Creation
Araquel was created by writer John Ney Rieber and artist Peter Snejbjerg in The Books of Magic issue 5 in 1994.
Major Story Arcs
Summonings
Araquel is an archangel of heaven. When Lucifer Morningstar rebelled against God, Araquel fought against the soon-to-be devil. Araquel was renowned as one of the most dangerous of angels.
Later, however, he also falls from grace, and chains himself above a pit in the Fifth Heaven, along with several other angels. Araquel considers himself to be impetuous, but he does not regret his decision to have an affair with the human woman Khara, resulting in their daughter, Nikki. They are the reason he is chained.
Nikki does not respect the fact that Araquel keeps himself chained up for what she considers to be an overly dogmatic belief system. She tells him they are leaving for London, to stop Sir Timothy Hunter.
Reckonings
Later, after Khara and Nikki have been captured by Sir Timothy and Barbatos, Nikki seemingly escapes and comes to the pit to ask Araquel for help. She accidentally falls into the pit. Araquel instantly breaks his chains and flies down and saves her. However, it is not really Nikki, but Barbatos.
Barbatos now blackmails Araquel to work for him. He wants Araquel to keep anyone who might help Tim Hunter away from Tim for the next 24 hours. However, after checking on most of them, Araquel realizes that this errand is not meant to keep these people away from Tim, but to keep him away from Khara and Nikki.
He goes to Tim’s house and finds Sister Staylace. He asks where Tim is, and warns her that Barbatos is after Tim and Molly. She tells him to go save them.
Araquel looks all over creation but can’t find Khara and Nikki.
Araquel goes to hell, where Barbatos has been giving a sales pitch about snack foods to other demons. Araquel cuts off Barbatos’s magic hourglass. Tim’s friend Tanger persuades him not to kill Barbatos out of anger.
Then Sir Timothy, now in dragon form, shows up. He has released Khara and Nikki, and tells Araquel that they are waiting for him at his apartment, and Khara still desires him. Araquel flies off in a flash of flame.
Slave of Heavens
Much later, Araquel and Nikki are enjoying some relaxation at a playground when an angel and a demon ask Araquel whose side he will be on in a current war between angels and demons. Araquel says he won’t take part. They threaten Nikki, and he kills them both.
The two of them go back to their home in the clouds. Araquel knows he needs to leave and gives Nikki a note to give to Khara when she gets back.
Araquel finds Tim, whose mind has been overly opened by his Opening Stone. Araquel cuts it off his neck and it falls into the ocean.
A rain of blood falls on them, coming from the battle of demons and angels. They come down, wanting Araquel and Tim. Araquel kills the whole horde of them, seemingly in one swipe of his flaming sword.
They escape and, by Tim’s whim, go to the Dark Tower, where Araquel explains the Tower’s identity as a lair of dead Openers who didn’t reach divinity, and fights them off. After an encounter with one of the Openers, Tim decides to get rid of all his magic.
Araquel helps fly Tim back, noting that he can’t make decisions for mortals himself; Tim has to decide how to get there. After hitching a ride with Charon, they get to a church where Tim’s dad Bill is marrying Holly Ransome. They confront a fairy changeling who has been taking Tim’s place among his family (without them knowing) and the Wobbly. The changeling destroys the Wobbly and Tim kills the changeling.
After the wedding, Araquel notices that there is more magic going on. A demon, Vasuki, introduces himself. He says the Queen of Wounds is behind the war; Araquel is suspicious and guards Tim. Later they have fun dancing at the wedding reception.
Later, Vasuki turns Bill into a monster and Tim and Araquel look for him. They find Vasuki and Araquel cuts him into four pieces, but the pieces each become a new, smaller Vasuki. They find two magical women with balloons, at least one of whom they believe to be the Queen of Wounds. One of them changes Tim’s dad back to normal, but then Tim’s stepbrother Cyril, who has been manipulated by fallen angels, and has new magic powers, turns Araquel, Bill, and the four mini-Vasukis into chocolate statues.
Tim gets Awn the Blink to create a demon-catching machine based on the two magical women’s plans. The angels and demons continue to fight near it, and in the chaos Araquel’s chocolate statue falls, breaking into many pieces. Araquel essentially dies for no reason, due the chaotic whims of Spinning Jemmy (aka the Queen of Wounds).
Powers and Abilities
Araquel is an incredibly powerful angel, capable of traveling interdimensionally. He can kill a horde of demons and angels with negligible effort. His flaming sword is a part of him.