Warren Worthington: (Arch)Angel Appreciation 2024

[Galen Nycroft]

Nothing against Ben Foster's acting ability, but just physically I think he was miscast. IMO he's not handsome enough to be Warren, and he's also too short at 5'8".

He was actually pretty handsome (IMO) back then. Now he looks like Louis CK, so I don't think it would work as cameos today. His height wasn't an issue for the short time he was on screen, though I could see how it would be an issue if he were next to Jackman's Wolverine.

My personal pick for Angel back then was David Chokachi (Baywatch), although his acting range was limited to having a tan.
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[Cap808]

He was actually pretty handsome (IMO) back then. Now he looks like Louis CK, so I don't think it would work as cameos today. His height wasn't an issue for the short time he was on screen, though I could see how it would be an issue if he were next to Jackman's Wolverine.

My personal pick for Angel back then was David Chokachi (Baywatch), although his acting range was limited to having a tan.
ScreenHunter 521.jpg

LOL...."his acting range was limited to having a tan." This is by far one of the funniest things I've ever read here.

[Hakka84]

My personal pick for Angel back then was David Chokachi (Baywatch), although his acting range was limited to having a tan

Died on this too!

But he does wear it professionally!
Haven't seen Baywatch either. So, judging from the pic above I agree with the casting.

Edit: the more I look at the pic the more I see a Warren as usually portrayed in the comics. Indeed.

[Thirteen]

Nothing against Ben Foster's acting ability, but just physically I think he was miscast. IMO he's not handsome enough to be Warren, and he's also too short at 5'8".

To be fair for the purposes of X3, Foster wasn't playing Billionaire Mutant Playboy Warren Worthington, he was playing Rich Family's Secret Shame Warren. In any case, he conveyed pretty ethereal lovely as a real person and not a drawing.
Also props to Ben Foster as a character actor: not many credibly can go from Spacker Dave in PUNISHER to Warren Worthington in X-MEN.
(although the former cast Rebecca Romijn Stamos as plain "Jane the Mouse" and the latter has tall lights Hugh Jackman as short bulky Logan)

[whitecrown]

He was actually pretty handsome (IMO) back then. Now he looks like Louis CK, so I don't think it would work as cameos today. His height wasn't an issue for the short time he was on screen, though I could see how it would be an issue if he were next to Jackman's Wolverine.

My personal pick for Angel back then was David Chokachi (Baywatch), although his acting range was limited to having a tan.
ScreenHunter 521.jpg

I can see it. Even his hair is flapping in the wind like he's got feathered wings.

[whitecrown]

Edit: about the casting you shared from the 90s, whitecrown.
I understand it would've been very big. But I can't say I agree that DeNiro would've been a good Wolverine, not Carl Elves as Warren. And Nicole Kidman as Jean? Just no. I like her, but I can't see her playing a Jean. Especially not the Nicole Kidman of those years.

I can see DeNiro as Wolverine personally although moreso in the late 80s/early 90s. I haven't seen Cary Elwes in much so can't speak about him besides looks. Julianne Moore was the more popular choice by fans to play Jean during this era but Kidman was more popular with general audiences in general. She's actually my favorite, or second favorite, actress so I'm somewhat biased towards her and would gladly have had her play Jean if not for Famke. Tom Cruise was also a popular fancast for Cyclops back then so it would have been interesting to see these two paired. Although it's probably for the best neither of them were cast considering we wouldn't be able to get more X-Men movies past the early 2000s featuring these two onscreen together.

[From The Shadows]

Well, I guess it's just a matter of opinion, but that Alex Ross Angel is probably my favorite image of him. Supposedly Alex Ross was a big fan of the silver age of comics. As for Ben Foster as Angel I also didn't think he was handsome enough though I didn't think he was bad looking, he wasn't Warren caliber. I also found his version a bit stiff but as already pointed out he was more of a brooder than the rich playboy. Cary Ewles might have been a good Angel, he's good looking enough, and he can act. Though now I'm hard pressed to think of who would make a good Angel. I remember those casting choices. I always thought Micheal Biehn was too rugged to play Cyclops. I loved his Hicks and Kyle Reese, though. My ideal Jean back then was Renee Russo. Don't really care for the other casting choices.

[Veni]

[whitecrown]

Well, I guess it's just a matter of opinion, but that Alex Ross Angel is probably my favorite image of him. Supposedly Alex Ross was a big fan of the silver age of comics. As for Ben Foster as Angel I also didn't think he was handsome enough though I didn't think he was bad looking, he wasn't Warren caliber. I also found his version a bit stiff but as already pointed out he was more of a brooder than the rich playboy. Cary Ewles might have been a good Angel, he's good looking enough, and he can act. Though now I'm hard pressed to think of who would make a good Angel. I remember those casting choices. I always thought Micheal Biehn was too rugged to play Cyclops. I loved his Hicks and Kyle Reese, though. My ideal Jean back then was Renee Russo. Don't really care for the other casting choices.

Michael Biehn was also a popular choice because James Cameron was connected to the X-Men for a while so it seemed like a natural casting for him. I like Renee Russo for Jean as well.

Something I find interesting is how many media adaptations of Angel rely on him being ashamed of his wings. TAS did it originally. I know Bryan Singer was a fan of the cartoon (not the comics) and took heavy inspiration from that for the movies so maybe that explains why Angel in The Last Stand is characterized so similarly as he was in TAS where he wants a cure.

[Hakka84]

The art you shared, Veni, is so cuuute! Thanks!
Let me also take a moment to thank you all who left the lurking and actively brought some meat to this topic!
Please stay with us!

To be fair for the purposes of X3, Foster wasn't playing Billionaire Mutant Playboy Warren Worthington, he was playing Rich Family's Secret Shame Warren.

You know what? I was so set on looking at movies!Warren as "how comic Warren could look like with a real-life face" that it never occurred to me to see Foster's Warren as this. For as much as I know to detach movies from the comics, I never managed to properly separate the person itself. I tended to see fox!Warren as 616!Warren with a different backstory.
And yes, as rich boy (but not the Charming Playboy we got up to Mutant Massacre) he definitely works, because a rich kid doesn't necessarily have to be handsome like an angel and a charmer
You blew my mind. °_° You actually finally saved Ben Foster's Warren to my eyes! THANK YOU!

Something I find interesting is how many media adaptations of Angel rely on him being ashamed of his wings. TAS did it originally. I know Bryan Singer was a fan of the cartoon (not the comics) and took heavy inspiration from that for the movies so maybe that explains why Angel in The Last Stand is characterized so similarly as he was in TAS where he wants a cure.

To be fair, in The Last Stand, he's ashamed when he's a little kid (he's rightfully scared for something he doesn't understand). He likely grows ashamed because of his father (though his father seems to love him, and wants a cure for mutation to allow a "normal" life to his son. Or, at least, I seem to recall this is his driving reason for funding the cure), but he personally isn't ashamed, so far that he eventually refuses the cure.
TAS, though... Yeah. For a media that attempted to respect the original, it's a capital sin to me that Warren is portrayed as wanting to get rid of his wings.
Someone here has seen X-Men: Evolution? How is Warren's relationship with his wings, in that cartoon?

Edit: I would need to re-read it, but Ultimate Warren was on this same line? I recall his family basically disowning him for his mutation, but was he proud or ashamed of the wings?

[whitecrown]

To be fair, in The Last Stand, he's ashamed when he's a little kid (he's rightfully scared for something he doesn't understand). He likely grows ashamed because of his father (though his father seems to love him, and wants a cure for mutation to allow a "normal" life to his son. Or, at least, I seem to recall this is his driving reason for funding the cure), but he personally isn't ashamed, so far that he eventually refuses the cure.
TAS, though... Yeah. For a media that attempted to respect the original, it's a capital sin to me that Warren is portrayed as wanting to get rid of his wings.
Someone here has seen X-Men: Evolution? How is Warren's relationship with his wings, in that cartoon?

Edit: I would need to re-read it, but Ultimate Warren was on this same line? I recall his family basically disowning him for his mutation, but was he proud or ashamed of the wings?

Yes, that's true that in Last Stand, he's only scared of his wings because of his father's reaction and he rejects the cure ultimately, showing that he himself has no problems with his wings. Even in the original James Cameron script for an X-Men movie (which I think Claremont was involved in), Angel makes a brief appearance. When the X-Men are all kidnapped, Wolverine and Kitty go on a road trip to save them but they need help first. They go to find former X-Men member Angel who is now living a quiet life on a farm with his wife. It turns out this Angel had his wings amputated because he wanted to be a normal human being. So I don't get why this is such a prevalent them for him outside of the comics. It didn't feel much like Warren either since this Warren wasn't rich, hence his living on a farm. Logan seems to look down on him a lot in this script for getting rid of his mutation.

I've seen X-Men: Evolution. It's probably the most respectful take on Warren. He's the Avenging Angel, like in the comics, a solo superhero who is believed to be a guardian angel by the public. Magneto tries to use him in his plans which is how the X-Men get involved. He's rich in this series too and has a collection of artifacts which Mesmero tries to steal, leading to Warren contacting the X-Men for help. It's the one episode where the O5 assemble. He also joins the X-Men in the series finale battle but admittedly enough he doesn't do much and is taken out pretty quickly.

It's been a while since I read Ultimate X-Men but I don't remember him being ashamed of his wings. Although didn't he think he really was an angel instead of a mutant? Maybe I'm getting it mixed up with Rogue's reaction to him because I think Rogue believed he was really an angel.

[Thievery]

I'm one of the few people who didn't see GoT. Checking pics, I agree with Thievery that the GoT actors would work for an adult Warren. Not my choice, but it would work.

Might be the hairstyle, but he has a (late 90s) Warren's vibe here. I think Warren was given this hairstyle at some point between Crimson Dawn and end of Revolution.
Again, I speak from pics alone - haven't seen him act or what.

Unfortunately*, I never found a perfect fancasting (not as in "actor marvel could hire" but a "real person who could be the face of Warren in my mind").
Around the 2000s, my face was Gabriel Aubrey (Halle Berry's ex husband - specifically from his Hugo Boss years, when he still was a model). But it wasn't perfect.

You should definitely try to watch GoT. The first seven and a half seasons are great. I don't watch much television or many movies, but even I thought that GoT was great. The last season was a let down.
The guy who played Lannister in GoT could act, but I really brought him up because I thought he would resemble Warren more than the Ross picture.

I'd never heard of the Gabriel Aubrey guy before, but looking up some pictures of the guy I would say that he looks more like Warren than any other choice that I have seen. Both as a teen ager and an adult. I think that he looks really similar to how teen Warren did in X-Men Blue.

The art you shared, Veni, is so cuuute! Thanks!
Let me also take a moment to thank you all who left the lurking and actively brought some meat to this topic!
Please stay with us!


Edit: I would need to re-read it, but Ultimate Warren was on this same line? I recall his family basically disowning him for his mutation, but was he proud or ashamed of the wings?

It's been a while since I read Ultimate X-Men but I don't remember him being ashamed of his wings. Although didn't he think he really was an angel instead of a mutant? Maybe I'm getting it mixed up with Rogue's reaction to him because I think Rogue believed he was really an angel.

Ultimate Angel was disowned by his father for being a mutant. Idon't remember Angel having a problem with his wings. He didn't want to stay with the X-Men though. He thought that they were freaks and exiles of society if I remember correctly.
He didn't think that he was a real Angel, and I don't think that Rouge did either.

I really disliked Ultimate Angel, and I didn't even care when he died in Ultimatum.

[Veni]

[mattsarchamp]

Wow! Mark Brooks Disneyfied arts are gold. Still waiting for the Betsy or Kwannon version.