Azazel, week four! The things I do for you people...

This counts as a birthday and a Christmas present: Uncanny X-Men #432, "The Draco, part four." Written by Chuck Austen, art by Philip Tan. The narration spills the beans on where the X-Men are, as you've probably guessed: Azazel's dimension. He's been trying to use his words to rein in his men, without a lot of success, as they continue fighting the X-Men. With the exception of Jillian, who appears to be hitting on the still-pantsless Nightcrawler. Azazel finally has to use a big lightning-special-effect to stop the brawl; but says the portal to earth is closed and he's tired, so how's about dinner later? He 'invites' Kiwi Black, Abyss, and some people we actually recognize:

Azazel suggests throwing the rest in "the tombs," or whatever. Then, six pages of Juggernaut and Northstar showing up to visit fishboy Sammy Pare, and realizing he's being abused. The mom frantically scrambles to find a beeper that I think is supposed to look like a maple leaf but looks like the Image Comics 'i' wearing a headdress.

At dinner, Azazel wants to speak to the team's leader, and Kurt says something wishy-washy about "Can't we all just be equals?" Angel instead cuts to the chase and asks who Azazel thinks he is, and he straight-up tells them:

Azazel cops to being the daddy for Kiwi Black, Abyss, and several others. He explains that his telepath Ginniyeh prevents lies in her presence, and goes on to explain that he saved Kurt after Mystique threw him off a waterfall as a baby, and gave him to "an old friend." Kurt is appalled that Margali knows Azazel and lied about how she found him. Still, Kurt should know his stepmom is a little sketchier than he had believed; as she was up to some shady business in Excalibur and some stories Austen wrote.

Angel tries to bring the conversation back to who Azazel is, and this time, Azazel says Satan. The archeology professor calls bull, and is killed for his trouble. Azazel advises against anyone else calling him a liar at his own dinner table; which admittedly does seem fair.

Meanwhile, Alpha Flight shows up to protect a child abuser, in case you thought Bendis killing them off off-panel was the worst thing to ever happen to them. Actually, if they weren't in Canada and Northstar didn't call them that, you wouldn't recognize them as Alpha Flight at all, since there's only three of them, they didn't bring Puck, and they're wearing terrible battle armor. Even Sasquatch.

Whatever Azazel did in the two-page spread of him shooting lightning, he is never seen doing again. Nor is it explained how he was holding the portal open, or why he and his crew (most of whom I'm not going to bother typing the names of) weren't waiting and ready when it opened. I had thought "the Draco," if that is the group name of Azazel's crew, were mostly his children; but some may merely be other mutants, possibly also from biblical times. I get that feeling since Azazel talks to some of them like they were drinking buddies, not family; and the whole lot seem rather undisciplined.

Almost there...next chapter next week!