is a gekiga manga created by the writer Kazuo Koike and the artist Goseki Kojima and published in Weekly Gendai magazine (Kodansha).  Unlike their previous collaborations on Lone Wolf and Cub and Samurai Executioner, this story focuses on two historical figures from 16th-century Japan.

Path of the Assassin is the story of Hattori Hanzō, the master ninja whose duty it was to protect Tokugawa Ieyasu, who would grow up to become shōgun and unify Japan.  The creators poetically describe the story as "Lifelong Friends, with the Same Dreams, Striving to Grow into a Rising River".  The 20-volume series has been reprinted by Dark Horse Comics in a thicker 15 volume edition, translated into English and oriented in the original right-to-left reading format.

Plot
Path of the Assassin, called Hanzō no Mon in Japan, is the story of Hattori Hanzō, the fabled master ninja whose duty was to protect Tokugawa Ieyasu, the shōgun who would unite Japan into one great nation. But before he could do that, he had to grow up and learn how to love the ladies! As the secret caretaker of such an influential future leader, not only does Hanzo use vast and varied ninja talents, but in living closely with Ieyasu, he forms a close friendship with the young shōgun. The quality of their relationship is unforgettably crystallized by Hanzo's fulfillment of a challenging but enticing task Ieyasu sets him: to demonstrate how to make love to a woman, which neither youngster has ever done. Hanzo succeeds at obliging his master and winning himself a woman whom he pleases, but anticipating that he won't be able to serve both master and wife, Hattori turns away the young woman he won while Ieyasu walks a tactical tightrope between the factions contending for rule—one led by his de facto father, the other by his older brother while Hanzo meets Tsukumo, the female ninja who will be his wife. Ieyasu wins his first battle when his foster father is killed, which simplifies Ieyasu's next choice of an ally, while meanwhile Hanzo and Tsukumo oppose the marriage because two families' lords are potential rivals. Later, Hanzo rescues Ieyasu's wife and children from a sadistic warlord, precipitating an attempt on Hanzo's life and, oddly, estrangement between him and Ieyasu when Hanzo offends Ieyasu's wife. Hanzo's father-in-law is attacked by another ninja who had previously attacked Hanzo, and the dying man charges Hanzo and Tsukumo to avenge him. Ieyasu, awaiting Hanzo's return from his voluntary exile, makes a mistake by attempting to collect rice from Buddhist-monk vassals belonging to a sect that spurns feudal obligations and provokes an uprising that may be taken advantage of by his rivals. Hanzo learns of the situation and with Tsukumo begins a series of subterfuges and impersonations which culminates in him obtaining a secret document that enables Ieyasu to quell the uprising.

Publication history
Dark Horse manga volumes:
Volume 1.  Serving in the Dark (July 2006).
Volume 2.  Sand and Flower (August 2006).
Volume 3.  Comparison of a Man (November 2006).
Volume 4.  The Man Who Altered the River's Flow (December 2006).
Volume 5.  Battle of One Hundred and Eight Days (February 2007).
Volume 6.  Life's Greatest Difficulty (April 2007).
Volume 7.  Center of the World (June 2007).
Volume 8.  Shinobi with Extending Fists (August 2007).
Volume 9.  Battle for Power - Part 1 (October 2007).
Volume 10. Battle for Power - Part 2 (March 2008).
Volume 11. Hikuma Castle (April 2008).
Volume 12. Three Foot Battle (May 2008).
Volume 13. Hateful Burden (September 2008)
Volume 14. Bad Blood (January 2009)
Volume 15. One Who Rules the Dark (May 2009)

References

External links

1973 manga
Dark Horse Comics titles
Kazuo Koike
Kodansha manga
Ninja in anime and manga
Samurai in anime and manga
Seinen manga
Comics set in the 16th century
Cultural depictions of Hattori Hanzō
Gekiga

Path of the Assassin


Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum, he debuted in the comic book Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975). By the time of his creation, there was already another Marvel character with the same name, but with a hyphen (Night-Crawler), which was later changed to Dark-Crawler to avoid confusion.

Nightcrawler is a member of a fictional subspecies of humanity known as mutants, who possess an X-gene that can cause possible  physical mutations and in many cases grants some form of superhuman ability. Nightcrawler possesses superhuman agility, the ability to teleport, and adhesive hands and feet. His physical mutations include indigo-colored velvety fur which allows him to become nearly invisible in shadows, two-toed feet and three-fingered hands, yellow eyes, pointed ears and a prehensile tail. In Nightcrawler's earlier comic book appearances, he is depicted as being a happy-go-lucky practical joker and teaser, and a fan of swashbuckling fiction. Nightcrawler is a Catholic, and while this is not emphasized as much in his earlier comic book appearances, in later depictions Nightcrawler is more vocal about his faith. He is the son of Mystique and Azazel.

Since his inception, Nightcrawler has had a regular presence in Marvel-related comic books and video games. He has been featured in a small number of the 1990s X-Men animated series episodes and was a regular on its successors, X-Men: Evolution and Wolverine and the X-Men. He was portrayed by Alan Cumming in the feature film X2 (2003), while Kodi Smit-McPhee played a younger version of Nightcrawler in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Deadpool 2 (2018) and Dark Phoenix (2019).

Nightcrawler is originally stated to be from a small village called Witzeldorf in the German state of Bavaria. In the X-Men animated series, it is said to be Neuherzl, and in the film X2, he makes repeated references to his time in the Munich circus, though it is never explicitly specified from where he originated.

Publication history
Dave Cockrum originally created Nightcrawler while he was in the United States Navy, stationed at Guam. He recounted: "I sat up one night in the middle of a typhoon because it was too noisy to sleep, so I stayed up and thought up this character. Originally, Nightcrawler was a demon from Hell who had flubbed a mission, and rather than go back and face punishment, he decided to stay up here in the human world. He was supposed to be the sidekick of another superhero character that I had created named The Intruder." At this point Nightcrawler wore trunks instead of a full costume, but otherwise looked identical to his final version.

Cockrum submitted the character to be part of a group of characters called The Outsiders (not to be confused with the later team The Outsiders), set in the universe of DC Comics' Legion of Super-Heroes series. However, DC rejected the character, resulting in Cockrum importing him to Marvel after he began working on X-Men in 1975. Because editor Roy Thomas wanted the new X-Men to be a multinational group, it was decided to make Nightcrawler German.

Although an X-Men character for years, Nightcrawler did not get his own comic book title (written and drawn by Cockrum) until November 1985. In the four-issue limited series Nightcrawler, along with Lockheed, accidentally travel to several alternate dimensions, meeting strange beings such as the Bamfs. After various adventures, Nightcrawler and Lockheed manage to get home safely.

A second four-issue limited series was published in November 2002. Written by Chris Kipiniak and penciled by Matthew Dow Smith, it focuses upon Nightcrawler's decision to become a priest and his attempts to fight a group of slave traders.

In September 2004, the first Nightcrawler ongoing title was published by Marvel, written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa with covers and pencils by Darick Robertson. The series was canceled with issue twelve.

In 2014, a new Nightcrawler ongoing title commenced, written by Chris Claremont. This was also canceled with issue twelve.

Way of X
Nightcrawler starred in an ongoing book titled Way of X, written by Si Spurrier and illustrated by Bob Quinn. It was announced in January 2021 for an April 2021 debut as part of the X-Men line's Reign of X, following the conclusion of X of Swords crossover. It is billed as a smart, psychedelic tale about faith, science, culture, love and law.

The series featured the return of Legion and the threat of Onslaught to the mutant nation.

A one-shot titled X-Men: The Onslaught Revelation will served as the finale of the first chapter of the series.

In April 2023, it was announced that Wagner would star in a 5 issue miniseries entitled Uncanny Spider-Man, written by Spurrier and illustrated by Lee Garbett as a part of the Fall of X.

Fictional character biography

Origin
Kurt Wagner was born with certain unusual physical characteristics, but his power of self-teleportation did not emerge until puberty. Margali Szardos, a sorceress and Roma queen, allegedly found Kurt an hour after his birth, in a small roadside shelter in the Black Forest with his father lying dead on the road outside. However, this claim was later called into question, and it was subsequently proven that Kurt's mother is Mystique (also known as Raven Darkholme), and his father is the demonic warlord Azazel. Mystique revealed that she threw him over the falls after a large mob learned of Kurt's existence, and Azazel admitted that he secretly saved his son from the fall, giving him to his lover and crony, Margali Szardos, to raise him. Margali took the baby to a small Bavarian circus named Herr Getmann's Traveling Menagerie where she worked as a fortune teller, as a cover for her activities as a sorceress. Wagner was never legally adopted by anyone, but he was raised by all the members of the circus, who had no prejudices against mutants, except for the ringmaster, Herr Max Getmann. However, Margali took up the role of Kurt's unofficial foster mother.

Kurt grew up happily in the circus, and his two closest friends were Margali's son Stefan and daughter Jimaine. Long before his teleportation power emerged, Wagner had tremendous natural agility, and by his adolescence, he had become the circus' star acrobat and aerial artist. Circus audiences assumed that he was a normal-looking human wearing a devil-like costume.

Years later, the Texas millionaire Amos Jardine, who ran a large circus based in Florida, heard of the circus for which Wagner worked and bought it. Jardine intended to move its best acts into his American circus; however, he demanded that Wagner be placed in the circus' freak show. Jardine drugged him to prevent escape, but a young mutant child with the ability to sense other mutants helped Kurt escape. Appalled, Wagner left and made his way toward Winzeldorf, Germany, where his foster brother Stefan was. He discovered that Stefan had gone mad and brutally slain several children. (It has since been stated that Stefan did not actually go mad, but slew the children because he had recognized them as disguised demons.) When they were younger, Stefan made Kurt promise to kill him if he ever took an innocent life. Two nights after leaving the circus, Wagner found Stefan and fought him, hoping to stop his rampage. In the course of the struggle, Stefan was killed.

X-Men

The villagers of Winzeldorf, who assumed from Kurt's appearance that he was the one who killed the children, attacked. They were about to kill him when they were all psychically paralyzed by Professor Charles Xavier, who came to recruit Wagner into the X-Men. Before they left for America, he and Xavier went to the Bavarian circus to explain to Margali about Stefan's death, but Margali was not there . With the codename Nightcrawler, Wagner becomes a member of the X-Men. Margali held Wagner responsible for murdering Stefan and created a facsimile of the hell from Dante's Inferno in which to punish him years later. Through the use of Doctor Strange's all-seeing Eye of Agamotto, she learned the truth, and she and Wagner were reconciled. Wagner was happily reunited with his foster sister Jimaine, who had moved to the United States and changed her name to Amanda Sefton, later becoming Kurt's girlfriend.

Sometime later, Nightcrawler fought Shagreen the Sorcerer and became lost in various dimensions, including the manifestation of a fairy tale his teammate Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat) had once told to Illyana Rasputin (Magik). It was there that Nightcrawler first encountered the Bamfs, strange creatures that resembled miniature versions of himself and who would occasionally appear during some of his future adventures.

Shortly after this, and once he had rejoined his teammates, a tactic designed to disable the super-Sentinel Nimrod backfired, and Kurt found himself at the mercies of an angry mob without his teleportation ability. He was rescued by Shadowcat, Colossus, and Magik but feared he had lost his ability for good. His power returned but left him drained and vulnerable when he used it, again leading to self-doubt about his value to the team. During the Mutant Massacre (the Marauders' assault on the Morlock tunnels), this exhaustion left him vulnerable to an attack from Riptide, which injured him into a coma.

Excalibur
While he recovers from these injuries, his fellow X-Men were apparently killed on a mission in Dallas. Not long after, Nightcrawler and teammates Shadowcat and Rachel Summers left to join Captain Britain in an adventure in the UK. They fought Gatecrasher's group of inter-dimensional mercenaries known as the Technet. The heroes worked together so well, they decided to form a group they named Excalibur. Captain Britain originally assumed leadership of the group, but Nightcrawler gradually took over the responsibility. When Captain Britain's and Meggan's relationship went through a rocky time, Nightcrawler became interested in Meggan, a feeling that was reciprocated but never consummated. During his time with Excalibur, he took charge of the Technet, renaming them his 'N-Men', and he became romantically involved with his teammate Cerise before she left to stand trial before the Shi'ar. Later, his former girlfriend, Amanda Sefton, joined the team and the two continued their previous relationship. She left the team to take control of Limbo, a task that kept her away from Earth, but the two remained close friends. Fearing it would be stolen from her, Amanda magically hid the Soulsword inside Nightcrawler's body.

Returning to the X-Men

For a time, Kitty Pryde and Nightcrawler express some resentment over the X-Men's failing to contact them after their supposed deaths. Following the wedding of Captain Britain and Meggan, Excalibur disbands and Nightcrawler returns to the X-Men with Shadowcat and Colossus. Yet, as soon as they return, they face a group of impostors following Cerebro, in the guise of Professor X.

Wanting to devote more time to the priesthood, Nightcrawler shares team leadership with Archangel. However, his work as a priest is retconned to be an illusion; he had, in fact, never attained priesthood. He has also met his half-brothers Nils Styger, alias Abyss, and Kiwi Black. With them, Nightcrawler defeated his father Azazel, who had tried to use him as a pawn in escaping his prison.

Later, Nightcrawler served as the new leader of the Uncanny X-Men team alongside Wolverine, Bishop, Psylocke, Cannonball, and Marvel Girl. In the last mission against the Foursaken, Nightcrawler took his team (except for Wolverine) to Central Park. He later helped Storm liberate Africa from her uncle's control.

Afterwards, Professor X recruited him, along with Darwin, Havok, Marvel Girl, Warpath, and Polaris, to participate in a space mission to stop Vulcan from laying waste to the Shi'ar empire. During the battle with Vulcan, Nightcrawler helped get the injured Professor X and Darwin back to their spaceship. While there, trying to save Professor X, Lilandra sent the ship on its way back to Earth, leaving half the team behind.

Kurt was still part of Professor X's team, helping Charles find Magneto before the government did, while the rest of the team searched for the Morlocks.

"House of M"
In the 2005 "House of M" storyline, Nightcrawler was part of Wolverine's S.H.I.E.L.D. team and helped Mystique track him down. After his memory returned, he assisted in the final confrontation against Magneto. Upon their return to the true reality, he rapidly teleported around the mansion to find Wolverine on Cyclops' orders, as both men worried that Wolverine would have lost his powers and therefore be vulnerable to metal poisoning caused by his adamantium skeleton.

"Messiah Complex"
When the first mutant since M-Day appeared, Cyclops sent Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Angel, Storm, and Colossus to find former Acolytes for information on the Marauders. It was predicted by Blindfold that Kurt would be seriously injured in the upcoming events, and indeed this came true when he was shot by the Marauder, Scalphunter. Kurt seemed to have nearly fully recovered from his injuries since he, along with Beast and the entire New X-Men team, is teleported to Muir Island by Pixie. He took part in the final battle.

Divided We Stand
Still recovering from his injuries, Kurt traveled through Europe along with Wolverine and Colossus. Kurt and Wolverine were currently involved in a "war of pranks," as Peter called it. One of the many pranks involved Logan hacking into Kurt's image inducer to make him look like Angelina Jolie, which resulted in a picture of Angelina and Peter appearing in assorted tabloid newspapers. The three of them traveled to Russia, where they visited the cemetery where Peter's family is buried. Afterward, they went to a local bar, where they discussed the recent loss of Kitty Pryde and the destruction of the X-Men. A fight occurred in the bar, during which their cover was blown. Soon after, the three of them were captured by the Russian government, which demanded to know why all their mutants were depowered and why Colossus, Wolverine, and Nightcrawler retained their abilities. After a battle with Omega Red, the three heroes returned to the US and rejoined the team, now living in San Francisco.

Manifest Destiny
Kurt, along with Wolverine and Karma ambushed the Hellfire Cult after a series of mutant related hate-crimes happened around San Francisco. He also took it upon himself to build a new chapel at Graymalkin Industries, the X-Men's new home and base of operations.

During a training session in the Danger Room, he revealed he was trying to keep himself distracted because whenever he had time to think, he couldn't help but think of Kitty, how the X-Men didn't need him, and how Pixie was a better teleporter than he was. After battling (unsuccessfully) several simulated villains, he reprogrammed the Danger Room to show Kitty. He confessed he was sorry he wasn't there for her and hugged the simulation and cried. The simulation of Kitty replied that she missed Kurt, too.

Nightcrawler briefly believed that he no longer had a role with the X-Men, especially due to Pixie's abilities in teleporting. A trip back to Germany renewed his conviction through an encounter with a boy cursed by gypsies into demonic form, a brush with Mephisto, and a romantic fling, before he returned to San Francisco to aid the X-Men against a foe they struggled with, lacking his help.

"Secret Invasion"
In the 2008 storyline "Secret Invasion," Nightcrawler fought alongside the X-Men when the Skrulls invaded San Francisco. He came across a Skrull bible and, after studying it, gave it to Beast, who figured out how to deal with the Skrulls.

X-Infernus

In the 2008 miniseries X-Infernus, Pixie summoned her Souldagger and stabbed Kurt in the chest, knocking him out. When Pixie removed her Souldagger, Magik's Soulsword emerged from his chest.

Magik teleported away after taking out Pixie, Mercury, Rockslide, and Beast. Kurt woke up and stopped Pixie from going after her, and Pixie broke down and apologized for stabbing him. Later, the X-Men gathered and Kurt was put in charge of a team of X-Men to go help save Magik.

Upon entering Limbo, Kurt, Mercury, Colossus, Rockslide, Pixie, and Wolverine fought their way through many demons. Pixie, Mercury, and Rockslide were horrified at how brutal the older X-Men were towards the demons. An octopus-type creature attacked Kurt until Pixie jumped in and killed it with her Souldagger.

Hearing the screams from the castle, Kurt teleported the X-Men into the throne room. Once there, Witchfire turned Colossus and Wolverine against Mercury and Rockslide. Kurt noticed Illyana chained to a pillar, and she asked him to stab her with Pixie's Souldagger, as it was the only way and he was the only one to do it because he was attuned to magic. He apologized and stabbed her; at that moment Colossus punched Kurt, and Witchfire finished making her fifth and final Bloodstone from the now demonic Pixie.

The fact, however, that Colossus and Wolverine hadn't killed him made Kurt realize they were not fully under her control. Using Pixie's Dagger, Kurt then pulled Illyana's Soulsword from her and used it to free Wolverine and Colossus of Witchfire's control. However, the demon managed to use the Bloodstones to summon the Elder Gods. Through their combined efforts, the X-Men and Magik managed to banish both Witchfire and the Elder Gods, but not without losing four of the five Bloodstones. Furious at losing another part of her soul, Pixie fled. Being told by Illyana to let her go, Kurt consoled Magik about the theology of a soul, before she teleported them back to Earth. Kurt, along with Colossus, Cyclops, and the former New Mutants team, convinced her to stay with them and join the X-Men.

Necrosha
After mutants rose from the dead and attacked the island Utopia as part of the Necrosha storyline, Cyclops sent Nightcrawler to lead a team of X-Men consisting of Rogue, Trance, Magneto, Husk, Psylocke, Colossus, and Blindfold to investigate Muir Island. It was revealed that Proteus had been resurrected and had taken possession of Blindfold (who had the vision of going to Muir Island in the first place).

"Second Coming" and death
In the 2010 "X-Men: Second Coming" storyline, the X-Men traveled to Westchester when Cable and Hope were detected there. Nightcrawler's discovery of the lethal methods used by X-Force led to an argument between him and Cyclops. While teleporting during a battle with Bastion, Bastion extended his arm into the space in which Nightcrawler would materialize. Nightcrawler rematerialized around Bastion's arm, fusing with it. Though mortally wounded, he managed to teleport Hope to Utopia, telling her before expiring that he believed in her.

Afterlife
Despite his death, Nightcrawler continued to aid his friends. When Wolverine was possessed by a demon called the Hellverine, Nightcrawler entered his friend's mind to help him drive out the invader. The other X-Men who entered Logan's mind to help him assumed that Nightcrawler was just a manifestation of Wolverine's mind, rather than the real one.

Resurrection
Nightcrawler spent his sojourn in Heaven alongside Professor X, but despite enjoying paradise, Nightcrawler continued to feel as though he had unfinished business, remaining on the periphery rather than actually joining the heavenly choir. When Azazel mounted an attack on Heaven using his connection to Kurt as a door, Nightcrawler instructed a few Bamfs to create a portal to Heaven inside the Jean Grey School of Higher Learning, allowing him to summon the X-Men to aid him in his fight. Having gathered his friends, Kurt used the Bamfs and his connection to Azazel to restore himself to life back on Earth, thus preventing Azazel from attacking Heaven again by tying them both together, although this resulted in Kurt sacrificing his own soul to ensure that Azazel would not be able to return to Heaven. His 'Welcome Back' party is subsequently attended by all the X-Men, including Cyclops' branch of the team. Despite the tensions between them, Nightcrawler stated that he wanted all of his family to be present. Nightcrawler later left the party to confront Mystique when she was successfully freeing Azazel.

With Storm's and Rachel's encouragement, Nightcrawler accepted a teaching position at the Jean Grey School, where he formed a bond with the pupil Scorpion Boy. While attempting to reunite with Amanda Sefton, he was duped by her mother Margali Szardos to grant her sanctuary at the school, where she forcefully extracted the knowledge about the Beyond from Beast and Storm to open a portal to the Afterlife. Nightcrawler and Amanda managed to foil Margali but at the cost of Amanda getting stranded in the Void. Afterward, Nightcrawler and Scorpion Boy engaged the Crimson Pirates, who acted on behalf of Tullamore Voge, over the custody of a young mutant named Ziggy Karst, who subsequently joined the Jean Grey School. Soon afterward, Nightcrawler and Bloody Bess were forced to fight against their fellow Crimson Pirates and X-Men, all mind-controlled by the resurrected Shadow King. The fight ended with the Pirates kidnapping Ziggy and Scorpion Boy and fatally stabbing Nightcrawler; but on his way to the afterlife he was intercepted by Amanda, Wolverine and the Phoenix, who encouraged him to return. Together with Bess and the Bamfs, he traveled to Voge's interdimensional child slave market and rescued Ziggy and Scorpion Boy, battling Voge's henchmen and the Warwolves. In the end, they defeated Voge, breaking up his slavery racket, and returned the enslaved children, taking those orphaned by the slavers into the school.

During the 2016 "Civil War II" storyline, both Storm and Magneto were having a conflict on their own to save mutantkind from the Terrigen Mist. Storm and the other X-Men who followed her decision to support Captain Marvel's side, to require the Inhumans' help to solve their kinds' extinction from breathing that mist. Nightcrawler decided to join Magneto and Iron Man's side. He later joined Kitty Pryde's mutant school. He eventually developed romantic feelings for his longtime friend and teammate Rachel.

Residing on Krakoa
When the mutant colony of Krakoa was established, Kurt was given a position on the council, helping to shape the laws of this new mutant society. However, Kurt's religious concerns led him to decide to form a mutant religion.

Operating as Spinnenmann
During the "Fall of X" in light of Orchis' attack on Krakoa, Nightcrawler assumed an identity that was similar to Spider-Man called Spinnenmann after he gained a spare suit from Spider-Man following Orchis' previous brainwashing on him to assassinate some heads of state and Orchis' attack on the Hellfire Gala. He infiltrated an Orchis facility where he finds it run by Vulture in his Director Vulture identity and had upgraded his suit with a samply of the Technarchy. In addition, Spinnenmann also became a target for Silver Sable and the Wild Pack. Spinnenmann later battled Rhino who was under the same mind-control technology that was used on him. Despite Silver Sable's interference, Spinnenmann managed to defeat Rhino.

Powers and abilities
Kurt Wagner is a mutant whose primary mutant power is the ability to teleport himself, his clothing, and a certain amount of additional mass from one point to another virtually instantaneously. He does this by displacing himself through an alternate dimension briefly and reappearing in a desired, pre-selected location. He has been shown to be able to teleport distances of up to  under optimal conditions, although this is usually his outer limit, and he can become severely fatigued if he tries to teleport that distance; he has exceeded this limit on multiple occasions. In one case, he teleported somewhere over . Via coordinates received telepathically from Professor Xavier, Nightcrawler has teleported an unknown (but presumably large) distance. In a final, dying effort to rescue the mutant-messiah Hope, he teleported them both from Las Vegas, Nevada to the mutant safehold Utopia, just off the coast of San Francisco, California, a distance of more than . Nightcrawler's teleportation ability is also affected by direction—north-south along Earth's "magnetic lines of force" is easier than east–west against them.

His effective teleport range was extended after his revival both due to outside assistance and a later enhancement to his powers, thanks to a deal he made with a demonic race of Bamfs loaned to him by his father. Nightcrawler can warp greater distances by locking onto them as a form of waypoint marker to teleport longer distances, even trans-dimensional ones. Beyond the use of his own demonic companions Kurt can now seemingly transport himself longer distances without tiring, be they local or continental in range, having teleported over  from the UAE (United Arab Emirates) to Antarctica, and again traveling over  from the Czech Republic to Egypt. He possesses a limited unconscious extrasensory "spatial awareness" ability which prevents him from teleporting into solid objects within his immediate vicinity, but this ability diminishes the greater the distance he teleports. Because teleporting into other solid matter would cause severe injury or death, he will only teleport to an area he is familiar with or that he can clearly see at the time or has seen in the past. His power automatically displaces liquids and gases when he arrives.

The process of teleportation places a strain on his endurance and that of any passengers; carrying mass other than his body and clothing when teleporting adds additional strain to his body. Through practice, he has been able to teleport with a passenger over a long distance without exhausting himself. Extensive training has raised his tolerance for teleportation, but most of his passengers lack this tolerance. Therefore, one of his tactics is to grab opponents and make several quick teleportations with them. They usually become weakened or even pass out from the strain.

After Nightcrawler teleports, he leaves behind the smoke and a faint scent of burning brimstone; this is a small portion of the atmosphere of the dimension through which he travels when he teleports. His teleportation power is due to a biophysical/biochemical reaction he consciously triggers within himself. A loud "bamf" noise is always present whenever he teleports (being the sound of air rushing to fill the space he was just occupying). His teleporting also causes a slight change in the atmosphere before he arrives, although only superhumans with heightened senses such as Daredevil can detect it.

In addition to his primary power of teleportation, Nightcrawler's physiology is unique in several different ways. His agility far surpasses that of an Olympic-level gymnast, and his bone structure allows him great flexibility. His spine is more flexible than an ordinary human, enabling him to remain in a crouched position for a long time and perform contortionist-type feats without causing any damage to his spine. Nightcrawler's balance and bodily coordination are all enhanced to superhuman levels. He has the ability to cling to surfaces through microscopic suction cups located on the pads of his hands and feet. However, some surfaces are so frictionless that he cannot cling to them. He also possesses superhuman dexterity, being able to manipulate items and fence with either hand, both feet, and his tail.

He has the ability to blend into shadows, both as a result of his indigo fur, and the dimensional portal which always surrounds his body and absorbs photons. At one point shortly after his initial introduction, it was suggested that he could actually travel through shadows (in much the same way Psylocke did after exposure to the Crimson Dawn) and this was shown in Bizarre Adventures, but never really touched upon after that. In the story, Vanisher removes some of the Darkforce that formed his costume and threw it at Kurt, who disappeared. He then reappeared from within the Darkforce on the ground, saying that it was like "a pool of shadow" and that he "fell right through it".

Nightcrawler has a prehensile tail, allowing him to grab onto objects with relative ease. His tail is strong enough to not only support his body weight, but also lift an adult man completely off the ground at the same time, and is deft enough to fight with while wielding a sword or blunt object. He also possesses a degree of heightened night vision.

Aside from the abilities granted by his mutation, Nightcrawler is a superb fencer and skilled hand-to-hand combatant, to the point of being able to stalemate super-beings as powerful as Captain Britain. He has also served as the team's pilot and medic when more qualified X-Men were not around to do so. He and Wolverine were also the mechanics of the X-Men's Blackbird jet for a long time. He is also recognized by other Marvel characters as the leading authority on teleportation, with Spider-Man and Daredevil contacting him for information and advice following their first encounter with Francis Klum. Nightcrawler deduced from analysis of photographs of a crime scene that a man had been killed by someone else teleporting inside the victim, despite having never witnessed such a thing before.

For a long period, Kurt's body housed the Soulsword. Magik states that Kurt is attuned to magic and thus able to wield her Soulsword and Pixie's Souldagger.

As an aftereffect of his death and resurrection, Nightcrawler has developed a heightened resistance against psychic domination which helped him resist the Shadow King's telepathic powers, even after the latter had possessed such strong minds as Rachel Grey and Psylocke moments before. With the loss of his soul, he has also been rendered quasi-immortal, although he still feels the pain of any injuries inflicted upon him.

Family relations
X-Men writer Chris Claremont had intended to reveal that Nightcrawler was the son of Nightmare early in his run. Roger Stern recounted, "It happened when I was the writer of Dr. Strange, back when writers were still occasionally listened to. Chris had come up with the latest of several crazy ideas and declared that Nightcrawler's father was Nightmare. And I replied with something like, 'No, he's not. I'm not going to let you appropriate one of my character's major villains.' As I recall, Len Wein crossed the room and shook my hand. And not too long after, I [became] the X-Men editor and was able to make sure that didn't happen for long enough that Chris eventually changed his mind." Claremont's new plan was for the mutant terrorist Mystique and her lover Destiny to have been Nightcrawler's biological parents. Mystique, being a shapeshifter, would have taken the form of a man and impregnated Destiny. However, Marvel felt the idea to be too controversial and an alternative origin was developed.

After hinting for many years that Mystique was indeed Nightcrawler's biological mother, it was confirmed by writer Scott Lobdell in X-Men Unlimited #4. In 2003, it was revealed that although Mystique was married to a wealthy German, Herr Wagner, Nightcrawler's father was Azazel, a member of a race of demonic-looking mutants known as the Neyaphem which date back to Biblical times that were banished to another dimension by a race of angelic mutants. The storyline was furthered by the revelation that fellow X-Man Archangel's healing blood did not heal Nightcrawler, and in fact caused him great pain.

Nightcrawler's siblings include his adoptive sister Rogue and half-brother Graydon Creed by Mystique; and Abyss and Kiwi Black from Azazel.

It is also revealed that in a parallel universe, an alternate Nightcrawler fathered a daughter with an alternate Scarlet Witch; this girl, named Nocturne, is a dimensionally-stranded mutant bearing traits similar to Nightcrawler himself. Nocturne has since referred to Nightcrawler as her father. The demeanor of Nightcrawler is very similar to that of the Nightcrawler from Nocturne's reality, so the two developed a close bond that resembles a father-daughter relationship.

Characteristics
Nightcrawler is a mutant born with fine blue-black fur covering his body, two fingers with an opposable thumb on each hand and only two toes, each longer than a normal human being's, on each foot and a third toe-like projection on his heel, as well as pronounced, fang-like canine teeth on both upper and lower sets, yellow eyes, pointed ears, and a  prehensile pointed tail which can support his weight.

Among his more ironic character traits, Wagner is an extremely religious man. A devout Catholic, his demonic appearance obviously makes it very difficult to attend Mass. Despite this, as mutants in the Marvel Universe become more accepted, he even managed to almost become a Catholic priest, but his studies were interrupted by a villainous group known as "The Neo".

In contrast, Nightcrawler also has a knack for the spontaneous and exciting. He sees himself as a swashbuckler, usually comparing himself to Errol Flynn. He is, despite his looks, always charming and gallant, and several storylines contain Kurt's love life as a conflict to his religious nature. His days in the circus make him a gifted performer and showman. Kurt is also a jokester. He has a great sense of humor for someone in his situation. He always plays pranks on people; some even call him "Trickster" because his combined teleporting abilities and playful disposition enable him to play quite the joke.

Wagner has used a personal holographic device called an image-inducer on several occasions to produce a holographic image of himself as an ordinary human (occasionally Errol Flynn himself) so that he might interact with non-mutants in a normal fashion. After losing a bet with his friend Wolverine, however, Nightcrawler was made to walk through town in his normal form for all to see. To his shock, the reaction of the average person on the street was simply one of startling interest. He was even able to sneak a kiss from a surprised, but unafraid woman. Kurt was, eventually, attacked by a carload of anti-mutant bigots, but he prevented Wolverine from tearing them to shreds, preferring to be merciful to the ignorant. The entire experience emboldened him, and he has since largely forsaken the use of this device, using it only when absolutely necessary.

Reception
Nightcrawler has received positive reception as a comic book character and as a member of the X-Men. Nightcrawler was ranked as the 133rd-greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine. IGN also ranked Nightcrawler as the 80th-greatest comic book hero of all time describing Nightcrawler as a mutant with the appearance of a demon and the heart of a preacher; IGN also states that as the X-Men enter one of their most uncertain periods, his legacy still looms large. In 2006, IGN has also rated Nightcrawler at #7 on their list of top 25 X-Men from the past 40 years, stating that religion is one of the few commonalities that could bring mutants and humans together, and it is through his faith that Nightcrawler has stayed true to the X-Men for so long. In 2008, Marvel rated their top ten X-Men of all time. Nightcrawler ranked #4 on their list stating that far from a character consumed by doom and gloom, Nightcrawler's chivalry, a flair for the dramatic and sense of humor have made him one of the most likable X-Men ever, a character you genuinely look forward to seeing leap into action. In 2013, ComicsAlliance ranked Nightcrawler as #19 on their list of the "50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comics".

In 2014, Entertainment Weekly ranked Nightcrawler 5th in their "Let's rank every X-Man ever" list.

In 2018, Comic Book Resources ranked Nightcrawler 28th in their "Age Of Apocalypse: The 30 Strongest Characters In Marvel's Coolest Alternate World" list.

Other versions

Age of Apocalypse
In the Age of Apocalypse miniseries, Nightcrawler is similar to his Earth-616 counterpart, but much darker and more violent, and he carries two sabers at all times, denoting his skills as a swordsman. Another important difference is that this Nightcrawler hates churches, having had a traumatic experience when he was younger. Nightcrawler is close to his mother, Mystique, and he even calls her "Mom." Nightcrawler is sent by Magneto to Avalon, an Antarctic utopia where humans and mutants peacefully coexist, to bring Destiny back to the United States to confirm Bishop's claims. While there, Avalon is attacked by Apocalypse's Pale Riders. Nightcrawler and Mystique vow to protect Avalon from the Pale Riders and are joined by fellow mutants Switchback and former Pale Rider Damask to face the Shadow King. Nightcrawler also goes by Kurt Darkholme instead of Kurt Wagner in this reality.

The AOA Nightcrawler appears to always be "breathing fire" when teleporting. Presumably this is simply an optical illusion of his teleportation powers, as it does not appear to have any adverse effects on anything Kurt comes in contact with as he does so. Also, this version seemingly believes his biological father is Sabretooth as is evidenced by Mystique stating that she had gone to the trouble of "finding a father with fur" when Nightcrawler complains he is cold and, when the Shadow King possesses Mystique, the captions reveal "one memory is more interesting than the others" and flashes to Sabretooth taunting Nightcrawler.

After the events of the Dark Angel Saga, AoA Nightcrawler chooses to remain in the 616 reality and join X-Force. Searching for the Sugar Man, Dark Beast, Iceman and Blob, Kurt promises to "kill the bastards who ruined our lives". He is openly hostile concerning being mistaken with his alternative self; at one point he roughly shoves Kitty aside when she mistakes him for a returned-from-the-dead main universe Nightcrawler, declaring that he is not back and does not know her.

He has successfully killed Blob by teleporting a shark into his stomach which devoured Blob from the inside and he has executed Iceman by leading him into a factory boiler room where the weakened Iceman begged for forgiveness. Nightcrawler proceeded to throw his former friend into the factory fire to his death. He has also made several unsuccessful attempts on Dark Beast's life.

This version of Nightcrawler demonstrated the ability to control how much of another person traveled with him when teleporting, allowing him to kill a man by teleporting only his head.

In March 2013, X-Treme X-Men, Age of Apocalypse, and Astonishing X-Men participated in the "X-Termination" crossover, which focuses on the AoA Nightcrawler's attempt to get to his home universe. During the event, the AoA reality seemingly is destroyed with Nightcrawler in it.

Bamf
In The Uncanny X-Men #153 Kitty Pryde tells Illyana a bedtime story. In it she casts him as a cute creature called "Bamf". He is only two feet tall and looks like a super deformed version of Kurt, even right down to his costume. He is fun-loving and somewhat lecherous. At first he only existed in a Fairy Tale, but Kurt himself met Bamf and the other characters from pale Kitty's story during an accidental interdimensional trip. It soon turns out there are multiple Bamfs, including female versions; the Bamfs even declared him their "Daddy". The Bamfs later let their affection for Kitty Pryde get the best of them and even resorted to endangering Kitty's pet dragon Lockheed.

Days of Future Past
Nightcrawler is dead in the alternative timeline Earth-811, but he had a daughter known as Blue. She inherited the power to teleport herself and others, and a similar appearance.

Exiles
Nocturne is a member of the alternative-reality traveling Exiles, and a former member of New Excalibur. Like all members of the Exiles she is from an alternative dimension. In her dimension the Scarlet Witch married Nightcrawler, and Nocturne is their daughter.

In her reality, Charles Xavier was attacked by a Shadow King-controlled Wolverine. Although the Shadow King was expelled from Wolverine's mind, Xavier was fatally wounded in the attack and Logan was left crippled. Shortly after, Jean Grey died and Cyclops, blaming Wolverine for both deaths, abandoned the team, leaving Wolverine and Nightcrawler as the leaders of the X-Men and the Xavier Institute.

The demeanor of this Nightcrawler is very similar to that of the Earth-616 Nightcrawler, so the first time that Nocturne met 616-Nightcrawler she accidentally calls him "Dad." In subsequent meetings Nocturne and 616-Nightcrawler have developed a bond similar to a father-daughter relationship.

House of M
In the House of M reality, Nightcrawler appears as a member of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Red Guard, a task force of elite mutants designed to quell insurrections; Nightcrawler has a small role when the Red Guard attempts to track down their leader, Wolverine, who remembers the world before the Scarlet Witch changed reality. Nightcrawler also appears in World of M, where he attempts to aid Apocalypse when the latter is under attack by Namor, Storm, and Sunfire.

Kurt Waggoner
A Brooklyn boy on his world, Kurt is a fan of Spider-Man. He was taken from his world by force, an event he will not talk about as it resulted in the death of someone close to him. He was held by the forces of the Saviour until rescued through the efforts of Scott Summers. Kurt fought to save the multiverse as part of a cross-dimension X-Men team in X-Treme X-Men but was killed trying to save the team in the X-Termination event.

Marvel Zombies: Dead Days
In the Marvel Zombies universe at Earth 2149, where the superhero population gradually becomes infected by a zombie virus, Nightcrawler is among the remaining uninfected superheroes attempting to save what remains of the Earth population. He is bitten by the zombie Fantastic Four in the one-shot Marvel Zombies: Dead Days, and is one of the last superheroes to be infected. When the Ultimate version of Reed Richards travels to the Marvel Zombies Universe, Nightcrawler is among the zombified superheroes who attack him in the ruins of New York, but the attempt failed. Zombie Nightcrawler also appears in Marvel Zombies vs. The Army Of Darkness, whereas he is seen as a zombie also, attempting to attack the fortress of the villain known as Dr. Doom.

Misfits
In the Amerimanga series X-Men Misfits, Kurt's design is radically different with talon-like claws instead of toes and a metal tail.

Old Man Logan
In the "Old Man Logan" storyline, Nightcrawler is among the X-Men who perish at the hands of Wolverine when he is tricked by Mysterio into believing his friends are super-villains attacking the mansion.

Ruins
In Warren Ellis' Ruins, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler is seen of the deformed mutants jailed at a prison in Texas where he is seen gnawing on his own tail.

Secret Wars

Limbo Domain
A member of the X-Men, Nightcrawler battled the Limbo's Demon Horde when it assaulted Manhattan. The X-Men failed both to repel them and to save Illyana Rasputin from N'Astirh. The invasion was then contained behind a wall which split the domain in two. As part of a deal with Scott Summers, Illyana's brother Colossus would assemble a team once a year, on the invasion's anniversary, to try to retrieve Illyana. Nightcrawler's part of the mission was to pick a drop zone and teleport them in. When Scott informed Colossus that he refused to send a team to the demon domain, since the last time, both Scott and Colossus were crippled in the fight, Nightcrawler and Kitty Pryde refused to let Colossus down and offered him a last chance. Kurt, along with Boomer and Colossus' girlfriend Domino, formed the team. Teleporting in the demon domain, the team was soon attacked, and separated, with Kurt rescuing Boomer from winged demons. Back on the ground, Darkchild and N'Astirh appeared, capturing Nightcrawler and leaving Boomer mortally wounded.

Imprisoned, he was tortured and his soul was corrupted by Darkchild, turning him into a massive demon under her control. Darkchild used Nightcrawler to pass the force field and assaulted the X-Men controlled area of Inferno.

The "Bamf Dragon" (as called by Scott, unaware it was actually Nightcrawler) caused great damages while battling the X-Men. As the science and magic teams quitted their post to assist the X-Men, Illyana and Kurt teleported inside the building to target the force field, maintained only by Hank McCoy and Strange. They were both killed and the field dropped out, letting all of Inferno's demons enter Manhattan. "Bamfy" later wandered through the streets with Darkchild, as the Demon Horde rampaged the city. "Bamfy" found the last X-Men survivors in a subway tunnel, and teleported N'Astirh and many demons. The team sent in Inferno returned along the Goblin Queen and her subjects, and rescued the X-Men. As Jean Grey had Bamfy immobilized and tried to connect with him, Madelyne stepped in and put him under her own control claiming that Kurt's mind had been destroyed when Darkchild turned him into a massive dragon.

After Sinister proposed an alliance to the X-Men and the Goblin Queen, providing himself an army of demon/mutant hybrid clones made from Boomer's DNA, Madelyne avenged herself by controlling Boomer to kill him. The clones consequently turned against the Goblin Queen, who was then protected by Bamfy. With all the X-Men either dead or on the run, Madelyne, still accompanied by Bamfy, usurped the Hellfire energies from Darkchild's corpse, and became the new Baron of the domain.

All-New, All-Different Marvel
After the end of the Battleworld, Bamfy along with the Goblin Queen and her Goblin Horde, managed to access Prime Earth.

Ultimate Marvel
The Ultimate version of Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner) is a much more militant young mutant, only fourteen years old when first introduced. His first appearances have him forced to battle the X-Men alongside a team of Weapon X agents.

He had been captured by Weapon X and forced to act as an assassin and black ops agent. His Weapon X origins link him more closely with Wolverine and Rogue than other teammates. Originally speaking only German, he learned to speak English with the help of Jean Grey's mental powers. Though Nightcrawler returns home after he escapes from Weapon X, he soon joined the X-Men to fight Magneto.

Nightcrawler is originally portrayed as a friendly, humorous man with a zest for high adventure that has gained him the friendship of many fellow X-Men. One of Kurt's closest friends was Angel, with whom he "misused" the Danger Room for Pirates of the Caribbean-like "role-playing" sessions under the name of "the dread Captain Blue Tail," as it is shown that he is a fan of the movie. He has a fan-crush on Keira Knightley.

When Dazzler, Kurt's unrequited love, slips into a coma due to injuries inflicted by Deathstrike, Kurt begins to lose control of his delicate psyche, regressing to his Weapon X days. His loneliness is exacerbated by Angel's departure from the X-Men, and by the breakdown in his relationship with Colossus after Colossus reveals his sexual orientation.

Shortly following Dazzler's awakening, Kurt's irrational, increasing obsession with Dazzler prompted him to teleport her to a secluded cave, telling her that the X-Men had been attacked and that he was protecting her. The X-Men rescued Dazzler and, learning what he had done, confronted Kurt, resulting in a battle. Kurt was defeated and placed in a vegetative state by Charles Xavier in the hopes that Xavier could treat Kurt's damaged psyche. At his bedside, Rogue, who had absorbed his memories during the battle, told him she now considered him as much a monster on the inside as he appeared on the outside. Whether this was in regard to his Weapon X assassin activities or something else remains to be seen.

After Xavier was kidnapped by the time-traveling Cable, his hold on Kurt was broken, and Kurt vanished from the Xavier Institute. In issue #80 he saves Pyro from the Friends of Humanity. Pyro reveals the existence of the Morlocks. Nightcrawler is captured by the Morlocks, who believe he is a spy for Xavier. Shortly, the X-Men arrive to search for Toad, who was sent as an emissary. A fight ensues. During the battle, Nightcrawler helps his former teammates and subdues Sunder, the leader of the Morlocks. He decides to stay with the Morlocks since they were physically mutated like him. They elect him their new leader. When Sinister targets the Morlocks for sacrifices in his attempts to summon Apocalypse, Nightcrawler joins in the fight.

Kurt returns to Xavier's on occasion to hang out with his former teammates and slowly starts to accept Colossus' homosexuality, even standing up for him when the X-Men discover that Colossus has been using a drug called "Banshee" to give him super-strength. Kurt is also seen to be part of Colossus' Banshee (Ultimatevers's Mutant Growth Hormone) enhanced X-Men team. In this form, Nightcrawler seems to wield flare/batons of energy, similar to Blink's javelins.

Ultimate Nightcrawler's powers are very similar to his 616 counterpart. Kurt's demon-like physiology grants him dark indigo skin (unlike the 616 version in which he is covered with a thin blue fur), a prehensile tail, superhuman acrobatic ability, and control over bonding between his molecules, which allows him to cling to any surface. Most notably, Nightcrawler can teleport short distances (although one teleport of two miles (3 km) was noted), leaving a burst of yellow smoke and flames. After use of the drug Banshee, Nightcrawler bursts purple (rather than yellow) smoke and flames when he teleports.

While heading to a theater with Angel, Beast, and Dazzler, Kurt is killed when the Ultimatum wave hits New York.

According to Nick Spencer, Nightcrawler will somehow be a supporting character in Ultimate Comics: X-Men.

Universe X (Belasco)
In the futuristic Universe X maxi-series by Jim Krueger and Alex Ross, it is revealed that Nightcrawler became amnesiac and was displaced in time, finally becoming Belasco, a long-time enemy of the X-Men. After his origins are revealed to him by a resurrected Captain Marvel, Nightcrawler/Belasco finally joins the good guys again.

It was originally stated in the original Earth X series that after surviving the tragedy that killed the rest of Excalibur, Nightcrawler lost his teleportation powers and eventually became human. In an ironic twist of fate, he was then killed by a group of superhumans affected by the Terrigen Mists for being human.

What If?
Nightcrawler has made a number of appearances through the years in the What If? series, consisting of one-issue takes on potential alternative universes. Among his roles were What if the X-Men had stayed in Asgard? vol. 2 #12, in which Nightcrawler stayed behind on Asgard to be a swashbuckler and eventually joined the Warriors Three.

In What if the all-new, all-different X-Men had never existed?, an embittered Nightcrawler, having never been recruited by Professor Xavier, was talked into a life of crime by Erik the Red. However, after learning the truth about the X-Men, he sacrificed himself to destroy the Phoenix Force that was hiding in Earth's sun, reasoning that, while heroes like the X-Men would be mourned by the world, nobody would miss him.

In "What If Mystique had raised Nightcrawler?", Rogue's attempt to free Nightcrawler from the attic where Mystique had kept him to 'protect' him resulted in him being mortally injured by the Brotherhood when they mistook him for an X-Man, Rogue's attempt to use his power to escape results in her permanently absorbing Nightcrawler's powers and appearance due to the prolonged contact she maintained.

X-Men Forever
In this reality of X-Men Forever, Rogue has absorbed Nightcrawler's abilities when he gave her mouth-to-mouth, granting her Nightcrawler's skin and tail as well as exceptional athletic abilities, and leaving Nightcrawler with Rogue's powers and looking like a normal human. He was left in a coma after he absorbed Thor's powers during a fight with the Avengers, his body unable to cope with the strain of absorbing the power of a god, although Thor promised Mystique and Rogue that he would find a way to help Nightcrawler recover.

X-Men Noir
Set in Marvel Noir, Kurt Wagner aka The Demon appears in the sequel to X-Men Noir, X-Men Noir: the Mark of Cain. Kurt is a human wearing a blue demon mask and a costume tail as well was an acrobat with sharpened nails, as well as an agent of the German-based Weapon X under his fiancée Jimaine Szardos (alias The Red Rose). Wagner betrayed the group and saved American spy Mimic/Calvin Rankin from fellow agents and vowed to get out of the country. Wagner was informed that Rankin himself was Weapon X, the prime target sought by Rose. Wagner apprehended and shot Szardos but not before she burned his face with a torch.

X-Men: The End
Additionally, in X-Men: The End, he is shown to be a famous Hollywood action star (with Jubilee as his agent), and is married to Kymri; the pair have children, including another T.J. Wagner (which is Nocturne's name) however, in this timeline T.J. Wagner is a male. Nocturne is a character in this universe.

X-2: X-Men United
A tie-in comic to the 2003 film X-2: X-Men United depicts his background as a circus performer, where he was in love with Amanda Sefton, a fellow performer. When Amanda falls from her trapeze, Kurt breaks character and teleports to save her, breaking his own ribs in the process. Unconcerned with his injuries, Kurt learns that Amanda is involved with Werner, a more traditionally handsome performer, and goes to a church to grieve.  While there, he's confronted by Amanda, confessing her love to him and inviting him to elope. In fact, she is an illusion created by Mutant 12, who guides him to a Weapon X facility.

Marvel Mangaverse
In Marvel Mangaverse, the Nightcrawler is a member of the Brotherhood, led by Amanda Sefton, and an enemy of the X-Men and has a rivalry with Wolverine. Nightcrawler is killed by Wolverine.

In other media

Television
 Nightcrawler appears in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode "The X-Men Adventure", voiced by G. Stanley Jones.
 Nightcrawler appears in X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, voiced by Neil Ross.
 Nightcrawler appears in X-Men: The Animated Series, voiced by Adrian Hough. This version is a monk at a Swiss abbey.
 A teenage Nightcrawler appears in X-Men: Evolution, voiced by Brad Swaile. This version is a student at the Xavier Institute who is insecure about his appearance and goes on to develop a relationship with Amanda Sefton.
 Nightcrawler appears in Wolverine and the X-Men, voiced by Liam O'Brien. This version is initially a member of the X-Men before they disband after Professor X and Jean Grey disappear under mysterious circumstances. In the intervening year and the present, Nightcrawler becomes a protector to mutant refugees traveling to Genosha, enters a romantic relationship with the Scarlet Witch, and eventually rejoins the X-Men.
 Nightcrawler makes a cameo appearance in the Black Panther episode "Black Panther vs. Juggernaut and Black Knight", voiced by Nolan North.

Film

 Nightcrawler appears in an for early script for X-Men (2000), written by Michael Chabon, before the script was scrapped.
 Nightcrawler appears in X2, portrayed by Alan Cumming. This version's body is covered in tattoos that represent his sins. He is brainwashed by Colonel William Stryker into mounting a failed assassination attempt on the President of the United States before Storm and Jean Grey locate and free him of his brainwashing. Nightcrawler later assists the X-Men in infiltrating Stryker's base.
 According to director Bryan Singer, Nightcrawler was intended to appear in X-Men: Days of Future Past, but was ultimately cut, as he felt "that we were forcing too many mutants into the story."
 A young Nightcrawler appears in X-Men: Apocalypse, portrayed by Kodi Smit-McPhee. Initially forced to compete in mutant cage fights against Angel, he is rescued by Mystique, assists the X-Men in defeating Apocalypse, and is recruited into their ranks.
 Nightcrawler makes a cameo appearance in Deadpool 2, portrayed again by Kodi Smit-McPhee.
 Nightcrawler appears in Dark Phoenix, portrayed again by Kodi Smit-McPhee.

Video games
 Nightcrawler appears in The Uncanny X-Men.
 Nightcrawler appears in X-Men: Madness in Murderworld.
 Nightcrawler appears in X-Men (1992).
 Nightcrawler appears in X-Men (1993).
 Nightcrawler appears in X-Men 2: Clone Wars.
 Nightcrawler appears in X-Men: Mutant Academy 2.
 Nightcrawler appears in X-Men: Next Dimension.
 Nightcrawler appears as a playable character in X-Men: The Official Game, voiced by Alan Cumming. After helping the X-Men defeat Master Mold, he takes a sabbatical to return to Germany, feeling that he is fundamentally a man of peace.
 Nightcrawler appears as a playable character in X-Men Legends, voiced by Dee Bradley Baker.
 Nightcrawler appears as a playable character in X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, voiced again by Dee Bradley Baker.
 Nightcrawler appears as a non-player character (NPC), later a downloadable playable character for the Xbox 360, in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, voiced again by Dee Bradley Baker.
 Nightcrawler appears as an assist character in the PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and PSP versions of Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, voiced by Yuri Lowenthal.
 Nightcrawler appears as a playable character in Marvel Super Hero Squad, voiced again by Liam O'Brien.
 Nightcrawler makes cameo appearances in Trish and Magneto's endings in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds.
 Nightcrawler appears in X-Men: Destiny, voiced again by Yuri Lowenthal.
 Nightcrawler appears as a support card in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3s "Heroes and Heralds" mode.
 Nightcrawler appears as a playable character in Marvel Super Hero Squad Online.
 Nightcrawler appears as a playable character in Marvel: Avengers Alliance.
 Nightcrawler appears as a playable character in Marvel Heroes, voiced again by Liam O'Brien.
 Nightcrawler appears as a playable character in Marvel Contest of Champions.
 Nightcrawler appears as a playable character in Marvel Puzzle Quest.
 Nightcrawler appears as a playable character in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, voiced again by Liam O'Brien.

Miscellaneous
 Nightcrawler appears in Planet X. This version's powers are theorized by Geordi La Forge to utilize the same subspace as the Enterprises warp drive. Additionally, Nightcrawler is capable of teleporting onto enemy ships while their shields are up, which the Enterprises transporters cannot do.
 Nightcrawler is referenced in the Weezer song "In the Garage".
 Nightcrawler appears in the Wolverine: Weapon X motion comic, voiced by Trevor Devall.

Collected editions

First series

Second series

Way of X

References

External links
 Nightcrawler at Marvel.com
 Nightcrawlers v2.0 – Nightcrawler community that was often visited by Dave Cockrum
 UncannyXmen.net Spotlight on Nightcrawler

Catholic Church in popular culture
Characters created by Dave Cockrum
Characters created by Len Wein
Christian superheroes
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Demon superheroes
Excalibur (comics)
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Fictional Christian priests
Fictional circus performers
Fictional half-demons
Fictional immigrants to the United States
Fictional pranksters
Fictional priests and priestesses
Fictional schoolteachers
Fictional swordfighters in comics
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Marvel Comics characters who can teleport
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de:Figuren aus dem Marvel-Universum#Nightcrawler

Nightcrawler (character)


Palomares is an agricultural, fishing, and tourist town along the Mediterranean Sea in the Almería province of Andalusia, Spain. It is about  above sea level. The village falls within the municipality of Cuevas del Almanzora.

The ruins of El Artial lie just outside the village.

Crashes of a B-52 and a KC-135 in 1966

The town is noted for a fatal accident in 1966 in which a B-52 Stratofortress of the Strategic Air Command crashed after a midair collision with a KC-135 Stratotanker plane, causing radioactive contamination after its payload of four hydrogen bombs (H-bombs) was dispersed and crashed. There were four thermonuclear weapons in the bomber. The high-explosive igniters in two of these bombs detonated on impact, spreading radioactive material, including deadly plutonium-239, over a wide area of the Spanish countryside, but safety mechanisms and electronics prevented nuclear explosions. The third H-bomb landed via parachute into a stream, where it was relatively intact and was recovered. The fourth H-bomb landed in the Mediterranean Sea, and U.S. Navy searchers took three months to find and recover the device intact. A large amount of contaminated Spanish soil was soon removed, packed up, and shipped across the Atlantic for burial near Barnwell, South Carolina, the site of a large installation of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

In 2001, the Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT) still detected measurable levels of the radioactive elements plutonium, uranium, and americium over  of Palomares.

Annual monitoring by American and Spanish researchers has found no evidence of health problems, or of any contaminated food or water resulting from these crashes. Nevertheless, some areas remain contaminated and they cannot be disturbed. Although they are fenced off for safety, the result is that the region is economically blighted, and it has missed out on tourist developments like those in most other coastal towns. On 19 October 2015, Spain and the United States signed a statement of intent to discuss further cleanup of this area. Eventually, the United States agreed to remove additional contaminated soil from Palomares to a safe burial site in the United States.

The crashes are explored by American author Charles Bukowski in his short story "Politics is like Trying to Screw a Cat in the Ass".

References

Populated places in the Province of Almería
Towns in Spain
Radioactively contaminated areas

Palomares, Almería


Frogger is an arcade video game made in 1981 by Konami. The player must play as Frogger to get to home. The player must cross a road and a river. If the player is hit by a car or falls into the water, the player must start over. Frogger is very popular and there are many newer Frogger games.

Gameplay

The player guides a frog using a joystick (a game controller). The frog starts at the bottom of the screen. The frog must first cross a busy road. There are cars that go left and right on the road. If a car hits the frog, it dies and the player must start again. Once the frog crosses the road, the frog must cross a river. There are logs and turtles that move left and right in the river. The player must jump on top of the logs and turtles to reach the other side. If the player reaches the other side, he gets extra points and can try again.

There are many ways that the frog can die:
 If a car hits the frog, the frog dies.
 If the frog falls in the water, the frog dies.
 Sometimes, there are snakes, otters, and alligators in the water. If an animal hits the frog, the frog dies.
 Sometimes, the turtles go under the water. If the frog is riding on a turtle when it goes under the water, the frog dies.
 If the frog goes off the edge of the screen, the frog dies.
 The frog can not land in the same spot twice at the top of the screen. If it does, the frog dies.
 There is a timer. If the time runs out, the frog dies.

If the frog dies, the player can try again. Once the frog dies too many times, the game is over.

1981 video games
Sega arcade games

Frogger


Hellmut Ritter (27 February 1892 – 19 May 1971) was a leading German Orientalist specializing in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish, and an authority on Sufi ritual and mystical beliefs.

Biography

The son of a Protestant minister, his brothers were the conservative historian Gerhard Ritter and the theologist Karl Bernhard Ritter. He was educated at Halle where he studied under Carl Brockelmann and Paul Kahle, then at Strasbourg under Carl Heinrich Becker. He then served as a military interpreter during World War I in Iraq, Palestine and Iran. In 1919 he became a teaching assistant at the University of Hamburg, researching classical Arabic literature and Greek and medieval alchemy. But his academic career in Germany was effectively ended in 1925 when he was convicted for homosexuality. Being dismissed from his post in early 1926, he went to Istanbul.

Istanbul (1926-1949)
In Istanbul Ritter realised the city's ancient libraries held a wealth of manuscripts and literary treasures that lay moldering and unregarded.  He began work on a series of scholarly articles, which he had published in the series Philologika; Issue I - Gustav Flügel's 1870 unfinished translation work on the tenth century encyclopedia of Ibn al-Nadim, entitled Al-Fihrist; Issue VII - edited translations of Arabic and Persian treatises on profane and mystical love; Issue VIII - Anṣāri Haravi and Sanāʾi Ḡaznavi; Issue X - Farid-al-din ʿAṭṭār; Issue XI - Jalāl-al-Din Rumi; Issues XIV-XVI - ʿAṭṭār.

He also discovered the original text of the fantasy anthology Tales of the Marvellous and News of the Strange. Despite his effective exile from Germany, he was head of the German Orientalist Society in Istanbul and his scholarly work had some supporters in Germany. This support enabled the funding of his proposed Bibliotheca Islamica series of scholarly monographs from 1929 onwards. In the early 1930s he worked on early Arabic alchemical manuscripts, among others, and also pioneered the understanding of the influence of Ancient Greek literature on Arabic culture and science. The election of the Nazi Party in Germany in 1933 meant that Ritter's contract for work was ended, but friends in the German Orientalist Society quietly managed to find a small amount of funding that enabled his work to continue. Then a new and local opportunity arose, due to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's rapid modernisation of Istanbul and Turkey. Thus the newly improved and re-organised Istanbul University asked Ritter to work as a professor. Despite working on a temporary contract, Ritter was tasked with raising a new generation of Turkish scholars, able to work with rigour on the region's ancient literature. The Swiss orientalist Fritz Meier was also among his students in Istanbul. Ritter pursued the work with vigour, making his students learn a new language each year.

Germany (1949-1956)
After the defeat of the Nazis in World War II Ritter was able to return to Germany in 1949, and this enabled the completion of his most important work: the encyclopaedic manual on the rituals and beliefs of Islamic mysticism Das Meer der Seele (1955 in German). From 1953 he found work as a teaching assistant at the Frankfurt University Institute of Oriental Studies. But homosexuality in Germany was at that time still criminal, and in 1956 he returned again to Istanbul.

Istanbul (1956-1969)
Upon his return to Turkey Ritter began work at the Istanbul University on a UNESCO-funded project to catalogue the scattered ancient poetry manuscripts in the various city archives.  By 1960 Ritter's early sympathies with the mystical orders of Islam and his and assiduous gathering of their MS texts ensured their survival. In the 1920s just prior to Atatürk's official ban of dancing rituals Ritter had recorded the rituals directly from the key dance-masters of Istanbul. The subsequent restoration of these rituals in 1960 relied heavily on Ritter's accurate recordings and interviews for success. Ritter's scholarship, and practice as a musician, helped establish his authority as leader of the field. In his last years he documented a small group of elderly refugees, who were ancient Aramaic native speakers - a language considered endangered - and with whom he prepared a five-volume Aramaic dictionary and guide to the grammar.

Germany (1969-1971)
Ritter returned to Germany in 1969 and died on May 19, 1971, in Oberursel.

References
Josef Van Ess, "Der Orientalist Hellmut Ritter (1892–1971)" (German) published in Im Halbschatten Der Orientalist Hellmut Ritter (1892–1971) (Harrassowitz Verlag, 2013).
 Josef van Ess: Hellmut Ritter. In Encyclopedia Iranica, (read on iranicaonline.org) 01.01.2000.
Ernst A Grube Verzeichnis der Schriften von Hellmut Ritter (German)
List of Ritter's published works (German) on German National Library website.
Helmut Ritter, The Ocean of the Soul: Men, the World and God in the Stories of Farid Al-Din 'Attar, (English).

Publications
 "Muslim Mystics Strife with God". Oriens 5.1 (1952): 1–15.
 "Autographs in Turkish Libraries". Oriens 6: 1 (1953): 63–90.
 Das Meer der Seele. Mensch, Welt und Gott in den Geschichten des Farīduddīn ʿAṭṭār (1955); English translation: The Ocean of the Soul: Men, the World and God in the Stories of Farid Al-Din 'Attar (Brill, 2003)

References

1892 births
1971 deaths
20th-century German people
German Arabists
German orientalists
Academic staff of the University of Hamburg
German male non-fiction writers
People from Halle (Saale)
German expatriates in Turkey
Expatriate academics in Turkey
Academic staff of Istanbul University
Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy
German Turkologists

Hellmut Ritter


Smith Dykins Atkins (June 9, 1836 – March 27, 1913) was an American newspaper editor, lawyer, and a Union Army colonel during the American Civil War, who temporarily commanded brigades of infantry and cavalry and who was awarded the brevet grades of brigadier general and major general of Volunteers. After hostilities ended he returned to his editorial work and became an author.

Early life and career
Atkins was born in Horseheads, New York, in 1836. He moved to Illinois in 1845 and later entered the Rock River Seminary in Mount Morris. He also became editor of the town's Gazette and began practicing law. He was a supporter of and canvasser for Abraham Lincoln for President of the United States. He was elected Prosecuting Attorney in 1860. He was the first man to enlist as a volunteer private soldier in Stephenson County, Illinois upon the outbreak of the Civil War.

Civil War service
Upon President Lincoln's call for volunteers at the outbreak of the Civil War, Atkins immediately chose to defend the Union cause and entered the volunteer ranks of his home state. He served in the western theater of the conflict. He was appointed a captain in the 11th Illinois Infantry on April 30, 1861, and was promoted to major on March 21, 1862. By April he was assistant adjutant general of the 4th Division in the Army of the Tennessee, but resigned on April 17 to take a two-month respite from duty for health reasons.

Atkins re-entered military service that fall when he was appointed the colonel of the 92nd Illinois Mounted Infantry on September 4, 1862. By February 1863 he was given brigade command in the Army of Kentucky (Department of the Cumberland) until June 8. Next he commanded a brigade in the Army of the Cumberland's Reserve Corps until July 15, when he was transferred to the Department's Cavalry Corps. He then commanded two brigades of cavalry of the Department of the Cumberland and one in the Military Department of the Mississippi in 1864 and into 1865. During these commands, he led a brigade of cavalry during Major General Sherman's March to the Sea.

Although Atkins was not appointed as a full, substantive grade general, on January 23, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln nominated Atkins to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers, to rank from January 12, 1865, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the award on February 14, 1865. Atkins was mustered out of the volunteer service on June 21, 1865 and he returned to his civilian life in Illinois. On March 21, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Atkins for the award of the grade of brevet major general of volunteers, to rank from March 13, 1865, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the award on April 26, 1866.

Brigade commands
Smith Dykins Atkins commanded several brigades in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The units and dates were:

Infantry
 2nd Brigade, Absalom Baird's Division, Department of the Cumberland (February – June 8, 1863)
 1st Brigade, 1st Division, Reserve Corps, Army of the Cumberland (June 8 – July 15, 1863)

Cavalry
 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, Cavalry Corps, Department of the Cumberland (January 28 – February 20, 1864)
 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, Cavalry Corps, Department of the Cumberland (May 13 – May 21, 1864)
 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, Cavalry Corps, Military Division of the Mississippi (November 5, 1864 – January 12, 1865)

Marriage to Ella Swain
As the Civil War ended, General Atkins was in charge of the forces occupying the college town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. On April 17, 1865 (Easter Sunday), Atkins paid a visit to the home of David Swain, the president of the University of North Carolina. Both men shared a love of history. While the two were talking, President Swain's daughter Ella brought them a history book. Atkins soon began courting Ella, and the couple were married on August 23, 1865. The marriage was controversial, and Ella's mother would not eat at the same table with Atkins. The couple resided in Freeport. Atkins and Ella had six children, three of whom survived to adulthood. Ella died of influenza at age 38, and was buried in [Historic] Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh, North Carolina. The story is related in the book Undaunted Heart: The True Story of a Southern Belle & a Yankee General by Suzy Barile, published by Eno Publishers in 2009. Barile is a great-great-granddaughter of Ella Swain and Smith Atkins.

Postbellum
Atkins became editor of Freeport's Daily Journal newspaper and also was the city's postmaster for 24 years. He published a number of short works, and speeches late in life. He was the first president of the Freeport Public Library, and a member of the board of education. He was also active in veterans' organizations and affairs. Atkins died in Freeport in 1913, and is buried there in City Cemetery.

Works
Democracy and Dred Scott (1860; essay)
With Sherman's Cavalry Marching Through Georgia (1870; essay)
"Chickamauga. Useless, Disastrous Battle" (1907; speech)
"Abraham Lincoln" (1909; speech)

See also

List of American Civil War Generals (Union)

Notes

References
 Barile, Suzy, Undaunted Heart: The True Story of a Southern Belle & a Yankee General, Eno Publishers, 2009; ; ebook .

 Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, .

External links

1836 births
1913 deaths
People from Freeport, Illinois
People from Horseheads, New York
People of New York (state) in the American Civil War
People of Illinois in the American Civil War
Union Army colonels
School board members in Illinois
Editors of Illinois newspapers
Writers from Illinois
Writers from New York (state)
19th-century American politicians
Journalists from New York (state)
Journalists from Illinois

Smith D. Atkins


Kenneth Dwight Watson (born March 13, 1978) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2001. He played college football at Penn State.

Watson also played for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Early years
Watson attended Harrisburg High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and was a letterman in football, basketball, and track.  In football, he was a prep All-American and an Associated Press all-state pick in 1995.  In his senior season, he ran for 1,495 yards and 23 touchdowns. After his senior football season, he participated in the 1996 Big 33 game.

College career
Watson was a multi-purpose player at Penn State, playing tailback, wide receiver and kick returner.  He was part of the Penn State's infamous "running back by committee" during his senior season, sharing carries with future NFLers Larry Johnson, Omar Easy, and Eric McCoo.  He holds two Penn State records: career kickoff returns (67) and career kickoff yardage (1,506 yards). His record for single-season kickoff yardage (522 yards) was broken in 2007 by A. J. Wallace with 581 yards.

Professional career

Washington Redskins
Watson signed with the Washington Redskins in 2001 as rookie free agent, making the active roster, but not playing in a regular season game, and ended the season on the practice squad.  In 2002, he played in all 16 games for the Redskins, mostly in relief of injured Stephen Davis, finishing second on the team in rushing with 116 carries for 534 yards and a pair of touchdowns.  He spent the 2003 preseason with Washington, but was released in final roster cuts on August 31.

Cincinnati Bengals

Watson then signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as a free agent on September 30, 2004 and played in eight games, mostly on special teams that season.

By the 2004 season, Watson had found his niche as an effective 3rd-down threat.  He led Bengals running backs in receiving with 24 catches for 162 yards.  His lone touchdown that season was quarterback Carson Palmer's first career touchdown pass on September 12 versus the New York Jets.  Watson suffered a season-ending biceps injury in the 2005 season opener and was placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.  He signed a one-year contract with the Bengals during the 2006 offseason and extended his contract three more years in March 2007.

Watson saw significant playing time in 2007 due to injuries to starters Rudi Johnson and Kenny Irons.  Watson led the NFL in rushing, week 7 versus the New York Jets, with three touchdowns and 130 yards on 31 carries.

In 2008, Watson saw action in the Bengals' first three regular season games, rushing seven times for 32 yards and catching two passes for three yards.  He was inactive during Week 4 against the Cleveland Browns.  The following week, the Bengals released Watson on October 4 to make room for wide receiver Chris Henry, who was coming off suspension. He was re-signed on October 7.

Watson was released by the Bengals on August 10, 2009.

References

External links

1978 births
Living people
Players of American football from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
African-American players of American football
American football running backs
American football return specialists
Penn State Nittany Lions football players
Washington Redskins players
Cincinnati Bengals players
21st-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American sportspeople

Kenny Watson (American football)


Lucy Addison (December 8, 1861, in Upperville, Virginia – November 13, 1937, in Washington, D.C.) was an African-American school teacher and principal. In 2011 Addison was honored as one of the Library of Virginia's "Virginia Women in History" for her contributions to education.

Personal life
Addison was born on December 8, 1861, in Upperville, Virginia, to Charles Addison and Elizabeth Anderson Addison, both of whom were slaves. She was the third child born to the couple and the second daughter. After her family was emancipated Lucy's father purchased farm land in Fauquier County and Addison began attending school. She later traveled to Philadelphia to attend the Institute for Colored Youth, and graduated with a teaching degree in 1882. Addison kept her skills current by attending continuing education classes at schools, including Howard University and the University of Pennsylvania. She later served in several supervisory positions, including as a member of the board of trustees for the Burrell Memorial Hospital.

Education work
Shortly after receiving her degree, Addison returned to Virginia and began teaching in Loudoun County, Virginia. In 1886, she moved to Roanoke, Virginia, to teach at the First Ward Colored School. The following year Addison began serving as an interim head following the death of the school's principal. She continued as such until 1888, when a new school was built and a male principal hired. Addison then served for more than a decade as both a teacher and an assistant principal for the school.

In 1917 Addison was hired to serve as the principal for the Harrison School, a school for African-Americans. Although the school was only accredited to teach up to the eighth grade, Addison expanded the curriculum to include high school level classes while also continually lobbying Virginia State Board of Education for full accreditation. Her work came to fruition in 1924, when the Board granted the school full accreditation and the school graduated several students with a high school diploma. Addison retired in 1927 and moved to Washington, D.C., to live with one of her sisters, but returned to Virginia for several occasions, including the naming of Roanoke's first public high school for African Americans in her honor.

Death and legacy
Addison suffered from chronic nephritis and died in Washington, D.C., on November 13, 1937. She was buried in Columbian Harmony Cemetery. In 1970 her remains were re-interred when the cemetery was moved to Maryland to become part of National Harmony Memorial Park.

Roanoke opened the Lucy Addison High School the year after Addison retired, and she traveled to Virginia to attend the opening ceremony. In the 1970s the school was almost closed and turned into a vocational school, as Roanoke's desegregation plans proposed busing pupils into neighboring areas. However, U.S. District Judge Ted Dalton ordered the school remain open. In 1973 the school was restructured and became the Lucy Addison Junior High School, which was later renamed the Lucy Addison Middle School.

References

External links
 Biography at Encyclopedia Virginia
 Lucy Addison Middle School home page

1861 births
1937 deaths
African-American schoolteachers
Schoolteachers from Virginia
American school principals
19th-century American slaves
People from Upperville, Virginia
People from Roanoke, Virginia
19th-century American educators
20th-century American educators
Women school principals and headteachers
19th-century American women educators
20th-century American women educators
20th-century African-American women
20th-century African-American educators
19th-century African-American women
19th-century African-American educators

Lucy Addison


Narashino is a town in Chiba prefecture in Japan. Its population density is approximately 8000. It is the 4th largest city in Chiba prefecture.

Geography
Narashino is in northwestern Chiba prefecture.

Its population is approximately 170,000. The mayor of the city is Taisuke Miyamoto who was chosen in an election in 2011.

Food

Narashino sausage
During World War I, from 1915 to 1920, about 1000 German soldiers were captured as prisoners of war and taken to an internment camp in Narashino. The Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce took notice of sausage as a highly nutritious food at that time. Karl Jahn and other German prisoners had been sausage makers in Germany. The Japanese bureaucracy made these craftspeople reveal their secret recipe. That's why Narashino city is called "the birthplace of the traditional process for making sausages."

There are some traits of the Narashino sausage. For example, the sausage is free from additional food preservatives or artificial color and made from hog casing instead of sheep casing. They are served to schoolchildren for school lunch.

Nature

Yatsu Higata
In the 1970s, most of the land near Narashino was built up due to economic growth, but the Minister of Finance kept one piece of land, a tidal flat, as it was. It was a rare habitat for migratory birds such as plovers and snipes. Water pollution and odor, however, became worse because of illegal waste dumping by people who lived nearby. Saburo Moritawho was a newspaper deliverer at that time. He started removing litters in order to clean up the tidal flat by himself. Eventually other people came to help him. They restored mud flat.

This tidal flat was entered into Ramsar Convention in 1993. Now all of the elementary school students in Narashino have been to the area at least once. There is an observatory that provides visitors with information on the area.

Celebrities
Daiki Arioka: a member of "Hey Say Jump" (one of the Johnny's)

Kazuya Fukuura: a former professional baseball player (belonged to Chiba Lotte Marines)

Daichi Suzuki: a former professional swimmer (100-meter backstroke gold medalist Seoul Olympic held in 1988)

Confectionery

Le Pâtissier Yokoyama
In 2001, the first shop was opened in Yatsu (the second store in Okubo). The chef is Tomoyuki Yokoyama. He used to work at famous hotels like Hotel New Otani or The Okura Tokyo. His motto is to utilize simple ingredients so that everyone can enjoy his sweets.

"Iwashu" is one popular sweet. The cream puff is filled with custard cream and topped with cookie dough. It takes only about 1 hour to sell out 1200 pieces of cream puff every day.

Towns in Japan
Settlements in Chiba Prefecture

Narashino


The Khodynka Cup of Sorrows, also known as the Coronation Cup, the Sorrow Cup, or the Blood Cup, was made for the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna in 1896. The cup bears the cyphers of Nicholas and Alexandra surrounded by a geometric pattern with the Romanov eagle on the opposite side.

The beaker is among many that were distributed along with food presents and commemorative scarves to celebrate the coronation of Nicholas II, as had been the long-standing tradition. On the morning of , over half a million revelers gathered on the ragged Khodynka Field in Moscow in anticipation of the presents and especially the commemorative cups (enameled tableware was still a great novelty at the time). That was far more than the field could safely accommodate, especially considering the many trenches and pits that dotted the plain in front of the Tsar's podium, because the entire area was normally used as a military training ground. A rumor swept through the crowd that the cups contained a gold coin. In the confusion and crowd crush that ensued, over a thousand people were killed in what has become known as the Khodynka Tragedy. This event was taken as an omen of things to come for the rest of Nicholas' reign. The coronation cup became known in Russia as the Cup of Sorrows and the Tsar himself got the nickname of "Bloody Nicholas" – despite his best efforts to compensate the families of the victims. It was the Tsarina who named it the "cup of sorrows."

External links

1896 works
Drinkware
Nicholas II of Russia

Khodynka Cup of Sorrows


The Union Army of the West was a Union Army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was made up of only four brigades and operated in Missouri. It was formed shortly after May 10, 1861 and was disbanded on August 19, 1861. The Army of the West was commanded by Brigadier general Nathaniel Lyon until his death at the Battle of Wilson's Creek on August 10, 1861.

Background
By the time the Civil War started, Missouri had already already been engaged in a border war between free-soilers and proslavery forces over statehood for neighboring Kansas. Both parties raided both sides of the border. There was a great deal of lawlessness and panic in the region. When the Civil War started, the issue became whether Missouri would join the Confederacy or remain loyal to the Union. The newly elected governor in 1860 was Claiborne Fox Jackson. While he openly did not call for secession from the Union, he was making plans for Missouri to join the Confederacy. He knew the most important resource in the state was the federal arsenal at St. Louis. There was only a small detachment of Union soldiers that guarded the arsenal and were under the command of Captain Lyon. Jackson called out his state militia.

Meanwhile, the United States Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, had sent a letter to Lyon, the temporary commander of the arsenal, authorizing him to raise more companies of Union soldiers. It was endorsed by President Abraham Lincoln and Lieutenant general Winfield Scott. On May 10, 1861, Lyon surrounded the camp of the Missouri Militia and arrested all of the members. He marched his prisoners through the streets of St. Louis to the arsenal. When Southern sympathizers in St. Louis started a riot, Lyon quickly put it down. Many of the rioters were killed.

Brigadier general William S. Harney, who had left Lyon in temporary command, returned to St. Louis with two companies of Union artillery and two companies of Union infantry. He reassureed the citizens of St. Louis that the Union army would protect them. He condemned the actions of the state legislature and governor in making any effort to join the Southern cause. He also wrote to General Scott saying he approved of Lyon's actions. On May 17, 1861, Lyon was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, his date of rank being 18 May.

History
The history of the Union Army of the West begins with Lyon's promotion to brigadier general and his being given overall command. His forces were made up of a combination of regular United States Army and volunteer units from Missouri, Iowa and Kansas. The Army of the West was made up of the following brigades:

 1st Brigade, commanded by Major Samuel D. Sturgis. Two companies of infantry, one company of dragoons (mounted infantry) and one artillery company totaling 184 men.
 2nd Brigade, commanded by Colonel Franz Sigel. One company each of infantry, cavalry, dragoons (mounted infantry) and artillery with a total of 1,200 men.
 3rd Brigade, commanded by Lieutenant colonel George L. Andrews. Two companies of infantry and one artillery company with a total of 1,116 men.
 4th Brigade, commanded by Colonel George W. Deitzler. Four companies of infantry totaling 2,400 men.

On June 13, 1861, after failed negotiations with Governor Jackson, Lyon quickly moved his army to attack the pro-confederate forces at Jefferson City, Missouri. the state capital. He moved quickly enough to catch them unprepared. On June 15, the Army of the West occupied Jefferson City. On June 17, both sides fought the Battle of Boonville which lasted only about 30 minutes. The Union forces completely routed the pro-confederates. Jackson and most of his militia retreated to the southwest corner of Missouri, close to Confederate help from Arkansas.

By the second week of July 1861, the Army of the West was camped at Springfield, Missouri. In total, Lyon had about 5,400 soldiers in his command. About 75 miles to the southwest of Springfield, the pro-south militia were camped. They were under the command of Major general Sterling Price. Price was joined by Confederate generals Benjamin McCulloch and Nicholas Bartlett Pearce. Combined their forces numbered about 12,000. In late July both forces started moving closer to together under the command of McCulloch.

On August 9, 1861, Lyon marched his troops from Springfield to where the Confederates were now camped at Wilson Creek. His plan called for Colonel Sigel to do a flanking maneuver on the Confederates and attack them from their rear. The rest of Lyon's forces would attack from the north. On August 10, the (first) Battle of Wilson's Creek began with Sigel's flanking maneuver which surprised the Confederate army. It allowed the Union army an early advantage. The two armies fought fiercely in the fields and hills around Wilson's Creek. After six hours of fighting and numerous casualties on both sides, the Union forces withdrew. During the battle, Lyon was killed and Major Sturgis replaced him. Three times the confederates attacked the Union line and failed to break through all three times. After the third attack at about 11:00 am, the Confederates fell back. With his ammunition running low and his men exhausted Sturgis withdrew to Springfield. Too disorganized to follow, the Confederate army did not pursue. While it was a technical victory for the Confederates, the Union army kept control of Missouri for the rest of the war.

After the battle, the Army of the West fell back to Rolla, Missouri, then back to St. Louis. From there the various units were sent to other commands. On August 19, 1861 the Army of the West was officially disbanded.

Commanders
 17 May to August 10, 1861 - Brigadier general Nathaniel Lyon.
 August 10 to August 19, 1861 - Brigadier general Samuel D. Sturgis

Related pages
 American Civil War
 Battle of Wilson's Creek
 Army of the West (1862) (Confederate Army)

References

Union Army
1861 establishments in the United States
1861 disestablishments

Union Army of the West


In quantum physics, coincidence counting is used in experiments testing particle non-locality and quantum entanglement. In these experiments two or more particles are created from the same initial packet of energy, inexorably linking/entangling their physical properties. Separate particle detectors measure the quantum states of each particle and send the resulting signal to a coincidence counter. In any experiment studying entanglement, the entangled particles are vastly outnumbered by non-entangled particles which are also detected; patternless noise that drowns out the entangled signal. In a two detector system, a coincidence counter alleviates this problem by only recording detection signals that strike both detectors simultaneously (or more accurately, recording only signals that arrive at both detectors and correlate to the same emission time). This ensures that the data represents only entangled particles.

However, since no detector/counter circuit has infinitely precise temporal resolution (due both to limitations in the electronics and the laws of the Universe itself), detections must be sorted into time bins (detection windows equivalent to the temporal resolution of the system). Detections in the same bin appear to occur at the same time because their individual detection times cannot be resolved any further. Thus in a two detector system, two unrelated, non-entangled particles may randomly strike both detectors, get sorted into the same time bin, and create a false-coincidence that adds noise to the signal. This limits coincidence counters to improving the signal-to-noise ratio to the extent that the quantum behavior can be studied, without removing the noise completely.

Every experiment to date that has been used to calculate Bell's inequalities, perform a quantum eraser, or conduct any experiment utilizing quantum entanglement as an information channel has only been possible through the use of coincidence counters. This unavoidably prevents superluminal communication since, even if a random or purposeful decision appears to be affecting events that have already transpired (as in the delayed choice quantum eraser), the signal from the past cannot be seen/decoded until the coincidence circuit has correlated both the past and future behavior. Thus the "signal" in the past is only visible after it is "sent" from the future, precluding quantum entanglement from being exploited for the purposes of faster-than-light communication or data time travel.

See also
 Non-linear optics
 Delayed choice quantum eraser

Nonlinear optics
Quantum mechanics

Coincidence counting (physics)