Nightcrawler in other media

Adaptations of Nightcrawer in other media
Created by	Len Wein Dave Cockrum
Original source	Comics published by Marvel Comics
First appearance	Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975)
Films and television
Film(s)	X2 (2003)
Television show(s)	X-Men (1992) X-Men: Evolution (2000) Wolverine and the X-Men (2008)
Games
Video game(s)	X-Men (arcade game) (1992) X-Men Legends (2004)

This is a list of all media appearances of the Marvel Comics character Nightcrawler.

Television

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

Nightcrawler appears in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode "The X-Men Adventure" voiced by the late Stanley Jones.

Pryde of the X-Men

Nightcrawler (voiced by Neil Ross) appears in the 1989 cartoon Pryde of the X-Men, the pilot episode of an unproduced X-Men cartoon series. This was eventually released on VHS.

X-Men (TV series)

In the 1992 X-Men animated series, Nightcrawler (voiced by Paul Haddad) makes several guest appearances throughout the series but his featured appearances are in the episodes "Nightcrawler" and "Bloodlines", where he works with the X-Men but never joins the team. He is first shown in a split second cameo during Jean Grey's telepathic scan of the world while searching for Professor Xavier in the episode "Repo Man". Nightcrawler also appears as one of the freedom fighters of the alternate future alongside other X-Men in the future where Xavier never existed in the episode "One Man's Worth: Part I". Although a cameo, this episode shows Kurt as more aggressive in his fighting style yet still shows his characteristically kind heart while tending to a knocked out Storm while on the battlefield. He also teleports differently in the episode from the purple brimstone "BAMF" as in the comics to a new white sparkly flash when he teleports. Nightcrawler makes his official debut in the episode entitled "Nightcrawler" which features him as a monk in a Swiss abbey, persecuted by one of his superiors and the townspeople who believe him a demon; Gambit, Rogue, and Wolverine help him through his trials while Nightcrawler helps Logan rediscover God. The second episode reveals his origins as the birth son of Mystique, where he discovers he and Rogue are in fact foster-siblings and he is half brother to mutant bigot and founder of the "Friends of Humanity" Graydon Creed. Kurt still cares for his mother despite the fact that she openly rejects him. Mystique apparently sacrifices herself to save Nightcrawler when Creed attempts to shoot him in a plot for the "Friends of Humanity". Though assumed dead by all but Wolverine, Mystique is shown to have survived and is last seen looking back at her two children (Rogue and Nightcrawler) with tears in her eyes.

X-Men: Evolution

In the X-Men: Evolution animated series, Nightcrawler (voiced by Brad Swaile) is much younger in this incarnation, as student at the Xavier Institute with much the same nature and demeanor as his older comic book counterpart, although he does not appear to be religious and is more insecure about his appearance. Like the comics, this show reveals that Mystique is his birth mother and Rogue his foster sister. When Mystique is turned to stone, he tries to be there for both his mother and Rogue, even if all his care clashes with Rogue's hatred for Mystique. He uses a holographic inducer to look human which he uses to go to school; the inducer "hides" his fur and tail, creating an image that despite those two details is quite similar to Nightcrawler's own. In his undisguised form, Nightcrawler walks on his toes only, forcing his long feet and legs into a shape like those of a faun, another reference to his 'demonic' appearance.

Mystique is revealed as his mother, while in the episode "Shadowed Past", it is strongly hinted that he is the victim of genetic experimentation by Magneto, who during that season was experimenting with the advancements of mutant powers, most likely causing Kurt's mutation to emerge prematurely in his infancy. When Nightcrawler uses his teleportation ability in X-Men: Evolution, there is a sudden flash of yellow light preceding the usual smoke similar to his Ultimate X-Men comic counterpart. It's been revealed in the episode "Shadow Dance" that when Night Crawler teleports, he travels through another dimension. However, attempts to study this dimension released its monstrous denizens into the Mansion and the highschool, forcing the abandonment of the idea.

Nightcrawler seems to have a close relationship with Kitty Pryde, his constant teammate, possibly to the point of romantic interest, as he has made several attempts to impress her. His official date, from the episode "Shadow Dance" and ongoing, is Amanda Sefton, who is (unlike her comic origins) neither Caucasian nor a sorceress, and still a highschool student like him.

Wolverine and the X-Men

Nightcrawler appears in the Wolverine and the X-Men animated series, voiced by Liam O'Brien. He first appears in Episode 1, "Hindsight Pt. 1," training with Kitty Pryde and Colossus. After the school disbands and is later reformed, Nightcrawler takes to helping mutant refugees smuggling aboard ships traveling to Genosha. He encounters and befriends Sammy Paré as well as fighting off Spiral and her pirates. The X-Men arrive, though Kurt tells them he has to ensure the safe passage of the refugees before he can return to the Institute.^[1] In Episode 10, "Greetings From Genosha," the ship Nightcrawler was on arrives in Genosha. There, the Scarlet Witch gives Nightcrawler a tour around so that he can see the wonders Magneto has done. The two develop quite a romantic relationship. However, he gets a tip from Dust about Magneto's underground cells. Nightcrawler finds that fact to be true and dodges his Acolytes to escape Genosha by constantly teleporting, only to be intercepted outside of the X-Mansion by Mystique. Mystique then reports to Magneto that she has stopped Nightcrawler as Magneto mentions that he prepared a special cell for him.^[2] In "Hunting Grounds," Nightcrawler and Scarlet Witch are abducted by Mojo, who believes they are "involved" and forced to fight a mind-controlled Wolverine. After thwarting Mojo, Wolverine and Nightcrawler return Scarlet Witch to Genosha where she convinces Magneto to let Wolverine and Nightcrawler go because they saved her. She pecks Nightcrawler goodbye and he rejoins the X-Men. Nightcrawler is actually a more heavily featured character in the Wolverine-centred series than any other X-Man.

Black Panther (TV series)

Nightcrawler appears in Episode 5 of the Black Panther TV series voiced by Nolan North. He is seen with Cyclops, Storm, and Wolverine when they find out that Juggernaut is taking part in the invasion of Wakanda.

Film

X2

Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United.

In the film X2: X-Men United, Nightcrawler is played by Alan Cumming. This version shares much of the same history (the circus, Catholicism, and being native to Germany) with the comic book inspiration.

Unlike the traditional versions, in the movie Nightcrawler has blue flesh instead of blue fur. The decision to portray Nightcrawler with blue skin was due to the difficulty of creating a furry hide on Cumming, so the decision was made to give him blue flesh instead of fur. His skin is also decorated by "angelic symbols" which reflect the spirituality of the character's faith and his devout practice of Catholicism. This form of artistic body modification is due to self-inflicted brandings or scars; when asked how many he has, he replies: "One for every sin." Nightcrawler's teleportation ability leaves a dark navy blue smoke trail in the film, as opposed to the bright reddish-purple flash of smoke as it appears in the comics. There is a recurring joke that whenever anyone asks who he is he responds with, "My name is Kurt Wagner, but in the Munich Circus, I was known as 'the Incredible Nightcrawler.'" On all of these occasions he is interrupted before he can finish his speech.

Movie prequel

Kurt Wagner has a crush on his co-star and foster sister Amanda whose boyfriend, trapeze artist Werner, is not able to grab her in time when they were changing the script. As there is no net below, Kurt uses his mutant abilities to teleport down and grab Amanda, cushioning her fall as they both hit the ground.

Afterwards, Margali Szardos scolds her foster son, who sees Amanda and Werner together and claims that the devil made him do it. Kurt goes to a church for solace, and is surprisingly, soon visited by Amanda, who soon plants a kiss on Kurt, and reveals that she does have feelings for him. Obviously, Kurt responds in kind, and Amanda suggests that they leave together. Making their way through a forest, Amanda comments that Margali would never accept Kurt as a son-in-law, revealing that she wants to marry Kurt, and they kiss some more.

However, in truth, Kurt is caught up in an illusion, as General Stryker and his officers close in on the mutant and capture him, of course Kurt is unaware that this is happening. The real Amanda, meanwhile, is caught making out with Werner, much to Margali’s disapproval. Margali informs Amanda that Kurt is missing. Kurt, however, believes he is in a room with Amanda, only for the truth to be revealed when the illusion fades, and he finds himself in a cell, where he is confronted by Stryker who reveals what he knows about Kurt, and introduces him to the collar which inhibits his mutant abilities.

Meanwhile, Margali’s concern grows as the circus packs up, ready to move onto its next location, and Kurt is still missing. Kurt is brought a cellmate, a very weak woman, before Kurt is beaten by a soldier called Norris who does not appreciate animals praying to his God. While Amanda and Margali leave with the rest of the circus, Kurt tries to comfort the mysterious woman brought to his cell, when suddenly, massive claws emerge from her finger tips, and after he taunts Norris, Kurt is beaten up once more. The circus sets up in Calgary, and Margali once more expresses her disapproval of Amanda and Werner, and tells Amanda that she could have had Kurt. Amanda is revolted and they argue about why Kurt, with Amanda telling Margali that she treats Kurt the way she does because she learned it from her.

A bloodied and beaten Kurt is brought to Stryker, who then offers Kurt the chance to kill Werner for the appalling way he has treated him. But Kurt rejects the offer. Amanda and Margali reconcile and hope that they get the chance to one day tell Kurt how much they do love him, while Norris informs Kurt that everything regarding Amanda was an illusion, that she was never in love with Kurt and that she even says cruel things about him in reality.

Sometime later, Kurt is injected with some genetic material from Mutant Twelve (William Stryker's mutant son, Jason), the mutant who created the illusions, which Stryker can use to force Kurt to kill. And it works, as Kurt’s first assignment - to kill Norris - goes without a hitch. Stryker then informs Kurt that for his next assignment, he will be paying a visit to the President of the United States. Finally, in an unusual move for her, Amanda visit’s a church and prays for Kurt.

Film

In the film, Nightcrawler is brainwashed with a fluid from William Stryker's mutant son, Jason, in order to attempt an assassination on the President of the United States. The opening scenes of the movie are almost a showcase of Nightcrawler's powers, with him engaging the Secret Service, easily defeating them and nearly killing the President. Storm and Jean Grey are sent to find him and bring him back to the mansion, and Wagner returns with them. He helps Storm save children and students from the Xavier Institute who were kidnapped by Stryker's forces and helps Storm stop Stryker's Cerebro machine at the Alkali Lake facility and joins the team at the end. He uses his teleportation to save the lives of three X-Men during the film—Rogue when she is sucked out of the damaged X-Blackbird and Storm and Charles Xavier when Stryker's Cerebro was destroyed. He is last seen alongside the X-Men confronting the president about the speech addressing mutants that is about to be delivered. It is clear the president recognizes him from earlier.

He does not appear in X-Men: The Last Stand. The character's absence is explained in the movie's official video game, stating that Nightcrawler doesn't agree with the violent lifestyle of the X-Men. The decision to drop Nightcrawler from the cast of the third film was due in part because the film crew thought it was not worth going through the long hours of make-up preparation, given that Cumming didn't enjoy the heavy make-up needed for his character, and because Nightcrawler's appearance was only going to be minimal.^{[citation needed]}

Video games

• Nightcrawler has also appeared in a number of video games such as: X-Men for the NES, X-Men: Madness in Murderworld, the X-Men arcade game, X-Men, X-Men 2: Clone Wars, X-Men: Mutant Academy 2, and X-Men: Next Dimension. In X-Men: Next Dimension, Nightcrawler can teleport toward, behind, or above the opponent, following it with any attack he chooses. He also carries a large sword he uses to deadly effect. Nightcrawler's incredible acrobatic attacks rival the other agile fighters greatly, which include Beast and Toad.^{[citation needed]}
• He is also one of the 3 playable characters in the game X-Men: The Official Game which fills in the gap between X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand. Nightcrawler is voiced by Alan Cumming, the actor who portrayed him in X2: X-Men United.^[3]
• Nightcrawler also appeared as a playable character in X-Men Legends and its sequel X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. Nightcrawler's powers include powerful sword attacks and the ability to teleport short distances.
• Dee Bradley Baker reprises his role of Nightcrawler in X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. Nightcrawler possesses the most powerful ultimate ability in the second game. He has a special dialogue with Mister Sinister.^{[citation needed]}
• Dee Bradley Baker again reprises his role of Nightcrawler in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. In the game, he is kidnapped by Doctor Doom's Masters of Evil (alongside Jean Grey). A cut scene involves him trying to escape Castle Doom only to be shocked by a door. He is forced to teleport to Mephisto's Realm by use of the Mutant Amplifier. There, he evades Doctor Doom and Mephisto where he was weakened by the Mutant Amplifier's effect and ends up imprisoned (along with Jean Grey who was sent to help Professor X protect Nightcrawler) by Blackheart after Professor X's psychic shield around Nightcrawler fails. After Blackheart is defeated, the player must choose to save only one and thus let the other one fall into the Infinity Vortex. If the player rescues Jean Grey, Mystique will avenge Nightcrawler by infiltrating the X-Mansion at night to vent her frustration upon Professor X where he will die in a coma months later and the X-Men will disband forever (although, Nightcrawler is shown at Xavier's funeral). If the player rescues Nightcrawler, Jean Grey doesn't die in the Infinity Vortex and will return to Earth in the form of the Dark Phoenix to exact vengeance upon those that didn't save her. Nightcrawler (along with his Age of Apocalypse costume and his Ultimate Marvel costume) is now a downloadable character for the Xbox 360 version of the game. Nightcrawler has special dialogue with Jean Grey after the second fight with her.
• Nightcrawler appears in the PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and PSP versions of Spider-Man: Web of Shadows voiced by Yuri Lowenthal. In the PS2 and PSP versions, he is an assist character who will teleport across the screen to defeat enemies. In the DS version, the player will be able to play alongside Nightcrawler and take advantage of his unique combat moves and combos as one of the heroes Spider-Man can team up with. He is featured in the DS version helping out in the evacuation.^[4]
• Nightcrawler does not actually appear, but it is hinted in the game adaptation of X-Men Origins: Wolverine that he will be the son of Mystique and John Wraith; Wraith mentions while teleporting him and Mystique out of a research facility "Now take it easy there Miss Darkholme, that's my son you're carrying in there. What do you think about the name Kurt?" As such, it's hinted that Nightcrawler inherited his teleportation abilities from John Wraith and his blue skin from Mystique.
• Nightcrawler is a playable character in the Marvel Super Hero Squad video game voiced by Liam O'Brien.
• Nightcrawler will appear in the upcoming X-Men Video Game X-Men: Destiny (2011). In the trailer he appears as a silhouette with signs of teleportation in the background.
• Nighcrawler has a cameo in Trish and Magneto's endings in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds.
• Nightcrawler appears in X-Men: Destiny voiced by Yuri Lowenthal.

Action figures

• There have been numerous Nightcrawler action figures produced, most by manufacturer Toy Biz, with the most notable being the figure in the Marvel Legends series.

Books

• Nightcrawler appears in the X-Men/Star Trek crossover novel Planet X. In it, Geordi La Forge analyzes his teleportation ability and finds that it works by sending Nightcrawler through the same subspace dimension as warp drive. His ability lets him teleport himself and Data onto an enemy ship since the Enterprise's transporters cannot work through shields.^[5]

Music

• Nightcrawler is mentioned in the Weezer song In the Garage, along with his ally Kitty Pryde.^[6]

References

1. ^ "X-Calibre". Writers: Johnson, Greg; Kyle, Craig; Hicks, Christopher; Lombard, Francis. Director: Filippi, Nick. Wolverine and the X-Men. 2008-11-15. No. 6, season 1.
2. ^ "Greetings from Genosha". Writers: Johnson, Greg; Kyle, Craig; Yost, Christopher. Director: Murphy, Doug. Wolverine and the X-Men. 2008-11-15. No. 10, season 1.
3. ^ "Movie Cast Voicing X-Men: The Official Game". Superherohype.com. CraveOnline Media. 2006-04-24. http://www.superherohype.com/news/x-mennews.php?id=4126. Retrieved 2011-03-18. 
4. ^ jkdmedia (2008-10-21). "Spider-Man: Web of Shadows review". Gamezone.com. http://nds.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r35243.htm. Retrieved 2011-03-18. 
5. ^ Friedman, Michael Jan (1998). "Chapter Twenty-one". Planet X. Pocket Books. ISBN 0671019163. 
6. ^ Weezer (1994-05-10). "welcome to weezer.com". DGC. http://classic.weezer.com/info/lyrics/index.html#itg. Retrieved 2010-09-13.