WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Catwoman Annual 2021 #1 by Ram V, Kyle Hotz, Fernando Blanco, Juan Ferreyra, David Baron & Tom Napolitano, on sale now
A relatively recently introduced threat to Catwoman and the other villains of Gotham City, Father Valley was initially brought to Gotham under contract with the villainous Penguin. Seeking revenge against Catwoman for her robbery of him during the events of "Joker War," Penguin had hoped Valley would be a lethal figure to Catwoman. But instead, he's been a curiously patient figure, who was even willing to save her life at times -- admitting that he wants to bring her down just as she's reached her ultimate heights.
His curious demeanor and ruthless skills have painted a mysterious picture of an unusual assassin, even by the standards of a city like Gotham. His origins have remained a mystery -- until Catwoman Annual 2021, which largely delves into his past and how he chose to take the last name Valley -- and what his connection to Azrael really is.
Father Valley is revealed to have once simply been known as Karl. As a young man, he was orphaned and taken in by the Order of St. Dumas years ago. He specifically served under the former Azrael, Ludovic Valley -- father to Jean-Paul Valley, the man who briefly replaced Batman in Knightfall and eventually became the heroic Azrael. Karl worked for them as well, developing a close rapport with Valley. As he explained to Karl, Valley had made a deal with the Order St. Dumas to give Jean-Paul a regular life away from the organization -- with Valley doubting he could truly raise a son with the amount of blood he has on his hands.
This rubs Karl the wrong way, who's grown to see his mentor as the father he never had. Shortly after, Valley is informed that there's a mole within the Order of St. Dumas -- and that leaders of the organization have no interest in ferreting him out. Instead, Valley is ordered to wipe the majority of their forces while the leadership goes to the ground and prepares to return. Reminding Valley of his son, the leadership forces the conflicted Valley to follow through with this plan -- even coming close to killing Karl after slaughtering countless of their allies. Broken at the sight of the man who raised him wiping out their own forces, Karl lept from the church roof, seemingly to his death.
In reality, though, he survived -- with Valley aware, but incapable and unwilling to finish the job. After dragging himself to a church and healing, Karl dedicates himself to becoming a new kind of warrior, one who can "redeem" others with death. However, there's still clearly a bond between him and Valley -- with Karl unable to finish the job and kill his adopted father when given the chance. All of this sets up Father Valley as an interesting wildcard towards the Order St. Dumas, and a potentially dangerous threat not just to Selina but also Jean-Paul -- who has transitioned the identity of Azrael into a more heroic figure within the DC Universe, even working alongside other major heroes in Justice League Odyssey shortly before the events of Dark Nights: Death Metal.
If Father Valley to remain in Gotham, then he could continue to sew genuine discord and chaos amongst the city -- with the issue ending with him escalating such plans, setting off an explosion that will likely cause rioting in the streets of Alleytown. But with his cruel origins revealed, there might be a chance someone like Catwoman could empathize with him and potentially even bring him off his destructive path -- or could have, before he tried to kill her friends and set the vigilante on the warpath.