Years ago, Michael Lane was part of a program to create the ultimate crime fighter. Instead, it turned him into an insane criminal. Thwarted by Batman, Michael confessed his sins to a priest of the religious sect, The Order of St. Dumas. They recruited Michael to fight evil as their Azrael, who wore the mystical Suit of Sorrows and wielded the Sword of Sin. Azrael appeared in the Side Mission: Watcher in the Wings in Arkham City, and the Most Wanted Mission: Heir to the Cowl in Arkham Knight. Incident ReportsBefore Arkham Asylum IncidentMichael Lane came from a normal Gotham family, having played football in his high school days. In later years, Michael joined the GCPD as one of their officers. Feeling the need to do better at helping others and uphold the law, Michael entered a secret program, which aimed to craft the ultimate crime fighter. Unfortunately, the testing caused a major imbalance in his mind, causing deep psychological issues that forced the GCPD to dismiss him from service. Stopped by Batman, Michael went to a church to cleanse his soul by confessing to all the sins he has committed. Unbeknownst to him, the priest belonged to the secret religious sect known as the Order of St. Dumas. Michael was then recruited to be their champion of justice - Azrael. Given the Suit of Sorrows to enhance his strength, Michael was then used by the Order to keep an eye on Batman, another savior to Gotham; they believed that not killing criminals was yet another sin. He was given the mission of watching the Dark Knight for years, with the order to learn all his methods and be ready to earn his trust in order to kill him, thus allowing the Order to kill all criminals in Gotham without any interference.
Aaron Cash, as a member of Lieutenant James Gordon's inner circle, was aware of the existence of the Order of Saint Dumas and their use of Azrael, an assassin who wore mystical armor. Batman once wore this armor, but he abandoned it before its dark influence changed him. Cash's partner in the GCPD was Michael Lane and shortly after Cash had first heard of the Order, he and Lane started to investigate a case in which several young children had been kidnapped. An anonymous tip led the pair to where the kids were being held, but with them was Azrael. Lane, possibly under some mystical influence, opened fire on Azrael, and apparently killed him. After Cash had secured the children, he returned to see Lane standing over the burning body of Azrael. Other officers investigated the incident, but neither Azrael's body nor Lane's spent bullets were found, only the corpse of a man who had died from a stab wound (evidence later proved that this man was the kidnapper). After Lane was questioned over Cash's report, in which Cash assumed that Lane had destroyed the evidence, Lane was forced to take leave from the force. Cash met Lane to talk about what had happened, and Lane appeared not to care. Lane just asked Cash to not talk about it any more in return for his resignation. Cash seemed not to notice the emblem of the Order of Saint Dumas emblazoned on Lane's breast. After several years, Cash was working at Arkham Asylum when he received a letter in Lane's handwriting. It read: "The body is a vessel. It must be burned to purge its evil. Only then will it be pure." (Non-canon information ends here.) Watcher In The Wings
When Bruce Wayne was thrown into Arkham City, Azrael watched him outside the gate and disappeared from a building. Batman encountered Azrael many times throughout his "incarceration" in Arkham City, where he gave cryptic statements before he disappeared and left ambiguous signs. Once all the symbols were collected, they formed a map which lead Batman to the Church and Medical Center. At the church, Azrael revealed that he had been sent to observe Batman, and believed that he was a warrior that was foretold by an ancient prophecy. Azrael revealed that he was sent by the Order of St. Dumas to deliver a prophecy to Batman. He told how the city would burn, and that Batman was the "warrior" who would save Gotham City, but would fall in the process. Batman remained skeptical of Azrael's prophecy and claimed that he did not believe in fairy tales. But Azrael held firm in his belief, and told Batman that they would meet again as he departed Arkham City. Several civilians were taking refuge in the Church Medical Center in Arkham City when the henchmen of several super-villains, who believed the site to contain Titan, tried to force their way in. Bane broke down the door, but Azrael was waiting and managed to incapacitate him, which saved the civilians inside. Azrael and Aaron Cash, who was also trying to protect the civilians, fought together and Azrael referred to Cash as 'rookie', which lead to Cash suspecting Azrael's true identity. Afterward, Batman and Azrael were seen perched on the Church's steeple together. Before Arkham Knight IncidentAzrael helped get some of the victims of Calendar Man's poisoning plot to hospitals. He said that "the Order of Saint Dumas has Gotham under its protection." Heir To The Cowl
Nine months after Batman stopped Protocol Ten and saved Gotham from possible destruction, the prophecy of the Order of St. Dumas was becoming a reality. The dark days were here and Scarecrow returned to have his revenge along with the Dark Knight's worst enemies to finish him once and for all and to see him burn. Azrael realized it was time to become the next protector of Gotham. He signaled Batman by creating a burning bat symbol in Kingston. Azrael then told Batman that he deserved to be his rightful successor, if ever Batman should perish, and informed him that he would follow Batman's code not to kill, and handed his sword to him in the process. Not knowing what the future held for him, Batman decided to test Azrael by letting him fight several simulations of enemies. Batman secretly used these to study Azrael, whose fighting style had been eerily similar to that of Batman's, by letting Alfred study the simulations. Azrael eventually proved himself worthy to Batman. However, the latter opted to wait until he said so, which prompted Azrael to tell him that Gotham needed him now. As Azrael departed, Alfred informed Batman that he had discovered Azrael's identity as Michael Lane, as well as an irregularity in his physiology. At the Batcomputer in Gotham's Clock Tower, Batman found a microprocessor surgically implanted in Azrael's brain, that was attached to the temporal lobe. Upon viewing Azrael's memories, Batman recognized the Order's symbols from Arkham City and suspected that his memories were tampered with, and were used to modify his behavior unconsciously. Using the Batcomputer to find all the symbols embedded in the memories, Batman discovered a subliminal message that revealed that Azrael's true mission was to gain Batman's trust and kill him, for Batman had kept him from being the rightful protector of Gotham, which the Order believed needed to be willing and relentless.
Azrael's defining moment: will he attack Batman, or will he see he's been the Order's puppet? Alfred wondered how Batman would stop them, to which Azrael's voice said that he could not. It turned out that Azrael had followed Batman and broke in to complete his mission. Batman addressed him by his real name, revealing that the Order has been manipulating him. Batman let Azrael take his sword and gave him the choice to kill him or not. If Azrael decided to kill Batman, he would be knocked out and imprisoned in the GCPD Lockup by Batman. If Azrael came to his senses, he either broke his sword or left it on its display and made amends with Batman before he vowed that the Order would pay for what they had done to him and he left the Clock Tower. PersonalityAzrael, by definition, is a very complex character. Most of this stems from his personal feelings of hatred towards criminals and desire to make the world a better place but this is often convoluted due to his feelings of guilt and regret. The methods of training to achieve such goals, however, have left Azrael rather unstable as Cash states during his time as a police officer he went too far and often became too violent, seriously injuring or killing suspects until he became a criminal (perhaps viewing it as a more effective method of justice). When confronted by Batman, he attempts to atone for his crimes by addressing religion and is preyed on by the Order of Saint Dumas who remolded Michael Lane, shedding his former life and dedicating life, body and soul to the Order. Unbeknownst to Azrael, the Order was in actuality influencing his way of thinking with their religion and the Suit of Souls. They have manipulated him into believing that he is a "tool of God" whereas he was simply being controlled to carry out their so-called "divine justice" as a power head for the Order. He obviously cares about the well being of innocents as he rescued hostages from Bane in Arkham City but his sense of justice and right and wrong have become warped under the Order's influence as he views people who spare criminals deserve an equal level of righteous wrath. He truly believes it as his destiny to take the name of Batman and defend Gotham after his death and becomes impatient and angry if he feels this is being denied to him. Azrael presents himself as a mysterious messenger, having a strong belief in metaphysical prospects such as prophecies or the Gates of Hell and relaying such messages cryptically, earning them a chance to prove their worth to him and his cause. He does not overestimate his importance and understands that he is merely a soldier and the Order is something of greater importance. The rest of Azrael's personality is rather determinant to what option the player picks in the Clock Tower. If he chooses to strike down Batman, embracing the Order completely. He continues to arrogantly claim that the chaos happening in Gotham was because of his unwillingness to kill criminals and that he was more deserving to defend the city than he ever was. He obviously hates most of his fellow inmates, threatening to kill every single one of them but has more of a rivalry rather than outright loathing for Deacon Blackfire, presumably respecting a fellow "man of God". However, if he choose to break the sword and spare Batman, he would defect from the Order completely and return to his true identity before vowing to make those who controlled him pay. Despite accepting Azrael completely and claiming that "Michael Lane is dead", he still shows traits of the man he used to be. Such as referring to Aaron Cash as "rookie" in Arkham City (due to Cash and Lane being partners beforehand and the same thing he nicknamed himself). AppearanceArkham CityArkham KnightPsychological ProfileBatman's Database ProfileReal Name: Michael Lane Attributes
GameplayIn Batman: Arkham Knight, Azrael was briefly playable in Story Mode during the Most Wanted Mission: "Heir to the Cowl". After the October/November update, Azrael was also playable in the Challenge maps. In both Combat and Predator Mode, Azrael played almost exactly like Batman. That was explained in-game as a by-product of his years of watching the Dark Knight. However, when Azrael uses the explosive gel, it will be in the form of a cross symbol instead of a bat symbol. Despite not having a cape, Azrael could still glide. His main difference when compared to Batman was that he has less gadgets. He also had separate challenges in Predator Mode, which often were slightly more challenging than Batman's as they often focused on confronting the enemies directly over Batman's stealth. Gadgets
QuotesArkham City
Arkham Knight
Kill Batman
GalleryBatman: Arkham CityAzrael at the Church in Arkham City. Azrael and Batman standing on a rooftop at Amusement Mile in Arkham City. Azrael standing in front of his symbol at the Church in Arkham City. "I knew you would find me." Batman: Arkham KnightAzrael Character Trophy Arkham Knight Azrael poster Arkham Knight Azrael in Arkham Knight Azrael on the Batcomputer at the Clock Tower Azrael vs Batman. Azrael holding the Sword of Sin at the Clock Tower. Azrael trying to kill Batman with the Sword of Sin at the Clock Tower. Azrael at the GCPD Lockup. Trivia
Is Azrael a playable character?Azrael returns in Batman: Arkham Knight as the focus of the Most Wanted mission, "Heir to the Cowl", during which he is briefly playable. The character was later made fully playable in the game's challenge maps through an update.
How do you unlock Azrael in Arkham Knight?You must find 4 of Azrael's burning bat symbols on rooftops and play combat challenges with him. This mission begins after you have investigated the Arkham Knight's Scene of the Crash on Miagani Island during the Main Story.
What happens to Azrael in Arkham Knight?If players choose to kill Batman, Batman swiftly counters the blow and dispatches Azrael. While this choice determines that Azrael's morality remains compromised, the majority of fans prefer this option for Azrael's conclusion in Batman: Arkham Knight.
What characters can you play as in Arkham Knight?Characters. Batman (Playable). Robin (Playable). Nightwing (Playable). Oracle.. Batgirl (Playable via DLC). Alfred.. James Gordon.. Lucius Fox.. |