Azel

"In a world where only the strong survive, only the strongest of the strong rule."

―Azel

Azel

HP	4000, 5000
Height	6'1 (185cm)
Rank	Sub-Boss/Stage Boss
Moveset Type	Replicates Gene's moves
Stages	Stage 4-8: Another God Hand, FINAL STAGE: The Last Crusade
Pummels	Pummel
Battle Theme	Devil May Sly, Duel Storm
Voiced by	Sam Riegel

Azel (アゼル Azeru) is one of the main antagonists of God Hand, and the sole human member of the Four Devas, as well as the possessor of the Left God Hand.

Appearance

Azel is a tall man of a similar build to Gene, standing slightly taller than him, he has Blond hair, which is styled into a exaggerated version of a Jack Dawson-style haircut, he has a slightly pointed nose and blue eyes that are obscured by his sunglasses for a majority of the game.

Azel wears a sleeveless white button-up coat with black flame designs on it that has red trimmings, a strange belt that has 2 buckle like objects on it's ends that are shaped like abstract Z's, a red glove on his right hand, a one sleeved shirt and a red cravat under the coat, a pair of blue pants, and a pair of red boots.

Overall, Azel's appearance can be described as being the opposite of Gene, who has dark hair, and wears darker colors in contrast to Azel's light blond hair and colorful outfit.

Personality

Azel is a cool-headed, eloquent, conceited, and power-hungry individual, as his primary motivation for his actions is to become stronger at all costs, which is reflected in his belief that power is everything, and that only the strongest of the strong may rule, making him a haughty yet ruthless social darwinist who is not to be trifled with.

This lust for power is so great that it drove him to betray The God Hand Clan, which his fiance Olivia was a fellow member of, and slaughter them all, and Olivia implies he would have killed her too if she didn't escape.

He also wants the Right God Hand for himself, as shown in the random dialogue used when he taunts Gene.

His pride is so great that he constantly challenges Gene alone, refusing to work with the other Devas, and once playfully mentioning his relationship with Olivia to provoke him (despite Olivia herself claiming that "nothing happened between them").

He is also implied to have a lack of empathy and an inability to feel guilt or remorse, given how his overrall character is.

Despite being a Deva, Azel views demons as inferior to humans as a result of his team-mates constant bickering and inability to kill Gene. As such, he has little trouble killing lower-level demons as he sees fit.

Description

Azel is the sole human member of the Four Devas and the posssessor of the Left Godhand, so naturally as you'd expect, he fights pretty similarly to Gene himself, down to using his Roulette Wheel moves like Kung Fu Tango, Typhoon Kick, and even the Shaolin Blast.

He can also duck, dodge, and backflip in the exact same fashion that Gene can, alongside being able to block like any other enemy in the game, making him both capable of dealing damage and avoiding & defending it, making him one of the most difficult opponents in the game.

Story

He is Olivia's ex-boyfriend and former fiance, he betrayed the Godhand Clan and took the Left Godhand for the sake of the power it would bring to him, gaining legendary power and donning the moniker of "Devil Hand" (デビルハンド Debiruhando), and he would have presumably tried to take the Right Godhand if Olivia hadn't escaped with it.

He eventually became the fourth and final member of the Four Devas for reasons known only to himself, and became one of Gene's greatest threats, although he is disliked by the other members due to him being a human, while the others are Demons.

His first on-screen action in God Hand is to call a meeting of the Four Devas, to inform them that he has located the bearer of the Right Godhand, Gene, implying that the reason he was able to do so was because of his Left Godhand.

After both Elvis and Shannon are defeated by Gene, with Elvis experincing two losses and Shannon one loss, Azel vows to start to leap into action after the Four Devas decide to enlist, and potentially recruit the evil robot Dr. Ion, and boards the Kilo-Crab he rides around, encountering the Three Evil Stooges who were defeated by Gene once again, who try to attack him for his Left Godhand, but are swiftly killed by him.

Azel finally meets Gene for the first-time in the Kilo-Crab of Dr. Ion, where Azel introduces himself to the bearer of the Right Godhand as his polar opposite, calling himself the Devil Hand to Gene's God Hand, and proceeds to engage him in battle, although before Gene can even come close to finishing him off, he suddenly stops and leaves, but not before revealing to him that Olivia is his fiance.

After Gene slays Shannon, Azel presumably kidnaps Olivia to use her as a conduit for the resurrection of Angra for unknown purposes, with Belze being the secretekeeper of Olivia's whereabouts at the top of the Tower of Angra, and after an enraged Gene defeats Belze and passes the army of the finest of Angra's Minions guarding the Tower of Angra, as well as defeating the three proprietor's of the trials in the Tower of Angra, Gene confronts Azel for the second and final time at the top, engaging him in an epic battle in the rain that forces Azel to unleash his God Hand, and despite the awesome power that this grants as well as Azel giving it his all, Azel is still defeated by Gene.

After his defeat at the hands of Gene, an angered Azel laments why he couldn't defeat him, but begins to discover that somehow, at some point in time, that Belze set both him and Gene up, as it is revealed that Azel was the true conduit for Angra all along, and he finds himself being painfully overtaken by, then tranformed into Angra himself, and with Angra being defeated by Gene, it is presumed that he is gone for good, although given how Olivia worries that one day, there could be another Azel, it is possible, that one day, Azel might come back.

Abilities & Powers

As the possessor of the Left God Hand, Azel possesses every ability that Gene has, down to using the same martial art moves he does.

He demonstrates the ability to both punch and kick in rapid succession, as well as punching hard enough to send his opponents flying.

Like Gene, he is capable of rapidly dodging attacks by ducking, backflipping, and sidestepping.

The energy attacks stemming from his Left God Hand distinctively have an infernal element, in contrast to Gene's energy attacks taking the form of pure light, this extends to even attacks like Typhoon Kick, despite not having an energy property.

He is shown to have a higher mastery level of the God Hand, which translates to his attacks being all around more powerful, as he killed the three demons, Conchita, Felix, and Bruce with a single use of the Daisy Cutter technique, although they were weakened by their fight with Gene that happened not too long ago.

He also doesn't need to use the Deistic Brace, unlike Gene, and can simply unleash the power of the God Hand at will and reap the benefits of the invincibility it grants him.

Moves

Abilities

• Backflip: Azel preforms a backflip to dodge or gain distance.
• Duck: Azel begins rapidly ducking out of the way out of Gene's attacks.
• Slide: Azel slides backwards away from Gene.
• Devil Hand Unleash: Azel will pause in the middle of battle, and the Tattoos on his Left Godhand will begin to glow, as he unleashes the power of the God Hand. In this state, he is far more durable, although not immune to attacks entirely. He can also dodge Gene's attacks when his God Hand is unleashed in this state.

Basic Moves

• Sugar Azel Combo: Azel does a three hit combo of punches, the first one with his left hand, and the second and third strikes with his right.
• One-Two Punch: Azel does two swinging punches that strike slightly upwards.
• Haymaker: Azel does a strong punch that knocks Gene down.
• High Side Kick: Azel preforms a roundhouse kick whenever Gene is extremely close to him.
• Sobat Kick: Azel preforms a Sobat Kick.
• Expert Sobat: Azel jumps and does a back kick.
• Double Snap Kick: Azel hops and does two kicks.
• High Kick: Azel will preform a High Kick on Gene within close range, this move knocks Gene down.
• Running Jump Kick: Azel runs towards Gene and then preforms a jumping kick on him, this move will knock Gene down if it hits.
• Flying Kick: Azel jumps into the air and does two kicks with the same leg.
• Sweep: Azel crouches and sweeps his leg across the floor. He uses this to counter high hitting attacks from Gene.
• Double Kick: Azel will do two kicks and push his hands on the floor to get up, hitting Gene if he's too close.
• Barrel Roll: Azel will jump up off the ground while violently rolling around, hitting Gene if he's too close.

Special Moves (& Devil Roulette Wheel Moves)

• Devil Shockwave: (デビル両断波 Debiru Ryōdanha) Azel pulls his arm back as if he is about to strike with an invisible whip then throws a wave of spikey energy, he will only use this attack when Gene is far away from him.
• Devil Ball Buster: Azel will rarely preform this move, but when he does, it is dangerous, as it will stun Gene instantly just like his version will do to enemies.
• Devil La Bomba: Azel slams his fist into the ground, creating a fiery explosion. Unlike Gene's La Bomba, this will not knock Gene into the air.
• Devil Head Slicer: (デビルハリケーンチョップ Debiruharikēnchoppu) Azel preforms a small twirl, then launches a wide energy wave at Gene, this attack can be dodged by ducking.
• Devil Divine Smash: (デビル突神 Debiru Tosshin (Translation: Devil God Dash) Azel gets into a crouching stance, then preforms a powerful charging punch, this attack can be dodged by backflipping or sidestepping it.
• Devil Kung Fu Tango (デビル天魔乱舞 Debiru Tenmaranbu) Azel will preform his own variation of Kung Fu Tango that appears to be a fire elemental attack, he seems to like to taunt Gene after he successfully preforms it.
• Devil Shaolin Blast (デビルハンド Debiruhando (Translation: Devil Hand): Azel will get into the signature stance of the Shaolin Blast move, then fire an infernal version of it, this attack is best dealt with by sidestepping it in the direction opposite of the thumb of the projectile as it will chase after Gene if he tries to run away by veering to the left or right, and the thumb is capable of hitting Gene as well.
• Devil Pummel (デビルボコリ Debirubokori): Azel will rush towards Gene with his arms in front of him, and on contact, will proceed to unleash either a series of rapid punches or equally rapid side kicks. This move can be countered by rapidly pressing any of the four action buttons (Cross, Circle, Square, and Triangle), which will cause Gene to also punch or kick in response, but the player must press those buttons quickly, or Azel will preform the finishing blow anyways.

Tips

• Although his ability to duck, dodge, and high high chance of blocking attacks makes him a frustrating opponent to deal with, he is unable to defend against thrown objects and you can string combo attacks from there to damage him.
• Whenever he preforms his Dark Kung Fu Tango, he is vulnerable to being taunted at a distance due to being locked in one direction and also very slow.
• His Roulette Moves have lengthy animations all around, even when he returns to his neutral state, leaving him vulnerable to attack.
• Whenever Gene's Tension Gauge is about to empty out when preforming an Unleashed mode combo, preform a launcher technique on him to knock him away and leave him vulnerable to being taunted.

Quotes

Cutscenes

• "You and I... We're polar opposites... If you are the God Hand, then I am the Devil Hand..." ~ Said upon meeting Gene for the first time
• "Now... It's time... you've danced with the devil." ~ Spoken immediately before first fight
• "Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." ~ Upon hearing that Elvis has died

In-Battle

• "Power is everything..." ~ Taunt 1
• "That's all?" ~ Taunt 2
• "Behold the power of a God..." ~ Taunt 3
• "HHHahahahahahaha!" ~ Taunt 4
• "Worthless..." ~ Taunt 5
• "The God Hand is mine." ~ Taunt 6
• "Damn!..." ~ Enraged 1
• "Die!..." ~ Enraged 2

Gallery

Azel illustration

Azel's Godhand

Azel's death

Trivia

• His theme is Devil May Sly and when he activates his God Hand, Duel Storm.
  • His first theme, Devil May Sly, is a play on words referencing the title of popular Capcom series of video games, Devil May Cry.
• Interestingly, if the player activates the Godhand and attacks Azel while HIS Godhand is active, Azel will be able to duck and dodge attacks.
  • This makes him the only enemy in the game capable of dodging attacks from Gene while his God Hand is unleashed.
• His possession of the Left Godhand and his status as an antagonist is a reference to the association of left-handedness with evil.
• He is the only properly named character in God Hand to wear eyewear.
• Judging by his lack of a chair in The Four Devas Lair, Azel joined The Four Devas not too long ago before the events of the game, something confirmed by Belze himself, and possibly that the rest of them do not respect him enough to give him a seat, due to him being a human, he also does not have his own caricature in the Casino Slot Machine, which has the rest of the Four Devas as icons, and a Bomb Man replacing Azel for the fourth lowest paying icon.
• All of the Roulette Wheel techniques that Azel uses as an enemy cost one orb to use, with the exception of his Devil Shaolin Blast which costs three orbs to use.
• He is the only member of the Four Devas to be first fought as a sub-boss instead of a Stage Boss.
• The character Jetstream Sam from Metal Gear Rising Revengeance is somewhat similar to Azel, in that he functions as the rival of the protagonist and possesses the opposite features of them (Sam has dark hair and wears a light colored jumpsuit colored in contrast to Raiden's white hair and black colored cybernetic body). Sam is also revealed to be almost completely human, with the only cybernetic enhancement his body is his entire right arm and shoulder, much like how Azel is the only human among the Four Devas and is the possessor of the Left God Hand. Also, at the start of the final boss's last phase, Blade Wolf will provide Raiden with the signature blade of Jetstream Sam, much like how Azel gives his Left God Hand to Gene before the final boss fight with Angra
  • Given how PlatinumGames has former members of Clover Studio, the developers of God Hand among it's staff, this was likely a deliberate reference to God Hand.
  • Ironically, despite being similar to Azel, the battlefield of choice for Sam's second and final battle is the exact opposite of Azel's, as Sam is fought on a barren and dry field near a highway, while Azel is fought atop a tower in the middle of the rain.
• He bears a slight resemblance to Leon Scott Kennedy (through his hair style and general looks) and Albert Wesker (through his blonde hair and sunglasses) from Resident Evil, another Capcom Title.
  • His resemblance to Leon Scott Kennedy is likely a reference towards the castle demo of Resident Evil 4, as Leon got his left arm infected by the Progneitor Virus, much like how Azel's left arm is replaced by the Left God Hand.
  • His personality is similar to Vergil from Devil May Cry, due to his serious, grim, cold, and stoic personality, as well as his obsession with gaining power, which contrasts with Gene, who is laid-back, care-free, prone to making jokes and sarcastic remarks.
  • Azel being fought on the top of a tower in his second and last battle, plus his physical features of blond hair, and blue eyes, as well as his status as a rival to the player character Gene might be a reference towards Jack Krauser from Resident Evil 4, who was Leon's rival that also has blond hair and blue eyes, and was also fought at the top of a tower, and Azel activating his God Hand in the final battle against him seems to be a reference towards Jack Krauser's blade arm which he mutates in the very last part of his battle.
  • The final battle against Azel also might be a reference to the first battle against Vergil in Devil May Cry 3, as you fight him on top of a tower in the rain.
  • The final boss of MadWorld is heavily inspired by the last battle with Azel, both in setting and general attack patterns, as Jack Cayman faces off against the current champion of DeathWatch on top of a tower, much like how the second and final battle against Azel takes place on top of yet another tower, and one of the attacks used by the champion is nearly identical to Azel's Shaolin Blast, except the projectile is a closed fist instead of an open palm, and the second phase of the final boss has him abandoning his sunglasses and hat, much like how Azel throws off his sunglasses after he enters his second phase. These are all deliberate references, as PlatinumGames was formed from former members of Clover Studios.