As for that Mystique/Nightcrwler conversation from last week...
Doug Fritzinger
blase. Here is what the FAQ says:
Q: What is the relationship between Mystique and Nightcrawler? Why is
Rogue
involved in it, if she's not blue?
A: The first inkling of a Mystique/Nightcrawler relationship came in UXM
#141-142, the original "Days of Future Past" storyline, which introduced
the
whole "future ruled by Sentinels" idea to the X-titles.
Mystique, up to that time a villain from the Ms. Marvel series, was
trying
to arrange the assassination of Sen. Robert Kelly. Kitty Pryde was
possessed
by her future self, sent back in time by Rachel Summers, to try and stop
Mystique. And somewhere in there, Nightcrawler saw Mystique... and
recognized her from somewhere.
The original plan from Claremont was that Mystique, a shapechanger
usually
seen in feminine form, was actually Kurt's father. Drunk and amnesiac
after
the events of World War II, Mystique was taken in by Irene Adler
(Destiny),
and the two of them had a child, Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler). Marvel
being a
corporate-run company that, for a while, didn't even allow the word
"homosexual" to appear in their books, quickly informed Claremont of the
Great Displeasure he would find if he were to pursue that plot thread.
It
was thusly dropped.
Cut ahead to the 1990s. Not much has been made of the
Mystique/Nightcrawler
link, except for one scene in Murderworld (UXM #177) where Mystique
shows
that she's capable of killing anyone, even her adoptive daughter Rogue,
except Nightcrawler. Claremont's long gone, and Lobdell and Niceiza are
left
with the unpleasant task of cleaning up all his loose plot ends.
What they came up with for Mystique and Nightcrawler was for Kurt be the
son
of Mystique, but this time Mystique's the mother, not the father. The
father
is some nameless German baron. Rogue, who's still Mystique's foster
daughter, is thus Kurt's sister-by-law. It should be noted that the
current
X-writers also have had Sabretooth briefly be attached to Mystique, with
the
offspring of that happy union being the nonpowered Graydon Creed, making
him
a half-brother of Kurt.
All of the above is revealed in X-Men Unlimited #4, which is, quite
possibly, the single most ignorable comic book in recent history, and
thus
highly suspect as a source of revelation on any subject. One hopes
future
Marvel writers will ignore the "history" revealed in X-Men Unlimited #4
just
as blithely as X-Men Unlimited #4 ignored the history it was built on.
Things are slightly complicated by the X-Calibre storyline from the Age
of
Apocalypse crossover. Johan Lundstrom points out that issues #3 and #4
all
but proclaim that Kurt's biological father was actually Sabretooth and
not
the aforementioned baron, making Graydon his full brother. However, it
should be noted that in both cases we have only Mystique's word that
either
one is his true father, and in fact neither one may actually by the
case.
Uncanny Origins #8 adds suspense to the mix. Fans were anxious to see
exactly what Kurt's official origin was. The results are interesting.
All UO
#8 says is that Mystique is Kurt's parent. It doesn't specify she is his
mother, it makes no mention of any other parent. After that, the story
blithely slips over to the Svardos part of his heritage. Setting the
scene
for a retcon, perhaps? Fans can only hope.