A mutant from biblical times, Azazel is the ruler of the Neyaphem and claims that the Earth and everything on it belongs to him. To save humanity from persecution and death by Azazel, the angels banished him to the Brimstone dimension. Only able to leave this dimension for short amounts of time, he fathered many children throughout the Earth; Nightcrawler being one of them.
Using his mental link with his children and bringing them all to one place, the place of his banishment, Azazel was able to open a portal to the brimstone dimension. Before he could finish, the X-Men arrived and a fight ensued with the X-Men being trapped in Azazel's dimension. With the help of Polaris and Azazel, all the X-Men escaped back to the real world.