10 Unbelievable Retcons That Made Comics Worse

10. Making Nightcrawler An ACTUAL Demon - Chuck Austen's X-Men

Azazel Nightcrawler Father
Marvel Comics

Full disclosure: Nightcrawler is my favourite X-Man. Witty, adventurous and wickedly cool, Kurt Wagner's resilience and bravery is an inspiration to us all - as is his backstory.

When he first appeared in Giant Size X-Men #1, Wagner immediately stood out. He looked like a demon, and after being paraded around as a circus freak in Germany he was rescued by Charles Xavier, who promised to give Kurt the opportunity to fight for a world free from anti-mutant prejudice. The genius behind the character is that, in regards to the mutant metaphor, he was literally being demonised. The fact he was just a mutant was the whole point - he was there, partially, to fight against religious paranoia and persecution, and his faith was even deeply personal to him too.

Enter Chuck Austen's X-Men. Austen's series has gone down as something of a fever-dream for Marvel's uncanny group, boasting a menagerie of cringe-inducing moments from pretty much start to finish. You can take your pick as to what could be considered the worst, but the change Austen made to Nightcrawler's past is borderline criminal.

So, Nightcrawler. Part of his mutation is that he looks like a blue demon. So, how clever would it be if Marvel actually made it so that he was the son of a demon, and that he wasn't a mutant at all? 'Not very!' you say? Well, you'd be correct, because it stands out as a terrible decision in a run chockfull of terrible decisions.

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Content Producer/Presenter
Content Producer/Presenter

Resident movie guy at WhatCulture who used to be Comics Editor. Thinks John Carpenter is the best. Likes Hellboy a lot. Can usually be found talking about Dad Movies on his Twitter at @EwanRuinsThings.