Nightcrawler is not only one of the most iconic characters in the world of the X-Men, but he is also one of the most loved. Born in Germany as Kurt Wagner, our favorite fuzzy blue elf had it rough from the start. He not only looked like a demon, but he was tossed into a well by his mother! Thankfully, he survived and was later recruited by Professor Charles Xavier to join his team of merry mutants before he was about to be attacked by a mob of angry Germans. Since donning is X-Men costume in 1975’sGiant-Size X-Men, Nightcrawler has pretty much always been around. He has also appeared in almost every iteration of the X-Men, from the animated series to the films and video games. Despite that, there is much about him that most people don’t know.

There are number of aspects of Kurt’s life and story are common knowledge. Take, for example, who his mother is and his relationship to Rogue. But what about all his other half-siblings? We loved his portrayal by Alan Cumming in X2: X-Men United, but why didn’t he return for X-Men: The Last Stand? And, while we are at it, what is the story with him leaving Jason Stryker to die in that film? Where does he go when he teleports? Also, Mystique his mother in the movies or not? These are just a few questions fans have wondered about over the years and we’ve got the answers with the 20 things about Nightcrawler only real X-Men fans know.

20 HE WAS CREATED BY A NAVY SAILOR IN GUAM

In the Marvel Universe, Nightcrawler hails from Germany, but in reality, he was conceived in the U.S. territory of Guam. Nightcrawler’s creator, Dave Cockrum, was stationed on the island while with the U.S. Navy. Located in the Western Pacific, Guam experiences typhoons, and one night Cockrum had trouble sleeping through one.

Instead of sleep, he got creative and our favorite fuzzy blue elf was born. Nightcrawler was intended to be a demon who did not want to return to hell. He was intended to become the sidekick for superhero The Intruder. Aside from a few minor costume edits, Kurt looked the same as he later would in the X-Men.

19 DC COMICS REJECTED NIGHTCRAWLER

Nightcrawler could have been a DC superhero -- let that one sink in. After creating the fuzzy elf, Dave Cockrum submitted him for consideration as part of a new DC superhero team. However, DC decided “he was too weird looking,” showing us that their penchant for poor decision making goes back several decades.

When Cockrum became part of the team working on the new Giant-Size X-Men comic in 1975, he still held hope for Nightcrawler. He presented attributes of the character in his design, and eventually the character appeared as originally intended. He was then made German to add to the international nature of the newest X-Men recruits.

18 HE DID NOT GET HIS OWN COMIC TITLE FOR A DECADE

Nightcrawler joined the X-Men in 1975 along with several other famous new recruits including Storm, Banshee, and Colossus. It is not uncommon for the X-Men to appear in different X-related titles and even get their own comic book series. Nightcrawler wouldn’t see a solo series until 1985.

In the limited, four-issue miniseries written and drawn by Dave Cockrum and saw Nightcrawler and Kitty’s dragon, Lockheed, gallivanting through multiple dimensions. A second Nightcrawler-centric limited series was released in November 2002. The plot explored Nightcrawler’s journey towards priesthood. His first actual ongoing title came two years later in 2004 but only lasted 12 issues. The last attempt was in 2014, but again the title only held up for 12 issues.

17 MYSTIQUE AND AZAZEL ARE HIS PARENTS

Depending on your preferred X-Men medium, the identity of Nightcrawler’s parents is either clear or a non-issue. Comic readers know that Mystique and the mutant Azazel are his biological parents. In the animated world, Mystique is also credited as being his mother in the original '90s X-Men and also X-Men: Evolution.

The X-Men films both put Nightcrawler and Mystique side-by-side in X2 and X-Men: Apocalypse, but never address any relationship between them. Most people outside of the world of comics had not even heard of the demonic look Azazel before he appeared in the prequel film X-Men: First Class. Mystique runs off with Azazel and the rest of the Brotherhood in the film, but no romance is ever mentioned or alluded to on screen.

16 HE ALMOST HAD DIFFERENT PARENTS

You read that right: Destiny was almost Kurt’s mom and Mystique was almost his father. X-Men writer Chris Claremont, of “Dark Phoenix Saga” and “Days of Future Past” fame, planned on having Mystique shapeshift into a man and impregnate Destiny, her lover. Seeing a controversy nightmare, Marvel put a stop to that story arc right away.

Speaking of nightmares, that is not the only bit of tinkering Claremont tried to do with Nightcrawler’s parentage. He’d declared that Nightmare, a Marvel Universe demon who rules the Dream Dimension, was going to be Kurt’s biological father. Doctor Strange writer Roger Stern refused to allow it.

15 HOW HIS “BAMFING” WORKS

Nightcrawler is famous for his teleportation abilities. It has saved him and the X-Men numerous times, but its mechanics remain a mystery for many. In order to teleport, Kurt triggers a biophysical reaction in his body. He can transport himself and a limited amount of mass instantaneously from one point to another. Usually, he must see or have seen where he is teleporting, or he could reappear in a solid object and that wouldn't be good.

The famous “bamf” sound occurs when he teleports, which is the result of air rushing to fill the void he left in space. Interestingly, his teleporting also causes a slight disruption in the environment Nightcrawler is about to appear in. It can only be detected by those with heightened senses, like Daredevil.

14 HE GOES INTERDIMENSIONAL WHEN TELEPORTING

The least known part of Nightcrawler’s “bamfing” is where he goes when in between two points. The answer: an alternate dimension. In transit, Kurt briefly goes through the Brimstone Dimension, named for its sulfuric smell. This is why it smells when Nightcrawler reappears. His time in the dimension is brief and he subconsciously guides himself through it.

It is a bit of a mind bender, especially for those who got their X-Men schooling through the films. X2 does not explore much of intricacies of Nightcrawler’s power, including the Brimstone Dimension. Apocalypse goes a bit deeper, showing Nightcrawler transporting himself and Professor Xavier from En Sabah Nur’s temple. The shot fully follows the two through the dimension, which is awesome to see in live action.

13 HE DATED HIS FOSTER SISTER

Nightcrawler is one of the X-Men’s most loveable members but that doesn’t mean his stories don’t occasionally get dramatic if not outright creepy. One example that left readers unsure of how to feel involved Kurt’s adoptive sister, the witch Jimaine. In adulthood, Kurt and Jimaine reunited after both relocated to the U.S. Jimaine had changed her name to Amanda Sefton, and they became a couple.

Their relationship was an on-again, off-again thing and they struggled with things like Amanda’s mother trying to kill Kurt. Ultimately Kurt’s self-doubt did them in for good, but at least she will always be his sister. Amanda was later adapted for X-Men: Evolution as Kurt’s love interest. This iteration shared no relation to him and was not a witch.

12 HE ASSISTED THE X-MEN FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE

Another instance of Nightcrawler drama was that time he didn’t survive the 2010 “Second Coming” story arc. While battling Bastion, Nightcrawler teleports in between him and his target, Hope Summers. Bastion detects him and extends his arm out as Nightcrawler rematerialized around it. He was mortally wounded as he fused with the arm. Perhaps it was because of Kurt’s close relationship with his faith, but he continued to help the X-Men from beyond the grave.

Before being brought back to life, Nightcrawler tried to enjoy his time in heaven. Despite being in paradise alongside the recently deceased Professor Xavier, he could not shake his Earthly responsibilities. He saves Wolverine from possession and recruits the X-Men to help save heaven from an attack launched by Azazel.

11 HE SIDED WITH IRON MAN IN CIVIL WAR II

The “Civil War” story is famous, but only true fans know there was a “Civil War II” and which side Nightcrawler joined. It starts with a new Inhuman who can predict the future. Storm and Captain Marvel find themselves at odds with Magneto and Iron Man on how to handle the issue. This causes a divide across multiple groups including the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the X-Men.

Magneto feels the Inhumans have been too relaxed in dealing with the Terrigen Mist, which brings them their gifts, but is deadly to mutants. He sees this newest Inhuman as the final nail the coffin for mutants who are losing to the Inhumans. Nightcrawler goes to Magneto and expresses that he shares his concerns.

10 ROGUE IS NOT HIS ONLY SIBLING

Nightcrawler’s most famous sibling is undoubtedly Rogue, who was adopted by his mother Mystique. Their sibling relationship is depicted in the comics and in X-Men: Evolution, however the films do not address it. As mentioned before, Kurt also has another adoptive sister, Amanda, by way of his adoptive mother, Margali. But wait, there are more!

Kurt has a half-brother, a human named Graydon Creed. Creed was born to Mystique and Victor Creed, aka Sabretooth, and was also given up for adoption. Nightcrawler also has siblings by his father, Azazel. His half-brother Nils Styger is a mutant who goes by the name Abyss. His other half-brother is Kiwi Black, the mutant son of Azazel and an unknown woman from New Zealand.

9 HE ALMOST APPEARED IN MORE MOVIES

Nightcrawler has become core member of the team, so it was expected he would appear in the first X-Men movie when it had been announced. He never appeared, but originally, he was meant to. In Michael Chabon’s 1996 script, Nightcrawler would have been a starring X-Man but the script was scrapped along with Kurt.

Nightcrawler made his cinematic debut in X2 but wasn’t seen in the films that followed. A new iteration of him appeared in Apocalypse, but his original comeback was going to be in Days of Future Past. Director Bryan Singer stated that “I was going to have Nightcrawler and even wrote a scene, but I felt that we were forcing too many mutants into the story.” Kurt will return in Dark Phoenix.

8 HE HAD A CHILD WITH SCARLET WITCH

In an alternate universe, Nightcrawler and Scarlet Witch had a daughter named Nocturne. Nocturne exhibits mutant abilities similar to her father’s. Her version of Nightcrawler and ours are essentially the same, so when Nocturne became stranded on Earth 616, she became close with this reality’s Kurt.

Despite the romance between Nightcrawler and Scarlet Witch having occurred outside the primary X-Men dimension, it has come into play in other iterations of our favorite mutants. In the animated series Wolverine and the X-Men, Kurt is romantically involved with Scarlet Witch. They even share a smooch in episode 15 and are said to be the love of each other’s lives.

7 ALAN CUMMING LEFT BECAUSE OF BRETT RATNER AND MAKEUP

Nightcrawler was a welcome addition to the X-Men cinematic universe and Alan Cumming was perfect in the role -- so what happened to him? X3 saw neither hide nor blue hair of the teleporter and unless you played the tie-in video game, you got no explanation for his absence. Cumming had intended to return to the role, but sadly it wasn’t meant to be.

The make-up process that brought Nightcrawler to life was time consuming and uncomfortable, which Cumming was open about. Before Bryan Singer jumped ship, Cumming still planned to reprise the role despite the painful process. However, when Brett Ratner replaced Singer, Cumming was out. He was almost replaced, but the minor role wasn’t considered worth the effort and it was cut.

6 HE RETIRED AFTER X2: X-MEN UNITED

X-Men: The Official Game shows us what happened with the X-Men between X2 and X3. It also explains why Nightcrawler isn’t in The Last Stand. Though it is never mentioned in the film, the official story is that Kurt retired from being an X-Man after his second mission in the game. Unlike his comic book counterpart, being a superhero wasn’t for this particularly gentle version of Kurt.

In the video game, Nightcrawler helps the X-Men recover parts of Cerebro that Stryker stole, fights some bad guys, and takes on Sentinels. He also deals with the blood on his hands from X2, but that’s for a later conversation. At the game’s end, he tells Professor Xavier that the life of an X-Man was too violent for him.

5 HE APPEARS IN AN X-MEN/STAR TREK CROSSOVER NOVEL

There is an X-Men/Star Trek crossover novel called Planet X -- who would have thought? Released in 1998, the New York Times bestseller features Nightcrawler and the core X-Men alongside the characters from Star Trek: The Next Generation. In the tale, Geordi La Forge studies Nightcrawler’s teleportation mutation. He learns that it functions by transporting Kurt through the same subspace dimension as warp drive.

Nightcrawler is later able to teleport himself Data and himself onto an enemy ship when the U.S.S. Enterprise’s transporters could not. Fun side note: The first X-Men film hadn’t been cast at this point, yet the book mentions the uncanny resemblance between Jean-Luc Picard, played in live action by Patrick Stewart, and Professor Xavier, who Stewart would later play.

4 HE WAS HAUNTED BY JASON STRYKER AFTER X2

In X2, Nightcrawler was an all-around good guy. Sure, he tried to take out a world leader, but he was controlled by William Stryker. It comes as a shock when you realize that after he teleported Storm and Xavier from the destruction of the Alkali damn, he left Jason Stryker for dead. The films never addressed this, but it haunts Kurt in the tie-in video game.

Shortly after X2, Jason begins haunting Nightcrawler, reminding him he left him to pass away. It turns out Jason is still alive, inducing Kurt’s haunting hallucinations. Jason split into two personalities, one following his father’s mission, the other trying to help Nightcrawler stop it. As he passes while destroying Master Mold, he tells Kurt it is okay to leave him this time.

3 HE IS INSPIRED BY ACTOR ERROL FLYNN

Nightcrawler as a character is fond of comparing himself to Australian-born '30s Hollywood actor, Errol Flynn. When he uses his image-inducer to hide his demon-like appearances while out in public, he often programs it to make him look like Flynn. Though he doesn’t use his image-inducer much these days, if the need arises, we hope he changes into Flynn.

People have also noted that the two share similar personalities, both charming, spontaneous, and exciting. Fans also know Nightcrawler to be quite the swashbuckler, a role which he openly embraces. This aspect of Kurt is yet another call back to Flynn, who is most famously known for his film roles as a romantic swashbuckler.

2 TELEKINESIS AND ELECTRIC FIELDS BLOCK HIS TELEPORTATION

Nightcrawler’s mutation seems limitless. While he can only teleport so much weight and distance may be limited, he seems pretty unstoppable. The films promote this, pushing him beyond his mutation’s boundaries. However, both films also demonstrate the two things that keep Kurt grounded: telekinesis and electrical fields.

In X2 when Jean left the X-Men’s jet to save everyone from the burst damn, Wolverine tells Nightcrawler to get her. He tries to teleport but can’t. He realized Jean was stopping him with her telekinesis. In Apocalypse, young Kurt again tries to teleport off an aircraft. He realizes he can’t because after getting on the helicopter an electrical field was turned on. He notes this is like how he was imprisoned in Berlin.

1 HIS PARENTS WERE REVEALED IN X-MEN: APOCALYPSE (KINDA)

As discussed earlier, Nightcrawler’s parentage went through several iterations, but he eventually ended up with Mystique and Azazel as his biological parents. Also, as previously mentioned, the films feature both of Nightcrawler’s parents, but never comment on any relation. That didn’t stop Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique) from doing so herself.

In the Apocalypsegag reel, Lawrence ad libs during a scene, admitting that the newly introduced Nightcrawler is actually her and Azazel’s child. While it doesn’t exactly jive with the plot, it isn’t impossible. If she hooked up with Azazel after shortly after First Class, the timing would work for Kurt’s age. Let’s not forget that in First Class she was last seen with Azazel and the Brotherhood. Props to JLaw for knowing her X-Men comic lore.