By Marc Strom
You just can't keep a good angel down these days.
Warren Worthington III, the super-rich mutant known alternately as Angel or Archangel and one of the original X-Men, didn't always have the cheeriest demeanor. After the Marauders ripped his natural wings from his body during the "Mutant Massacre," Warren fell under the influence of the nefarious Apocalypse, who remade him into the deadly, steel-winged horseman named Death.
After breaking free of Apocalypse's grip, Warren continued to fight alongside his fellow X-Men as Archangel, the now-heroic scourge of the skies. And eventually, Warren began to rid himself of all traces of Archangel, regaining his natural wings and skin color.
Recent events in the pages of X-FORCE, though, have brought about a change in Warren, with the mutant reverting back to his Archangel form. And come next month, he sets out to get some revenge on the people responsible for his condition in the pages of X-FORCE #5, on sale July 16.
Chris Yost remembers that the decision to bring Archangel back seemed obvious to himself and X-FORCE co-scribe Craig Kyle.
"We were drumming up the initial story arc for X-Force," Yost reminisces. "We knew we wanted to expand the team from the core four of Wolverine, Warpath, X-23 and Wolfsbane, and had made a list of the deadliest X-Men, past, present and future. And Archangel topped that list.
"The only problem was that he wasn't Archangel anymore. Which wasn't a problem, as it turned out."
And now that Archangel has made his return, Yost promises that he'll stick around for quite a while.
"We like Archangel," the writer confesses, "And he's going to have a pretty big role on the team. A team that's getting more and more unstable by the minute. Wolverine's got a lot to contend with."
Warren's always had his ups and downs since originally losing his wings, to say the least. So how will he deal with his most recent changes?
"Not well, at first," Yost predicts ominously. "And then worse as time goes on. It's not just a physical change. Once upon a time, Warren had another name attached to Apocalypse's wings...Death. And now that's exactly what Warren is fighting."
Archangel's return doesn't mark the first time X-Force's past has caught up with them in their debut mission, though. The team has also come up against a resurrected Bastion and the return of the Magus, as well as more than a few long-dead anti-mutant leaders.
Yost has a fairly simple explanation for why the past won't stay buried for Marvel's merry mutants.
"The X-Men seem to have some of the nastiest villains, fueled by the most hate," he reasons. "The X-Men are hated simply for
being. And that kind of hate doesn't die easily. The X-Men confront that evil every day, and once it gets its hooks into you...it's hard to shake."
Finally, with only two issues to go in X-Force's first storyline, Yost promises more than a few big moments as it winds down:
"Archangel in big, big action. Big changes for Wolfsbane. X-23 finds out something about Warpath. Wolverine vs. Bastion. And don't think we've forgotten about the Technarch called Magus."
But wait, True Believer, that's not all! Warren will also appear within the pages of UNCANNY X-MEN as the avenging Angel. Series editor Nick Lowe tells us the character's involvement in that team comes down to two specific reasons.
"One, [UNCANNY co-writer] Ed Brubaker loves Angel," reveals Lowe. "For real. When we were doing 'Messiah CompleX' and were putting together the team for the first issue, Angel was the first person Ed asked about. The other reason is moolah. He's got lots of it. And it makes the world go around."
And with all the changes going on in Warren's life, Lowe foresees a rocky road ahead for this gazillionaire.
"As you'll see in X-FORCE, he's a bit shaken up," notes Lowe. "He's trying to keep cool and stay in control, but you'll see if that works or not."
Wait a minute…if Warren's Archangel in X-FORCE, why does he still have his natural wings and skin color over in UNCANNY? Don't expect any answers out of Lowe just yet.
"You're just going to have to wait and see how that works," the tight-lipped editor teases.
X-FORCE #5 flies into stores on July 16 while ANGEL: REVELATIONS #2, the re-telling of Warren's early years, goes on sale next week, July 2. For more of Archangel, head over to Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited.
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