Origin
After
Azrael's rebirth, he traveled to the Middle East in order to neutralize the man known as
Fireball. The two briefly fought, but soon found out that they have a common connection in
Ra's al Ghul, who brings the two back to
Gotham. Back in Gotham,
The Crusader, a former enemy of Azrael, sets fire to Devil's Square seeking out Azrael. The two meet, as The Crusader pledges his allegiance to Azrael. The three are manipulated into carrying out Ra's' will, to destroy Gotham City.
Creation
The Angels of Death were assembled by writer
David Hine for use in the Bat Family crossover,
Judgement on Gotham in
Batman,
Red Robin and
Gotham City Sirens.
Major Story Arcs
Judgement on Gotham
Gotham's last hopes. Azrael returns to Gotham where he meets the crazed zealot, The Crusader, who vows loyalty to him. The Crusader claims the city is drenched in sin, deserving of God's wrath, to which Azrael agrees. In between the Angels of Death and the destruction of Gotham City stand
Dick Grayson,
Tim Drake, and
Selina Kyle. The Crusader suggests that the three heroes were summoned there by god, and Azrael believes that they should be tested individually to see if there is one good soul, that is worthy enough to have Gotham city spared from God's wrath. Meanwhile Ra's al Ghul charges Fireball full of solar energy, turning him into a living bomb, capable of leveling the city.
The first to be tested is Tim Drake. Azrael hold's Gotham's mayor captive, while The Crusader endangers countless innocents on Tim's path to saving the mayor. The test is whether or not Tim is willing to sacrifice the lives of the innocent to save a sinner. Not willing to sacrifice anyone's life, Tim manages to save all the bystanders, and make it to the mayor in time to spare him. Azrael judges Tim with the Sword of Sin, and see's that his is truly free of sin, but before the city can be spared, The Crusader interjects, claiming he did not honor god, while he saved those trapped inside of a burning church. Not wanting to lie, and actually fail the test, Tim admits his lack of faith, and Azrael deems him unworthy of saving the city.
Selina is the next to be tested by Azrael, who has been joined by his sister,
Maggie Kyle. Selina's test is whether or not she will sacrifice her sister in the name of God. Despite her sisters pleading, Selina refuses to kill her sister causing her to fail Azrael's tests.
Dick Grayson is the last to be tested by Azrael, and is confronted by an old acquaintance from his time in the circus, only known as The Prodigy. Azrael forces Dick to come to terms with his childhood sin. Back in the circus, due to jealousy, Dick allowed the Prodigy to be nearly beaten to death. Dick comes to terms with what he didn't do to help Prodigy, but claims his failures doesn't justify the destruction of the city. Dick manages to convince Azrael to use the
Sword of Sin and
Sword of Salvation on himself to see the truth. Azrael sees that he is actually carrying out the will of Ra's al Ghul, but it's too late to stop Fireball from detonating. The Crusader manages to contain Fireball's explosion, without any major harm to anyone, except for Fireball who lost his life. With the city safe, Azrael and the Crusader leaves Gotham.
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