S8 Comics-- Issue #36

[ms_scarletibis]

So yeah, I realize I'm way behind, and I didn't read anyone's thoughts on this issue.  In fact, I just read it.  There were some things that stuck out in my mind as interesting, curious, off putting or just plain yucky.

Thanks to Emmie for the screencaps.

Comments

[eleusis_walks]

Or does Cordelia just not matter in this universe?

It's a universe written by Joss, so yeah she is irrelevant. He's nothing if not consistent in his petty grudges.

He actually had Angel say to Buffy that he has "never been happy with anyone else." The comics have so little relation to AtS canon it's staggering.

Personally I just don't understand how The Master is supposed to be remotely threatening or interesting. Buffy killed him when she was sixteen. In like, thirty seconds.

[ms_scarletibis]

He actually had Angel say to Buffy that he has "never been happy with anyone else." The comics have so little relation to AtS canon it's staggering.

Yeah...except that's just not true. The only time he even laughed in Sunnydale was with Cordelia. She made him leagues happier than Buffy. That's just stupid. Pfft.

Agreed on the Master. I...don't get it.

[eleusis_walks]

It's just the most unbelievably ridiculous heap of trash. I am glad I have no problem considering them non-canonical, and I feel bad for people who privilege Joss's word over text integrity. Because man, these things suck.

[angearia]

I feel bad for people who privilege Joss's word over text integrity. Because man, these things suck.

Seriously? That's charming.

[shipperx]

or does Cordelia just not matter in this universe?

I'm not sure she existed in the Comicverse. I'm not sure that AtS existed in this comicverse. I just know that Angel is not coming off well here, and I'm rather offended on Angel's behalf. When did he become an absolutely moron?

Re: recognizing Angel, I figure Spike might have caught the Mexican Wrestler mask reference from AtS Season 5... if I actually believed that AtS existed in this comicverse.

[ms_scarletibis]

Ditto on the offended front.

I have to say that if that was a "Tale of the Numero Cinco" ref, it went past me until you mentioned it. That and if it was, would Angel be dumb enough to use a reference that could be linked back to himself? Well, this Angel is all kinds of dumb and not Angel...

But yeah, Ats canon clearly does not exist here, which makes me glad, in a way.

[eleusis_walks]

But yeah, Ats canon clearly does not exist here, which makes me glad, in a way.

It's certainly made it much, much easier for me to ignore them.

[diebirchen]

They unpulverized his bones?

[ms_scarletibis]

Looks like :p

[mulder200]

LOL! The comics have just gotten so bad that I can do nothing but laugh at the absurdity.

[ms_scarletibis]

Well, at least it makes you happy in a way :p

[stormwreath]

Hmmm... :-)

Joss decides to have Angel regress. He's seen first hand what can happen when one is offered the option of becoming a "higher being"

Which might be why his reaction to the offer is scepticism, sarcasm, and then turning his back on the dog and trying to walk away, maybe? ;-)

Except, of course, he's not "offered" the powers at all. He discovers he already has them, when he manages to save the lives of several hundred people by using them... (And honestly, when has Angel ever NOT accepted the word of a powerful mystical being who says he's the subject of an ancient prophecy? From Whistler in 'Becoming' to Cordelia's final vision in 'You're Welcome', Angel really is not a sceptic when it comes to prophecies. He even fell hook line and sinker for Eve's cup of Mountain Dew prophecy. Joss might not be writing your Angel, but he's certainly writing mine.)

The real Angel has been here several times--Buffy's life is almost always in dangerLike in 'Pangs' when Angel dropped everything to go and save her, and in 'End of Days'

[eleusis_walks]

Angel really is not a sceptic when it comes to prophecies.

Uh, what. S5 of AtS is all about how Angel is a skeptic when it comes to prophecy, especially post-Jasmine. The idea that Angel would buy any of this claptrap post-Jasmine is ludicrous; the only person he was willing to buy it from was Cordelia in "You're Welcome", because he trusts her and she's a human being who ascended rather than a god lowering herself to human level. And that wasn't a prophecy, it was a path back to the mission.

Wrt "Eve's prophecy", Angel hears it as a supposed extension of an existing prophecy he has reason to believe in (due to The Oracles, The Conduit, etc), from the mouth of a human academic authority he trusts (Sirk). It's not like Eve rants at him and he's like OMG MUST DO AS YOU SAY. Plus, it's more about Spike believing it -- and the threat that presents to Angel -- than Angel himself buying into it completely.

Like in 'Pangs' when Angel dropped everything to go and save her, and in 'End of Days' when Angel dropped everything to save

[stormwreath]

We see it differently then. Angel's initial reaction might be scepticism and wanting to walk away - which it was in this comic too, remember - but pretty soon he commits wholeheartedly. He wants to believe, because it makes his life meaningful.

Also, bear in mind that what we're seeing here isn't a single event; it's a whole series of flashbacks (including those for the previous Riley one-shot as well). Angel took a whole lot of convincing over a long period of time before he agreed to go along with this.

[eleusis_walks]

He wants to believe, because it makes his life meaningful.

No, what makes his life meaningful is what he puts into it himself. "If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do." This is the guiding principle of the entire series.