Aliases : Jean-Paul Valley, (formerly) Batman II.
Base of Operations : Mobile; has significant ties in Gotham City and New Albion
Tag : azrael
Important Plots : The Army That Time Forgot
Journal(s) : jpvalley_lives
Status : Played

Powers and Abilities : Jean-Paul Valley has no extraordinary metahuman abilities; however, he was genetically engineered to be the peak of baseline human physical potential. His genes were augmented with the DNA of powerful animals, giving him increased strength, stamina, and reflexes.

In addition to his physical prowess, Jean-Paul has always armed himself with a smattering of powerful weapons as Azrael. His traditional weapons have included wrist-mounted blades capable of igniting flames as well as gauntlets which allow these blades to be launched at enemies. The gauntlets also double as flamethrowers, which have impressive range. Azrael is further equipped with most of the toys the Batman Family has at its disposal – grappling guns, bolas, tracking devices, and so forth.

History : A computer science major at Gotham University, Jean-Paul Valley's life was turned upside down when his father broke into his home, revealing that he was the inheritor of the legacy of 'Azrael,' a mantle handed down from the sinister Order of St. Dumas, a secretive offshoot of the Knights Templar. Though enlisted to become the Order's next avenging angel, Jean-Paul managed to shake off the Order's conditioning system with the help of Batman, and joined the Caped Crusader in Gotham City.

Impressed by Jean-Paul's strength and resolve, Bruce Wayne appointed Valley to be his successor as Batman when Bane broke his back. Though Valley managed to serve well in the role initially, as time passed the responsibility of being the new Batman took it's tool on his psyche, which had not completely shaken off the Order's 'System.' As Jean-Paul fought to make up for his shortcomings, he became more and more emotionally unbalanced, culminating in his savage beatings of several Gotham criminals and allowing the murderer Abattoir to fall to his death. Following this event, Bruce Wayne underwent training to regain the use of his body and defeated Jean-Paul in a climatic showdown in the Batcave.

Desiring to atone for his deeds, Jean-Paul made his peace with Wayne, then traveled to Europe to discover the truth behind his origins. This journey eventually became a crusade to bring an end to the Order of St. Dumas, a goal that Jean-Paul eventually managed to achieve. With the Order collapsed, Jean-Paul returned to Gotham City to aid his former mentor again. Shortly after arriving in Gotham City Jean-Paul was ambushed by a number of former enemies and fell off the top of Wayne Tower. For many years, he was assumed to be dead.

Jean-Paul recently resurfaced, however. He has allied himself with Vandal Savage, and seems to have a connection to the mysterious Contessa as well. Jean-Paul's true agenda remains unknown.

Other Sources :

• Azrael at the DC Database Project
• Azrael at Wikipedia
  

Divergences : Having been dead for the past four years (in game time; in actual time the character has been deceased almost a decade now), Jean-Paul is depicted with a set of personality traits readers of his original series may find unfamiliar. These changes are not arbitrary - Jean-Paul has not spent the lost years idle. But that's a plot point for another day.

Disclaimer - unless otherwise noted, all characters are property of DC Comics, used here only for roleplaying purposes.