AZAZEL
Real Name: None known;
eventually dubbed Azazel
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (Serayn-created) technology (starship)/artifiical intelligence;
active from the distant past (several million years ago) to 5000 B.C. on a variety of planets, inclusive of the pre-Cataclysmic and Hyborian eras;
active from 5000 BC to the modern era on Earth, inclusive of 5000-"0" B.C.; 0 - 1000 A.D; 1001-1699 A.D.; 1700-1899 A.D.; 1900-1929 A.D.; 1930-1945 A.D.; 1946-1959 A.D.; and the "pre-Modern era" (1960 A.D until the shifting period of 15-ish years before the present); and the "Modern era" (the shifting 15-ish year time period extending from Fantastic Four I#1 until the present)
Occupation: Scorekeeper/judge/facilitator/regulator of the contest amongst the Undying
Group Membership: Azazel is not one of the Undying, but is intricately associated with them
Affiliations: Undying (Aentaros, Lothan, Semijan, Tiamet, Vaudois);
formerly the Serayn;
Enemies: Professor Berger, Blaquesmith, Cable
(Nathan Summers/Nathan Dayspring Askani'son), Beast (Hank McCoy),
Clarity (and his agents Greg and Lea), Jean
Grey, Sheik Hamid, Key (Lachlan Patterson), Professor Henry Oxton, the Serayn, Wall;
their hosts (which are currently cockroaches) are their unwilling servants (notably Blockade/Dexter Parish, Andy Carmody, the Circle Killer, Domino/Neena Thurman, Irene Merryweather, Esther Parrish, Randall Shire, unidentified male former host, numerous others unidentified);
countless victims of their hosts on Earth and on
various worlds (including whole races presumably exterminated by them,
notably the races from which they chose their favored hosts,
specifically the hosts of Aentaros, Lothan, Semijan, Tiamet, and Vaudois), cockroaches
Known Relatives: None;
the Serayn (as creators) could be considered parents, and the Undying (as also having been created by the Serayn) could be considered siblings
Aliases: "Scorekeeper" (the meaning of Azazel in the language of the Serayn);
"Lord of the Undying," "the demon king" (from Hamid and presumably other locals)
Base of Operations: Sinai peninsula/desert; Egypt (the only portion of the country in Asia);
formerly mobile throughout the Milky Way Galaxy (at least) and across multiple planets;
originally created on the world of the Serayn, "on the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy)
First Appearance: (Azazel's Gate shown; unidentified) Cable II#79 (May, 2000);
(identified)
Cable II#81 (July, 2000);
(Azazel shown) Cable
II#84 (October, 2000)
Powers/Abilities:
Azazel is the artificial intelligence controlling a large starship that
housed and transferred the energy fields of the Undying as well as
keeping a representative of their preferred hosts in stasis.
Virtually indestructible, the ship
could apparently access faster-than-light travel (hyperspace, space
warps, etc.) to travel interstellar distances. In the Sinai desert, it
was covered by artificially-gathered mountains.
Azazel could sense the presence of
those nearby, and it could slay those that spoke of its nature and/or
location.
Azazel oversaw and regulated the game amongst the
Undying, a contest to slay the most lifeforms on a planet. Azazel could
transfer each of the Undying's energy matrix from one
specific host to another at the moment of death. This insured that none
of the Undying gained an "unfair advantage." When circumstances
unbalanced the competition, Azazel stabilized the situation by using
another member of the Undying as its executioner.
Key reprogrammed Azazel so that it could only
send the Undying into cockroaches and then allegedly locked the program
so that it could not be changed.
Cable and Jean
Grey then covered the door via a rockslide to prevent others from
accessing Azazel.
History:
(Cable
II#84 (fb)) - Several million years ago, the Serayn -- who were driven
by scientific curiosity and sought the secrets of creation but whose
bodies could not survive leaving their world -- built a virtually
indestructible spaceship to explore the universe for them. Desiring a
crew that would be immortal (for all practical purposes), the Serayn
created five artificial energy beings of pure intellect that they dubbed
the Undying.
Wishing to learn everything about other races, the Serayn gave the Undying the power to meld their energy field with the mind of any creature and thus observe alien life directly. Once one of the Undying gained control of a host body, it could only be released by the host's death.
However, the Undying fed on the energy released during death. Lacking
any sense of right or wrong, the Undying turned on their creators.
After a thousand years, the Serayn were no more.
(Cable
II#84 (fb) - BTS) - The Undying spent the next several million years
traveling from world to world aboard the Serayn ship, devouring the death energies of a multitude of lifeforms.
Eventually, they grew bored, so
they started a game/competition, aided and judged by the artificial intelligence of the ship that became
known as Azazel, which meant in the language of the Serayn "scorekeeper."
The game consisted of the following rules: Whichever of the Undying
killed the most lifeforms won. Each match lasted 10,000 years or until
all life on the planet was destroyed. To keep the game fair, the
Undying gave Azazel the power to transfer their energy matrix from one
specific host to another at the moment of death. This insured that none
of the Undying gained an "unfair advantage." When circumstances
unbalanced the competition, Azazel stabilized the situation by using
another member of the Undying as its executioner.
Each of the Undying kept a favored alien lifeform in stasis aboard Azazel.
(Cable II#84 (fb) - BTS) <7000 years ago> - Azazel made base on Earth in the deserts around Mt. Sinai.
(Cable
II#81 (fb) - BTS) - Azazel apparently killed anyone who attempted to speak of the location.
Many perished with Azazel's name on their lips.
(Cable
II#81 (fb) - BTS) - The Book of Enoch identified Azazel of the leader
of the fallen Angels known as the Sleepless Ones; Azazel was also
referred to as the Star fallen from Heaven.
(Cable
II#81 (fb) - BTS) - The Undying possessed various humans throughout the
world and across time, sending them on killing sprees, and the Undying
grew more powerful the more their hosts murdered.
(Cable
II#82 (fb) - BTS) - Semijan possessed low-level psychomorph, Randall
Shire, who ran a small traveling carnival in Australia. Semijan's
presence boosted Shire's powers to astonishing heights.
Whenever Shire spoke, he bound people to him by the sound of his voice. Anyone who heard him became his slave, starting with Shire's allies, Key and Wall. Semijan led Shire to America, from which he intended to conquer the world.
(Cable
II#84 (fb) - BTS) - In this unbalanced situation, Azazel chose Aentaros to execute Shire.
(Cable
II#79 (fb) - BTS) - Aentaros possessed family man Andy Carmody and sent him to Madison Square Garden to slay Shire.
(Cable II#79 - BTS) - Cable contained Andy in a force field; unable to escape, Aentaros had Andy activate a pair of hand grenades, killing Andy and allowing Aentaros to escape his form.
Shire/Semijan correctly realized that Azazel had acted to prevent
Semijan from accumulating too much power, and he noted that Aentaros
would be back in one body or another as he was very determined.
(Cable II#79) - Meanwhile, Professor Henry Oxton discovered the lair of Azazel on Mt. Sinai.
(Cable
II#79 - BTS) - Via Azazel, Aentaros possessed the otherwise comatose Blockade
(whose mind Cable had destroyed after he had tried to kill Domino).
(Cable
II#80) - As
Oxton's laser device failed to scratch the surface of the Azazel's gate, his
assistant Berger advised him that armed locals, including Sheik Hamid, had come to investigate
his activities.
(Cable
II#80 - BTS) - Hamid further advised Oxton that great, powerful,
and evil genii still existed in the cavern and that their seal was on
the door.
(Cable
II#81 - BTS) - Cable enlisted his ally Blaquesmith to create a
portable immobilizing trap he could use to keep the Undying paralyzed
for hours, no matter what its strength: A device that channeled the
creature's kinetic energy in a loop so that the harder it moved, the more the bonds holding it tightened.
(Cable II#81) - Outside Azazel's lair, Sheik Hamid told Professor Oxton about Azazel and how he had slain anyone who attempted to tell others of this location. Considering this all ridiculous superstitious, Oxton contacted Hafia and prepared to relate his finding, but as soon as he mentioned Azazel, he died, but was left standing, "solid as a stone statue."
Appreciating that the internet was
not active in that location and that Azazel might not understand what the internet was,
Oxton's assistant, Berger, prepared jpg and wav files of the site while
discussing that he had no desire to upset Azazel, and he subsequently
uploaded them to his web page.
(Cable II#81 (fb) - BTS) - As facilitated by Azazel, Aentaros possessed Irene Merryweather.
(Cable
II#82 - BTS) - As Cable battled Irene/Aentaros,
Cable telepathically made a call to a hospital, leading them to send an
ambulance to arrive just as he telekinetically induced cardiac arrest in Irene,
causing Aentaros to depart her form.
(Cable
II#82) - Randall Shire/Semijan told Key and Wall that everything was
going so well, and that it was too bad that they all must die. Key
suggested that he might rule the world instead of destroying it. As
Semijan considered that it would be amusing, and that if he ruled the
world, he could change the rules, Key secretly sent information to Clarity without directly defying his master's wishes.
(Cable
II#82 - BTS) - Irene shared the little that she
remembered from her possession, notably that the creatures were immortal and
that they numbered five, with Azazel being a sixth, not one of them but
rather the judge.
Clarity's agent Lea subsequently told Cable that Clarity had located Azazel, and when Cable met with Clarity, his associate Greg informed him of Berger's file although it would still take a few hours of satellite scans to find the exact spot.
(Cable
II#83 (fb) - BTS) - As facilitated by Azazel, Aentaros possessed Domino (Neena Thurman).
(Cable II#82 - BTS) - Cable learned that Domino (Neena Thurman) was to be the assassin.
(Cable
II#83) - Blaquesmith supplied Cable with the weapon he sought, and he
used it to immobilize/incapacitate Domino, with Aentaros trapped within
her.
Cable then instructed Bridge to gag Shire and put him in solitary confinement, and to place Domino in maximum security. He subsequently met with Wall and Key, and they agreed to help him against the Undying.
(Cable
II#84 (fb) - BTS) - One of the Undying possessed an unidentified man and sent him to kill his own daughter.
(Cable
II#84) - Cable -- joined by Key, Wall, and X-Men Beast (Hank McCoy) and Jean
Grey -- traveled to the door of Azazel and met with Professor Berger and
Sheik Hamid.
Beast noted its door to be virtually indestructible, while Jean sensed
five alien beings, apparently each of radically different species, apparently in a trance or suspended animation.
Jean also noted a sixth presence, a
powerful psi-force broadcasting some sort of low-frequency alpha-waves,
strong enough to scramble a normal person's thought patterns; she
surmised this to be Azazel, and she blocked its mental attack from
them, although it continued to fight, increasing the pressure.
As Key determined the code and unlocked the door, Azazel sent a distress signal, summoning the Undying back to their host bodies in stasis.
Meanwhile, Beast noted the
mountains to not be natural, and Cable concluded that it was
camouflage, which Key determined to be 500 feet in diameter.
After they passed through and
sealed the outer door, the inner door opened, and they appreciated this
to be the airlock of a spaceship.
Key discovered that
Azazel was the starship's artificial intelligence, and that it's name
meant -- in the language of its creators, the Serayn -- scorekeeper.
Jean then announced that their presence had accelerated some kind of
emergency recall program, and that those in stasis were returning to
life quickly.
(Cable
II#84 - BTS) - As the Undying were recalled, Domino, Randall Shire, the
man who was about to kill his own daughter, and presumably two others
were freed from the Undying's influence.
(Cable
II#84) - Released from stasis, the Undying attacked the invaders.
Via information downloaded from
Azazel, Key related the history of the Serayn and the Undying. As
Berger noted that they could not kill the creatures or they would just
be unleashed into new bodies, Beast further advised that these ancient
lifeforms that had been in stasis were rapidly decaying in the
atmosphere: These forms would not last more than a few minutes,
after which the Undying would inhabit new bodies.
Having gained control of Azazel, Key
adjusted the settings: Azazel would now only be able to transfer the Undying into cockroaches;
and not just for 10,000 years but until the last cockroach on Earth
died.
Comments: Created by Robert Weinberg, Michael Ryan, and Andrew Pepoy.
And this is why you should not kill a cockroach. If it is the last cockroach on Earth, the Undying will be free to possess humanity again!
Three futures associated with Randall Shire:
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Azazel should be distinguished from:
Appearances:
Cable II#79 (May, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler),
Andrew Pepoy (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#80 (June, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#81-82 (July-August, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler),
Andrew Pepoy (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#83 (September, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler), Walden Wong (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable
II#84 (October, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler),
Nathan Massengil & Andrew Pepoy (inkers), Mark Powers (editor)
All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#12 (December, 2006) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer/coordinator), Michael Hoskin, Stuart Vandal, Al Sjoerdsma, Eric J. Moreels, Sean McQuaid, Chad Anderson, Mark O'English, Anthony Flamini, Ronald Byrd, Jacob Rougemont, Mike Fichera, Madison Carter & Chris Biggs (writers), Michael Short (assistant editor), Jeff Youngquist & Jennifer Grunwald (editors)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#12 (March, 2010) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer/coordinator), Mike Fichera, Markus Raymond, Mike O'Sullivan & Madison Carter (coordination assistants), Stuart Vandal, Sean McQuaid, Michael Hoskin, Mike O'Sullivan, Ronald Byrd, Mike Fichera, Madison Carter, Rob London, Gabriel Shechter, Eric J. Moreels, David Wiltfong, Jacob Rougemont, Chris Biggs, Rich Green, Kevin Garcia, Jeph York, & Mark O'English (writers), Brian Overton (copy editor), John Denning & Alex Starbuck (assistant editors), Mark D. Beazley (editor, special projects), Jeff Youngquist & Jennifer Grunwald (editors)
First posted: 10/20/2023
Last updated: 10/27/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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