The afterlife, reincarnation, and whether someone ever returns to the world of the living after passing away are all hotly contested topics. Superheroes frequently survive fatal encounters and come back to life, especially in the fictitious world.
These superheroes are brought back to life by a variety of ideas, including reincarnation and the angels of death. However, not all of these angels are on the good side, and occasionally they take on a wicked persona in an effort to capture human souls.
Lazaer, a fictional superhero created by Bill Everett, was one such angel who made every effort to prevent superheroes from coming back to life. Lazaer, sometimes known as the angel of death, frequently appeared to combat the Wolverine and take his soul for all time. Let us investigate this angel of death’s past and learn more about his life.
Every near-death experience for Wolverine meant an encounter with Lazaer
Wolverine is one of the strongest X-Men and has become a widely popular superhero in the Marvel Universe. Though the Wolverine has been a part of many movies, we still don’t know everything about this X-Men, and there are certain bits that have been left out of the movies. One such bit is about Wolverine’s encounters with the Angel of Death, Lazaer, who shows up every time this mutant has a near-death experience. Wolverine cannot be easily killed due to his rare healing abilities, but he did have to face death on certain occasions.
Lazaer is named after the angel ‘Azrael’, and his name also serves as an anagram of Azrael. He always makes an appearance in the comics whenever Wolverine faces a life-threatening injury. In one such instance, Lazaer appears in a shadowy form to fight Logan when the superhero is fatally attacked by the supervillain, Nitro. While Wolverine’s body self-heals in the real world, his consciousness fights Lazaer and defeats him in order to return back alive.
Wolverine’s recovery after Nitro’s attack remained quite a mystery until his encounters with Lazaer were explained in Wolverine comics [#58]. In this comic, Wolverine ends up in a fight with Doctor Strange. While the two fight against each other, Doctor Strange asks Wolverine if he is aware of the supernatural elements that always bring him back to life. The sorcerer further elaborates and points out that Wolverine has always had to face an angel of death every time he suffered a fatal wound.
Though his body has self-healing properties, Wolverine’s soul departs his body every time he battles death. However, he is always given one last opportunity to keep his soul intact and prevent it from passing into the afterlife. This opportunity comes with the condition that he can only keep his soul if he defeats the angel of death, Lazaer. Wolverine has managed to defeat Lazaer so far and successfully cheated death many times.
However, this angel of death has not given up hope and still believes that he will one day take the superhero’s soul for eternity. He appears in around twenty-five issues of the Wolverine comics and is patiently waiting for the day he gets to claim Wolverine’s life once and for all.
The comic book appearance that introduces Lazaer
This angel of death made his first appearance in the Wolverine Comics Issue #48, titled ‘Casualties of War .’The comic begins with Wolverine lurking in the background while two men try to crash the plane into the ground. While the men sabotage the plane and get ready to crash in the middle of human settlements, Wolverine appears from behind and offers to lend them a hand. He gets rid of the men and tries to regain control of the plane.
However, he fails to do so, and the plane ends up crashing into a cornfield. Wolverine suffers many injuries while he comes crashing down with the plane, and though his body has self-healing properties, the process still takes quite a toll on him. He ends up losing consciousness as his soul leaves his body and travels to an alternate realm where he comes across Lazer. Here, he has to fight against this angel of death to return his soul back to his human body.
He struggles with the pain he experiences every time he has to fight for his soul and mentions that the soul’s pain is a lot more painful than any bodily pain he has endured. Wolverine’s soul finally returns to his body, and he wakes up around three hours later.
After around ten days, Wolverine discusses the problem of Nitro with his accomplices in California. Their team tries to find a way to defeat this supervillain, and they come up with a plan. When they spot Nitro, Wolverine immediately lunges into an attack on the supervillian while the rest of the team shoot bullets at him all at once. However, Nitro is no amateur, and he dodges the bullets within seconds.
Moreover, Nitro has the superhuman ability to turn into a living bomb and destroy his surroundings before regenerating himself. Wolverine tries to subdue Nitro, but he cannot reach the villain before he blows the place up. Wolverine ends up getting critically injured as a result of the blast and soon returns to the spiritual realm to fight Lazaer.
He seems to be well acquainted with other beings in this realm, and they are surprised to see him return so soon. Once Wolverine’s soul returns to his body, he regains consciousness in the real world. However, he pretends that his healing powers are no longer working in order to trick Nitro. Wolverine then attacks him when he least expects it, and defeats him.
In yet another flashback, Wolverine meets Atlanteans from Atlantis who have come to Earth to get justice for their royal family’s ‘Princess Namorita’. Wolverine even ends up falling from a deadly height while fighting an opponent. He describes the experience by saying that he already knew what was in store for him in the near future, even before he fell to his death. Just like he predicted, he once again ends up against Lazaer.
Wolverine soon defeats the angel of death and returns to life with his soul and body intact. He then decides to talk to the Atlantean ‘Amir’ about his experiences with death. He tells her about Lazaer, and how this angel of death is always waiting for Wolverine to show up in purgatory. He also mentions that Lazaer has not always been eager to kill him, and it is only recently that this angel of death has started to look forward to taking Wolverine’s soul.
We also get a first glimpse at this supernatural deity, and he has a mysterious appearance as he lurks from the shadows and carries a long sword at all times. Amir asks Wolverine why he is revealing his secrets, and he shrugs her off by saying that lately he has been feeling like he had to tell someone about Lazaer. Amir sympathizes with him and asks him why these brushes with death have such a toll on his body.
Wolverine retaliates by saying that he just explained what really happens when he suffers any fatal injuries. Amir then corrects herself and asks him why his soul does not go to its final rest. As the comic comes to an end, Wolverine answers her question by saying that he is not quite ready to reveal that secret yet.
What makes him such a powerhouse!
As the angel of death, Lazaer has infinite power in his hands. Though not all his powers have been revealed in the comics, it is established that he has divine powers that help him do pretty much anything and everything. He is an immortal being and cannot be easily defeated or injured in combat. Moreover, Lazaer can heal himself and regenerate any damaged limbs or muscles even when he is injured.
He resides in a divine realm, and like most angels, he can use magic to create or destroy anything. Like most angels, he also possesses superhuman strength and speed, which makes him an unbeatable opponent. His bodily tissues are much stronger than those of a human which makes him resistant to most injuries.
He possesses superhuman durability, and his divine energy also gives him endless stamina and durability. In terms of weapons, Lazaer prefers to use a sword to attack his enemies. Lazaer’s divine powers make him an extremely formidable opponent, and he is quite a powerhouse of a villain!
Conclusion
To conclude, Lazaer is one of the most interesting villains that the Wolverine has ever fought. Despite the fact that this angel of death appears in several comic books, his character is yet to be adapted into any major film adaptations or animated series. Lazaer has been a formidable opponent who emerges quite frequently in Wolverine’s life, and we hope to see more of this angel of death in future projects!