WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Legends of the Dark Knight #13 by Brandon Easton, Karl Mostert, David Baron, and Becca Carvey, available digitally now.
Jean-Paul Valley, or Azrael, is one of the most troubled members of the Bat-Family. Introduced as a brainwashed assassin, he tried to walk a heroic path but his abusive and manipulative upbringing frequently caused him to act more like an anti-hero villain, bringing him into previous conflict with Batman. The most recent issue of Legends of the Dark Knight drags Jean-Paul into another brawl between him and his one-time mentor.
Over the course of DC's various reality-resetting reboots, Azrael has found himself far from Gotham and back with the Order of St. Dumas. And in Legends of the Dark Knight #13, his renewed allegiance brings him and Batman face-to-face.
Created by Denny O'Neil and Joe Quesada, Jean-Paul first appeared in Batman: Sword of Azrael #1 in 1992. He believed that he was a normal college student until his father died, after which he discovered that his father was the current Azrael, an assassin who served the fanatical religious group known as the Order of St. Dumas. After his father's death, the System, a type of mental conditioning worked into Jean-Paul's psyche, was activated and Jean-Paul was compelled to serve the Order by becoming the new Azrael. He came into conflict with Batman while hunting his father's killer, a rogue member of the Order, but eventually, he worked alongside the Dark Knight. Bruce then took Azrael on as a crime-fighting student in the hopes that together they could free Jean-Paul's mind.
Soon after, Bane broke Bruce's back in their first battle, leaving him temporarily paralyzed. Bruce appointed Jean-Paul rather than Dick Grayson, who seemed the more logical choice, as the interim Batman during his absence. Jean-Paul was invigorated by the new responsibility but his time as Batman was a disaster. The influence of the System and hallucinations of his father and Saint Dumas led him to become a much more reckless and violent crime fighter than Bruce. When Bruce returned to Gotham, he took back the mantle in combat and shocked the unhinged Valley into a more normal state of mind by making him look at the Sun through his night-vision mask.
However, Legends of the Dark Knight brings Jean-Paul back to his old habits. In this story, Bruce is searching for the Vessel of St. Januarius, a Catholic relic that Ra's al Ghul believes has life-extending mystic power that he seeks to combine with that of his Lazarus Pits. When Bruce finds the Vessel in an underground lair created by the Knights Templar, he is attacked by Jean-Paul, who states that part of the Order's mission is to protect things they consider holy, like this artifact.
Rededicated to the Order, Valley chases Bruce throughout Venice. Bruce attempts to blind him with a flash-bang grenade, similar to his strategy from their battle years ago. That plan doesn't work, but Bruce still eventually gains the upper hand on his former student before the fight is interrupted by the arrival of Ra's himself.
The Batman villain then states that he will test the improved Lazarus Pit on Bruce and Jean-Paul. To survive what comes next they will need to work together, but Bruce may have a hard time convincing Jean-Paul of that in his current state of mind.
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