Azrael

Azrael, known by the haunting alias The Winged Man, is one of DC Comics' more enigmatic alien figures, first appearing in Tales of the Teen Titans #51 in 1985. As a member of the Starhavenites — a race of alien people who settled in the American Southwest — Azrael possesses a set of abilities uniquely suited to both combat and covert operations, including flight, remarkable agility, and a natural gift for stealth. His debut in the pages of Tales of the Teen Titans made him an instant curiosity among readers, and that issue remains a meaningful pickup for collectors who want to document the full roster of characters who passed through the Teen Titans' orbit during the landmark Marv Wolfman and George Pérez era.

Azrael's background ties him to a rich web of DC mythology. His connections to the Church of Blood — the sinister cult led by Brother Blood that served as one of the Teen Titans' most persistent and dangerous adversaries — give him a story complexity that elevates him beyond a simple hero or villain. Operating at the intersection of alien heritage and earthly religious conspiracy, Azrael embodies the kind of morally layered supporting character that the New Teen Titans era did so well. His affiliations with both the Teen Titans and the broader Titans family make him a recurring thread through some of the most celebrated team books DC published throughout the 1980s and beyond.

For collectors, Azrael's appearances are scattered across team books and event-adjacent storylines, which makes hunting down his key issues a rewarding long-form chase. Tales of the Teen Titans #51 is the crown jewel — a single issue that captures the expansive world-building that defined the Titans during their peak popularity. His Starhavenite origins also tie him into a small cluster of stories exploring that alien community, giving dedicated collectors a niche thread to follow through back-issue bins.

Whether you're building a comprehensive Teen Titans run or chasing down every alien character who crossed paths with DC's most beloved young heroes, Azrael offers a compelling reason to dig deeper into the mid-1980s DC catalog. His books are affordable, historically significant within the Titans mythos, and represent an era of storytelling that continues to be celebrated as one of the high points of DC's entire publishing history.