The time has come to look at our favorite fuzzy blue German priest/superhero (and probably the only one): Nightcrawler. A great character, he's one of those that is a staple of the X-Men mythology since he's such a great representation of the "other." To anyone who doubts the power of Nightcrawler, need I remind you that he gets mentioned in a Weezer song?
So what makes Nightcrawler such a great character? He's very self-possessed and self-aware, he rarely doubts himself. This confidence in himself often leads him to act differently than his appearace might suggest. Despite his freakish (and devilish) appearance he is a man of great faith in God and rather than brood, he's actually a fun-loving thrill seeker. He is what we all wish that we had been in our teen years (well, in hindsight wish we'd been), he doesn't try to conform because he's got a greater perspective of the world and his role in it.
Most writers are fine dealing with Nightcrawler's belief in God, at least in theory. It's in the execution that most writers fall to the wayside. His faith warbles from being a priest to a recent crisis in faith. I think the best way to handle Kurt was actually perfected by Claremont over in Excalibur. Here's a guy who loves life; he loves to do acrobatics, romance ladies, and perform various feats of daring doo. He has a strong belief in God and has given himself over as a vessel for the Lord's doing, yet he still has a sense of self, a sense of desire. The problem with his becoming a priest is that he's a bit too much of a hedonist, he couldn't turn away from fighting the good fight and making dirty inneundo.
We tend to think of religious people as being overly moralistic, especially someone who's faith is as prominent as Nightcrawler's. So writer's tend to just ignore his faith, put it to the side and never mention it or they make it the central focus of his being. It is his motivating factor. After all, with every superhero or villian the reader must ask "why?" Why does this person put themselves in danger? What do they get out of it? Nightcrawler believes he's doing God's work, that's why. Every night he says his prayers and every Sunday he goes to Mass. But he is more than just a Catholic. He is a mutant. He is a man. He is Kurt Wagner.
There's a immensly funny moment in Peter Jackson's Dead Alive where a priest performs a bit of marital arts on some zombies before announcing, "I kick ass for the Lord!" It's a great gag but in a greater sense that should be the mantra for anyone writing a Nightcrawler story. He is active, he is passionate and he is religous. And it is that faith that allows him to be so sure of himself. Everyone else at Xavier's doubts themselves, their motives, their lives but not Nightcrawler. While he appears to have the roughest life due to his appearance, he is actually the happiest.
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