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Nightcrawler (2004)
Nightcrawler, Volume 2: The Winding Way
BAMF Nightcrawler's back, but for how long?
As a badly injured Kurt lies on the brink of death, moments of his life flash before his eyes. Unfortunately, these memories are not how he remembered. Is his past a lie? Could the sins of his murderous brother be paid for by Nightcrawler? Or is Kurt actually responsible for atrocities even he finds unspeakable?
Collecting: Nightcrawler 7-12
As a badly injured Kurt lies on the brink of death, moments of his life flash before his eyes. Unfortunately, these memories are not how he remembered. Is his past a lie? Could the sins of his murderous brother be paid for by Nightcrawler? Or is Kurt actually responsible for atrocities even he finds unspeakable?
Collecting: Nightcrawler 7-12
144 pages, Paperback
First published February 20, 2006
3 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
466 books475 followersRoberto Aguirre-Sacasa is an American playwright, screenwriter, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics and for the television series Glee, Big Love, Riverdale, and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. He is Chief Creative Officer of Archie Comics.
Aguirre-Sacasa grew up liking comic books, recalling in 2003, "My mom would take us out to the 7-Eleven on River Road during the summer, and we would get Slurpees and buy comics off the spinning rack. I would read them all over and over again, and draw my own pictures and stuff."
He began writing for Marvel Comics, he explained, when "Marvel hired an editor to find new writers, and they hired her from a theatrical agency. So she started calling theaters and asking if they knew any playwrights who might be good for comic books. A couple of different theaters said she should look at me. So she called me, I sent her a couple of my plays and she said 'Great, would you like to pitch on a couple of comic books in the works?'"
His first submissions were "not what [they were] interested in for the character[s]" but eventually he was assigned an 11-page Fantastic Four story, "The True Meaning of...," for the Marvel Holiday Special 2004. He went on to write Fantastic Four stories in Marvel Knights 4, a spinoff of that superhero team's long-running title; and stories for Nightcrawler vol. 3; The Sensational Spider-Man vol. 2; and Dead of Night featuring Man-Thing.
In May 2008 Aguirre-Sacasa returned to the Fantastic Four with a miniseries tie-in to the company-wide "Secret Invasion" storyline concerning a years-long infiltration of Earth by the shape-shifting alien race, the Skrulls,and an Angel Revelations miniseries with artists Barry Kitson and Adam Polina, respectively. He adapted for comics the Stephen King novel The Stand.
In 2013, he created Afterlife with Archie, depicting Archie Andrews in the midst of a zombie apocalypse; the book's success led to Aguirre-Sacasa being named Archie Comics' chief creative officer.
Aguirre-Sacasa grew up liking comic books, recalling in 2003, "My mom would take us out to the 7-Eleven on River Road during the summer, and we would get Slurpees and buy comics off the spinning rack. I would read them all over and over again, and draw my own pictures and stuff."
He began writing for Marvel Comics, he explained, when "Marvel hired an editor to find new writers, and they hired her from a theatrical agency. So she started calling theaters and asking if they knew any playwrights who might be good for comic books. A couple of different theaters said she should look at me. So she called me, I sent her a couple of my plays and she said 'Great, would you like to pitch on a couple of comic books in the works?'"
His first submissions were "not what [they were] interested in for the character[s]" but eventually he was assigned an 11-page Fantastic Four story, "The True Meaning of...," for the Marvel Holiday Special 2004. He went on to write Fantastic Four stories in Marvel Knights 4, a spinoff of that superhero team's long-running title; and stories for Nightcrawler vol. 3; The Sensational Spider-Man vol. 2; and Dead of Night featuring Man-Thing.
In May 2008 Aguirre-Sacasa returned to the Fantastic Four with a miniseries tie-in to the company-wide "Secret Invasion" storyline concerning a years-long infiltration of Earth by the shape-shifting alien race, the Skrulls,and an Angel Revelations miniseries with artists Barry Kitson and Adam Polina, respectively. He adapted for comics the Stephen King novel The Stand.
In 2013, he created Afterlife with Archie, depicting Archie Andrews in the midst of a zombie apocalypse; the book's success led to Aguirre-Sacasa being named Archie Comics' chief creative officer.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 13, 2017
I really enjoyed the first volume of this Nightcrawler, but this second volume just fell a whole lot more flat for me. I’m not sure that I can even explain why, but it seemed like a bit of a struggle for me to get through this one.
Honestly, it felt like it was some odd cross between your typical superhero books and something closer to Vertigo’s Sandman series. Which sounds cool now that I write it out, but this volume just didn’t do it all that well in my opinion.
If you are more into the mystical side of the Marvel universe (Limbo, Magik, Dr. Strange, etcetera), you would probably enjoy it more than I did.
Honestly, it felt like it was some odd cross between your typical superhero books and something closer to Vertigo’s Sandman series. Which sounds cool now that I write it out, but this volume just didn’t do it all that well in my opinion.
If you are more into the mystical side of the Marvel universe (Limbo, Magik, Dr. Strange, etcetera), you would probably enjoy it more than I did.
February 1, 2016
2nd Nightcrawler graphic collecting together Nightcrawler #7-12
This is Marvel at its finest. I's everything you could possibly want from a Nightcrawler story - Bitten by Vermin Kurt goes into a coma which enables us to have flashbacks into his past with a torch wielding mob, gypsies and the Bavarian circus. There's a mysterious chest that he's prevented from opening by the timely arrival of Emma Frost.
Once he's healed, Nightcrawler, Wolverine and his not quite girl-friend Christine Palmer head to Germany to revisit Kurt's old circus. They find a massacre and undead hoards. One of the survivors is possessed by an insect demon called The Hive which infects Wolverine causing a Nightcrawler Wolverine face off.
The demons are after a magic sword which unbeknownst to Nightcrawler is actually hidden within him. It seems that Mephisto and some of the other demons want the sword, but more importantly, Nightcrawler himself to join their side in the forthcoming final battle (Armageddon).
This features so many things I love.
Epic story
Demons
Threats of the Biblical Armageddon
Evil Insects
Brother against brother
Adopted sister romance
Victorian circus
Nightcrawler/Wolverine interaction
Magic sword
Tarot card art
Temptation to evil
It also doesn't treat the reader like they're dumb. The story unfolds slowly and not entirely in a linear fashion. Things are hinted at but never fully explored. It links back to the previous volume and we begin to see manipulations at play.
There's some fun cameo appearances such as Man Thing and Nightmare who bears more than a striking resemblance to Gaiman's sandman.
Epic marvel and definitely one of my personal favourites. I think I slightly preferred the artwork in The Devil Inside (but that could just be for the shirtless scenes lol) however the story in this one is much better. Recommended.
This is Marvel at its finest. I's everything you could possibly want from a Nightcrawler story - Bitten by Vermin Kurt goes into a coma which enables us to have flashbacks into his past with a torch wielding mob, gypsies and the Bavarian circus. There's a mysterious chest that he's prevented from opening by the timely arrival of Emma Frost.
Once he's healed, Nightcrawler, Wolverine and his not quite girl-friend Christine Palmer head to Germany to revisit Kurt's old circus. They find a massacre and undead hoards. One of the survivors is possessed by an insect demon called The Hive which infects Wolverine causing a Nightcrawler Wolverine face off.
The demons are after a magic sword which unbeknownst to Nightcrawler is actually hidden within him. It seems that Mephisto and some of the other demons want the sword, but more importantly, Nightcrawler himself to join their side in the forthcoming final battle (Armageddon).
This features so many things I love.
Epic story
Demons
Threats of the Biblical Armageddon
Evil Insects
Brother against brother
Adopted sister romance
Victorian circus
Nightcrawler/Wolverine interaction
Magic sword
Tarot card art
Temptation to evil
It also doesn't treat the reader like they're dumb. The story unfolds slowly and not entirely in a linear fashion. Things are hinted at but never fully explored. It links back to the previous volume and we begin to see manipulations at play.
There's some fun cameo appearances such as Man Thing and Nightmare who bears more than a striking resemblance to Gaiman's sandman.
Epic marvel and definitely one of my personal favourites. I think I slightly preferred the artwork in The Devil Inside (but that could just be for the shirtless scenes lol) however the story in this one is much better. Recommended.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 20, 2020
Issues #7 - #11: The Winding Way
When it's not confusing and overly ambitious (❌) The Winding Way is both shocking and exciting (✅). The Winding Way jumps back and forth between different points in time and space as well as inner monologue and dialogue. It's somewhat convoluted and tiresome to follow at times (❌) but allows the writer to tell a huge story within the confined space of the comic book. I like the way it gives us a retelling of Kurt's past (✅) while also building up from the story established in the previous volume (✅).
Issue #12: Happy Birthday, Kurt!
The last issue of the run ties the entire run neatly together and set up the future (✅), but it also feels like one dragged out epilogue with a guest appearance from the one and only Mephisto (❌).
When it's not confusing and overly ambitious (❌) The Winding Way is both shocking and exciting (✅). The Winding Way jumps back and forth between different points in time and space as well as inner monologue and dialogue. It's somewhat convoluted and tiresome to follow at times (❌) but allows the writer to tell a huge story within the confined space of the comic book. I like the way it gives us a retelling of Kurt's past (✅) while also building up from the story established in the previous volume (✅).
Issue #12: Happy Birthday, Kurt!
The last issue of the run ties the entire run neatly together and set up the future (✅), but it also feels like one dragged out epilogue with a guest appearance from the one and only Mephisto (❌).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2017
Na continuação da sua série em nome individual, Nightcrawler irá debater-se com a sua história pessoal, revisitando a sua infância e adolescência, os tempos antes de se tornar um X-Man, e a história das ligações ao oculto da sua família adoptiva. A maga cigana que o adotou, vidente num circo bávaro, e a sua filha, irmã adotiva e também ex-namorada de Nightcrawler, estão ligados a forças sobrenaturais perigosas para uma humanidade da qual se tornam guardiãs. E o herói guarda dentro de si, sem o saber, um artefacto determinante para o triunfo das forças do mal. Torna-se por isso alvo dos mais violentos ataques de criaturas sobrenaturais, que culminará num violento combate nos pântanos da Flórida em que até Man-Thing participará, e onde Wolverine será dominado por demónios. Aguirre-Sacasa toma a opção inteligente de interligar os acontecimentos das aventuras interiores nesta linha narrativa, num final onde o demoníaco vilão Mephisto se revela como mais um agente das forças ocultas que irão usar a Terra como campo de batalha terminal do mal contra o bem.
Sem ser extraordinária, é uma leitura divertida em que o género super-heróis é coberto pelo horror sobrenatural. Aguirre-Sacasa faz belíssimos argumentos de terror dentro dos comics tradicionais, e lêem-se aqui algumas das sementes que germinaram posteriormente nas suas impensáveis séries para a Archie Comics, Afterlife With Archie e Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, que reconstroem a iconografia do comic de humor com teenagers dentro das tropes do horror e sobrenatural com toques lovecraftianos. Só um pormenor, que me deixou surpreendido. Se Nightcrawler foi, como sabemos desde sempre, uma atracção de circo na Baviera, como é que os visitantes do circo pagavam dólares para o ver?
Sem ser extraordinária, é uma leitura divertida em que o género super-heróis é coberto pelo horror sobrenatural. Aguirre-Sacasa faz belíssimos argumentos de terror dentro dos comics tradicionais, e lêem-se aqui algumas das sementes que germinaram posteriormente nas suas impensáveis séries para a Archie Comics, Afterlife With Archie e Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, que reconstroem a iconografia do comic de humor com teenagers dentro das tropes do horror e sobrenatural com toques lovecraftianos. Só um pormenor, que me deixou surpreendido. Se Nightcrawler foi, como sabemos desde sempre, uma atracção de circo na Baviera, como é que os visitantes do circo pagavam dólares para o ver?
January 18, 2023
I would think Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa realized how not-suited Nightcrawler is for a solo series by how many X-Men they include in this story. It's like Aguirre-Sacasa wanted to write a Deadman comic and thought he could wedge those ideas with Nightcrawler. This series is entirely skippable.
January 22, 2022
Engaging, fun, interesting storytelling. And while Robertson often makes Wolverine look like a hairy troll, his Nightcrawler is delightful.
November 22, 2016
Here is once again a problem I have with how Nightcrawler is written:
As he apparently doesn't remember... "stuff" (it is pretty inconsistent) Prof. X and Mystique appear before his mental eye and she tells him about his teleportation. Why? Why her? I can understand Prof. X, but shouldn't Kurt's actual mother Margali be the one standing there and reminding him? Well of course not, because they share no genes, so why should she be important right? Why indeed?
And if this wasn't enough, we got the same "Bavarian" mob again, and not only do they have torches again, but their clothes... some of them wear cowboy hats, one has a hat that looks like no hat I ever saw from German history. And if this weren't enough, Germany is "the dark country" for him. Thanks Marvel, why don't you just write "Germany sucks" into the comic?
Plus the picture shows no buildings so calling it "Winzeldorf" is pretty misleading. And apparently "Stephan" (not "Stefan" anymore apparently) is there, but again, not Kurt's mother.
And what is with that black horse? Do they want to hint towards his "gypsy status" that way? Wouldn't surprise me, considered those completely inaccurate clothes that Stephan has.
And when they finally feature Margali, it is with her stereotypical gypsy attire. And not to mention that the caravan behind her has a wheel out of wood and metal.... Apparently the artists did not bother to update that, something that was already out of date when Kurt was first introduced. And why? No idea, since they had rewritten his background several times already. At least they show her as someone who actually loves Kurt. However, nonetheless, the writer and thereby Kurt, refers to his mother simply as "the gypsy sorceress Margali Szardos" and they say the circus he grew up in, which is in Winzeldorf (Bavaria), is in the Black Forest, even though the Black Forest is in Baden-Württemberg and not Bavaria.
And after they changed his brother's name already, they now call him "Stephen" instead of "Stephan."
One time I asked myself what is more ridiculous. The stereotypical gypsy attire, the fact that all three gypsies have magic in their blood? How this claims Kurt knew of his powers even before Jimaine's fall (unlike what the 1997 story claimed)? Or "Stephen's" draw to the dark? Hard to choose. I still didn't make a choice.
And according to this story, Kurt knew before that he could not just go outside? Or does all of this happen after the cinema episode of the 1997 comic? However if that is true, than the original scene with baby Kurt where his mother planned to make him a trapezier would make no sense. So was the rewritten story of how Kurt first saved Jimaine all a dream? Then again this "dream" was pretty close to what previous issues said.
And why did these three have to walk towards the circus through dense forest? If the circus could get their caravans and that Ferris wheel there, you can bet that there is a road towards it. Heck you can see some towers (that tower over the trees?) in the background!!!
And you know, considered that according to cannon all members of Kurt's Circus have superpowers, I really ask how on earth they could have been slaughtered. Well, another rewriting apparently.
And why would "Feur" (nice spelling error) ask whether Kurt remembered him when they had actually met "recently"? And why is he back at the circus to begin with? Last time he lived alone high in the mountains. Well this part of the story was pretty boring and pointless. And could these comics finally make up their mind as to whether they refer to Margali as Kurt's mother, foster-mother or step-mother?
And according to this, Stefan did not see monsters like the 1980s series claimed, he was possessed, and he did not kill all these children out there in the woods, but in the big place in Winzeldorf. Also they even changed his name to Stephen instead of Stefan (or "Stephan" as was used in an earlier issue), but they kept his stereotypical gypsy dress?
It is a special form of incompetence when they cannot spell "Gott im Himmel" here when they managed to do so before. Here they say "Gott in Heimel", which makes no sense whatsoever.
Plus this death of Stefan is even more ridiculous than his suicide in the 1980s. Here Kurt grabs his neck to pull him backwards and that breaks his neck.... yeah… no comment.
Furthermore, I seriously doubt this "lines are drawn for the end-times battle" ever came to fruition so far, neither does Mephisto and others. Not that it matters much, since this story is only ok if you ask me.
As he apparently doesn't remember... "stuff" (it is pretty inconsistent) Prof. X and Mystique appear before his mental eye and she tells him about his teleportation. Why? Why her? I can understand Prof. X, but shouldn't Kurt's actual mother Margali be the one standing there and reminding him? Well of course not, because they share no genes, so why should she be important right? Why indeed?
And if this wasn't enough, we got the same "Bavarian" mob again, and not only do they have torches again, but their clothes... some of them wear cowboy hats, one has a hat that looks like no hat I ever saw from German history. And if this weren't enough, Germany is "the dark country" for him. Thanks Marvel, why don't you just write "Germany sucks" into the comic?
Plus the picture shows no buildings so calling it "Winzeldorf" is pretty misleading. And apparently "Stephan" (not "Stefan" anymore apparently) is there, but again, not Kurt's mother.
And what is with that black horse? Do they want to hint towards his "gypsy status" that way? Wouldn't surprise me, considered those completely inaccurate clothes that Stephan has.
And when they finally feature Margali, it is with her stereotypical gypsy attire. And not to mention that the caravan behind her has a wheel out of wood and metal.... Apparently the artists did not bother to update that, something that was already out of date when Kurt was first introduced. And why? No idea, since they had rewritten his background several times already. At least they show her as someone who actually loves Kurt. However, nonetheless, the writer and thereby Kurt, refers to his mother simply as "the gypsy sorceress Margali Szardos" and they say the circus he grew up in, which is in Winzeldorf (Bavaria), is in the Black Forest, even though the Black Forest is in Baden-Württemberg and not Bavaria.
And after they changed his brother's name already, they now call him "Stephen" instead of "Stephan."
One time I asked myself what is more ridiculous. The stereotypical gypsy attire, the fact that all three gypsies have magic in their blood? How this claims Kurt knew of his powers even before Jimaine's fall (unlike what the 1997 story claimed)? Or "Stephen's" draw to the dark? Hard to choose. I still didn't make a choice.
And according to this story, Kurt knew before that he could not just go outside? Or does all of this happen after the cinema episode of the 1997 comic? However if that is true, than the original scene with baby Kurt where his mother planned to make him a trapezier would make no sense. So was the rewritten story of how Kurt first saved Jimaine all a dream? Then again this "dream" was pretty close to what previous issues said.
And why did these three have to walk towards the circus through dense forest? If the circus could get their caravans and that Ferris wheel there, you can bet that there is a road towards it. Heck you can see some towers (that tower over the trees?) in the background!!!
And you know, considered that according to cannon all members of Kurt's Circus have superpowers, I really ask how on earth they could have been slaughtered. Well, another rewriting apparently.
And why would "Feur" (nice spelling error) ask whether Kurt remembered him when they had actually met "recently"? And why is he back at the circus to begin with? Last time he lived alone high in the mountains. Well this part of the story was pretty boring and pointless. And could these comics finally make up their mind as to whether they refer to Margali as Kurt's mother, foster-mother or step-mother?
And according to this, Stefan did not see monsters like the 1980s series claimed, he was possessed, and he did not kill all these children out there in the woods, but in the big place in Winzeldorf. Also they even changed his name to Stephen instead of Stefan (or "Stephan" as was used in an earlier issue), but they kept his stereotypical gypsy dress?
It is a special form of incompetence when they cannot spell "Gott im Himmel" here when they managed to do so before. Here they say "Gott in Heimel", which makes no sense whatsoever.
Plus this death of Stefan is even more ridiculous than his suicide in the 1980s. Here Kurt grabs his neck to pull him backwards and that breaks his neck.... yeah… no comment.
Furthermore, I seriously doubt this "lines are drawn for the end-times battle" ever came to fruition so far, neither does Mephisto and others. Not that it matters much, since this story is only ok if you ask me.
October 6, 2016
It adds to Kurt's back story and has Amanda Sefton, the soulsword, Kurt not getting the girl again, and even a little swashbuckling. The only disappointing part was that the angry peasant mob was armed with pitchforks instead of high-powered laser rifles.
October 1, 2020
Sep. 2020: I picked up on so many details this time that I missed the last time around. The art was so well done and everyone stayed really true to character. I enjoyed Nightmare being there and the level of pure sass he had every time he said anything. I also really like the exploration of Kurt's past and how it shaped him as a person.
Aug. 2020: I loved this volume just as much as the first one. Every twist and turn was so much fun and such a ride.
Aug. 2020: I loved this volume just as much as the first one. Every twist and turn was so much fun and such a ride.
May 22, 2013
This volume was much better than the first. There are some nice reveals here about Nightcrawler's past, but the pacing is all wonky, as if the writer tried to do something very nice and complicated, but didn't *quite* pull it off. Also, as in the first volume, a lot of out-of-character moments, further exacerbated in this volume by Wolverine tagging along (groan). I am a big Nightcrawler fan, but this didn't really satisfy my yearnings. So, it's not particularly bad, but it isn't particularly good, either--a middle-of-the-road x-book.
July 11, 2025
Updated 2025 X-Readthrough Review:
I still just didn't care about a single page of this. Aguirre-Sacasa is an incredibly talented writer but nothing about this book held my interest.
***
Original 2018 Review: I couldn't finish this volume. It was a huge disappointment after a relatively good volume one of the series. Beginning it with an issue where Kurt is lost in his subconcious, and therefore his story jumps around, is an intriguing concept, but it failed in the execution. As the series continues it delves further into Kurt's backstory, and it's just too convoluted and boring.
I still just didn't care about a single page of this. Aguirre-Sacasa is an incredibly talented writer but nothing about this book held my interest.
***
Original 2018 Review: I couldn't finish this volume. It was a huge disappointment after a relatively good volume one of the series. Beginning it with an issue where Kurt is lost in his subconcious, and therefore his story jumps around, is an intriguing concept, but it failed in the execution. As the series continues it delves further into Kurt's backstory, and it's just too convoluted and boring.
March 9, 2010
I definitely enjoyed the second volume of this Nightcrawler series more than I did the first. Both the writer and artist seemed to develop a better feeling and sense of direction in the "Winding Way" arc than they did in the previous stories. Good...but not great.
April 13, 2012
nightcrawler is one of my favorite Marvels. read the second installment first by Roberto Sacasa and fellow artist Darick Robertson who is also guilty for the vivid detail work for Warren Ellis's Spider Jerusalem.
Can't wait to read the first in this series enjoyable read.
Can't wait to read the first in this series enjoyable read.
September 3, 2016
See the review for volume 1, but add more angst.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews