The man who took the mantle for Batman after his back was broken (possibly) could be coming to the Fox TV show Gotham as we find out that Azrael will (definitely) be on the show.
Comicbook.com had the scoop.
A key piece of that mythology was the reveal that the Galavan family is really of the Dumas line, and that the Order of St. Dumas is involved in their scheme of revenge against Gotham in general and the Wayne family in particular. Of course, in the comic books, where the Order of St. Dumas goes, typically their chief warrior follows, and that means Azrael could come to Gotham in some form, and very soon. We asked Gotham EP John Stephens about the Order of St. Dumas and their warrior vigilante, and he was surprisingly candid.
“We will be going deeper into the Order of St. Dumas over the next run of episodes, and it will continue to play an evolving role for the rest of the season,” Stephens told ComicBook.com exclusively. Of course, there was a second half, and when I asked him about the link between St. Dumas and Azrael, he blew my mind. “And yes, we wouldn’t be telling an Order of St. Dumas story without also intending to tell an Azrael story. Just keep watching.”
Now many people think of Azrael instantly as Jean-Paul Valley, the character that took over for Bruce Wayne as Batman when his back was broken. But that’s not the only Azrael in the comics; several have been shown on-panel, with another, Michael Lane, taking up the mantel and being quite big over recent years, even making it into a couple of Batman: Arkham games. We know we’re seeing some form of Azrael on Gotham, but what form will that take?
The most likely thing we’ll see here are a more general warrior class of St. Dumas followers. They’ll be prototypical Azraels, maybe even warriors who are training and competing to be the great champion, rather than a single character. That jives with the comics, where the Order has had larger forces of Azrael-in-training type soldiers (whom the current Azrael then often leads). It also fits in great with what the Order priest tells Theo Galavan at the end of the episode:
“The day of redemption is at hand. Our brothers are crossing the ocean now, warriors unlike this city has ever known,” he says. That’s a great indication that it’ll be a larger force, rather than a single assassin”.
Jean Paul Valley, Azrael, first appears in Batman Sword of Azrael #1
Michael Lane as Azrael forst appears in Batman #665