Topic: Canon Character List (The Shows) (Read 481 times)
Zoe Monroe Administrator Slayer Student: Junior Supernatural Weekly Editor[M:0] member is offline
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Canon Character List (The Shows) « Thread Started on May 4, 2007, 1:49pm »
Character name: William the Bloody aka Spike
PB: James Marsters
Species: Vampire
Status Unknown
Bio: William was born circa 1853 in London, England to Anne and an (as yet) unnamed husband. In 1880, when William was about 25 to 30 years old, he was a brown-haired, ineffectual gentleman who lived with his mother and wrote poetry. He was called "William the Bloody" behind his back by his peers because his poetry was so "bloody awful." This nickname (with more deadly connotations) would follow him in his future as a vampire. While he traveled in society circles, William found little in common with his peers; he preferred to create things of beauty rather than dwelling on the scandalous and seedy elements of existence. He showed a strong capacity for loyalty and devoted love, which would follow him after his siring. After his romantic overtures were rejected by the aristocratic Cecily, a despondent William, while wandering the streets, bumped into Drusilla. She followed William and seemed to understand him, and William accepted comfort in her arms, only to be bitten and transformed into a vampire (as seen in the episode "Fool for Love"). While new vampires in the Buffyverse often delight in killing their families once they become evil, William was a notable exception. He had always been very close to his mother, and turned her into a vampire to prevent her from dying from tuberculosis. Unfortunately, his mother, as a soulless vampire, proved to be a truly evil creature, taunting William that she had despised him all along, and insinuating that William had always had a sexual fascination with her. He ended up reluctantly staking her because he could not bear to see his mother in such a twisted, unnatural, abusive form. The entire matricidal experience was a terrible trauma for William; he would later write a poem about the experience entitled "The Wanton Folly of Me Mum," the text of which was never presented on-screen. This experience also comes to haunt him later on in the series when The First Evil uses it to manipulate Spike. After staking his mother, William began a new life with Drusilla. Euphoric with his newfound vampiric abilities and hungry for revenge on his peers, he abandoned the genteel hypocrisy of Victorian life. He became a rebel, adopting a working class North London accent and embracing impulsiveness and violence. He adopted the nom de guerre "Spike" because of a habit of torturing people with railroad spikes, inspired by a detractor from his human days who had exclaimed that he would rather "have a railroad spike driven through [his] head" than listen to William's poetry. In the company of Drusilla, her sire Angelus and Angelus' sire Darla, Spike terrorized Europe and Asia for almost two decades. Utterly devoted to Drusilla, he had a strained relationship with Angelus, rather like two rival brothers. Although Angelus did enjoy the company of another male vampire in their travels, he found Spike's eagerness for battle to be an unnecessary risk. Angelus regarded killing as an art, not a sport, and killed for the sheer act of evil; Spike did it for amusement and the rush. Tensions also arose surrounding Angelus' ongoing sexual relationship with Drusilla, which continued despite Spike's strong disapproval. Spike at one point referred to Angel as both his "sire" and his "Yoda." Spike later notes that Drusilla made him a vampire, but Angelus made him a monster. (Joss Whedon explained in an interview that a vampire's sire refers to anyone prior to them in their "line.")
In 1900, in one of his proudest moments, Spike killed a Slayer during the Boxer Rebellion; it was her sword that gave him the scar on his left eyebrow, which remains a century later. Shortly afterward, he and Drusilla lost touch with Darla and Angelus (who, unknown to Spike or Drusilla, had recently been cursed with a soul), and the couple wandered the world seeking amusement and mayhem, occasionally separating to pursue separate interests but always reuniting. During World War II, Spike was captured by Nazis for experimentation and transported aboard a submarine which was in turn seized by Americans. After Spike and two other vampires killed most of the crew, Angel made Spike and another vampire Angel had just sired leave the submarine, forcing them to swim to shore before the submarine reached the United States. While leaving the submarine, Spike looked to Angel and proclaimed, "You're still a thingy." By the 1950s, Spike had reunited with Drusilla and they traveled to Italy. At some point, Spike spent time in prison for tax evasion. He also at some point became rivals with Dracula, stating that he owes Spike 11 Pounds.
At some point in a century or so of being his own boss, Spike employed a pair of Fyarl Demons as muscle, which is unusual because Buffyverse vampires and demons rarely get along; he continues this diversity in friendships and relationships throughout his un-life. Spike attended Woodstock, where he drank blood from a flower child and spent the next several hours watching his own hand move, a side effect from the psychoactive drugs in her bloodstream. In the 1970s, He fought and killed Nikki Wood, a Slayer in New York City. Spike's story before he appears in Sunnydale unfolds in flashbacks scattered among numerous episodes of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. They are not presented in chronological order. A guide to finding the flashback(s) to a particular event is "List of Buffyverse historical flashbacks".
Sunnydale
Spike's first appearance in the episode "School Hard" Spike first appears in Sunnydale in the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in the episode "School Hard," accompanied by his longtime love Drusilla, who has been seriously weakened by an angry mob in Prague. He is a devoted caretaker to Drusilla in her weakened condition, and initially hopes that the Hellmouth's energy can help restore her strength. The presence of a Slayer to fight makes the town even more attractive to Spike. Upon discovering that Angel(us) is also in Sunnydale, he initially greets the older vampire as a friend (not realizing that Angel now has a soul); however, Angel's loyalty to Buffy soon ends their camaraderie. When Spike later learns that Drusilla can only be cured by the blood of the vampire who had sired her (Angel), he is more than willing to kill Angel in order to restore Dru. Spike and Drusilla are major enemies of Buffy for much of the second season. He is severely injured in a fight with Buffy and Kendra (in the episode "What's My Line, Part Two") when a church organ collapses on him and spends several months unable to walk, using a wheelchair instead. (Joss Whedon had originally intended to kill Spike, but the character had grown popular with fans and it was decided to injure him instead.)[citation needed] When Angel reverts to Angelus after making love with Buffy, he joins Spike and Drusilla, and eventually plots with Dru to destroy all of humanity. Spike initially celebrates their reunion with Angelus and demonstrates affection, but their longtime rivalry is renewed when Angelus taunts the (temporarily) helpless Spike by pursuing Dru as a lover. Spike continues to use his wheelchair after he recovers, feigning weakness to avoid suspicion while he plots against Angelus. Spike decides to ally himself with Buffy in his efforts; he explains to Buffy that, in addition to wanting Drusilla back, he also wants to "save the world": “ We like to talk big, vampires do. I'm going to destroy the world. That's just tough guy talk. Strutting around with your friends over a pint of blood. The truth is, I like this world. You've got – the dog racing, Manchester United, and you've got people: billions of people walking around like Happy Meals with legs. It's all right here. But then someone comes along with a vision, with a real passion for destruction. Angel could pull it off. Goodbye Piccadilly, farewell Leicester bloody Square. ” When Buffy makes her attack, Spike knocks out Drusilla, removing her from the fight. He and an unconscious Dru leave Sunnydale and travel to Brazil. Spike appears in only one episode of Season Three, "Lovers Walk." In Brazil, Drusilla is horrified by his alliance with the Slayer and senses that Spike will develop feelings for Buffy; she rejects and cheats on him, which sends him into an extended drunken depression. Spike returns to Sunnydale and attempts to force Willow Rosenberg to cast a love spell on Drusilla. He visits Joyce Summers, who listens sympathetically to his heartache, and recruits Buffy and Angel to help him gather spell ingredients. After reveling in the rush of an intense fight, Spike cheerfully abandons the love spell idea, resolving to win Drusilla back by torturing her until she likes him again. He also tells Buffy and Angel that no matter what happens, they will never be friends because of their love for one another. Buffy remarks to Angel that "I can fool Giles, and I can fool my friends, but I can't fool myself – or Spike, for some reason," foreshadowing Spike's role as the "truth-seer" of the group. Spike returns to Sunnydale alone in Season Four, in the episode "The Harsh Light of Day," to search for the Gem of Amarra, a talisman that allows a vampire to endure sunlight and even a stake to the heart without ill effect; he later travels to Los Angeles to retrieve it, torturing Angel in an attempt to discover its location before he is thwarted and driven from the city (cf. Angel, Season 1, "In the Dark"). He becomes involved with Harmony Kendall, a shallow young vampire who used to be Cordelia's best friend before being turned at graduation. Despite her beauty and affection, Spike treats her as little more than a nuisance and sexual plaything. His un-life takes a pivotal turn when The Initiative, a secret government demon-fighting army, captures him and implants a microchip in his head, which causes crippling pain whenever he harms or attempts to harm a human being. Unable to hunt for blood, Spike turns to the Scooby Gang for protection, bartering his knowledge of the Initiative; he quickly becomes their reluctant captive. In the episode "A New Man," he helps Giles out of a tight spot in exchange for money. In the episode "Something Blue," Spike and Buffy briefly become engaged through an accidental enchantment by Willow; although the spell only commands them to get married, each mentions being in love, foreshadowing their later bond. Spike discovers that the chip does not prevent him from fighting demons; since he thrives on violence, he fights alongside the Scoobies on occasion. At this point, Spike is still looking out for himself first and foremost, and does not shy away from letting the Scoobies know it. For example, upon learning that Faith is on the loose after coming out of her coma, he proclaims that he will find her and tell her exactly where the Scoobies are, and watch while she tears them all apart. Later in the season, Spike allies with Adam, a demon/human/cyborg chimera created by the Initiative, and helps the creature in its quest to destroy the Initiative and the Scoobies. Spike's price is simple: he wants the Initiative's chip out of his head for good. He briefly manages to turn the Scoobies against each other by manipulating existing tensions within the group (cf. "The Yoko Factor"), but he changes sides again when he realizes that Adam is double-crossing him and helps to save the Scoobies from rampaging demons in the middle of a battle. In Season Five, Spike becomes aware after some erotic dreams that, to his horror, he has fallen in love with Buffy. Unsure how to proceed, he keeps a nightly vigil outside her home, occasionally even breaking in (most notably to sniff and steal Buffy's clothing, and to steal photographs for his secret shrine to her). Spike also becomes a more active participant in the Scooby Gang, jumping into several of Buffy's fights to provide assistance whether she wants it or not. At Buffy's request, he reveals to her how he killed the two Slayers he had fought, offering survival advice, and later comforts her when her mother has to go into the hospital. Buffy's younger sister Dawn, who has a crush on Spike, perceives his feelings for Buffy, and casually mentions it to Buffy. When Buffy rejects his advances, Spike attempts to prove his love by kidnapping her to witness him killing Drusilla for her. When that fails, Buffy has Willow uninvite him from her home (something she had not bothered to do in the two years since their alliance against Angelus). Not wanting to give up his obsession, Spike has Warren Mears make a sex-bot made in Buffy's likeness that is programmed to love and obey him. Though ultimately disgusted after witnessing the full extent of Spike's obsession, Buffy reconciles after Spike refuses to reveal the location of the Key to Glory under intense torture, nearly laying down his life to protect Dawn. Buffy is moved by his unexpected sacrifice and kisses him. In the days and hours leading up to the final showdown with Glory, Spike fights by Buffy's side, earning her trust (as well as a re-invite to her home). After Buffy dies in the showdown with Glory, Spike honors her memory by remaining loyal to the Scoobies, fighting at their side and serving the role of baby-sitter/father figure/protector to Dawn. Blaming himself for Buffy's death, he keeps track of the number of days since she died until she is resurrected in Season Six. During the sixth season, Spike and Buffy became lovers. Unable to confide in her friends, Buffy is increasingly drawn to Spike. Their physical relationship starts after a demon's spell makes them share their emotions and Buffy expresses that she "want[s] the fire back," but it is not consummated until Spike finds out that his chip no longer stops him from hurting the resurrected Buffy. Buffy most often initiates both the violence and the sex between them, and threatens to kill Spike if he ever tells anyone about their relationship. During their first sexual encounter, they fought and the house around them shook and fell, foreshadowing the volatile nature of their relationship. Both are unsatisfied with the relationship; Buffy is ashamed of her dark desires, while Spike obsessively craves the love, trust, and affection that she is unwilling to give. Shortly after Buffy's ex-boyfriend Riley Finn finds Spike in possession of smuggled demon eggs and accuses him of being "The Doctor" (cf. "As You Were"), Buffy ends their relationship. Spike at first tries to make her jealous by bringing a date to Xander and Anya's wedding. Later, after Xander leaves Anya at the altar, Spike and Anya get drunk together and seek solace in each other's arms. Buffy and Xander catch them, and her jealousy at seeing Spike with Anya leads him to believe he still had a chance at winning Buffy back.
After a lecture from Dawn, Spike, his obsession out of control, corners an injured Buffy in her bathroom, making aggressive sexual advances. When Buffy refuses him, he attacks her in desperation, apparently intending to rape her; although their sexual history is highly violent, Buffy clearly says no to this encounter. Horrified by his own actions and intentions, Spike leaves town and heads to a remote area of Africa. He seeks out a legendary demon shaman and undergoes the Demon Trials, a series of grueling physical challenges, to prove his worthiness. Spike survives the trials, earning back his soul (cf. "Grave"). With the returning of his soul comes a conscience filled with guilt. In the early episodes of Season Seven, Spike resides in the basement of the recently reconstructed Sunnydale High School, close to the Hellmouth's opening. Tormented by The First Evil as well as by his newfound conscience, he appears to be going insane (he notes at one point that he is "bug-shagging crazy"). When Buffy asks him why he had fought for his soul, Spike explains: "For her. To be hers. To be the kind of man who would nev-...To be a kind of man." After Buffy learns that Spike is in the basement, she enlists his assistance in several situations, although it is not until well after she learns that he is ensouled that she decides to bring him out of the basement. Spike becomes reluctant roommates with Xander, because he has nowhere else to go. However, this arrangement backfires as Spike, under influence of the First Evil's hypnotic trigger, unknowingly kills innocent people. Spike initially has no memory of his actions; after he discovers what he has done, he begs Buffy to stake him. Buffy refuses and takes him into her house, telling him she has seen him change. He suffers severe withdrawals after his extended feeding on human blood, and is still vulnerable to the (as yet unidentified) hypnotic trigger, so he is willingly confined with ropes or chains. Buffy guards and cares for Spike throughout his recovery, telling Spike that she believes in him, a statement which later sustains him throughout his imprisonment and torture at the hands of the First Evil. Spike assists Buffy in her efforts to train the Potentials that are gathering in Sunnydale. In the meantime, his chip begins to malfunction, causing him intense pain and threatening to end his un-life. To the dismay of Giles and her friends, Buffy trusts Spike enough to order Initiative operatives to remove it from his head. She also takes Spike's side when Robin Wood attempts to kill him in retribution for the murder of his mother, Nikki Wood, the Slayer Spike killed in 1977. Ironically, by attempting to kill Spike when he is under the First's influence, Wood frees Spike from his hypnotic trigger: a song called "Early One Morning" that Spike's mother often sang to him before he became a vampire. The song evokes Spike's traumatic memories of his mother's abusive behavior toward him after she turned; after Spike is able to address these issues, he realizes that his mother had always loved him, knowledge which frees him from the First's control. Later in the season, Spike and Buffy achieve an emotional closeness; he, alone, remains selflessly loyal to her when the other Scoobies, Giles, and the Potentials abandon her (noting, with contempt: "You sad, sad, ungrateful traitors. Who do you think you are? ... She has saved your lives again and again. She's died for you. And this is how you thank her?"). After Spike tracks Buffy to an abandoned house, they spend two nights together; after the first night, Spike tells Buffy that it was the best night of his life, just holding her. It is unclear whether they resume their sexual intimacy the second night; creator Joss Whedon said on the DVD commentary for "Chosen" that he intentionally left it to the viewers to decide how they felt the relationship progressed, though Whedon had earlier stated on the commentary that he personally felt having them resume a sexual relationship would send the wrong message. In the final battle inside the Hellmouth, Spike, wearing a mystical amulet, fights alongside Buffy, Faith and the newly awakened Slayers against the First Evil's army of Turok-Han. The amulet mystically channels sunlight that turns the Turok-Han to dust and collapses the cavern containing the Hellmouth, sealing it and creating a crater which swallows up the entire town of Sunnydale. Despite Buffy's pleas, Spike sacrifices himself to destroy the Turok-Han and close the Hellmouth. Spike is slowly incinerated in the process, but not before Buffy tells him "I love you." He replies, "No, you don't — but thanks for saying it." Even as he burns and crumbles to dust, Spike chuckles and revels in the destruction before him, glad to be able to see the fight to its end. He finally dies at the Hellmouth and saves the world in the process, becoming a Champion.
Zoe Monroe Administrator Slayer Student: Junior Supernatural Weekly Editor[M:0] member is offline
Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 156 Location: New Hope Karma: 1
Re: Canon Character List (The Shows) « Reply #1 on May 4, 2007, 1:50pm »
Los Angeles
Spike returns in Angel's fifth season Despite his apparent death at the end of Buffy's final season, Spike returns in the fifth and final season of Angel. The amulet he wore at the Hellmouth mysteriously returns to Wolfram & Hart by mail; Spike materializes from a whirlwind after Angel opens the envelope. Spike initially intends to leave Wolfram & Hart and find Buffy, who is now in Europe; however, he discovers that he is mystically bound to Los Angeles and unable to leave. For the first seven episodes of the season, Spike is an incorporeal being akin to a ghost with a connection to the human world that is unstable, causing him to disappear at random (but increasingly frequent) intervals. As his disappearances become more frequent and intense, Spike, terrified, confides only to Fred that every time he disappears, he is being transported to Hell. He asks her to help save him, and she promises to find a way to make him corporeal again. Later, in the episode "Hell Bound," it is discovered that Spike's disappearances are being caused by another ghost, Matthias Pavayne aka The Reaper, who toys with the many souls trapped at Wolfram & Hart in order to delay his own sentence to Hell. Fred successfully creates a machine to recorporealize Spike, but when Pavayne threatens Fred's life, Spike chooses to use the machine to save her, throwing away his opportunity to become corporeal but successfully stopping Pavayne; Spike's heroic actions reinforce Fred's belief that he is "worth saving." Spike finds himself able to affect the world around him if he wants to badly enough, so he is able to assist in fighting before he is actually recorporealized. Later, Spike receives a mysterious package in the mail; when he opens it, he sees a flash of light and discovers that he has become corporeal again. Chaos concurrently erupts in Wolfram & Hart, and Eve arrives with information that the existence of two corporeal ensouled vampire Champions is complicating the Shanshu Prophecy and destroying the fabric of reality (although it was later implied that Angel's old foe Lindsey McDonald made the situation worse than it would have been). She tells them that a new translation of the Prophecy reveals that, in order to restore the balance, Spike and Angel must compete to drink from the Cup of Perpetual Torment, which will bestow upon the winner great responsibilities and pain before ultimately washing his past clean and allowing him to live as human again. In their extended physical and verbal battle, each tries to assert himself as the better man. Although Angel tells Spike that Spike is a monster just like him, Spike denies any similarities: "You had a soul forced on you. As a curse. Make you suffer for all the horrible things you've done. Me, I fought for my soul, went through the demon trials, almost did me in a dozen times over, but I kept fighting. Because I knew it was the right thing to do. It's my destiny." Their battle culminates with Angel unable to touch a giant cross, which Spike, contemptuously ignoring the pain, holds and wields with ease. During the fight, he also reveals his hate and resentment toward Angel for making him into the monster he became. Spike defeats Angel for the first time in their long history and drinks from the Cup, but the prophecy turns out to be a sham (the liquid in the Cup was merely Mountain Dew). Even though he is now corporeal (and therefore no longer bound to Los Angeles), Spike decides not to go to Europe in search of Buffy; he wants her to remember him as the hero who died to save the world. Beginning in the episode "Soul Purpose," Lindsey McDonald, using the name of the late half-demon Doyle with a connection to The Powers That Be, persuades Spike that he is destined to "help the helpless," in much the same way as the real Doyle persuaded Angel of the same thing at the start of Angel. Alienated by Angel's corporate, bureaucratic approach to fighting evil, Spike steps into his role as hero. He takes on Dana, a psychotic Slayer who had, until recently, been locked in a mental institution, but Dana captures him, drugs him, and cuts off his hands. This experience causes Spike to more deeply examine the nature of the evil inside him, and he tells Angel that Dana thought that he had killed her whole family, and says: "And I'm supposed to, what, complain, because hers wasn't one of the hundreds of families I did kill?" Spike believes that Dana has become a monster like them, but Angel responds that the girl is an innocent victim, and Spike points out that he and Angel were innocent victims at one point. Spike's hands are reattached at Wolfram & Hart, and he is instructed to play video games for physical therapy, including Donkey Kong and Crash Bandicoot. Eventually, Spike learns that "Doyle" is actually Lindsey, who has been manipulating him the whole time. His relationship with Angel becomes increasingly acrimonious, and they contemplate the possibility of Spike leaving L.A. after a particularly bitter argument over whether cavemen or astronauts would win in a fight (cf. "A Hole in the World"). When Fred becomes infected with the essence of the Old One known as Illyria, Spike works alongside Angel and the rest of the crew to find a cure, and mourns for Fred when they fail. He abandons the idea of leaving L.A. after Fred's death, deciding to stay because that is what Fred would have wanted. Spike is put in charge of "testing" the newly-awakened Illyria's abilities, which generally involves fighting with her and recording details on his clipboard, and the two develop a bond. By the end of the season, Spike is a trusted member of the group. Although Spike and Angel remain antagonistic, they are a lethally effective fighting team thanks to their decades or so of experience with each other. When the final episodes of Angel air, Spike is the first to vote for Angel's plan to wound the Senior Partners by taking out the Circle of the Black Thorn. Before Angel's team enters what may be their final battle, Angel gives them the day off, to spend as though it was going to be their last day. Spike, returning to his mortal roots as a frustrated poet, triumphantly knocks them dead (figuratively) in an open mic poetry slam at a bar after having some drinks to gather 'Dutch courage,' reciting his completed version of a poem he had begun over a century earlier before being sired by Drusilla (cf. "Not Fade Away"). After single-handedly rescuing an infant and destroying the Fell Brethren, Spike joins Angel, Illyria, and a badly-wounded Charles Gunn in the alley behind the Hyperion as the series draws to an end, preparing to incur the apocalyptic wrath of the Senior Partners, as a way of going out in a blaze of glory. The question of whether Spike survived this battle was left unanswered, although he does appear in (non-canon) material set after it.
Appearance and Personality: William's natural hair color was medium brown; in 1943, he was seen with it dyed black and slicked down, and by 1977, he had begun to bleach it, keeping that look at least until he was last seen in May of 2004. Spike has claimed that Billy Idol stole his look from him. He received an V/Y-shaped scar on his left eyebrow from the sword of the first Slayer he killed, in 1900; on his first appearance in the series, the wound still looks fresh, but gradually blends in over the course of the series. James Marsters received the scar in real life during a mugging[1]. Spike usually wears long black leather coats, including one that he took from a Nazi officer and another that he later took as a trophy from Nikki Wood, the second Slayer he killed; this was the black duster he wore for over twenty-five years. It was incinerated along with Spike when the Hellmouth collapsed and rematerialized at Wolfram & Hart when Spike did. When the coat was destroyed by a bomb from the Immortal in Italy, Spike heartbrokenly declared it to be irreplaceable; however, the Italy branch of Wolfram & Hart quickly supplied him with a whole wardrobe of new, nearly identical ones. He seemed to quickly forget his distress. His trademark look includes the leather duster, a black t-shirt or v-neck shirt and black denim pants, usually with heavy boots; he also wore a red long-sleeve shirt fairly often, particularly during the earlier seasons of Buffy. In the episode "Doomed," Spike is forced to wear one of Xander's Hawaiian shirts and a pair of knee-length shorts because his clothes were shrunk due to his not knowing how to set the water temperature on the washing machine, while in the episode "Tabula Rasa" he wears a deerstalker and tweed suit as a disguise to escape demonic loan sharks. Spike's personality is driven by his incredible lust for violence, which is immense even by the standards of demonic society. He has noted that he finds the very act of violence therapeutic: in the episode "School Hard," he responds to a lackey's incompetence by snapping the neck of a hostage he considers to be 'too old to eat'; he notes that he felt a lot better afterwards. Similarly, during his drunken pining for Drusilla in the episode "Lovers Walk," he notes that getting pent-up aggression out of his system by staking and driving off several vampires 'put(s) things in perspective' for him. After a prolonged period of being unable to bite or hurt humans, Spike is delighted to discover that he is able to fight demons and gladly accompanies the Scooby Gang on patrol, proving that it did not much matter to him what he was fighting for so long as he could fight. Aside from his appetite for destruction, one of Spike's most prominent characteristics is his dry, sarcastic sense of humor. A polar opposite to his callow and simpering human nature, Spike quickly adopted a swaggering posture and enjoyed living by nobody's rules save his own. Fitting in with this was his habit of making pithy remarks and glib insults, even towards the few he did not view as antagonists. Among his favorite targets was his grandsire and rival, Angel (often making fun of his large forehead, constantly groomed appearance, and his attempts to be a 'big, strapping hero'); others include Xander Harris, Rupert Giles, and, to a lesser degree, Buffy Summers. However, Spike also retained something of his literary intellect from his human side, routinely referencing poetry, songs, and literature; he would, on occasion, also wax poetical on the nature of love and life (and unlife) as being driven by blood, reasoning that blood is more powerful than any supernatural force because it is what separates the living from the dead (cf. "Lovers Walk" and "The Gift"). Spike frequently challenges vampire conventions and limitations. For example, he often treats his vulnerability to the sun as an inconvenience, rather than a limitation; he drives in broad daylight in vehicles with blacked-out windows, and he regularly travels outside during the day, using a blanket for cover. However, he does seem more resistant to sunlight effects than other vampires (who usually combust instantly and completely in sunlight). Spike also embraces certain elements of humanity, such as love and loyalty, that would be considered too human (and therefore offensive or impure) by other vampires. He has a taste for beer, whiskey, Weetabix (which he mixes into blood for texture), and spices and burba weed (which he mixes into blood for flavor). Spike is also seen eating a box of chocolates (a present originally intended for Buffy), Buffalo wings, and onion blossoms, constituting the most varied diet of any vampire on the show (another example of Spike defying vampire conventions). He also smokes cigarettes (as do many vampires); his preferred brand is Morley cigarettes, which he lights with a trademark silver Zippo lighter. With or without a soul, Spike displays a strong sense of honor and loyalty. At the end of Season Two, when Spike allies himself with Buffy to defeat Angelus, he keeps his promise to remove Drusilla from the fight and leave town (even though he and Buffy had been bitter enemies up to that point). He treats Joyce Summers with continuing (and uncharacteristic) affection, honoring her kindness to him even after she dies. After Buffy dies, Spike continues to protect her sister and friends.
Powers and Abilities Spike has the standard powers and vulnerabilities of a vampire, although age, experience, and enthusiasm have increased his strength and armed him with skills that even most of his peers do not possess. His senses make him a useful tracker; he can track by scent in the air, or by blood, and at one point, he was able to sense Buffy from the other side of a door. Spike loves combat for the sheer joy and adrenaline rush, even after his re-ensoulment. He particularly appreciates fights that pose a challenge, which has resulted in him taking on angry mobs and multiple Slayers (he has a special place in vampire lore for the rare feat of killing two Slayers in single combat). Although it requires substantial concentration, Spike is even able to join in fights while he is in incorporeal form in the fifth season of Angel. Spike is highly skilled and adaptable in both armed and unarmed combat; for example, he is able to briefly overcome Illyria during a testing of her abilities when she is at the height of her powers. Illyria criticizes his (and others') ability to adapt, calling it "compromising"; however, for a creature with somewhat limited power (unlike the original Illyria), it is one of his greatest strengths as a fighter. Spike has been shown on occasion using firearms and modern weaponry as well as the bladed weapons more often seen in the Buffyverse. He is skilled at using many varieties of weapons, such as a rifle, knife, sword, axe, crossbow, stake, and a staff. Spike can also withstand excessive amounts of pain for extended periods of time, particularly when properly motivated. He withstands terrible torture at the hands of Glory, refusing to tell her that Dawn was the Key she sought, sustained only by his unrequited love for Buffy. Spike later withstands extensive torture while imprisoned by the First Evil; he refuses to give in to despair, taking strength from Buffy's declaration that she believes in him. While not as skilled or as cruel in torture as Angelus, Spike also proves himself to be effective at it when he tortures Doctor Sparrow, noting that the torture session had resulted in "screams, various fluids, and a name." What gives Spike an added edge in both combat and personal matters are his insights and skills in perception and observation, especially with regard to relationships and personalities. This ability allows him to wield powerful psychological weapons as easily and effectively as physical ones. For example, when he wants to create disharmony among the Scoobies, Spike divides-and-conquers with the "Yoko Factor," exploiting tensions that exist under the surface to alienate Buffy and her friends against each other. When he and Angel compete for the Cup of Perpetual Torment, Spike's verbal taunts, insights, and insults are as crucial (in that they further demoralized an already insecure Angel) to his success as his physical blows. He explains to Buffy that he was able to defeat two Slayers because he sensed and exploited their secret desires to be free of their burden. He has a solid sense of the state of relationships, accurately identifying when and why some relationships, such as that between Buffy and Riley, are not meant to last. His skills of analysis also have many positive effects. For example, Spike's perception and insight make him a natural father figure for Dawn, who needed protection, attention, discipline, and guidance. He is the first to see through Tara's abusive and controlling family, and reveals their sinister intentions before any of the Scoobies suspect it. Spike also clearly identifies Buffy and Angel's continuing love at a time when both of them are trying to say that they are "just friends," forcing the two of them to finally face the truth to each other. In addition to his ability to sense weaknesses in others, Spike's overwhelming belief in himself gives him an added edge. Unlike Angel, who is given to moments of self-doubt, Spike never doubts himself. This belief on Spike's part that he was simply better than Angel was as crucial to his victory as his ability to demoralize the already insecure Angel. Spike simply believed his time had come, and that no matter what Angel did, or did not, do, that he, Spike, was the better man. Although capable of developing sound battle strategies, Spike (particularly in the days before receiving his chip and being ensouled) often loses patience with anything more complicated than outright attack: Spike: I had a plan. Angel: You, a plan? Spike: Yeah, a good plan. Smart. Carefully laid out. But I got bored. He also is impatient to fight the Slayer upon his initial arrival in Sunnydale; the attack is supposed to coincide with the Night of St. Vigeous (when a vampire's natural abilities are enhanced), but he "couldn't wait" to go after the Slayer and attacks the night before. However, Spike is somewhat masterful with strategy, and has exercised patience in many ways. For example, in Sunnydale, when Angelus joins Spike and Dru after Spike's injury leaves him in a wheelchair, Spike patiently builds up his strength and, even after regaining his ability to walk, hides this from the others. Instead, he listens, learns, and endures tortuous weeks watching Angelus sexually pursue Dru as he waits for the right time to strike. Spike's "vampire constitution" provides him with an extremely high tolerance for alcohol (which he regularly consumes in copious quantities). He is also seen picking locks; driving a car, a motorcycle, and a motor home; using video game systems and a computer; treating injuries; pick-pocketing; and playing poker and pool. Spike is also seen speaking Latin, Luganda (a language of Uganda, where he meets the demon shaman), and the language of Fyarl Demons. It is implied that he has some minimal familiarity with Italian (he can at least say "ciao" and "strada").
Zoe Monroe Administrator Slayer Student: Junior Supernatural Weekly Editor[M:0] member is offline
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Re: Canon Character List (The Shows) « Reply #2 on May 4, 2007, 2:01pm »
Character Name: Liam aka Angel
PB: David Boreanaz
Species: Vampire
Status unknown
Bio: Angel was born as Liam, to an Irish merchant, in 1727. By 1753, at the age of 26, he had developed a taste for alcohol, women and sloth. Though a good man at heart, Liam was a hedonist whose only real ambition lay in seeing the world. For the lazy Irishman, that seemed a laughable dream, especially after he was expelled from his father's household, but he had caught the eye of an affluent woman - actually a vampire - named Darla. She lured him into an alley and, promising him a world full of excitement and travel, transformed him into a vampire.
The loss of his soul meant Liam no longer possessed any restraint over his darker impulses. On the night he rose from his grave, and in response to Darla's claim that he could have anyone in the village, he set about slaughtering the entire community. When he came to slaughter his own family, he found no problem in entering, his little sister inviting him in without hesitation or suspicion. Before killing his father, he would tell him mockingly, "She thought that I'd returned to her. An angel. She was wrong." For generations Darla and Liam, now known as Angelus, terrorized humankind, murdering and torturing anyone who crossed their path. Angelus sired the vampires Penn (who indulged his blood lust by becoming a serial killer), and Drusilla, a young woman driven insane by Angelus before he finally sired her. Drusilla, in turn, sired Spike, for whom Angelus largely served as a mentor and "role model." Spike would go so far as to call the elder vampire his "Yoda". According to Angel in the episode "City of", he had been around for 14 wars, not counting Vietnam; "they never declared it."
Cursed
You have no idea what it's like to have done the things I've done... and to care. —Angel In 1898, Angelus slew the favorite daughter of a tribe of Gypsies, the Kalderash Clan. To avenge her death, they cursed him by restoring his human soul, thus afflicting him with a conscience and condemning him to an eternity of remorse for what he did when he didn't have his soul. He tried and failed to resume his life with Darla. After he was unable to kill a baby during the Boxer Rebellion to prove himself to Darla, Angelus fled (presumably to the United States). There, he lived an isolated life avoiding humanity, and the temptation to feed, living in a dark apartment. Angel arrived in New York via Ellis Island in 1902 (Angel Season 4 Episode 15 "Orpheus") During World War II, Angel was recruited by The Demon Research Initiative who sunk him to the bottom of the ocean to rescue an American submarine crew from three Nazi captured vampires (including Spike). The American crew had stolen the German submarine. Angel was forced to sire Ensign Sam Lawson to save the crew. In 1952, Los Angeles, Angel was a resident at the Hyperion Hotel, the building which would one day become the future base of Angel Investigations. During this time, Angel was attempting to stay to himself, avoiding interaction with other patrons and looking the other way when his help was required, even despite the numerous strange incidents of murders and suicides running rampant throughout the hotel. After his meeting with a young woman named Judy, he was forced to disarm a man chasing her, but then immediately ended any interaction with her soon after. However, her repeated attempts to contact him managed to help him build a, lukewarm at best, relationship with her while the hotel continued to become corrupted around him. Though he didn't understand why, Angel felt compelled to help the human residents of the hotel by defeating the Paranoia demon affecting them, but by the time he had obtained the items he required, the entire hotel had been overcome with paranoia and not only did Judy betray him in order to save herself, but the hotel residents beat and then hanged him. This was a turning point in Angel's life where he got close to a human and tried to selflessly help her and the other residents, but in the end decided it was not worth saving them, bitter at their actions against him. He returns many decades later to find Judy an old woman, having been trapped in the Hyperion all this time feeling guilt at Angel's apparent death by hanging because of her accusations. Angel forgives her and remembers her fondly as one of his first few friends. In New York during the 1970s, Angel came upon a robbery at a doughnut shop. After the robber shot the employee and fled, Angel stayed with the man as he died. Unable to resist the urge to feed from a warm human, Angel fed on the man and then grew disgusted with himself. He exiled himself to a life of homelessness, living in alleyways and feeding off of stray rats. A shadow of his former self, a reclusive and emotionally tortured Angel eventually met a demon named Whistler in 1996, who persuaded him to join the fight against the evil that had corrupted him and to help the newly called Vampire Slayer, Buffy Summers. When he and Buffy finally meet in Sunnydale, CA, he introduces himself not as Angelus, but as Angel.
Sunnydale
Angel's doomed romance with Buffy is a centerpiece of the show. Angel's story before he met Buffy unfolds in flashbacks scattered among numerous episodes of both "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel". They were not presented in chronological order. A guide to finding the flashback or flashbacks to a particular event is at Angel, Darla, Spike and Dru: Before 1997. Over time, Buffy and Angel fall in love. Though they try to deny their feelings, they cannot resist the passion growing between them. When they finally consummate their relationship, Angel experiences the one moment of pure happiness needed to break his curse. Without the humanity and conscience that was instilled by his soul, Angel quickly returns to his former, evil self. After Angel transforms back into Angelus, he allies himself again with Spike and Drusilla, who had recently settled in Sunnydale. Angelus finds immense pleasure in tormenting Buffy and her friends.
He goes on to kill Jenny Calendar, who had been a core member of Buffy's group, just after she manages to successfully decipher the lost Gypsy curse which would restore Angelus' soul. He then attempts to awaken the demon Acathla in an attempt to bring about the Apocalypse. Buffy, however, is determined to stop him despite their deeply emotional history. Fighting him in one-on-one combat, Buffy is able to overcome Angelus, but before Acathla consumes him, Angel is cursed again by Buffy's friend and comrade Willow Rosenberg, his soul restored moments before Buffy has to kill him and, in doing so, save the world. Less than a year later, Angel is unexpectedly released from Hell, reappearing in his mansion in a feral state. Buffy aids him in secret, fostering his rehabilitation. Having regained his senses, Angel realizes that his return from Hell was not accidental, and that he must be meant to serve some higher purpose. Haunted by The First, taking on the appearances of those he killed as Angelus, Angel almost kills himself out of the guilt he feels, but when it snows on the day he was trying to expose himself to the sun, he begins to realize that he may have been saved for a good reason. He and Buffy tried to have an actual relationship, but, after a meeting with Joyce Summers, Angel makes the difficult decision to leave Sunnydale and Buffy, in an effort to protect them both and lend whatever normality to Buffy's chaotic life he can.
Los Angeles
He then moves to Los Angeles, where he attempts to redeem himself in the service of others. He finds support from Doyle, a half-demon and fellow Irish sent by The Powers That Be, and Cordelia Chase, a former classmate of Buffy's who has moved to L.A. to find wealth and fame. The trio form Angel Investigations, a shoe-string operation with the mission statement of protecting those who cannot defend themselves and helping lost souls find their way. Doyle, Angel's trusted friend and sole connection to the Powers, is killed in the line of duty, leading Angel to become even more protective of those he holds dear. Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, who had briefly served as Watcher to both Buffy and Faith in Sunnydale, arrives in L.A. working as a "rogue demon hunter," but stays to assist Angel and Cordelia in their mission (albeit mainly because he wasn't doing very well on his own). A few months later, they are joined by lifelong demon fighter Charles Gunn. The AI Team also enlists the help of demon karaoke bar-owner Lorne, known initially only as The Host, a demon who can read the futures of humans and demons when they sing. During this time, Wolfram & Hart attempt to have Angel killed by the rogue vampire slayer Faith, but Angel's influence, coupled with Faith's pre-existing self-loathing issues, encourage Faith to begin her own path to redemption, and she turns herself into the police to make up for what she did.
As Angel continues to help the helpless in Los Angeles, his good deeds begin to disrupt the plans of the evil inter-dimensional law firm, Wolfram & Hart. In an attempt to control him, W&H resurrect his sire and former lover, Darla, but bring her back as a human rather than a vampire. W&H then bring forth Drusilla, who turns Darla into a vampire again, causing Angel to feel that he has failed to save her. He then fires his crew and embarks on a bitter, ruthless vendetta against W&H (going as far as consciously allowing the murder of a very large group of W&H employees) and the newly reunited Darla and Drusilla. In a moment of perfect despair, Angel attempts to remove his soul by having sex with Darla, but instead finds a moment of clarity following the desperate act, realizing his purpose is still for good. Horrified at Angel's epiphany, Darla flees Los Angeles. After a difficult reconciliation that involves Wesley taking over the official position of leader of the group, the AI team then find themselves transported to Lorne's home dimension, Pylea. Eventually, after Angel defeats the undefeated Champion of Pylea, The Groosalugg, they return with a new team member, Winifred Burkle, in tow, and to the news that the love of Angel's life, Buffy, has died. Despite Buffy's miraculous resurrection a few months later, Angel finds that his previously platonic love for Cordelia has grown to be romantic. Before he has a chance to confess his feelings, however, Darla returns, pregnant with his son, to be named Connor. False prophecies, time travelers and betrayal lead to Angel losing his infant son to an old enemy, Holtz, who abducts Connor soon after his birth, taking him to a hell dimension (Quor-Toth) where time passes differently. When Connor returns days later, he is a young man who has been raised by Holtz to believe that Angel is still a soulless monster. Connor vows to make Angel pay for the suffering he had once caused (made even worse when Holtz set up his own death to make it appear as though Angel had killed him), and he acts out his retribution by sending his father to the bottom of the ocean in a steel coffin. At the same time, Cordelia ascends to a higher plane, the feelings shared between her and Angel still left unspoken. Rescued by Wesley from his watery prison, Angel's relationship with Connor is strained. It is complicated further by the return of an amnesiac Cordelia, who prefers to stay with Connor because he told her the truth while the others lied to her (albeit because they thought it was for her own good). When a very powerful demon known only as the Beast arrives and begins an attempt to bring forth an apocalypse, Angel's worst fears are realized when he has to strip himself of his soul and revert to his evil alter ego in order to defeat it. Angelus does indeed overcome the Beast, and is also deft enough to realize that the Beast was a mere "flunkie" serving an even deeper evil; the Beast he knew was only interested in smashing and slaughter, and it was unlikely that the Beast would have become smarter since Angelus fought him. Although he is momentarily free to wreak a little havoc of his own, Angelus is recaptured and re-ensouled with the help of Faith (who almost dies in her quest to capture Angelus) and Willow, culminating in a brief but violent mental battle between Angel and Angelus. After his soul is restored, Angel figures out that the enemy he has been battling is a little closer to home than the group had previously considered, realizing that whatever the Beast's "boss" is, it is using Cordelia's body to carry out its plans. After battling and defeating the divine being known as Jasmine, Angel is offered the L.A. branch of W&H on the grounds that he ended world peace (despite the fact that "world peace" meant no free will and the sacrifice of thousands of lives at the hands of Jasmine, who had to literally devour people to stay alive). Angel acts against all of his instincts and makes a deal with his sworn enemy, in exchange for W&H erasing Connor’s memories and giving him a normal life. Angel's year spent running W&H is one marred with challenge and self-doubt. Trying to battle evil from within the belly of the beast proves to be more difficult than even he imagined, with the lines of good and evil becoming ever more grey with every action taken. Shortly after Angel assumes control of the law firm, matters are further complicated when Spike appears as a ghost, emerging from a familiar amulet sent to Angel in the mail. Sharing a complicated history of murder and mayhem, they had spent more than a century as rivals in everything. Now both possessing souls, and both still in love with Buffy, they had evolved into very different heroes in the war against evil. Forced to co-exist, they wage a protracted, insidious battle of wits, ending when they finally come to an understanding and acceptance of their unique brotherhood on their journey to redemption. In the episode "Destiny," when they prepare to do battle over the Cup of Perpetual Torment, Spike tells Angel "You had a soul forced on you. As a curse. Make you suffer for all the horrible things you've done. Me, I fought for my soul, went through the demon trials, almost did me in a dozen times over, but I kept fighting. Because I knew it was the right thing to do. It's my destiny." Then Spike defeats Angel for the first time in their century plus association. Despite this, Spike and Angel come to an understanding that lets the two of them operate as a lethal team when the two end up fighting side-by-side, using their long experience of each other's skills to operate in near-perfect tandem.
Angel finally understands that he will never be able to completely stop the forces of evil, but that he can temporarily sever the Senior Partners' hold on Earth. Together with his comrades, Angel prepares to suicidally incur the apocalyptic wrath of the Senior Partners as a way of going out in a blaze of glory. They assassinate the members of the Circle of the Black Thorn, the Senior Partners' instruments on Earth for pulling all the political and economic strings. In this effort, Gunn is badly wounded, and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce is killed. Gunn manages to make it to the meeting point, the alley behind the Hyperion Hotel, and together with Angel, Spike, and Illyria, proceeds to engage in battle with the dark armies that the Senior Partners have sent against them. Series creator Joss Whedon has stated that he had originally intended Angel to survive this battle and go on into a sixth season. However, this was his original intention prior to the show being cancelled and prior to his writing the final episode. Early previews of the Buffy season eight comics have revealed that Angel and Spike will appear sparingly- suggesting both survived the battle (although death has not stopped either character from coming back in the past and another dead character from the Buffy series Anya Jenkins is reported to make an appearance)
Zoe Monroe Administrator Slayer Student: Junior Supernatural Weekly Editor[M:0] member is offline
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Re: Canon Character List (The Shows) « Reply #3 on May 4, 2007, 2:04pm »
Powers and Abilities This is no ordinary vampire. If there is such a thing. —Rupert Giles Angel has the usual powers and weaknesses of a vampire, along with some abilities which may be unique to him. Some of his vampiric powers are greater than average, because of his age and perhaps his bloodline. His talents may be divided into three main categories: physical, sensory, and mental. He is also skilled in a number of different areas. Angel’s entire physiology is of superhuman quality. His strength, though ill-defined, surpasses the average vampire: he can punch through wooden walls, leap 15 feet straight up, rip apart bicycle chains, throw a man across the lobby of the Hyperion when angered, and so forth. His motor skills and reflexes far surpass those of humans, for example he once spun around and caught a crossbow bolt fired at his back from no more than fifteen feet away and has evaded multiple point-blank shotgun blasts. He also has standard vampire durability against most forms of mundane physical damage; he once jumped down from a four-story rooftop without sustaining any apparent injury, stood up instantly with no ill effects after an uncontrolled fifteen-story fall, and has described being shot as feeling "like a bee sting." Nonetheless, Angel is not indestructible. He has all the vulnerabilities of a Buffyverse vampire: direct sunlight will cause combustion that would eventually kill him if he stays out in the sun's rays for more than a few seconds. A stake through the heart and decapitation would instantly kill him. In addition, certain objects of religious significance to Christians — specifically Bibles, crucifixes, and holy water — can burn his flesh. He can be rendered unconscious by poisons and tranquilizers, though he has survived dosages that would be fatal to a human. Also, Angel, like all Buffyverse vampires, cannot enter a person's home unless he's invited by one of the occupants, though this rule does not extend to the home of non-human entities, public facilities, and temporary lodgings like a motel room or an abandoned house. At least two of Angel’s senses — his smell and hearing — are also superhumanly acute. On many occasions, he has tracked people through the streets (or even sewers) of Los Angeles by smell alone; his olfactory talents are apparently superior to dogs, as he does not need to sniff the ground to track in this manner. Like all Buffyverse vampires, Angel can also smell fear. He can also tell when two people have had sex; in the episode "Ground State", he tells Lilah Morgan, "I can smell you and Wesley all over each other." He, at one point in the series, was also quickly able to smell that Wesley had sex with a bleached blonde the night before. His hearing is so sensitive that he once was able to eavesdrop on a conversation happening in the lobby of a hotel while confined in the hotel’s basement. As vampires are primarily nocturnal, his sight may also be of superhuman quality, though this is less certain; he has been noticed using night-vision goggles, for instance. Even still, few other vampires display this ability. As per example, Spike was incapable of seeing in the blacked-out Initiative ruins or when in Robin Wood's garage. Angel threw a knife into a fast-moving object in near pitch-blackness and could see in the powered-down Sunnydale cafeteria. This might be an aged ability or an ability through his bloodline, but also the situation may simply be that Spike is particularly inept at this ability as few other vampires are seen in situations that would require use of sight over smell. Through Angel and Spike, the viewer learns the differences between human and vampire senses of taste: while the episode "I Will Remember You" reveals that a vampire's ability to taste conventional human food is dulled, we also learn that vampires can easily taste subtleties in blood (fear makes a person's blood taste pleasantly salty; Slayer blood is an aphrodisiac and stimulant; cold, hot, and warm blood all have different tastes; human blood is preferable to otter blood, which in turn is preferable to pig blood, etc.) According to Spike, blood smells "metallic, sorta", like pennies ("Damage") . Angel possesses at least two superhuman cognitive abilities. One is a photographic memory; he is able to recall visual impressions in great detail and fidelity. Angel also once displayed a receptive "psychic connection" to Penn, a vampire he had sired, experiencing dreams of Penn's activities when he was close. This link was not shown to occur with any of Angel's other progeny. Angel is a highly skilled combatant. Generally he prefers to fight unarmed, using a style that seems to blend several different disciplines and to take advantage of his superhuman strength and speed. Angel uses a lot of circular attacks such as spinning kicks and spinning back hands. He, unlike Buffy, likes to stay grounded in his attacks and rarely does any jumping moves. However, he does often use his strength to close the distance between himself and his target with a quick leap. Angel has a love of bantering with his opponents, which is a trait he carries over from his days as Angelus. He has mastered many varieties of weapons, favoring broadswords and axes. He also once demonstrated proficiency with a shotgun. He also possesses some skills in magic, on several occasions demonstrating impressive ability in spells and wizardry, albeit on a basic level. As Angelus, he displays a considerable skill in manipulating others emotional states to devastating affect, able to provoke full blown arguments with a few carefully chosen words and, with time and effort, drive the emotionally unstable to insanity. He is also an expert at both physical and psychological torture; he was once described as knowing how to 'lie with the truth'. In the episode "You're Welcome", Cordelia passed on her visions to Angel in the same way that she had originally been granted them by Doyle. Angel was given a psychic connection to the Powers That Be, allowing him a precognitive vision that he utilized in the last few episodes of the series. As he told Connor, he has "very nice handwriting." During the episode "Lovers Walk", he is also seen reading La Nausée by Jean-Paul Sartre in the original French. Throughout the series he demonstrates his fluency in several languages including Korean, Italian, Spanish, French, Russian, Romanian, and German. Angel is a real artist with regards to drawing portraits. He can use both charcoal crayon and China ink: he is skilled in depicting people, even from memory. He's not as good at singing, but that's not a vampire thing: Spike and Darla can sing very well. Angel is fully aware of his incredible abilities. In one episode, he tells an opponent "If you're lucky, you'll last ten minutes, tops. Really lucky, you'll be unconscious for the last five."
Angel vs. Angelus Whilst Liam is human and Angelus is a vampire, Angel is a third, unique persona, a demon burdened with a human soul. A hybrid of man and vampire, he constantly deals with vampiric urges, and the human conscience that prevents him from ever forgetting his past misdeeds. Though the early seasons of Buffy expressed the view that when a human becomes a vampire, "You die, and a demon sets up shop in your old home; it walks like you and it talks like you - but it's not you" ("Lie to Me"), later seasons of Buffy and Angel had the relationship between Angelus and Angel far more intertwined. Angelus once referred to himself as "Angel" during Season Two of Buffy (possibly to torment Buffy). Angel usually says "I" when speaking of Angelus, but has also used "he". In "Amends" Angel protests, "It wasn't me!", but more often speaks of Angelus' crimes as his own. They share the same memories, and Angel never resumed the name of his human original, Liam (except while amnesiac in "Spin the Bottle"). Also, in Season One's "Eternity", Angel reverts back to his evil self without even losing his soul, when he is drugged and enters a state of 'bliss' that allows Angelus to regain control. This suggests that in a subconscious state that Angel's true nature is allowed to appear, although it may have been that the drug-induced state of bliss 'tricked' Angel's body into thinking that the curse had been broken. Angel: Look, I'm weak. I've never been anything else. It's not the demon in me that needs killing, Buffy. It's the man. (Episode 3.10 (Buffy) "Amends") Angel: ...there is no guilt, there is no torment, no consequences... It's pure. I remember what that was like. Sometimes I miss that clarity. Cordelia: But not the trying to kill your friends and family part, right? Just checking! (Episode 1.21 "Blind Date") Cordelia (possessed by Jasmine): What I remember when I was a higher being... I remember seeing you. Your past. When you were Angelus. Angel: I've never tried to hide who I was. Or what I've done. You already knew. Cordelia (possessed by Jasmine): Knowing's different than living it. When I was up there, I could look back and see everything you did as Angelus. More than see. I felt it. Not just their fear and pain. I felt you. And how much you enjoyed making them suffer... (Episode 4.07 "Apocalypse, Nowish" Note: Since the above was said by the entity that would become known as Jasmine while posing as Cordelia, this specific example of Angel being just a different aspect of Angelus comes from a questionable source to say the least.)
Angelus' cunning and cruel nature makes him exceptionally lethal. The relationship between Angel and Angelus has been described and depicted in numerous ways. Both personas are shown battling for control inside Angel's mind in the episode "Orpheus". In Season Four, Jasmine threatens Angelus by telling him that she will lock him away inside Angel forever, where he will be forever watching, forever thirsty, forever longing to escape his prison. When the two confront each other in "Orpheus", they clearly appear to be different people, albeit almost evenly matched due to their long experience of each other's abilities. Angelus also believes that he is separate from Angel and is disgusted with what Angel does when he is in control, particularly resenting Angel's two decades of eating rats after he succumbed to temptation and drank from a murder victim. The fact that Angelus' memory was unaffected by the spell that erased all reference to the Beast in this dimension while Angel totally forgot the confrontation supports the idea that they are distinct personalities rather than different aspects of the same person. As seen in "Becoming, Part One" and "Becoming, Part Two", it takes a few moments for Angel to remember the events of Angelus' life after the curse comes into effect. Although Angelus' bodycount was vast, his capacity for psychological intimidation was substantially above contemporary real-life serial killers. During his time with Darla, he committed some of the most atrocious and despicably evil acts of his time. He is prone to brutal displays of what he would see as affection, one such incident involved him nailing a puppy to a wall, though a full explanation of this was never given as Buffy interrupted Giles with "Skip it, I don't have a puppy. So skip it." Another example of Angelus' brutal acts was when he brought Dru a still warm human heart on Valentine's Day. Angelus' mean streak does not stop there. He always had an obsession with death being an art form; every kill a work of art to be savored and appreciated. When he captured Giles for torture in "Becoming, Part Two", he mentions in passing that the last time he tortured someone, they hadn't even invented the chainsaw. In the episode "Amends", The First Evil references him killing a man's three children, then propping them up in bed so that they appeared to be sleeping. It was only after the father kissed one of them good night that he felt how cold they were. This is similar to when Angelus placed the recently killed body of Jenny at Giles' apartment, making Giles believe she had set up a romantic evening for them. Angelus also had a weakness in that he was prone to excessive talking, and had a need to attempt psychological destruction of his victims before physically killing them. This streak of sadism sometimes gave potential victims time to either possibly escape or attempt to fight back (although it made little difference as he almost always got them in the end). Spike once observed to Angel "you bloody well talk them to death before you kill them!" [edit]Romantic interests/Intimate liaisons
Darla: Angel was sired by Darla. The pair were lovers until Angelus' transformation into Angel drove them apart, although he briefly tried to stay with her. She was regarded by Angel as his 'obsession', and even with a soul, knowing what she was and what she had done, he was still attracted to her in some way. During Darla's brief moments of humanity - when she is resurrected by Wolfram and Hart - the two retain a close bond, with Angel risking his life to give her a second chance. When Darla becomes pregnant with her and Angel's son, Connor, Darla stakes herself to allow Connor to be born, asking Angel to tell the child that their son was the only good thing they ever did together. Drusilla: Angelus tormented the human Drusilla, sired her and kept her on as a companion afterwards; Angelus regarded her as his greatest work. The two also have a sexual relationship many years later during a period when her lover, Spike, is wheelchair-bound. Spike: Spike mentions in the fifth season episode, "Power Play", that "Angel and me have never been intimate. Except that one--" Whedon has confirmed in numerous interviews and forum posts the possibility of at least a one night stand between the pair. In the DVD commentary to the episode "Hole In The World" he says: "You know, um, I just wanna say Angel and Spike, they were hanging out, uh, for years and years and years, they were in, you know, all kinds of deviant, they were vampires... Are we thinking they never...? Come on, people! I'm just sayin'. I'm just sayin'. You know, they're open-minded guys. They may be evil but, you know, they're not bigoted or closed-minded." It should also be noted that Angelus commented that if he "swung that way" he would be attracted to Wesley. Buffy Summers: Angel's "first love." When he first sees Buffy, he realizes that he wants to be someone, without even realizing she is the Slayer. When they sleep together for the first time, Angel loses his soul, becoming Angelus. Buffy is forced to kill him, to save the world, even though Willow has just ensouled him. After he returns from Hell, he and Buffy still love each other, and attempt a relationship. After realizing this relationship is unfair to Buffy, he leaves. Buffy comes to L.A, and for a brief time, Angel becomes human. He has to rewind the day, because being human will eventually lead to Buffy's death without him able to fight at peak performance. After Buffy dies in the fifth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel spends months away at a convent in Asia. He comes to help Buffy in the Buffy finale, and they have an emotional conversation. Angel provides aid to Buffy in the final fight against Caleb, gives her an amulet that proves important in the final confrontation with the First, and goes to seek Buffy out in Italy during the last season of Angel, albeit unsuccessfully. He feels that he and Buffy share a "forever love." Kate Lockley: Kate serves as Angel's contact in the police force as he starts his private detective business. The strong possibility of a relationship is hinted at, but ultimately doesn't materialize as she is unable to accept her discovery of his vampire nature, blaming him for the death of her father when her father was killed by vampires and wouldn't invite Angel in to help. Rebecca Lowell: A short-lived potential love interest introduced in the episode "Eternity", Rebecca is an actress who hires Angel as her bodyguard. Learning about his vampire nature, she tries to convince him to turn her, not wanting to become old and unattractive, but her attempts only result in Angel briefly reverting to Angelus when she drugs his drink, inducing a feeling of bliss. After this, she leaves the office and is never seen again. Winifred Burkle: After he rescues her from the Pyleans during their first meeting, Fred develops a childlike crush on Angel for a time; she gets over it after learning more about the curse, but later kisses Angel as part of a ruse to escape Jasmine's followers. She remains the only person to have seen Angel's demonic side before she knew who he was and not been scared by it, creating a close bond between the two of them even without a romantic relationship. The Transuding Furies: The Furies are the three beautiful, powerful beings who cast the anti-demon-violence spell on Lorne's bar, Caritas. When Angel needs the spell removed to fight Gunn's rogue former gang, the Furies tell Cordelia that they will require 'payment' for such an act, and only Angel is 'equipped' to repay the debt. The general tone seems to imply a past sexual relationship between the Furies and Angel. Cordelia Chase: Friends for years, Angel and Cordelia eventually realize that they have fallen in love with one another, only to be torn apart by her ascension and transformation and his imprisonment underwater by Connor before they can tell each other. Upon their subsequent returns, they do not pursue the relationship; Cordelia instead, under the control of Jasmine, forms a relationship with Angel's son, which results in her falling into a coma when Jasmine uses her body to create an independent host for itself. Later, Cordelia returns to put Angel back on track to stopping the Apocalypse. She does this and just before she dies, Cordelia and Angel share their first and only real kiss. In doing so, one last vision, that shows Angel who the true power holders are, is passed to him, helping him to stop the Apocalypse from the inside. The visions can only be passed if the previous owner is in love with the recipient. Even though they never properly tell each other, they both know how each other felt. Cordelia died knowing that Angel knew her feelings and that he loved her in return. Gwen Raiden: A thief with command over electricity, Angel shares a kiss with Gwen after she gives him an electro-shock that (temporarily) reawakens his dead heart. He subsequently flirts with her to make Cordelia jealous while they are trying to protect the Ra-Tet from the Beast, but later seems to develop a slight affection for her; he almost appears jealous when she asks for Gunn's help over his. Nina Ash: A werewolf who Angel saves from being eaten, she develops feelings for Angel and he is eventually convinced to give a relationship a shot. This relationship establishes that Angel is able to have positive sex (unlike his "perfect despair" moment with Darla) and still keep his soul. Eve: Angel's liaison to the Senior Partners, she and Angel have a one-time encounter at Wolfram & Hart's Halloween party, when Lorne loses control of his empathic powers and he begins to unintentionally write destinies instead of reading them (he tells Angel and Eve to "get a room", saying that "you could cut the sexual tension with a knife"). When Angel thinks they should talk about it, Eve remarks, "It's not as if this is the first time I've had sex under mystical influence. I went to UC Santa Cruz". After this, however, their relationship becomes increasingly hostile due to Eve's relationship with Angel's old foe Lindsey, particularly following her attempt to infect Angel with a dream-inducing parasite. [edit]Other Faith Lehane — When Faith first crosses the line by killing a man, Angel is the first person to attempt to rehabilitate her. However, he is interrupted when Wesley tries to hand her over to the Watchers Council. While working for Mayor Wilkins Faith attempts to remove Angel's soul by seducing him. At this point Faith harbors a primal sexual attraction to Angel, but this is never elaborated on after she falls into a coma. After awakening from her coma and fleeing Sunnydale Faith goes to Los Angeles. Shortly after her arrival Wolfram and Hart hire Faith to kill Angel. After torturing Wesley, Angel confronts Faith, and during the fight he realizes what Faith really wants; she wants Angel to kill her. He refuses, and again tries to help her, defending her from both Buffy and agents of the Watcher's Council. Thanks to Angel's help Faith starts down the path to redemption by confessing to her crimes and going to prison. He visits her to make sure she is alright and prison is where she stays for several years. She later breaks out, but only because Angel needs her help, due to Angelus having been restored. Despite the difficulties involved in such a task, Faith makes sure he is brought in and protected so he can be re-ensouled by Willow, even defeating Connor to prevent him from staking his father. The two share a strong bond based on their mutual desire for redemption; Faith also states that Angel is the one person that has never given up on her, a factor that doubtless plays an important role in her decision to fight so hard to save him. Willow Rosenberg - Angel shares deep affection and mutual confidence with Willow. And not just because she restored his soul not once but twice. In several occasions he asks for her help, looking at her as a reliable ally and friend. At the end of episode "Orpheus" (the last time they meet onscreen) they hug as very good old friends.
Zoe Monroe Administrator Slayer Student: Junior Supernatural Weekly Editor[M:0] member is offline
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Re: Canon Character List (The Shows) « Reply #4 on May 4, 2007, 2:15pm »
Character Name Illyria
PB: Amy Acker
Species: Old One
Status unknown
bio llyria is one of the legendary Old Ones, an original pure demon from the Primordium Age who ruled territory that included modern-day California. She was one of the most feared of all the Old Ones and ruled from her citadel, Vahla ha'nesh, which corresponds to modern-day Los Angeles. However, Illyria was defeated and murdered by her many rivals.
Illyria in her true from, standing before her demon army. As depicted in an illustration of a statue of her in Vahla ha'nesh, Illyria was a sight to behold in her original form. If one assumes that the statue is life-size, she would be at least five times taller than an average human. Illyria had five tentacles on either side of her torso that she uses like arms, which are flexible and ambulatory to the point that she can clutch and operate weapons with them. She has two claw-like feet that allow her to perch, much like an eagle. The rest of Illyria's form is obscured by armor, but its humanoid shape suggests that her head and torso are in much the same configuration as a human's. Illyria was loved and feared as few of the Old Ones were, so much so that she still had followers and acolytes in the modern day - arguably millions of years after her reign. Her features as an Old One resemble much the ones of Lovecraft's Spawn of Chthulhu's. When the Old Ones lost their claim over this world, Illyria's corpse was placed in a stone sarcophagus, her powers were drained and placed in jewels embedded on her coffin. Her sarcophagus was placed in a mystical graveyard known as the Deeper Well along with the coffins of other Old Ones. A warrior of good and his army were assigned to guard the Deeper Well to prevent anyone from extracting one of the coffins, as the Old Ones are capable of resurrection. In the 20th century, the Keeper of the Deeper Well was Drogyn the Battlebrand. Before falling, Illyria planned her resurrection. She hid her temple in a different time plane, rendering it completely intangible, until she could return to open the gateway and enter it. Illyria's army was placed there as well, waiting to be raised once again by its leader. However, sometime in the passing centuries, the army was destroyed, leaving only dust in its place.
Los Angeles
As preordained, Illyria's sarcophagus is teleported to the general area of Los Angeles, but due to continental shifting, it ends up outside of the United States of America. Somehow, it is delivered to U.S. soil, but is held up in Customs at Wolfram & Hart. Dr. Sparrow manipulates Charles Gunn into releasing the sarcophagus in exchange for fixing his brain enhancements. Knox, Illyria's self-fashioned Qwa'ha Xahn (High Priest) and the mastermind behind her resurrection, has the sarcophagus delivered to Fred Burkle at Wolfram & Hart's science lab. Curiosity draws Fred to the sarcophagus, and when she touches one of the coffin's embedded crystals, Illyria's essence is released into Fred's body. Illyria's spirit acts as an infection that liquefies Fred's organs, hardens her skin, and allegedly consumes her soul. After hours of agony, and despite Angel and Spike traveling to Illyria's former prison in an attempt to find a way to draw her out of Fred, Fred's body is completely taken over by Illyria, who also absorbs her memories (which she later likens to "sparks"). With the aid of Knox, Illyria attempts to bring about the destruction of humankind by resurrecting her ancient army. Despite the best efforts of Angel, Spike, and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, she manages to fight off all three of them and open the portal to where her army is waiting, but soon she discovers that it was destroyed long ago. Lost and without purpose, Illyria agrees to learn how to adjust to the modern world with Wesley's help, who is drawn to the ancient being that now occupies the body of his love. She spends her nights with the oft-drunk Wesley and her days wandering the corridors of Wolfram & Hart. When Wesley mentions to her that Gunn is trapped in a Wolfram & Hart-imposed pseudo-Hell, Illyria opens a portal and rescues Gunn without hesitation, later noting the great debt that the group owes to her. At this point, her pastimes include talking to plants and training with Spike—or, more accurately, beating him up while he tries to ask her how she feels when he hits her and record the details on a clipboard ("I have been hitting the half-breed. He makes noise," she notes). Although she criticizes Spike's adaptability (declaring adaptation to be a compromise), Illyria enjoys beating him up; at one point, she expresses her desire to keep him as a pet. Eventually, Illyria's power becomes extremely unstable. To others, the Old One appears to be going mad. In truth, Illyria is being thrown out of linear progression of the timeline, altering her perspective as her power seeks a way to escape its shell. Initially, she kills Spike, Wesley, Lorne, and Angel in a confrontation, interpreting their actions as an attempt to kill her, but, during her time jumps, she drags an earlier version of Angel into the present, revealing what just took place before she detonates, potentially causing enough destruction to wipe out the continent. Fortunately, the explosion sends Angel backwards in time to shortly before Illyria killed the others, allowing Angel to use his new foreknowledge of their deaths to save his friends and calm Illyria down. Before Illyria can detonate again, Wesley uses a Mutari generator to extract a large portion of her power, effectively ending the threat. As a result of the Mutari generator, Illyria is stripped of much of her super-strength, as well as her abilities to alter time and talk to plants. She grows bitter and withdrawn after the loss of her powers, which she considers a significant defeat. Her primary emotional connection is with Wesley, who continues to help her adjust to the world. After recognizing Wesley's feelings for the "shell" (Fred), Illyria wishes to explore her relationship with Wesley in a more sexual or romantic direction; however, he rejects any possibility of accepting her in Fred's form. She also develops a connection with Spike, who can relate to her newfound situation and treats her with acceptance and dignity, communicating easily with her and helping her venture into the world. Illyria is brutally beaten and humiliated by Marcus Hamilton, which fuels the Old One's extreme anger and motivates her to join the final battle against the Senior Partners. In the Angel series finale, "Not Fade Away," Illyria, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Lindsey McDonald, and Angel each fight separate groups of demons from the Circle of the Black Thorn. After killing her demon victims, promising to "make trophies from their spines," Illyria seeks out Wesley and finds him dying. Perceiving his imminent death, she comforts Wesley in Fred's form. Grieving for him uncontrollably, Illyria violently dispatches his murderer, Cyvus Vail, by shattering his head with a single punch, an action that does not begin to assuage her grief and leaves her with a strong desire to "do more violence." Her wish is granted when the Senior Partners send their army against the gang; Illyria joins Angel, Gunn, and Spike in the final battle against the Senior Partners. According to rumors about a possible spin-off, mentioned by Joss Whedon and Amy Acker, Illyria survived the final battle against the Senior Partners of Wolfram & Hart. However, despite this, her current status is unknown.
Powers and Abilities The full scope of Illyria's power is unknown. When Illyria takes over her new "shell," Illyria possesses tremendous physical strength. Spike likens a blow from Illyria to being hit by a Mack truck. Her strength, reflexes, and agility make her a formidable hand-to-hand combatant. Illyria uses an ancient fighting style that Spike compares to Tae Kwon Do and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Although Spike's adaptability gives him an occasional advantage, Illyria generally dominates their sparring sessions. Her skin is a hardened shell, providing her body with a heavy armor capable of withstanding blows from forged weapons, such as swords or axes.
Illyria is aided in combat by her ability to selectively alter time, which allows her to easily dodge both attacks and bullets; she can accomplish a goal and leave an area before her opponent even realizes she has moved. She can also open interdimensional portals. In the episode "Underneath," Wesley comments on her not needing to sleep. Illyria can alter her physical appearance on a basic level, and she is capable of recreating Fred's persona accurately enough to fool Fred's parents. She tells Knox that she can take any form she chooses. Illyria has empathic abilities that allow her to perceive the emotional states of others. She was, for instance, capable of sensing Connor's lust for her, Wesley's frustration with Angel as well as his grief over Fred's death. Illyria communicates with flora, often spending hours at a time communing with a plant. She is also capable of distinguishing humans (or "primitives"), from demons, vampires, and other half-breeds. Illyria also retains the insights from her experiences as an Old One, which enable her to effectively analyze the power dynamics, personal motivations, and emotions that influence those around her.
Powers diminished
After being drained by the Mutari generator, Illyria's abilities are significantly diminished. Her physical strength is decreased (although retaining a high level of strength, well above that of a typical vampire), and she no longer has the ability to alter time, open portals, or commune with plants. Wesley perceives that Illyria is no longer as durable as she once was (cf. "The Girl in Question"), and she is later beaten unconscious by Marcus Hamilton in the episode "Power Play." Even so, Illyria is still a formidable opponent in battle, and successfully kills several members of the Circle of the Black Thorn with minimal difficulty. She retains her ability to morph her physical appearance.
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