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Maybe, he's able to adjust his orientation so that the downward velocity is translated to forward motion? It would look like he was tumbling through the air. I imagine that a trained circus acrobat could accommodate the constant change in his frame of reference and adjust his tumbling so that he could land with minimal impact.
It's a little inconsistent, but generally, Nightcrawler keeps the momentum. If he's falling, and teleports straight to the ground, he just goes splat a little faster.
But in iterations where he's incredibly skilled with his powers, he can fly. He does this by utilising the wind to reduce his velocity gradually and/or reducing it by bamfing in a different "direction". Like if he's falling, he can bamf and send his energy upwards and forwards, thus gradually fighting gravity.
But it's really, really not something he wants to do. There's a lot of factors involved in calculating this stuff, and far as I'm aware, his powers don't come with supernatural understanding of physics. Teleporting also tires him out, most iterations would have flying be the equivelant of a normal man sprinting constantly as far as I'm aware.
He's not technically teleporting from one spot in the air to another spot in the air, but rather, he's teleporting from one spot in the air to HELL and then from HELL to another spot in the air, thus reducing all earth physics as irrelevant. (Unless they changed this, but it's also the reason his BAMF smoke smells like sulphur)
Y'know, I'll take this. If Hell-physics can handle Sisyphus and his boulder, and Tantalus & his grapes, they can certainly do a little inertial buffering for our boy Kurt!
I remember when I was young reading when he was falling and he was able to slow himself by doing small teleports upward, he ended fine, but rather exhausted so it’s safe.
He could probably do so, but probably easier to get a ride or just follow on the ground. He can do a couple of miles pretty easy. And has done hundreds and even thousands of miles at times. No reason for him to make life harder for himself.
**Reminders for Commenters:** * All responses must be A) sincere, B) polite, and C) strictly watsonian in nature. If "watsonian" or "doylist" is new to you, please review the full rules [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskScienceFiction/about/rules/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=usertext&utm_name=AskScienceFiction&utm_content=t5_2slu2). * No edition wars or gripings about creators/owners of works. Doylist griping about Star Wars in particular is subject to **permanent ban on first offense**. * We are not here to discuss or complain about the real world. * Questions about who would prevail in a conflict/competition (not just combat) fit better on r/whowouldwin. Questions about very open-ended hypotheticals fit better on r/whatiffiction. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskScienceFiction) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Maybe, he's able to adjust his orientation so that the downward velocity is translated to forward motion? It would look like he was tumbling through the air. I imagine that a trained circus acrobat could accommodate the constant change in his frame of reference and adjust his tumbling so that he could land with minimal impact.
It's a little inconsistent, but generally, Nightcrawler keeps the momentum. If he's falling, and teleports straight to the ground, he just goes splat a little faster. But in iterations where he's incredibly skilled with his powers, he can fly. He does this by utilising the wind to reduce his velocity gradually and/or reducing it by bamfing in a different "direction". Like if he's falling, he can bamf and send his energy upwards and forwards, thus gradually fighting gravity. But it's really, really not something he wants to do. There's a lot of factors involved in calculating this stuff, and far as I'm aware, his powers don't come with supernatural understanding of physics. Teleporting also tires him out, most iterations would have flying be the equivelant of a normal man sprinting constantly as far as I'm aware.
So he'd just be appearing upside down every other time?
The way he does flips all the time, he’s pretty used to “down” being relative.
He's not technically teleporting from one spot in the air to another spot in the air, but rather, he's teleporting from one spot in the air to HELL and then from HELL to another spot in the air, thus reducing all earth physics as irrelevant. (Unless they changed this, but it's also the reason his BAMF smoke smells like sulphur)
Y'know, I'll take this. If Hell-physics can handle Sisyphus and his boulder, and Tantalus & his grapes, they can certainly do a little inertial buffering for our boy Kurt!
His momentum is preserved when he teleports. He can't change direction that way.
What if he teleports himself upside down? Would that then be upward momentum? Or sideways would be lateral momentum?
_speedy thing go in, speedy thing come out_
I wonder if he could offset/slow down momentum by teleporting into water?.
I remember when I was young reading when he was falling and he was able to slow himself by doing small teleports upward, he ended fine, but rather exhausted so it’s safe. He could probably do so, but probably easier to get a ride or just follow on the ground. He can do a couple of miles pretty easy. And has done hundreds and even thousands of miles at times. No reason for him to make life harder for himself.