Warren Worthington III - Powers and Abilities

Powers and Abilities

Archangel's primary power is that of natural flight, due to his large feathered wings. His wings have superhuman strength, and they have a very flexible skeletal structure that enables him to press them to the back of his torso and legs with only the slightest bulge visible under his clothing. His bones are hollow, his body processes food more efficiently than a normal human body and does not store any excess fat, and he possesses a greater proportionate muscle mass than normal. As a result, his strength, speed, agility, endurance, reflexes, eyesight, and hearing are at their peak. Elements of his anatomy are comparable to those of birds. His superhumanly sharp eyes can withstand high-speed winds which would damage the average human eye. He can breathe at high velocities or altitudes, and he can cope with the reduced temperatures at high altitudes for prolonged periods of time, giving him a greater-than-normal capacity to endure low temperatures in areas such as the Arctic. The strength in his natural wings can easily break a man's arm or leg, or even put someone through a wall.

While he generally flies below the height of clouds, Archangel can reach almost twice this height with little effort. At his absolute maximum, he can reach the highest recorded altitude of a bird in flight — about the height of Mount Everest — but he can only remain that high for a few minutes. Although flight is as natural a mode of transportation for Angel as for a bird, he can only fly nonstop under his own power for around half a day.

He has undergone heavy training with Professor X, especially in mastering his flight indoors. He has demonstrated superior agility, reflexes, coordination, and balance while flying, and has been shown defeating superbeings much faster than he is (like the Human Torch) by dodging them and having them smash against the ground or a wall at full speed.

Angel is also an accomplished hand-to-hand combatant, having defeated several of the werewolf-like homo superior when Wolverine is defeated. He is trained in hand-to-hand combat at Xavier's school; while dating Psylocke, he receives a considerable amount of martial arts instruction. During his years on the team, he is given extensive training from Wolverine, and when he once surprises Wolverine after taking down some men, he says, "My father spoiled me with more than money." He also receives further instruction from the Black Widow and Hercules during his days with the Champions.

His wings have been replaced by Apocalypse with techno-organic versions which can appear the same as his natural wings.

As the result of a secondary mutation which has been shown inconsistently, Archangel also develops a healing factor and can heal others by mixing his blood with theirs, provided they have a matching blood type to Warren's. However, his healing blood does not work with Nightcrawler. Although powerful, this mutation varies in potency. At times, he cannot aid the terminally wounded; at others, he can actually raise the recently dead. This secondary mutation suggests that he may be descended from the ancient race of Cheyarafim mutants. He is nearly immune to injury because his healing blood is constantly flowing through him. At its onset, he repairs broken bones in days, but his healing abilities have enhanced since then. However, in an issue of X-Force, Warren is savagely attacked and his wings are ripped from his body. His healing factor fails to work, and he instead must be healed by Josh Foley. It is revealed that the Celestial Technology bonded to him by Apocalypse prevents Elixir from regenerating his wings. They regenerate on their own.

Aside from his superhuman powers, Warren is a highly capable businessman, and is the former chairman of the board and principal stockholder of Worthington Industries.