Azrael

Azrael is a rare example of a Space Marine with hair.

Azrael is the secretive Supreme Grand Master (Chapter Master) of the already secretive Dark Angels Chapter of Space Marines, not to mention the de facto Chapter Master of every single chapter with Lion El'Johnson's gene seed (basically the Dark Angels are guilty of legion-building).

History

Azrael was recruited from the brutes of Kimmeria, but does not show their clumsy-ass thuggish behaviors.

As a Scout it was not his battle prowess that marked him out as different (in comparison to Belial), but it was Azrael's conviction and dedication that would single him out for greatness. During the Daeynth Secundus campaign where the Dark Angels were being frustrated by Eldar forces, it was young Azrael's logic and quick thinking which convinced his commanders how to take the fight to the Eldar and complete the campaign. Earning his first laurel of victory and being one of only six in the ten thousand year history to achieve it before becoming a full battle brother.

As a member of the 3rd company during the scouring of Truan IX, Azrael disobeyed orders to evacuate after his captain and command squad fell victim to a psychic assault. Charging through the psychic draining effects of a Warp Beast at the center of the uprising, he showed mental fortitude above his battle-brothers and continued fighting even after all others were lost. Further realising that he could not harm the creature due to immense derp, he brought the catacombs down on himself and the creature and its summoning wards. He remained buried for three days, awaiting death. Until he was dug out by his company, who petitioned his direct entry to the Deathwing Knights for his remarkable force of will. After that, he disappeared for a short spell like Robert Pattinson's balls after Twilight.

He returned to the 3rd Company as Master after it lost its previous master when the men voted for Azrael's return, and since the Dark Angels were proven to be entirely reasonable and democratic this petition was also granted. Here Azrael, participated in the early battles of the Siege of Vraks in the year 821.M41. (though he is referred to as Supreme Grand Master, this is obviously a mistake or revisionist propaganda) at Vraks, though he was wounded by Arkios the Faithless he was Awesome while doing it; fighting a challenge one-handed while holding the Standard of Devastation in the other hand. Azrael's stint as captain of the 3rd was also known for kicking the shit out of an AI worshipping techno-revivalist cult on Faze V.

After over a hundred years of service he was briefly promoted to Grand-Master of the Deathwing in 917.M41, again not much is known about Azrael's time spent amongst them.

Azrael became the Chapter Master of the Dark Angels after the previous master's demise in 939.M41, becoming the head of the Inner Circle, the big boy table of the Dark Angels that keeps the secret of the Fallen Angels ABSOLUTE LOYALTY OF THE CHAPTER DURING THE HORUS HERESY. When he became Keeper of the Truth he received the traditional Lion's Helm (which, humorously, was called ridiculous by Kharn during the Pandorax Campaign, and which easily gave him away as Supreme Grand Master), the master-crafted Sword Of Secrets, and a combi-plasma gun known as the Lion's Wrath.

His first act as Supreme Grand Master was to summon a council of all the Unforgiven chapter masters (an impressive feat, considering that they perhaps number at around 150 chapters) and give them all an ass-kicking for being lazy fucks and has started to unify them all in the hunt for Fallen Angels and to combine the Unforgiven into one unstoppable warmachine GIVE THEM ALL WAR ADVICE SO TO BETTER DESTROY THE EMPEROR'S ENEMIES.

Current Activities

One of the most epic moments of Warhammer 40k.

Recently, Azrael has been getting a lot more screen time from Black Library, particularly in recent fluff surrounding the Pandorax campaign. When dealing with the Grey Knights, Azrael deals with them so casually he constantly pisses off Kaldor Draigo by cheekily misrepresenting his rank of Supreme Grand Master, he also snickers his way through the evil monologue of the daemon prince end-boss Corpulax before executing him.

Also, despite the Dark Angels sometimes coming off as emo dispassionate pricks, he is quite vocal about his support and admiration for allied Imperial Guard, and quickly warms to the personality of Catachan Colonel Strike when he starts telling the Space Marines what to do, where another Space Marine would instead be irritated. He also proclaims his support for the common man of the Imperium, swearing to protect them where another Chapter would sacrifice them to gain victory.

This just seems unfair

By contrast though, Azrael can still be a douchebag and can violently but efficiently turn on his allies whenever they are exposed to the Fallen. So in this regard, as least he's consistent with his chapter's priorities. He's also a fan of a tactic that's best described as "defensive Steel Rain with Land Speeders and Thunderhawks". If that sounds like a terrible way to cleanse a planet of daemons, that's because it was; Failbaddon of all people figures out the weak points of Azrael's assault almost immediately and nearly slaughters everyone. Thankfully for everyone involved this was exactly the kick in the pants Azrael needed to take the offensive and actually start putting up a fight.

Somewhere in the middle of that Azrael got into a fight with Kharn and he mocked Azrael the entire time because of course he did.

Tabletop

In-game Azrael is the closest thing the Dark Angel have to your ubiquitous "costs as much as a Land Raider HQ-turned-Lord of War", clocking in at 215 points. He isn't all that bad and he gives an invulnerable save to the unit he joins, but he cannot take Terminator armor to thug it up with Terminators (that is Belial's job) or a bike (much less Sammael's LAST IMPERIAL JETBIKE).

Overall, not a terrible unit but his place in the army is limited. With the changes to 6>7th, he is FAR more survivable in combat due to his Artificer Armour (the "Protector", also gives him FnP 5+), but on the other hand his power sword is now only AP3, but said power sword also has S+2. If you take him in the primary detachment as the warlord, you get to choose any trait from the DA's warlord table without rolling and get +1 to Seize the Initative, so its still cool. Taking him with guard allies lets you apply his helm of 4++ to a 50-man infantry/conscript blob to really ruin someone's day. Lastly he has a Master-Crafted combi plasma, representing Dark Angels' plasma fetish.

Just for Fun, the Azrael vs Kharn match-up depicted above (Expected wounds per turn)
Starting on "even footing" (i.e. they declare a challenge on the second round of combat). Same Initiative, so both strike at the same time
Azzy's five attacks on Kharn hit 2.9 times (58% including Master Crafted) and wound 83% of the time for 2.4 wounds, those are unsaved 66% of the time = 1.58 wounds on Kharn per turn
Kharn's five attacks hit Azzy 4.2 times (83% chance with no Hatred on even footing) causing 3.5 wounds (also 83% chance) which are unsaved 50% of the time and ignored with FnP 33% = 1.13 wounds on Azrael per turn.
Additional Notes: i.e. now we factor in the cool shit If Kharn were to get the charge or counter attack, after factoring in Hatred his expected wounds per turn become 1.85 (with Rage) or 1.59 (with Counter Attack), but only for the first turn. Though Furious Charge won't come into play for either of them since they already wound each other on 2+. Also Azrael now has Hatred (CSM) so he'd be hitting 3.75 times on the first turn for 2.05 unsaved wounds against Kharn.
Conclusion: As of 7th edition Dark Angels codex, Azrael just kicks the shit out of Kharn, thanks largely to the boost to his FnP -- Kharn now needs four turns to kill Azrael, and would already be dead by turn two. Trading Preferred Enemy for Hatred is a mixed bag for Azrael, but since Kharn's major damage is on the first round it sort of evens out, kinda. If Kharn were to get the charge then it becomes much closer and there is a better chance of them mutually killing each other on the second turn.
End Note This is only mathhammer, and they both have the chance of wiping the floor with each other in a single turn or doing nothing to each other. Azrael has the advantage of defense and more wounds, whilst Kharn has a higher maximum output if he can get the charge. Of course Azrael still does poorly against anyone with a 2+ armour save or Strength 8 or higher so just don't even try it.

Trivia

• Azrael's name is fitting, as he is named after the mythological Azrael, the Angel of Death (which is another name for the Space Marines).