Published May 16, 2026, 2:35 PM EDT
Robert Wood is a writer and editor based out of Cheshire, England. He is the author of 'The False Elephant: and 99 Other Unreasonably Short Stories' - 100 stories, each told in exactly 100 words.
Rob got into comics via Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man and the UK anthology 'The Mighty World of Marvel,' which was running Frank Miller's Daredevil, Classic Hulk and Contest of Champions II.
Prior to journalism, he worked in copywriting and copyedited for Oxford University Press. He is on X as @PinchTwigs and Instagram as roobwoodjourno.
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A founding X-Men hero has a new codename to go with their shining redesign and impressive new powers. While Marvel's mutant heroes often sport new costumes, it's far rarer that they change their mutant codename. In this case, the iconic hero didn't have much of a choice.
In 1963, Professor Charles Xavier gathered together Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Beast and Angel into the first version of the X-Men. In the years since, the membership of the team has grown exponentially.
In current X-Men comics, the founders find themselves more fractured than ever before. Jean Grey has embarked on an Odyssey into space, Beast has gone full-supervillain, Cyclops is leading a team entirely comprised of former enemies, and as for Angel...
Marvel Fully Reveals Angel's 'Blood Angel' Redesign
In a preview of Inglorious X-Force #5 - from Tim Seeley, Michael Sta. Maria, Roi Mercado and Joe Caramagna - Angel's new transformation into "Blood Angel" is revealed. Last issue confirmed that Angel's new form is capable of healing even lethal injuries. Now, it's confirmed this new persona is a deliberate creation of Mister Sinister.
In the current Inglorious X-Force series, Cable has assembled a team of mutants he doesn't trust. That's because he knows that, in the near future, one of them will assassinate the first mutant president Kamala Khan. With Angel's transformation, Warren Worthington III just became a much more likely suspect.
Angel's New Powers as X-Force's Blood Angel
Angel's new design gives him a black and red suit, pale skin and golden wings. It's clearly intended as the opposite of his Archangel form - a deadly persona created by Apocalypse's tampering with Warren's genetic code.
But while Archangel is a killer with venomous wings, Blood Angel is so far more of a healer. As a fight begins between X-Force and a Sinister-controlled Blood Angel, it seems fans are about to see the martial applications of that power, with Kamala Khan pointing out, "Blood means vitality, right? It means... life." Does that mean Blood Angel can control biological processes?
Angel's New Identity Looks Like It's Here to Stay
Temporary transformations are a reliable part of superhero comics, but X-Men lore's new Blood Angel looks like something more permanent.
Marvel changed Angel forever in the '80s with the debut of the Archangel persona, transforming an otherwise low-powered hero into a mutant heavyweight. Blood Angel feels like an extension of that concept rather than just another new form, introducing a Yin to Archangel's Yang.
The transformation also taps into Warren's history with the Death Seed, from Rick Remender and Esad Ribic's celebrated Uncanny X-Force run - arguably the most popular Warren has been since his Archangel days. His new powers also seemingly explain a period where he possessed healing powers with no real explanation as to how.
All of which is to say that the Blood Angel transformation isn't just a new look - it's a persona that taps into multiple nodes of the character's backstory, unleashing new but thematically consistent powers for this founding X-Men hero.
Inglorious X-Force #5 is coming May 20 from Marvel Comics.
TV Show(s) X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, X-Men (1992), X-Men: Evolution (2000), Wolverine and the X-Men (2008), Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Marvel Anime: X-Men, Legion (2017), The Gifted (2017), X-Men '97 (2024)
Video Game(s) X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994), Marvel Super Heroes (1995), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997), Marvel vs. Capcom (1998), X-Men: Mutant Academy (2000), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000), X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (2001), X-Men: Next Dimension (2002), Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011), Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011), X-Men Legends (2005), X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (2005), X2: Wolverine's Revenge (2003), X-Men (1993), X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995), X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (1994)
First Film X-Men (2000)
Character(s) Professor X, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Phoenix, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, Morph, Nightcrawler, Havok, Banshee, Colossus, Magneto, Psylocke, Juggernaut, Cable, X-23
Comic Release Date 213035,212968
English (US) ·