Before the battle between good and evil mutants escalated to the brink of genetic war, carefree millionaire Warren Worthington III was the high-flying, heroic Angel. But Warren's world came crashing down when dark forces conspired to clip his wings. Recovered from his brush with evil, Archangel again soars the skies alongside the uncanny X-Men!

Real name: Warren Kenneth Worthington III
Occupation: Chairman of the board and principal stockholder of Worthington Industries, adventurer
Group affiliation: X-Men; formerly X-Factor, the Defenders and the Champions of Los Angeles
Base of operations: Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, Westchester County, New York
First appearance: X-Men (Vol. 1) #1 (1963)

Height: 6'
Weight: 150 lbs.
Eye color: Blue
Hair color: Blond

Powers: Warren Worthington is a mutant who can fly by means of natural wings, which span 16 feet from tip to tip. Archangel's entire anatomy is adapted for flight: His bones are hollow like a bird's, his body is virtually devoid of fat, he possesses greater proportionate muscle strength than a normal human, his eyes can withstand high-speed winds, and a special membrane in his respiratory system allows him to extract oxygen from the air at extreme velocities and altitudes.

Weapons: None

History: While attending a prestigious East Coast boarding school, Warren Worthington sprouted wings from his shoulder blades. At first easily concealed, the abnormal appendages reached full size within months. Initially alarmed, Warren soon grew to relish the freedom of flight. Still, he strapped the wings tightly to his back to avoid suspicion. Warren was forced into action when fire struck his dormitory. Donning a blond wig and long nightshirt to conceal his identity, he delivered the students inside from certain death -- appearing as an angel to eyewitnesses.

Despite the obvious risks -- exposure, loss of standing, even death -- Warren would not be grounded. Shortly after saving his classmates, he took up life as a costumed crimefighter in New York City. The nocturnal activities of this so-called "Avenging Angel" drew the attention of Professor Charles Xavier -- the telepathic, telekinetic Mahatma Gandhi of the mutant cause. Warren became a founding member of the Professor's X-Men, a handful of troubled teenagers learning to control their strange powers...and fighting to preserve Xavier's dream of peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants.

Hated and feared by humanity, Warren and the X-Men honed their amazing abilities while standing in defense of a world pushed to the brink of genetic war by a handful of mutant terrorists. When the island-being known as Krakoa took Angel and his teammates captive, Professor X assembled a second squad of X-Men. These new recruits rescued Xavier's original students, most of whom left the team soon after. Warren had inherited a vast fortune after his parents died, and he used a portion of the estate to fund a new team of costumed adventurers called the Champions of Los Angeles. When that super-hero startup split, Warren returned to the X-Men for a short time.

Later, he signed on with another team of superhuman adventurers, the Defenders. But after several of his teammates seemingly perished in battle, Warren reunited with the original X-Men to found X-Factor. The latter team would seek out and aid other mutants under the pretense of hunting down menaces to society. When the master geneticist known as Mr. Sinister sicced his squad of superhuman assassins on New York's subterranean mutants, X-Factor and the X-Men intervened. Together, the heroes were able to help some of the Morlocks to safety, and a considerable number managed to escape the Marauders on their own -- but the majority perished. During the clash, the javelin-wielding villain called Harpoon impaled Angel's wings. Thor -- Norse God of Thunder and member of the Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes -- rescued Warren, but his wings had been permanently crippled. When the wounds became infected, doctors were forced to amputate.

Deeply depressed over the loss of his wings, Warren appeared to commit suicide in a small aircraft. Though the world believed him to be dead following a midair explosion, he had been teleported to safety by Apocalypse. The mutant warlord offered to return Warren's ability to fly, but for a lofty price. Desperate to once again soar the skies unfettered, Warren agreed. Through genetic manipulation, he regained what he had lost -- but in his new master's dark, metallic reflection. Embittered by recent events, Warren became the Fourth Horseman of Apocalypse: Death. Born on razor-sharp wings of steel, the fallen hero fought his former teammates. However, he came to his senses when tricked into believing he had killed his old friend Iceman. Warren struck off on his own, too ashamed to reconnect with X-Factor. Eventually, he rejoined the team as the grim Archangel. After returning to the X-Men, he underwent yet another transformation: Warren shed his metallic wings to reveal his natural, feathered appendages.