Although real life did a good job of getting in the way for a few weeks, I’m back to review the final few Buffy universe comics for the year. With the Willow miniseries being wrapped up, and Angel being cancelled, as well as the most recent issue of Buffy, we have a lot to get through. So let’s get started...
Angel & Spike issue 16
So, it turns out looking back through my past reviews that my disinterest in the Angel & Spike comics was more pronounced than I realised, considering I forgot to review issue fourteen altogether. But now the news has broken that issue sixteen would be the last, somehow resulting in me actually owning all of the issues despite cancelling my subscription.
Perhaps it was the knowledge that this was the last issue, perhaps I’d resigned myself to never getting into the swing of these comics, but reading issue sixteen was just as underwhelming as previous issues. Part of the problem was, of course, the cancellation meaning a slightly rushed wrap-up of plots, but I think for me the bigger issue was simply that I’d given up on them. This issue did very much have Never Fade Away vibes, from the Wolfram & Hart fight to the sudden cliffhanger, and I really don’t know how to feel about it. The episode isn’t exactly one of my favourites, and so echoing it didn’t do much for me. Alongside some questionable choices regarding the characters, the ending was more of a relief than a joy.
The issue picks up with Spike, Angel, and Oz fighting off the werewolves from the end of issue fifteen, before they go to track down the man who is responsible for the wolves. This leads them to a man called Clive Bliss, who apparently lives in a lavish Hollywood hills home that Kate likens to a fishbowl. Apparently, they’ve either forgotten or are ignoring Angel’s own glass house of emotion. Gunn rocks up to help Angel, Spike, Kate, and Oz interrogate the man, who is apparently either part or whole Brachen demon, although the species name isn’t actually mentioned. Honestly, the whole thing felt a little like the writers were missing chunks of story, or were simply not bothering to mention elements such as demon species and why Angel’s wearing a weird mask to interrogate Bliss.
The interrogation goes about as well as can be expected, with Kate threatening to rip the man’s throat out and Wolfram & Hart showing up to be annoying and attempt to stop Angel from asking questions. One of the lawyers conveniently give some information away, about Fred and Lilah, which seems like the guy shouldn’t be working for an evil law firm if he’s that prone to letting things slip, and it doesn’t take long for Spike to fling one of them out the window. They end up then stealing the lawyers’ clothes to sneak into Wolfram & Hart, where Harmony Kendall is seemingly and inexplicably a receptionist. While Harmony being the receptionist fits with Angel the Series, the writers forgot one key thing; the last time she was in any of the comics, she was fifteen and having coffee at the Espresso Pump in Sunnydale with bestie Cordelia while complaining about Giles’s guitar playing. How, exactly, she’s gotten to Los Angeles, acquired a job, and seemingly had a relationship with Spike is anybody’s guess. The thing is, she isn’t mentioned by name, so arguably it might not be her. Except the sight of Spike elicits an excited ‘blondie bear!’, which was her nickname for him during their season four relationship. I could perhaps forgive the writers were this simply a case of Harmony’s cameo being rushed due to the comics being cancelled, but it seems more like them not actually being aware of the Buffy characters and their roles in those comics. Harmony hasn’t been seen or mentioned since way back in issue three, as I’ve already said, so it’s not like she’s a regular character, but she has been established as still being a high school sophomore rather than an adult vampire. I couldn’t help but be a little frustrated by this oversight, no matter how insignificant.
More frustratingly, however, Lilah Morgan gets bumped off pretty quickly after a chat with Angel about how Wolfram & Hart are the ones responsible for his and Spike’s current path; they lured Angel to Sunnydale and Spike to L.A, allowed them access to the Wolfram & Hart offices and such. It certainly fits the sort of thing the law firm might do, but it’s frustrating for them to drop that in to the final issue with us knowing we’re never actually going to fully understand what their plan was. Meanwhile, Fred is still battling Baphomet, the fight ending with Mura destroying him and essentially consuming Fred. So, no Illyria, but Fred still basically gets replaced by some sort of god in her own body. I mean, I guess a good god is better than a bad god, but still... It would have been nice to have one female character come out of these comics alright. Lilah had her throat ripped out, Kate’s storyline was all about how she was a reincarnation of Angel’s ex-lover, Fred’s been replaced by a god, and Lilith dropped off the face of the planet never to be mentioned again. To say that I’m more than a little disappointed by what’s happened to the female characters would be an understatement, and honestly that alone would be a good enough reason for me to never read these comics again.
The issue wrapped up with Fred/Mura inadvertently pulling everyone through to another dimension- because that’s something she can do now, apparently. Dropping through into what is very clearly the Hyperion Hotel, they’re greeted by an alternate version of Angel and Spike, who are scruffy, tattooed, and quite possibly a couple. Of course, that’s where everything ends, on the cliffhanger of this new dimension being discovered. It makes sense, of course, that there are alternate Angel universes, as we already know about alternate Buffy ones, but honestly I’d be happy to never see this alternate universe again. It didn’t grab me in the way that the Buffy ones did, and I’m a little sad we didn’t see much of a change except for Spike’s man bun and tattoos. Considering there’s an alternate universe where Willow and Buffy have switched places, I think there’s a missed opportunity for not doing something a little different regarding Angel & Spike’s alternate dimension. Perhaps a world where they’re greeted by a human Lilith who’s part of the team, or Gunn and Fred also meet their doubles. Or, if you really wanted to go for a twist like the reveal of Willow as the Slayer, they could have had Lilah Morgan as part of Angel’s team. As it was, I felt like the glimpse of an alternate universe was quite tame and dull, and it certainly didn’t make me sad we wouldn’t get to explore more of it.
Overall, I’m just relieved in a way that the series is over. I’d been reluctant to cancel, for fear I’d miss something pertinent that could then crop up in another Buffy crossover, and I’d held out hope for a better storyline for both the female characters and for Gunn. But nothing ever really came to fruition, and the whole thing just constantly felt like we were muddling through a story even the writers weren’t entirely clear on. It’s a shame, really, because it had potential at the start, and I wanted to love it, but it never succeeded in pulling me in.
Oh well. I guess we’re sticking in Sunnydale from now on.
Willow issue 5
I’ve mentioned before how the pandemic has done a number on the comic release schedule, and maybe that’s why I found this issue a little dull in comparison to the previous issues. Willow issue five concludes the miniseries and sees our favourite redheaded witch return home to Sunnydale, but the problem is we’ve already seen the aftermath of her return over in Buffy. In fact, she’s been back in Buffy for a few issues. That’s what a global pandemic does for you I guess, and while it clearly isn’t the most important thing to happen this year, I couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated.
As it was, the issue was perfectly fine. But it lacked the excitement I felt at the final issue of Hellmouth. We never found out the name of the girl trying to flee Abhainn- I was right, it seemed, about it not being Tara- and while Willow had a chat with Aelara about the importance of choice and allowing to make their own decisions, good or bad, it didn’t quite have the same oomph. Xander seemingly sent the birds and the dreams to Willow, in an attempt to free her from Abhainn, although I’m not entirely sure whether it was Xander Xander, or Willow’s subconscious manifesting as Xander. Or perhaps it was something linked to the alternate dimensions we’ve caught glimpses of, although I feel like that might be less likely.
After attacked Aelara with a giant bird and doing some magic, Willow ends up having a conversation about how they can’t just hold people hostage, and assures the other witch that she’ll return to Abhainn if they need her help. This feels to me like they’re perhaps setting up some future plots, though it could just be that they want to leave it open-ended in case an opportunity arises, rather than a concrete plan.
Honestly, I find myself lacking much more to say about the issue. As I’ve stated in previous reviews, I strongly feel like this series will flow better once I can read it all the way through, and I think also going back and reading it and the Buffy comics will clear up any lingering confusion or uncertainty I have. I have to admit though, I’m a little disappointed at just how self-contained this series is, with Willow not really bringing much back to the other comics except her slightly different attitude. It’s not a bad thing that Willow’s attitude is the only thing that changed, as that was a major part of her getting away from Sunnydale, but Hellmouth heralded an entirely new arc in the comics while this one solely focused on Willow’s journey. I’d at least hoped for a stronger link between the Abhainn witches and the Hellmouth, although that could still happen in the future.
Overall, it was a perfectly enjoyable issue, and wrapped everything up well. It’s just unfortunate that the change in schedule meant it didn’t have quite the same impact as it could have had...
Buffy issue 20
The last Buffy issue of the year is... A lot. It takes us through several significant points, including the proper introduction of Faith and her meeting Wesley, some reveals about true character motivations, a potential breakup, and a Scooby fight. It’s certainly getting the ball rolling for the next big plot even though we haven’t quite finished dealing with Xander yet.
First up we have Willow and Anya. Willow’s astral projection of herself stumbled across a demon and a shadowy figure at the end of last issue, and we pick up where we left off. As the demon spots Willow, however, a snap of its fingers causes her to somehow end up in the Magic Box, where a slightly annoyed Anya awaits. Of course, Anya being Anya, she immediately perks up at the prospect of Willow purchasing something from the shop, even as Willow herself wants to know how she went from astral projecting in her bedroom to physically being at the Magic Box. The pair then discuss Willow’s desire to help Xander, just as she promised to do last issue, and Anya eventually hands over an amulet, telling her that it’s to help her friend. While it’s a little odd for Anya to be giving anything away for free, she does point out that splitting Willow’s soul again isn’t an option, so the amulet is likely the final avenue we will come across to rescue Xander.
Meanwhile, Faith and Robin get a proper introduction, and Wesley reveals himself to have been lurking in the bushes. Although Ethan is unfortunately nowhere to be seen, I’m sure it won’t be too long before everyone’s favourite chaos mage turned ghost makes another appearance. Until then, we get Wesley trying and failing to be a confident Watcher, which is made even more fun by Faith’s refusal to believe in vampires. The three head to a diner to discuss everything, and Faith calls out Wesley for essentially stalking her all the way from Boston, while a frantic Robin tries to phone Buffy about the arrival of yet another Slayer. As someone who enjoyed the few Angel the Series episodes where Faith and Wesley actually teamed up in season four, I really liked their interactions this issue and I hope that we get to see much more of the pair of them working together than we did onscreen. Faith’s insistence the vampires are really aliens was, in particular a fun point as an out of his depth Wesley attempted to argue otherwise, and it really sets the tone for the pair of them to be a reluctant vampire-fighting team.
It also looks like Willow’s words to Xander last issue got through, as Giles is surprised by Jenny showing up on his doorstep. Although they share a moment together, they soon quickly get down to discussing what’s happened, and they have a dispute about whether or not Xander can be saved before Jenny admits she’s leaving town. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; I can’t see this being the last we see of Jenny Calendar, and so at this point I’m not too concerned about what’s being said, although I do hope she does stick around.
However, things certainly do take a turn for the worse when Giles calls a Scooby meeting at the library. While Willow, Kendra, Rose, and Buffy all join him, it doesn’t take long for one person to start acting more different than usual. Perhaps it was due to the cute flashback of childhood memories between her and Xander that preceded the library scene, perhaps it was the amulet, perhaps it’s simply Willow being annoyed at her friends’ apparent lack of trust. But when Giles brings up a breach of trust in the Scooby ranks she’s quick to get defensive, very reminiscent of how she argues with him in season six when he confronts her about resurrecting Buffy. Sure, she’s not threatening him this time, but it certainly has a very similar vibe.
Things only get worse when Giles reminds her of another friend who could breach their trust- Xander. The witch claims not to know what he’s talking about, leading Buffy to question her about how she’d interrupted her and Rose in the middle of trying to astral project last issue. It turns out that Kendra didn’t know that was where Rose was, causing an argument between them too, and it doesn’t take long for the teenagers to turn on one another. Willow first denies finding Jenny when Buffy asks, which isn’t entirely a lie, but when Giles points that out, she instead turns on the librarian and blames him for giving her the spell book she used. She then lies about where she got the amulet, and tells Rose to shut up when she is yet again called out on what she’s saying. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Willow ends up snapping at them all, only for them to be interrupted by Wesley, Faith, and Robin joining the group. We don’t get much of an introduction, however, as we’re quickly thrown back to the shadowy figure and the demon, who are able to watch what is going on in the library through some sort of mystical means.
While the shadowy figure is revealed to be a young woman named Morgan, that’s not the only revelation held in the final pages. Morgan and the demon complain about how there are now ‘three of them’, only to reveal they’re discussing the Watchers rather than the Slayers. The demon’s form then shifts, revealing none other than Anya Jenkins. And her next target? Rupert Giles.
Honestly, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this twist. On the one hand, it completely makes sense considering how Anya was introduced to the show in the first place. But on the other hand, she and Giles seem to have a history, given that she’s called him ‘Ripper’ in the past and he asked for her help keeping Buffy and the Scoobies safe. There’s a little part of me, I think, mourning the strange world in which an ex-vengeance demon and a rebellious Watcher became friends, because I actually quite liked that angle. Plus, there’s a part of me now suspicious about what that means considering Anya has said she used to be a Watcher. Is it like the vengeance gig, where she became a demon due to ‘proving’ herself? Was she perhaps a Watcher who fought back and is now vowing to take down any Watcher that doesn’t shun the Council in its entirety? While I don’t hate this new path, I’m quietly reserving judgement until we’ve walked a little further. After all, I’ve been concerned about plots before and Bellaire has always handled them in a very satisfactory way.
But that brings us to Morgan. It seems pretty clear that she’s a Slayer, as she talks about getting her life back and wanting to do the same for Buffy, Kendra, and Faith. It’s certainly an interesting concept, too, with a Slayer wanting to return to her life before the Council turned her into a weapon. In the show, it seemed like only Buffy was ever in that situation, so it’s nice to see it being explored a little more. And it’s also nice to see another Slayer of colour having a significant role to play. It does make me wonder, however, why Anya would tell Giles to seek out Buffy’s predecessor if it was Morgan. Perhaps it was a trap, particularly if Anya has somehow managed to ‘undo’ Morgan’s calling, or she died briefly only for Anya to bring her back, resulting in Buffy taking up the stake. Luring Giles away under the pretence of finding more help for Buffy could have been a good move, particularly as Giles always wants to do whatever possible to help and support his Slayer.
Overall, this issue was an interesting and full one, laying groundwork for the next few months of issues. Willow’s struggling despite her time away, and potentially getting too far into magic again, Faith and Wesley are now on the scene, Anya’s flipped sides and is out to get Giles, and there’s a secret fourth Slayer who wants to help by killing Giles, Wood, and Wesley. Somehow, I don’t think Buffy’s going to be thrilled with losing her Watcher and her boyfriend in one fell swoop, and while nobody knows Wesley well enough to feel protective of him just yet, I think the Slayers might take exception to somebody trying to off him all the same. While I’m seated quite happily on the fence regarding the ending of the comic, I also find that I can’t quite wait to find out what happens next, hopefully with added Cordelia in the Scooby Gang...
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