NIGHTCRAWLER
Earth-8101
Real Name: Kurt Wagner
Identity/Class: Alternate Earth (Earth-8101) primate mutant
Occupation: Superhero
Group Membership: X-Apes (Beast/Henry McCoy, Colobbus/Piotr Rasputin, Cyclops/Scott Summers, Icemonk/Robert Drake, Professor X/Charles Xavier, Psylocke/Betsy Braddock, Rogue, Storm/Ororo Munroe, Rachel Summers, Wolverine/James Howlett);
formerly Outcasts (Beast/Henry McCoy, Colobbus/Piotr Rasputin, Cyclops//Scott Summers, Dr. Druid/Anthony Druid, Elektra/Elektra Natchios, Ghost Rider/Johnny Blaze, Huhr/Bruce Bananner, Icemonk/Robert Drake, Iron Paw/Daniel Rand, MACH IV/Abner Jenkins, Moonstone/Karla Sofen, Power Monk/Luke Cage, Psylocke/Betsy Braddock, Punisher/Frank Castle, Speedball/Robert Baldwin, Storm/Ororo Munroe, Wolverine/James Howlett)
Affiliations: Dazzler (Alison Blaire), Iron Mandrill (Tony Stark), Magneto, New Mutants (Cannonball/Sam Guthrie, Magik/Illyana Rasputin, Mirage/Danielle Moonstar, Sunspot/Bobby Da Costa, Warlock, Wolfsbabe/Rahn Sinclair)
formerly Captain America (John Falsworth)
Enemies: Beyonder, Captain America (Baron Blood/John Falsworth);
formerly Ape-Vengers
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: X-Mansion, X-Apes headquarters;
formerly Outcast's safehouse, Sanctum Sanctorum, hidden in a memory through the Monkey's Paw
First Appearance: Marvel Apes I#2/1 (November, 2008)
Powers/Abilities: Nightcrawler is a mutant who can teleport instantly from place to place, vanishing in a burst of smoke and reappearing nearby. His blue-skinned, agile physiology includes a prehensile tail and the ability to cling to walls, making him an elusive combatant.
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'6")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 150 lbs.)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Yellow
History:
(Marvel Apes I#2/1 - BTS) - The blue mutant teleporter Nightcrawler became part of the X-Apes at an unrevealed point in time, serving alongside other mutant primates such as Rogue and Storm.
(Marvel Apes I#3/3 (fb) - BTS) - The Beyonder became fascinated with the nature of simian heroism, curious about what it truly meant to be simian he traveled to Earth. His arrival quickly escalated into violence when his unstable emotions and immense cosmic power threatened the world.
(Marvel Apes I#3/3) - Nightcrawler and the X-Apes joined a large force of assembled heroes, including Iron Mandrill, Captain America and the New Mutants, to oppose the Beyonder. Their coordinated assault pushed the Beyonder to the brink, and Iron Mandrill eventually unleashed a powerful energy blast that helped tip the battle, leading to the Beyonder's defeat. (Marvel Apes I#2/1 - BTS) - Nightcrawler and the X-Apes became part of the Outcasts, which emerged as a loose resistance within the simian world, formed by super-powered apes who had learned a truth most refused to face, the heroic Captain America was no patriot at all, but a powerful über-vampire (secretly the undead Baron Blood in disguise). The Outcasts saw the danger and united in secret to oppose the growing corruption within their world's heroes, operating from the Sanctum Sanctorum, the former home of the late Doctor Strange, their sanctuary was mystically concealed within a shared memory and could only be reached through the Monkey's Paw. To most simians, the Outcasts were little better than the criminals they opposed and were actively hunted by "Captain America's" Ape-Vengers. (Marvel Apes I#2/1) - Nightcrawler was present at the Sanctum Sanctorum when Speedball brought Dr. Fiona Fitzhugh and the Gibbon of Earth-616 to their hidden refuge to safe them from "Captain America", the Fantastic Four and Ape-Vengers after being accused for killing Reed Richards. Comments: Created by Karl Kesel. Marvel Apes I#2 (September, 2008) called the X-Men of Earth-8101 the X-Apes, they were previously known as the X-Simians in a back-up feature from Marvel Apes I#1. Since "X-Apes" is what was used in the actual story itself we'll use that in the profile. The Marvel Apes limited series (2008) was conceived as a playful companion to the earlier Marvel Zombies phenomenon. Following the unexpected commercial success of Zombies, Marvel looked to replicate the formula by reimagining its superheroes in another offbeat, high-concept alternate reality. Writer Karl Kesel, inspired by Silver Age whimsy and the classic "What If?" tradition, pitched a world where Marvel's heroes and villains were evolved primates rather than humans. The project was greenlit as a four-issue miniseries, launching with a tongue-in-cheek promotional campaign that leaned into its absurdity while still delivering a surprisingly dark, satirical storyline. The series spawned several tie-ins and one-shots, positioning the Ape-Verse as both a parody of and homage to Marvel's multiverse storytelling. Earth-8101 is the main Marvel Apes reality, but there are three others as well: Profile by MarvellousLuke CLARIFICATIONS: Images: (without ads) Appearances:
First Posted: 11/19/2025 Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know. Non-Marvel Copyright info
- Earth-81218, possible future of Earth-8101 set in the year 2099.
- Earth-90543, monkey Speedball was send back to his world and branded a traitor by the Ape-Vengers. This was a bad dream of the Gibbon.
- Earth-95019, diverged from 8101 when zombies invaded their world. The reset button was eventually pushed on the original Earth-8101, preventing the divergence.
Nightcrawler has no known connections to
Marvel Apes I#3, p30, pan1 (main image)
Marvel Apes I#2, p23, pan1 (part of the Outcasts)
Marvel Apes I#2/1 (November, 2008) - Karl Kesel (writer), Ramon Bachs (pencils, inks), Tom Brennan (editor)
Marvel Apes I#3/3 (December, 2008) - Tom Peyer (writer), Mike McKone (pencils), Andy Lanning, Cam Smith (inkers), Stephen Wacker, Tom Brennan (editors)
Last Updated: 11/19/2025
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