Nightcrawler #1
Nightcrawler #1 (2004) kicks off with a chilling mystery in "The Devil Inside, Part One: The Locked Room," as Storm tasks Kurt Wagner with uncovering the truth behind a gruesome incident at Metro-General Hospital—thirteen children found inside out in a sealed room, and the sole survivor, young Seth Walker, mute with trauma. Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and illustrated by Darick Robertson, the issue unfolds with eerie precision, following Kurt’s trail from the hospital’s scorched roof to the Dakota, where a confrontation with security guard Barney Franks ends in flames. The cover by Greg Land and Matt Ryan captures the tension perfectly, setting a dark, foreboding tone for the series.
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Storm asks Nightcrawler to investigate a horrific tragedy: thirteen children in a locked room at Metro-General Hospital were literally turned inside out and the fourteenth, young Seth Walker, is so traumatized by the event that he cannot talk about what happened. Kurt begins his inquiries but he quickly runs up against the silence of Seth and the anger of Dr. Childs. He does, however, find hoof prints burned into the roof of the hospital and he follows them all the way to the Dakota, where Dr. Childs lives. Security guard Barney Franks shows up to confront Childs but bursts into flames.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).