Bamf - Race

Race

In Uncanny X-Men #153, Kitty Pryde tells a fairy tale to six-year old Illyana Rasputin, which includes a race of creatures called "Bamfs." Bamfs appear to be small versions of Nightcrawler, who even wear a costume identical to his classic costume. One of the Bamfs enters the story after catching sight of Pirate Kitty, on whom he developed an instant crush, when she and her entourage landed on Bamf Island. He subsequently joins her team and aids in taking down Princess Jean (the fairy tale equivalent of Jean Grey), aka Dark Phoenix.

Later, in the first Nightcrawler limited series in 1985, Nightcrawler is sent to another universe that is identical to Kitty's fairy tale, where he encounters the Bamfs, including the heroic Bamf from Kitty's tale. Nightcrawler discovers that female Bamfs differ from the males in that they are taller, resembling female versions of himself. The male Bamfs are lecherous, flirtatious and skirt-chasing, making them rather tiring company in the presence of attractive females.

Even before Kitty's fairy tale, plush versions of Nightcrawler, also called "Bamfs", had appeared in many issues of Uncanny X-Men. Kitty Pryde, Illyana Rasputin, Jubilation Lee and Amanda Sefton have been shown owning Bamf dolls.

In 2012 publications, the Bamfs reappeared at the newly opened Jean Grey School of Higher Learning, infesting the school after Vice Principal Beast accidentally opened a portal to their home reality on the school's first day open. Headmaster Wolverine is the head of a "Bamf Hunting Club." In this variation, the Bamfs are mute, naked, seemingly self-aware troublemakers who are depicted defacing school property in various ways. However, it later becomes uncertain whether the creatures infesting the school are Bamfs at all, an alien zoologist commenting that although the staff believe them to be "interdimensional gremlins" (i.e., Bamfs), they actually are not. The character is about to reveal what he believes to be the nature of the Bamfs when he is cut off, leaving the revelation for a later date; it is to note, however, that the Bamfs in this instance look more like the real Nightcrawler and sport body markings similar to his live action incarnation.