We conclude our look at the X-Men's origins and backstories with the pre-X career of Warren Worthington III, AKA the Angel.
Depicted in Uncanny X-Men #54-56, Written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Werner Roth
Unsurprisingly considering his name, Warren Worthington III was born a child of privilege with a daredevil streak. He loved climbing trees and had a habit of breaking his bones. His parents decide to send him to boarding school because it's easier than parenting. There, he is something of an outcast, targeted for bullying from his one-percenter peers because of his deformity (ie, his conspicuously large shoulderblades.)
Maybe this seems petty to the point of being unrealistic, but I once wore wool socks to gym class and didn't hear the end of it for weeks. Some kids are just jerks.
Eventually, Warren realizes he is growing wings. He decides to become such an outcast that he is forced to get his own quarters so that he can keep his mutation a secret, which is... one way to go, sure.
One night, there's a fire at the dorm, and Warren realizes he can probably use his flight to help. He dons a long blond wig and white robe to disguise himself as a literal "angel" although how the classmates fail to recognize him as the guy they've been bullying all year, I'm not sure.
Angel decides to strike out on his own as the crime-foiling "Avenging Angel." A footnote is sure to point out that, chronologically, this predates the actual Avengers' use of that name (sure, okay.) AA uses his flight and some weaponry, including a gun that shoots ping pong balls filled with knockout gas.
Even though he is a masked hero he is eager to make a name for himself, and is dismayed when early reports of his deeds are discredited in the media.
He manages to foil a robbery at "The Atomic Institute," but for whatever reason decides he can wait to return the contraband until tomorrow.
With Xavier's prototype Cerebro, the X-Men (which consist of Cyclops and Iceman at this time) track Warren down to offer him a spot on the team. Angel, however, proves to be a bit of a hard case and instead, they fight.
Xavier determines that the vial Angel had confiscated from the thieves, interacting with his mutant biology, has effectively become a nuclear bomb. Angel flies high into the atmosphere, where supposedly, the cold will deactivate it (okay, sure.)
Once that's taken care of, Xavier determines that the knockout gas is messing with Warren's mind, causing him to be even more of a hothead than he usually is. That is to say, he was accidentally getting high on his own supply. He is invited to join the team, on the condition that he not use any more weapons or gimmicks.
There's a lot going on here, but it's all neatly depicted without any unnecessary beats or filler. Although Angel is probably my least favourite of these X-Men to read about, his backstory was the most interesting to read about. We've often heard that Warren is the "hotheaded outsider" of the X-Men, but that's rarely played up. By the standards of 1960s Marvel Comics, this is a pretty deep psychological reading of the character. Even though I chirped the bit where he gets himself ostracized on purpose, I quite liked it.
Angel has sometimes before shown the conflicting impulses to be a charming playboy and a bitter outsider who doesn't play well with others. There's just not a lot of room to develop that in the actual stories beyond rushing into a fight first and getting thwacked for his troubles. Alas.
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