control. Warren displays his expert hand-to-hand combat and poor Iceman and Cyclops get walloped. It’s only when Professor X realizes that a cylinder Angel had retrieved from the Grady Gang is about to explode that he jumps into Angel’s mind to communicate with the hot-headed vigilante. Angel disposes of the threat in the chilly atmosphere and, upon his successful descent, agrees to come along, if only to see what the team’s all about.
What’s surprising about this story is how much texture it adds to the most commonly forgotten member of the original X-Men team. Often thought of as the rich kid of the bunch, it’s surprising to know that Warren had actually chosen to use his powers to fight crime even before Xavier, and likewise that he seems to have been pretty good at it. With combat skills that allow him to take down his two teammates and a gun that fires gas pellets he mixed himself, it’s fascinating to think what would have become of this young vigilante if he hadn’t been called away to higher things. Outside the context of healing factors, telepathy, and eye-beams, Angel’s powers actually make a lot more sense for a street vigilante – plenty of Marvel and DC heroes have built their careers on less.
While modern X-Men stories have tended towards twisting Angel’s mind or giving him new powers, Warren Worthington III started out as a rich street vigilante who created his own signature equipment. After years of being killed, resurrected, transformed, and mind-wiped, it’s easy to dismiss Angel as a character with little to offer, but his days as the Avenging Angel suggest that in putting together his first team, Professor X might just have seen Angel as his very own mutant Batman.
