Zauriel

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caption=
character_name=Zauriel
real_name=Zauriel
publisher=DC Comics
debut="JLA" # 6 (June 1997)
creators= Grant Morrison
Mark Millar
Howard Porter
John Dell
alliances=Justice League Shadowpact
aliases=
powers=Flight (via wings), sonic scream, superhuman strength and durability, extremely well trained in the use of his flaming sword, immense knowledge of magic and religion, Healing Factor, can return from the dead, telepathy

Zauriel is a fictional character in the DC Universe. Originally a guardian angel, he becomes a superhero and has been a member of DC’s all-star Justice League. He first appeared in "JLA #6". In his first appearance, he saved Aquaman's life from an evil angel and over time Zauriel has formed a friendship with Aquaman. Grant Morrison created Zauriel out of necessity during his tenure as writer of JLA, after being forbidden from using Hawkman. At the time, Hawkman had been declared off-limits by DC Editorial due to the character's convoluted continuity (complicated by retcons from the "Hawkworld" limited series), which DC tried to negate during "Zero Hour". As such, Morrison does allude to the Hawkman-connection by having Aquaman mistake Zauriel as "Katar" when the two characters first meet in the middle of a frantic battle. [JLA #6]

Fictional character biography

Zauriel was an angel of the Eagle Host of angels, one of the four hosts of Heaven (Eagle, Human, Bull and Lion). Since the dawn of creation, Zauriel served The Presence (i.e. God) as a guardian angel, protecting the souls of countless women, including Cleopatra, Mona Lisa, and Joan of Arc. Finally (a few years ago, according to current continuity), he fell in love with his then-current assignment, a woman with a boyfriend from San Francisco. At about the same time, Zauriel accidentally learned of the secret plans of Asmodel (King-Angel of the Bull Host, and one of the generals of Heaven's armies) and a legion of Bull angels attempting to succeed where Lucifer failed by overthrowing The Presence.

In an attempt to kill two birds with one stone (finally being with his true love and escaping Asmodel's wrath), Zauriel pleaded his case before the four King-Angels (one of which was Asmodel), expressing his desire to abandon his position in Heaven as a guardian angel and seek his love on Earth. The King-Angels told Zauriel the story of Michael, a guardian angel from long ago who found himself in a similar situation: after leaving Heaven to meet his love, disaster struck, preventing Michael from having the life he sought. Michael found himself alone, broken-hearted, and unable to return to Heaven. Zauriel refused to listen to the King-Angels and they granted him mortality.

Upon reaching Earth, Zauriel immediately found that a group of Bull angels followed him down, adopting temporary mortal flesh granted by Asmodel himself, in an attempt to hunt him down and kill him before he could inform Heaven of their plot. Zauriel met up with the JLA, who treated the angelic invasion as they would any other invasion, and together they fought back. Zauriel saved Aquaman's life at this point by vaporizing a bull angel with his Sonic Flash. ["JLA" #6, June 1997]

Asmodel appeared on the scene. He brought backup, a massive angelic chariot that slowly crushed San Francisco as it descended. Wonder Woman helped Zauriel slow the ship. Aquaman told The Flash (Wally West) how Zauriel defeated the bull angel earlier, and together with the help of Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), they discerned the angel's weaknesses and managed to defeat them.

The JLA was impressed, and Zauriel is later invited to joined the JLA during their first major recruitment drive. ["JLA: Secret Files" #2, August 1998]

In the limited series "JLA: Paradise Lost," Zauriel's story continued. He tracked down his former charge, introduced himself and professed his love for her. However, before she could truly respond, Zauriel realized that Asmodel had returned, seeking revenge for his defeat.

Sentenced to Hell for his transgression, Asmodel met up with the demon-king Neron and joined forces with him, doubling the size of Asmodel's army by adding Neron's demons to his original army of angels. Zauriel tracked down the previously-mentioned Michael, seeking his aid. Meanwhile, Asmodel adopted the form of a child and mounted an attack on the JLA Watchtower, resulting in the actual death of the Martian Manhunter, who then aided Zauriel in Heaven itself.

From there, Asmodel and Neron led their forces to Heaven and actually beat back the armies of Paradise. Slaughtering his way towards the throne-room of The Presence Himself, Asmodel found only an abandoned room instead, empty except for Zauriel himself. Confused, Asmodel demanded to know where The Presence was, and was informed by Zauriel that The Presence is, in fact, everywhere and in everything. Finally realizing that there was no true way he could ever succeed where Lucifer failed, Asmodel turned to Neron for help, but the demon abandoned the former King-Angel. Sentenced to Hell yet again, Asmodel became Neron's prisoner. The Martian Manhunter returned to Earth when the Flash revived him.

After the object of Zauriel's affection decided to stick with her boyfriend, Heaven assigned Zauriel as their ambassador to Earth to be a beacon of hope and reassurance. He was granted a suit of Heavenly armor (see Weapons and Offensive Capabilities) and a new headquarters, the Aerie, a structure floating over Los Angeles (again, see Weapons and Offensive Capabilities). Accepting the JLA's offer for membership, Zauriel joined them on various missions.

Asmodel didn't stay beaten for long, and soon bonded himself to the host-less Spectre in the Day of Judgment crossover. Gaining sudden, immeasurable power, Asmodel froze Hell and returned to Earth, leading to immense destruction. The heroes of Earth united, the bulk of which went to fight Spectre directly, while a smaller detachment, led by Zauriel, left for Purgatory to find a soul eligible to replace Asmodel's inside the Spectre. They found Hal Jordan.

Returning to Earth with Jordan's soul in tow, the group met up with the others and Jordan entered the Spectre, leading to an internal conflict that ultimately forced Asmodel out, establishing Jordan as the Spectre.

Zauriel also confronted a version of the Spectre in "JLA #31", stopping him from delivering the death blow to Triumph, a former superhero turned villain. Spectre told Zauriel that his insubordination would not go well for him in the Courts Of Light.

Zauriel's career with the JLA continued until the galactic threat known as Mageddon arrived, whose hate-mongering effect motivated Lex Luthor to join up with Prometheus, Queen Bee and General Wade Eiling, aka The General. With the Earth facing immediate destruction, both from itself and Mageddon, Luthor planted bombs on the Watchtower. As the JLA evacuated, Zauriel deliberately stayed behind and removed his helmet just before the bombs detonated. He was caught in the explosion and died. ["JLA" #38, 41]

Arriving in Heaven, Zauriel discovered that Paradise had abandoned all hope for Earth's survival and were already designing a replacement world. Zauriel begged Heaven for aid, but was turned down. They did, however, grant him the option to return to Earth himself and stand by the mortals he loves so much. Zauriel accepted, and asked the others to listen to the Presence in their hearts. He was about to leave when countless hosts of angels volunteered to accompany him back to Earth and aid in the struggle against Mageddon. Leading his army of angels, Zauriel returned and prevented the nations of the world from blowing each other to oblivion, while the JLA stopped Mageddon itself.

With the Mageddon situation resolved, a number of Leaguers parted ways with the JLA, Zauriel included. He later appeared for a memorial, commemorating the end of the modern JLA.

Zauriel appears in other titles, generally functioning as a spiritual counselor or guide to other heroes. In the pages of "JSA", he gives advice to Hawkgirl about the future and the current status of the souls in her body. In the "Supergirl" title, he explains the angelic nature of that version of Supergirl while assisting her in defeating a demonic invasion of Hollywood. He serves as a supporting character in the "Spectre" series featuring Hal Jordan. Zauriel even bonds with the Spectre power itself, during an incident where Hal deals with an ancient entity who wants to turn the Earth into a long-lost paradise.

"Infinite Crisis"

Zauriel made some cameo appearances during "Infinite Crisis", specifically in "Infinite Crisis" #5, where he is shown leading a group of heroes in an ecumenical prayer service, and in the "Day of Vengeance Infinite Crisis Special". In "Infinite Crisis" #7, Zauriel was also hit square in the chest and through his right wing by Superboy-Prime's heat vision. Zauriel then appears in the first issue of "52", a year-long series which chronicles the events following Infinite Crisis. It may indicate that Zauriel was injured but recovered, or it may be that Zauriel returned quickly from death. Since Zauriel has died before and returned, these are all plausible explanations.

"52"

In "52", Ralph Dibny recruits Zauriel, along with Green Lantern, Metamorpho and Green Arrow, to infiltrate a resurrection cult supposedly based on Kryptonian theology. Dibny hoped that these four, because of their significant experience with the afterlife, would be able to judge whether the cult's goal of bodily resurrecting his dead wife was viable. The meeting ends badly; the heroes break up the cult but they had been on to something, the resurrection had brought back something...the resulting stresses drive Ralph Dibny temporarily mad. ["52" Week: 13]

One Year Later

In March 2007, DC published a "Helmet of Fate: Zauriel" one-shot, written by Steve Gerber with art by Peter Snejberg. In it, Zauriel is dragged away from an awkward Sunday school 'Question and Answer' session in order to retrieve the helmet from the planet of Alstair, populated by plant-animal hybrids. Okeontis, a vampire-like fungus creature, plans to use its power to overthrow tyrant queen Hyathis. Zauriel ambiguously destroys Okeontis and her controlling intelligence, and sends the Helmet of Fate back on its quest for a new keeper.

Zauriel has recently been given the mission to destroy the Shadowpact member Blue Devil, who has been demoted to the rank of a Rhyming Demon in Hell's hierarchy. The angel Abariel told Zauriel that Blue Devil is leading humans to admire and even want to emulate his demonic path, and must be eliminated despite the fact that, as Zauriel said, "This world owes its existence to him more than once." Zauriel has accepted the assignment, although he does not relish the task of killing someone he considers a proven hero. After getting into a small fight with Blue Devil he is then convinced to join the Shadowpact in the place of Blue Devil. He is given Michael's Battle Spear which is more powerful than his sword as he takes Blue Devil's place on the team.

Powers and abilities

Zauriel's most visible special properties are his wings, which grant him flight at incredible speeds and with a high degree of control.

The most potent of Zauriel's powers is his devastating sonic scream (sometimes called a "sonic flash"), which is capable of tremendous amounts of destruction. An ability that is specific to angels of the Eagle Host, Zauriel's scream is acutely attuned to the vibrational frequency that angels adopt when temporarily descending to the Earthly plane, enabling Zauriel to vaporize an angel in milliseconds. It is speculatedFact|date=March 2008 that his scream could liquify a normal person.

A less-defined property of Zauriel's angel-hood is what he refers to as his angelic over-mind, Zauriel's mental connection to Heaven. This connection grants Zauriel various abilities, including the ability to communicate with any type of animal and a divine connection to the flow of magic on Earth. He can also sense good and evil around him and in people.

Zauriel has a number of other powers, including a moderate amount of superhuman strength, durability and agility when compared to a normal human. He is an expert in the ancient warfare, customs, and theologies of the Abrahamic religious traditions. For example, he invoked the beliefs of the Gnostic Christians when counseling Hawkgirl, and he can also perform what he calls the "Red Sea trick," enabling him to part a body of water in much the way Moses did. He has also been submersed in water at length without drowning on more than one occasion. Zauriel does not age, does not have the mortal need to eat, drink, or sleep, and seems to have a high level healing factor.

kills and talents

Zauriel has quite a diverse and versatile set of skills. Zauriel is an incredible swordsman, having wielded a flaming sword (see Weapons and Equipment below) since the dawn of creation as a guardian angel. He also has amazing flight capabilities, again considering his extensive experience. His role as a leader and a guide are impressive, as he has led groups into Heaven and has served as guidance to various individuals, including the present Hawkgirl, Kendra Saunders.

Weapons and equipment

Armor

Zauriel has three major pieces of equipment. The first is his Heavenly armor. Although built of Earthly materials, this prototype is designed by the engineers of Heaven and is blessed with magical properties that are theoretically impossible to replicate on Earth. This suit of armor greatly enhances Zauriel's physical properties, including strength, durability, foot speed, agility, flight speed and stamina.

Flaming sword

Zauriel's second piece of equipment is his flaming sword. This sword, which is characteristic of both guardian angels depicted thus far, is directly bonded to Zauriel's will. It is able to emit blasts of holy fire, and because it is controlled by Zauriel's will, the sword can cut literally anything, including otherwise intangible objects and people, and even dimensional fabric itself. Zauriel was once able to cut a hole in the dimensional barrier separating Heaven and Earth when the blade was magically pumped up by teammates, enabling himself and his team to transverse dimensions.

Despite it being a heavenly weapon, Zauriel's sword can be exhausted of power. It has been blown out at least once, but was re-ignited by one of the powers wielded by the then-Supergirl.

The Aerie

Zauriel's final piece of equipment is his headquarters itself, the Aerie. Floating high over Los Angeles, this shining, golden tower is much like Zauriel's armor in that it is made of Earthly materials but is of Heavenly design. The equipment far surpasses the technology of other humans, even going as far as to supersede the technology within the JLA Watchtower.

Michael's battle spear

Zauriel is given this as he joins the Shadowpact, it is said to be more powerful than his Flaming Sword.

Other versions

* Zauriel has appeared in the "Justice League Unlimited" spin-off comic book. His appearances are in issues # 7 and # 14. In the latter, he is assisted by other mystical heroes such as Deadman and Doctor Occult.
* Zauriel is featured in the Elseworlds one-shot "" as a friend of Matrix and tries to help her. He is depicted as a Lindel, an angel who plans out the lives of human beings before they are born.

References