Review: How to Redeem a Hero
I almost didn't buy this comic today. It's the first time in forever that I didn't make it a priority to go to my local comic store. But I'm glad I did because it was great to read this and feel a moment of clarity. My primary motivation for getting up and driving across town was the rumored appearance of Spike and yes, he never fails to satisfy (when not being written by Willingham).
Where to begin? Expectations. This issue is the one where we're supposed to get answers, where we hope that Buffy and Angel will be in character, where we hope to learn why Angel is Twilight, where we hope to have the distressing consent and rape metaphor issues of #33 and #34 addressed, where we get a philosophical discussion between Angel and Buffy.
Good news: Buffy is in character again. (Kinda. For the most part.) Buffy remembers her priority, the reason she fights: "
That's what I need to fight for. Not happiness. Not humanity.
Them. Those people [her friends]." Yes, Buffy has always found the strength to fight by prioritizing her friends and she returns to them to help save the day. However, fighting for humanity is also what she does because her friends symbolize humanity. So yeah, not a well-written line at all. It ignores the reality of her heart because Buffy does care about the people.
Buffy delays discussing the issue of what happened in #33 and #34--"Do not talk about it yet. We're not talking about it yet"--but doesn't stop herself from referencing how satisfied she feels, so the consent and rape metaphor that was making some readers feel ill hasn't been addressed and we also get a reminder of how great it felt to have mind, body and spirit violated by the Universe (which doesn't make its presence felt in this issue). See, it's not rape if you enjoy it. What's worse, I believe this delaying tactic means the consent issues, the rape metaphor, Angel deceiving Buffy and corralling villains to kill Slayers and "push" her into becoming this Übermensch--it all won't be addressed.
This is standard protocol: good guys do something bad, the apocalypse happens and they bond over fighting side by side to save the world, working out their anger through fighting literal evil; once the apocalypse has passed, they look at each other and realize how those issues before weren't as big as saving each other's lives and thus decide to move past it and let go because the bad guy has demonstrated an ultimate good and deserves forgiveness. Normally I wouldn't expect this of the Buffyverse because actions have consequences and Buffy's indignation would be expected, though she would eventually forgive as she always does, but I'm not hopeful because...
Then you get to the horrifyingly bad. Angel is not in-character. At all. Sure, his voice kinda sounds right, but it's the words coming out of his mouth and the philosophy he's spouting that spin your head around and make you go buzzah at the pod!Angel. Angel continues to work hard convincing Buffy they're in paradise and belong there. Buffy remains suspicious and demands to see her friends, ripping a tear in their Twilight reality to see what's happening to them. Angel's reaction? Dumbfounded. He didn't realize that his and Buffy's ascension would result in this chaos. He promises "we can help them. We can fix it. We can fix
everything, Buffy," but his proposal isn't to save them. No, it's to sacrifice them for "the universe we're going to make... After all these centuries--[there'll be] no more fighting--no more failing--no more dying... It's not just that we get to be
together, Buffy--we finally get to be happy." Angel's solution is ultimately selfish, the world is being destroyed by his and Buffy's orgasmic and pornographic (no argument: it's softcore porn, folks) ascension, but he feels no responsibility for his actions. All the people dying down below "can handle this, Buffy. It's no different than when you died. They'll survive. They always do."
Buffy (because she's in character) rejects his proposal: "You're just saying that because you can live without knowing the outcome. I can't." Angel insists: "The outcome is beyond us. The only absolute in the earth is that it will end." Yeah, okay pod!Angel, glad to see you're not at all worried that the world is ending and your son, Connor, is going to die. Okaaaay. Angel has given in to destiny, negating Buffy's insistence that the reason she fights is for her friends, to keep them safe. He insists staying in Twilight means she
is "fighting for them. That's why you were sent here! This is the end. This is the beginning of us. You don't have to choose. The Universe already chose us! All we have to do is leave behind the lower plane." Leave behind humanity to die, leave behind free will because the Universe has chosen, leave behind your family, those you love more than your own life: Connor and Dawn and Xander and Willow and Faith and Giles.
Angel is now the voice of destiny and submission to that destiny. It's not shocking that he'd lose his selfless principles for a selfish reason, that urge has always been there. He wanted to "screw the world" to save Fred from Illyria overtaking her. He wanted to, but he didn't. The key difference there--he didn't want to "screw the world" for himself, but for an innocent. Because Angel saves souls. He's screwed over his friends for the sake of Connor, essentially mindraping them in order to save Connor's life and very sanity. But when it comes to Angel's wants and needs, he doesn't believe he deserves forgiveness. He doesn't deserve happiness at the cost of others. That's why he beseeched the Oracles to turn back the clock in
I Will Remember You--he gave up his personal happiness with Buffy, his humanity, to save her and others. He offered his life to save Darla. Angel is ultimately selfless even in his ultimate selfishness--his acts of selflessness are inspired by those he loves (just as Buffy refused to "kill Dawn"). Whoever Twangel is, it's not Angel. This is not Angel being written as faithful to character. Even when he reached that darkness of leading Drogyn to death by his own fangs, of ordering Lindsey murdered, his ultimate goal wasn't selfish. It wasn't about himself. He expected to die for stopping the Circle of the Black Thorn. He expected to go down fighting for stopping (or even if it just was delaying) their apocalyptic plans. Because the world is worth more than his life. And it's damned sure worth more than his
happiness.
Buffy's wrong, Angel couldn't "live without knowing the outcome" of the world, but most especially of Connor's life. Not at the price of his happiness. This isn't Angel. This is anti-Angel. He's doing the exact opposite of who he is and all he's professed to be. The philosophic mouthpiece he's been forced into becoming (perhaps by the Universe, that's the only textual excuse I can fathom) is the exact opposite of his most profound epiphany and mission to save souls.
"If there is no great glorious end to all this, if - nothing we do matters, - then all that matters is what we do. 'cause that's all there is. What we do, now, today. - I fought for so long. For redemption, for a reward - finally just to beat the other guy, but... I never got it...
All I wanna do is help. I wanna help because - I don't think people should suffer, as they do. Because, if there is no bigger meaning, then the smallest act of kindness - is the greatest thing in the world." -
EpiphanyThe Universe has convinced almost everyone--Willow, Giles, but most especially Angel--that there is a "great glorious end to all this", that there is a "bigger meaning." But that does not negate what Angel cares about. Saving souls, stopping suffering.
Buffy saves the world. Angel saves souls. Twangel is a selfish git who says "screw the world" and means it. He wants his reward, his happiness, to stay in Twilight with Buffy so they can evolve. Buffy says "F#*% evolution." But Twangel is still the spouting the Universe's agenda--anyone else getting flashbacks to WWII and the Nazis Aryan' race agenda? I'm not bringing up this context to be purely controversial. The callback is literal. "Screw the world", let the lower plane burn so that the supremacist beings may ascend to a perfect, pure existence absent from the pollution of imperfect lower beings. Angel and Buffy are the master race and no other living beings matter.
Buffy was marginally redeemed in this issue (I say marginally because the story hasn't addressed a majority of the concerns it's raised). Meanwhile, Angel's character--the core of his self--has been decimated. Why? Apparently because he's in service to Buffy's story. Buffy gets to be the hero. It's her 'verse and Angel's only here to make her ultimately look good.
Screw that. Angel is a protagonist with over fives years of history as a hero in his own right with no Buffy influencing him. But this comic doesn't respect his history, his character, instead warping him to fit its plot contrivances. The only out is if Angel isn't behind the wheel because the Universe is driving. Pod!Angel, Twangel. Whoever this is, it's not Angel. This person only cares about being with Buffy. He's even willing to sacrifice paradise if it means being with her. Angel doesn't realize he needs to go back to save the world, but only goes because Buffy goes. He spends all his energy convincing her to stay and give in to destiny. Buffy says 'screw that, I'm leaving' and so Angel buckles down and smirks, "Okay. Let's go."
Buffy returns triumphant and full of remorse. Angel? I don't see Angel in this comic (and no, that's not a dig at Jeanty's art). Willow sneers to Angel, "Can I just mention that I preferred Angelus?" Me, too, Willow. Me, too. Because Angelus was actually in-character for Angel and received a proper character arc to set-up this change. Twangel is a
MacGuffin, a Straw Villain who exists to only offset Buffy's development, but has no earnest story devoted to establishing his own in-character motivation. Bad writing. This is like Angel's appearance in
Chosen, only the disregard for Angel's POV and development based on his experiences in LA have been multiplied to the degree of exponentially prefixey.
Final page, Spike appears triumphant and acting (so far) in-character. So Buffy's back (and this is what I care for the most, y'all know how I love Buffy), Spike's finally here (this is what I've been waiting for what feels like forever) and Angel's character has been assassinated (I should've known I couldn't get everything I wanted--looks like Angel is the collateral damage here along with Andrew and Amy it seems--yeah, they get slashed down. Andrew's death is reminiscent of Anya's in Chosen... if he
did die). It seems like Joss' reassurance to IDW that Angel's role in their comics won't be affected will play true simply because Twangel isn't Angel.
How do you redeem a hero? You attempt it. Buffy made great strides towards redemption in this issue while Angel forgot he even needed to fight for redemption (wait, is Kelley Armstrong now co-writing this comic?).
Questions that remain:
- Does Buffy already know Spike is undead again?
- Will Angel's OOCness be textually relevant? Will Angel remember he loves his son, Connor?
- Will Buffy get her indignation on for Angel being a arrogant, lying, manipulative douche all season?
- Are Amy and Andrew really dead?
- Will Giles get taken to task for once again being forced to play the role of patronizing mentor who refuses to trust anyone?
- Will the text clarify the actual source of Buffy's and Angel's powers? Buffy wearing the outfits of dead Slayers in Twilight raises the question of whether Angel or Willow is right about her powers being sourced from dead Slayers.
- How many people in the world died because of the Übermensch sexcapades? Not how many Scoobies and their the-enemy-of-Twilight-is-my-friend allies (Amy, the General), but the actual people of the world. While Meltzer may enjoy writing that Buffy doesn't care about humanity, the readers actually do care and would like to know the casualties aren't being treated casually.
- Will the text address the consent issues and rape metaphor, or will the plot necessity steam roll over them with all the sensitivity of a freight train of dramatic prioritization?
It's going to be a long wait until September. We'll see how many of these questions will be addressed in Joss' final arc. Sadly, Season 8 has taught me to not expect much. I suppose that's a good thing. Lowered expectations means you won't have far to fall because you've lost hope for something better.