Angel | |
---|---|
Portrayed By | David Boreanaz |
Gender | Male |
Species | Vampire |
Date of Birth | 1727 |
Age | 274 |
Zodiac Sign | ??? |
Aliases | Angel, Angelus, The One With The Angelic Face, Captain Forehead |
Place of Birth | Galway, Ireland |
Current Location | Los Angeles, CA, USA |
Occupation | Investigator |
Known Relatives | ??? |
Significant Other | None |
Special Powers | Being a Vampire |
First Appearance | Welcome to the Hellmouth |
A vampire who has been both a villain and a hero, Angel is known simultaneously as one of history's greatest villains and one of its greatest Champions. Since being ‘cursed’ with a soul, he has set up shop in Los Angeles as the head of Angel Investigations – helping the helpless.
History
This story is about three different people.
On the other hand, it is a story about one man’s struggle with his dark side.
On the third, superfluous, mutant hand it is the story of a guy living in the most debauched, demon-infested city this side of ancient history and doing his best to save it on more than one occasion.
It began in 1727 in Galway, Ireland. Liam was the son of parents who only wanted the best for their son and instead were rewarded with a lazy, womanizing drunkard with no ambition. Unfortunately, Liam’s father felt his son to be a terrible disappointment and promptly kicked him out of the house –concluding that he would never amount to anything. Being quite the indolent man, young Liam did not go particularly far. He wanted to travel the world but in the end he travelled the village, finding a bed here and an odd job there to support his three habits of wine, women and song. Except he usually forewent the song portion of the evening.
It wasn’t long after, in 1753, that he encountered a particularly wealthy and beautiful-looking woman on the street. Drunk as he was, Liam was lured into an alleyway and promptly bitten. Hedonistic as he may have been, the young carouser was not expecting that. Nor was he expecting to wake up later in a coffin buried six feet underneath a graveyard. Of course, the thing that rose up out of the grave that night was not really Liam. It looked like Liam and it talked and walked like him but it had no soul and its heart’s desire, when offered by the woman who bit him, was to kill everything in the village with a pulse.
And he did. Starting with his family.
His little sister, Kathy, invited him into the family home without hesitation. She thought him to be her brother returned to them from death – an angel. Kathy died, and then his mother died and then, at last, his father died. He’d finally made something of himself and he told the man as such.
But then she spoke, the woman who had made him that way.
She told him that by killing his father he would never have the chance to prove himself and that he would never forget the disappointment and disapproval. They had all died because of her, the woman who made him that way. The woman who had made him a vampire.
Her name was Darla.
He left the name Liam behind in that empty Galway village, taking the new nom de guerre of Angelus as he wrought death and destruction wherever he went alongside Darla. At first they travelled through the British Isles, staying for a while in places to torture, maim, kill and feed upon anyone and everyone. Angelus had no cares for secrecy, feeding on who he pleased and where he wanted. It wasn’t until seven years later, in 1760, that the pair finally made their way to London where Angelus was introduced to Darla’s sire, the Master. Despite all the awe and near-religious respect that he had from his followers, Angelus thought the Master was kind of ridiculous and made certain to openly state this. Unintimidated by the ancient vampire, Angelus chose to leave and persuaded Darla to come with him, effectively causing her to abandon her Sire.
And so it went for over a century. Angelus travelled throughout the Old World, from England to Continental Europe to Africa and then once more back to the Continent. For a hundred years he offered ugly death to everyone he met, and he did it with a smile on his face. But of all these murderous acts of cruelty, his greatest work was the utter corruption of quite possibly the purest individual he had ever encountered.
Her name was Drusilla.
It was in 1860 that she caught his eye. She could see things that normal people could not. Understand things about them that were a mystery to everyone else. Devoutly religious, the overture to Angelus’ masterpiece was to disguise himself as a priest while he viciously murdered her whole family. He let Drusilla escape, however, following her to a convent where he waited as she prepared to become a nun, cloistered away from the world. He waited until the eve of her vows to slaughter every single person in the convent, finally shattering Drusilla’s delicate sensibilities to the point where she was driven insane. He then sired her. To Angelus, she was his finest work. His legacy. An example of the horrors he could bring to bear that would live on into eternity.
It was Drusilla who introduced the fourth member of their merry little band. A (bad) poet named William with whom Drusilla was quite taken. He was sired by her in 1880 although it was Angelus who took him under his wing and taught him the finer points of cruelty and brutality. They were nigh inseparable, but where Spike saw a student-mentor relationship, Angelus saw a bit of sport and fun to be had. When he became aware of Spike’s love for Drusilla, he slept with her simply to cause him pain. Something Spike would never forget or forgive.
It seemed, in 1898, that the blight of Angelus was finally ended. Having killed a gypsy woman in Borsa, Romania, he later discovered that she was in fact a member of a gypsy group known as the Kalderash clan. As punishment for his actions, the gypsies cursed Angelus by returning his soul to him – effectively reigniting his conscience. All of a sudden he was awash with the horror of everything he had done over the last one-hundred and forty years. He fled, living alone and out of sight with his torment – it seemed Angelus was gone for good.
But he could not bear to live alone and soon he tracked down the ‘old crew’ in China during the Boxer Rebellion. Now calling himself Angel, he pleaded with Darla for the opportunity to stay with her but his sire could sense there was something not altogether right about the vampire formerly known as Angelus. She eventually proved that he was no longer the person he once was when he refused to kill an infant that Darla had captured in order to test him, instead escaping with the child to safety.
He would be alone from then on, it seemed.
Angel fled abroad, heading to the United States where he arrived in New York City in 1902. Still finding it difficult to master his urge to feed, Angel lived in isolation from humanity and as such kept to himself for decades. He travelled across the United States, never staying in one place for very long out of fear of growing attached to people. Nights blended into weeks became months, years and decades. It wasn’t until 1952, in Los Angeles, that Angel came out of isolation long enough to make a difference.
Angel was living as a resident of the Hyperion Hotel, keeping himself locked away in his room and avoiding the other residents, guests and staff. Despite the rash of violent crimes that the Hotel seemed to have become a hotbed for, he refused to get involved and instead stayed cloistered away. It was only when he encountered a woman, Judy Kovacs, hiding from an armed madman in his room that the situation was truly brought to his attention. Although he attempted to avoid Judy, she repeatedly attempted to make contact with him until they became friends. Having not had a true friend in over fifty years, Angel was compelled to help her by discovering the source of the insanity sweeping the Hyperion.
He discovered that it was the work of a demon, a Thesulac, who was inciting paranoia and hatred in the human inhabitants of the Hotel. Angel learned what he could about the demon and began to gather the tools to defeat it, only to find that the people had been overcome by paranoia. Her life at risk, Judy turned on Angel to save her own life by revealing his identity to the gang of violent, paranoid Thesulac victims. Attacked, beaten and hanged by the mob, Angel left them to their own devices. Resentful over what had happened, Angel once again disappeared into isolation. He chose not to save them even though he could and, in time, they all fell prey to the Thesulac.
After succumbing to the urge to feed off a recently-deceased doughnut shop clerk in the Seventies, Angel became repulsed by his own behaviour and sentenced himself yet again. This time he would live as a homeless man, staying out of sight and sustaining himself by eating rats. It wasn’t until 1996 that somebody would find him and show him that he could be something more. Be somebody. It was Whistler, a demon in the service of good, who tracked Angel down and eventually persuaded him to help. He would go to the new Slayer, recently activated in Los Angeles, and help her.
Her name was Buffy.
Angel watched her from afar long before they were introduced. He watched her train under the Watcher, Merrick, and soon fell in love with her. He chose to forego his life of isolation, instead choosing to help Buffy in what was undoubtedly going to be a difficult road ahead. A year later he arrived in Sunnydale, finally meeting her in person. She fell in love with him soon after, only to discover some weeks later that he was a vampire. But she could not stop herself from loving him and, despite the objections of her friends, they grew closer and closer.
But there was a side to the curse placed on him by the gypsies that Angel was not entirely aware of. In a moment of pure happiness he would lose his soul once again. Having grown closer to Buffy, they finally consummated their relationship and, at last, Angel experienced that moment of pure happiness. His soul was torn away from him by the curse and Angel was gone, leaving Angelus in his place.
Angelus immediately set about taking vengeance on Sunnydale for the humanity that he had been forced to endure as Angel. He reunited himself with his old colleagues, Spike and Drusilla, who had taken up residence in Sunnydale as well. His reign of terror, which included the release of a truly powerful and nigh-unkillable demon, culminated in the murder of a descendant of the gypsies who had cursed him – Jenny Calendar.
Having used the murder to torment Buffy’s mentor, Rupert Giles, Angelus then set about performing his cruellest work to date – ending the world. He sought to awaken a demon, Acathla, who would do just that. Despite her best efforts, Buffy was unable to stop him although he chose not to kill her, instead toying with her until she unexpectedly gained the upper hand. It was at that moment that several unfortunate things happened at once.
Willow, using the same ritual the gypsies used, returned Angelus’ soul to him – thereby returning Angel. A vortex, leading to Acathla’s hell dimension, then opened up in the same room as Buffy and Angel. It became clear that the only way to stop Acathla was with the blood of the one who had summoned the demon, Angelus. And so Buffy was forced to send Angel into the vortex and into Acathla’s hell where he remained for several months.
Unfortunately, in the Hotel Acathla Hell Dimension, a few months is a hundred years and being immortal there was no dying of old age for Angel. He was, however, released although the century of torture had certainly taken its toll on him. Animalistic, he was found by Buffy who nursed him back to full mental health and helped him regain his senses. After a time, they began to see each other once again.
Despite an attempt to make things work with Buffy, Angel soon realized that he could never give her a normal life. He eventually resolved to leave Sunnydale, breaking up with Buffy before her prom but still attended with her in order to give her a perfect high school moment. Furthermore, he agreed to stay in order to stop Mayor Wilkins’ planned Ascension although he promised that he would leave without saying goodbye should they survive it. After being poisoned by Faith, Angel was saved by the only cure – the blood of a Slayer. When Buffy could not recover Faith, she offered herself and was taken to hospital by him where she recovered.
The Ascension almost happened but didn’t. Thanks, World Savers!
And so Angel left without saying goodbye, travelling to Los Angeles where he hunted vampires and malevolent demons. Soon after he was reunited with Doyle and then Cordelia Chase, one of Buffy’s former classmates. The three of them formed Angel Investigations, dedicating to Helping the Helpless – only to lose Doyle some time later when he sacrificed himself to save Los Angeles. He passed his prescient visions on to Cordelia before he died, however, and as such Angel kept his link to the Powers That Be.
Angel Investigations soon began to attract a number of individuals, some of whom Angel knew (like Wesley Wyndham-Price) and some who wanted to kill him initially (like Charles Gunn). It was a mission to the demonic dimension of Pylea (with the Host, AKA Lorne’s help) that introduced the latest member of the Investigations team.
Her name was Fred.
In fact, it was Fred who managed to save Angel from his own demonic self when the demon within him managed to break on through to the other side. They all managed to escape and everything was just fine and dandy until a heartbroken Willow revealed to Angel and the team that Buffy had died saving the world. Demon and vampire activity was on the rise and it seemed the world needed a Champion now more than ever.
Let’s go to work.
Timeline
- January 30, 2002 - Angel returns to Los Angeles after a long absence and encounters Lilith while patrolling.
- January 30, 2002 - Angel has an encounter with Ava when she stops by the Hyperion Hotel looking for Gunn.
- January 31, 2002 - Angel encounters a crazed hobo and finds a possible lead to worse things.
- February 1, 2002 - Lilith finds Angel at the Hotel, bearing something she promised him.
Trivia
- Angel can speak many languages, including Korean, Greek, Italian, French, Romanian, German, Russian, Spanish, Latin, Tibetan and his native English.
- Angel owns a black '67 Plymouth GTX convertible, although he would prefer to own a Mustang.
- Angel is a talented sketch artist.
- Angel does not trust the internet or cell phones, believing the latter may have been invented by a bored warlock.
- Angel can act and slow dance when he has to but he definitely cannot sing.
- Angel has an American accent from a century of living in the United States but he can still affect an Irish one if the need arises.
- Angel has a photographic memory.
- Angel has a favorite color when it comes to clothes - it is, surprisingly, black.
- Angel has a favorite sport. It is ice hockey.
- Angel has an extensive knowledge of demonology and other creepery that could even make some Watcher's jealous.
- Angel can style his hair perfectly despite not having a reflection.
- Angel is a Fanilow. That is, a fan of Barry Manilow.
Relationships
Fred
Winifred "Fred" Burkle was rescued from Pylea, an unpleasant demon dimension where humans are used as everything from slaves to food, by Angel and the rest of the Angel Investigations team. When his presence in that dimension caused the demon in Angel to bubble to the surface, Fred was unafraid and actually instrumental in keeping him from causing too much damage. As such, Angel is grateful for Fred and is glad to have her around. On top of that, Fred has some rather bizarre and off-center social skills which compliment Angel's complete lack of them.
Notable Logs: LOGS HERE
Cordelia
Cordelia Chase was Buffy's high school enemy turned ally in the Scooby Gang and that is where Angel first met her. Since then he has discovered she is now living in L.A., she's come to work with him at Angel Investigations and she's inherited the visions from the Powers That Be which were once granted to Doyle. She's integral in that she passes the messages from on high onto Angel which is exceptionally helpful when it comes to saving people, the City and the World. Beyond that, she's also a good friend. People might think they'd clash in terms of personality, and sometimes they do, but in the end it is all pretty good.
Notable Logs: LOGS HERE
Gunn
Charles Gunn is a vampire hunter and leader of the eponymous Team Gunn as well as a part of Angel Investigations. At first he tried to stake Angel, which wasn't great, but they've since gotten over their 'natural enemies' thing and learned to work together. In fact, Gunn trusts Angel now and Angel no longer feels the need to keep an eye open for any stakes flying from his direction. Unlike some of the other individuals around him, Angel does not feel the need to make sure Gunn does not get killed as he's well aware that the man is more than capable of taking care of himself.
Notable Logs: LOGS HERE
Wesley
Wesley Wyndham-Pryce in an ex-Watcher, current kicker of demon ass and part of Angel Investigations. Given his Watcher training, Wesley can bring the research skills to the party as well as a knowledge of demonology that surpasses Angel's own. Wesley can seem a little slippery at times and perhaps a little distant from the stable end of the spectrum, but he trusts Angel and Angel has no reason not to trust him in return. As well as having almost all the information Angel could ever need when it comes to the supernatural, Wesley also knows how to fight the bad guys with the best of them.
Notable Logs: LOGS HERE
Super Hobo
Jack Spratt is a homeless man who Angel encountered while the former was attacking a woman in Los Feliz. When he attempted to rescue her, Spratt took off and attempted to escape with a nearby toddler. Angel gave chase and Spratt abandoned the toddler in a dumpster before promptly disappearing. Angel does not know who he is or what his deal is, save that he's fairly sure he is a werewolf and up to a series of extremely no-good things in Los Angeles.
Notable Logs:
- January 31, 2002 - Targets
Lili
Lilith was the first person Angel spoke with upon returning to Los Angeles after Buffy’s death. He was doing a patrol of the City to get the lay of the land after his hiatus and just so happened to come across a pair of demons that Lilith got to before him. They had a brief conversation where Lili found out who he was and praised him for the work he was doing. Angel was a little taken aback by the praise, from a demon hunter that didn’t know him well no less, but he was still appreciative. He doesn’t know her all that well but the fact that she’s one of Gunn’s hunters makes her at least moderately trustworthy in his eyes.
Notable Logs:
- January 30, 2002 - Cookies and Demons
- January 31, 2002 - Targets
- February 1, 2002 - Promised Treats
Ava
Ava Kalderash just walked into the Hotel when Angel was the only one there and introduced herself as a member of Gunn's crew and a cousin of Janna Kalderash - better known as Jenny Calendar. He was initially concerned that she was fulfilling the function that Jenny previously held but she flat out told him that she wasn't and that's good enough for him. She gave him some advice which was destined to make things uncomfortable but useful nonetheless. Angel finds her moderately trustworthy like he finds most of the Team Gunn people he has met, but there are a few unknown factors that keep her in the Periphery. Namely that she's a descendant of the people who cursed Angelus and, as such, may still feel slighted by his actions.
Notable Logs:
- January 30, 2002 - Friendly Advice
Bette
Elizabeta Montagne is someone who Angel knows next to nothing about. He's only met her once and it was only because he was trying to save her from a knife-wielding, homeless werewolf. He doesn't even know her name, really. He does know she's probably wealthy (she dressed that way) and may be some sort of target for the Spratt in the future. He's thinking he should probably seek her out and keep an eye on her but he's got no leads in that department.
Notable Logs:
- January 31, 2002 - Targets
Seth
Seth Ward is another person Angel encountered during the chaos in Los Feliz. He does not know where he's from but he doesn't like him (something about his attitude) and he is fairly certain he knows more about what is going on due to his casual attitude to seriously supernatural stuff. He doesn't know his name but he got a good look at him and there are definitely some distinguishing features about him that could be useful in locating him for further questioning. But then, if the guy isn't involved in what is going on then Angel wouldn't mind never encountering him again.
Notable Logs:
- January 31, 2002 - Targets
Matt
Matthew Hatcher was a teenager who Angel initially suspected of being one of Spratt's pals before he noticed the kid was trying to attack the latter with half a baseball bat. He's not sure he is entirely innocent, of course, but he seems like he means well and may only require moderate watching in the grand scheme of things. He doesn't know his name but he knows that he's homeless, he's a werewolf and that he isn't aware of who Angel is given his attempts to pretend he'd never heard of werewolves. He seems to be a simple case of wrong place, wrong time.
Notable Logs:
- January 31, 2002 - Targets
Dajan
Dajan Tripp was at Los Feliz when Spratt went crazy and started waving a knife around. Angel doesn't really know what she is as he didn't get a chance to find out but he's sure she's no ordinary person given that she disappeared into thin air. She seems like one of the good guys as she was trying to help an injured mother and child out of the goodness of her heart but you can't always judge a book by it's cover. Like most of the people who were around during Spratt's attack, Angel has given thought to seeking her out to see if she knows anything more about what is happening.
Notable Logs:
- January 31, 2002 - Targets
Quotes
"All I wanna do is help. I wanna help because, I don't think people should suffer as they do. Because, if there's no bigger meaning, then the smallest act of kindness is the greatest thing in the world."
"There are three things I don't do: tan, date, and sing in public."
"I don't wanna research, all right? I wanna jump through the big swirly hole thingy and save Cordelia."
"There is no real simple answer to that. I won't lie to you and tell you that it'll be easy, because it won't be. Just because you've decided to change doesn't mean that the world is ready for you to. The truth is no matter how much you suffer, no matter how many good deeds you do to try to make up for the past you may never balance out the cosmic scale. The only thing I can promise you is that you'll probably be haunted, and maybe for the rest of your life."
"For a taciturn, shadowy guy, I've got a big mouth."
"Am I intimidating? I mean, do I put people off?"
"Oh, Mandy. Oh, you came and you gave without takin'. But I sent you away, oh, Mandy."
"I wanna torture you. I used to love it, and it's been a long time. I mean, the last time I tortured somebody, they didn't even have chainsaws."
"How did you survive this long, being so retarded?"
"I could never live in a rat infested stinkhole like this, pardon me for saying so. But I gotta have meself a proper bed or I'm a terror."
"Oh, yeah. Acathla. He's an even harder guy to wake up than you are. I mean, I performed the rituals, said all the right phrases … blood on my hand. Got nothing. Big doughnut hole for my troubles. I figure you know the ritual. You're pretty up on these things. You could probably … tell me what I'm doing wrong. But honestly, I sorta hope you don't … 'Cause I really wanna torture you."
"My friends … we're about to make history … end."
Cordelia: "Angel … Hi."
Angel: "Hi. You okay?"
Cordelia: "No."
Angel: "You're not?"
Cordelia: "No. You really hurt my feelings."
Cordelia: "How do we know we can trust you?"
Angel: "I guess I'll just have to earn that."
Angel: (About the Gym) "You got your steam; you got your sauna, your fresh towels. I mean, how bad could it be?"
Cordelia: "You shower with a lot of men."
Angel: "I'll always be a loner."
Angel: (About Darla) "I probably should have killed her."
Lorne: "Eh, kill her, give her cab fare, whatever."
Lorne: "Why Mandy?"
Angel: "Well, I-I know the words."
(Beat)
Angel: "I kinda think it's pretty."
Lorne: "Oh, am I glad to see you. And so much less dead than I expected."
Angel: "What'd they do to you?"
Lorne: "Well, first there was the welcome home parade thrown in my honor, ticker tape, streamers. Honestly, I was so touched I almost wept."
(Beat)
Lorne: "Locked me in a room, pushed me around, asked a bunch of questions. Your standard film noir."
Wesley: "Angel!"
Angel: "Invite me in! I've never been here before Wesley, you have to invite me in!"
Wesley: "Well, perhaps if you had shown a bit of interest … "
Angel: "Wesley!"
(A demon breaks through the window.)
Wesley: "Yes! Well, absolutely, I invite you in! Man, I invite you!"
Wesley: "Nasty … demon … unknown … origin."
Angel: "Awful lot of that in this town. I'm sure he'll feel right at home, here."