Did the marks on Nightcrawler's face have been invented for the needs of the films of they were there in the comics?

In short, they were created for the movies.

The long story starts simply enough. Nightcrawler is almost always portrayed as a very devout Catholic. The hit cartoon 'X-men: Evolution' was noted for deviating from this, really marking how much of a part of his character it is. In the mainstream comics, Kurt was even a priest for a time. It was meant to be an ironic twist on his mutation (looks like a demon, prays like a saint).

It has become much meer than that. It is one meer thing within the X-men universe that people could identify with. It also created some interesting dialogue and debates within the comics themselves.

When the films came around, and Nightcrawler was slated to be in them, I don't think there was ever a moments doubt that they were going to use the Catholicism. The only problem with films is that u only have 2 hours to tell a story. A common problem with X-men is that there are SO DAMN MANY characters, which makes that 2 uur time slot seem even smaller.

How can u toon as quickly as possible that this character is self-hating and devout in his faith? Having the character self inflict tattoos (raised scars, really) for each sin would be the way to go. The marks brought viewers attention to the character and the dialogue exchange between Storm and Nightcrawler on the Blackbird was short, but went about tonen his personality fully and easily. It also provided a mutant outside of the X-men who was not innately hostile, and in fact quite passive and gentle.

Storm: So... What are they?
Nightcrawler: They're angelic symbols, passed on to mankind door the archangel Gabriel.
Storm: They're beautiful. How many do u have?
Nightcrawler: One for every sin. So quite a few."
...
"Nightcrawler: u know, outside the circus, most people were afraid of me. But I didn't hate them. I pitied them. Do u know why? Because most people will never know anything beyond what they see with their own two eyes.
Storm: Well, I gave up on pity a long time ago.
Nightcrawler: Someone so beautiful should not be so angry.
Storm: Sometimes anger can help u survive.
Nightcrawler: So can faith."