Issue: Angel and Faith #14
Release Date: September 2012
Writer: Christos Gage
Art: Rebekah Isaacs
Colors: Dan Jackson
Letters: Richard Starkings and COMICRAFT’S Jimmy Betancourt
Cover: Steve Morris
Alternate Cover: Rebekah Isaacs and Dan Jackson
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
The promise of Dark Willow led us into this month’s storyline, but what emerged was a reaffirmation that Angel will go to great lengths to see his plans succeed. I’m not a fan of the ends justifying the means in this case.
I feel bad for Willow. She knows the danger of going darkside and wants to escape a replay of last time that happened, but she is also overly trusting. Angel asks her to give them just a few seconds, just long enough for the group to escape Quor’toth, and she agrees. Making sure her friends are safe is more important than her own well-being and Angel knows that she will make that choice. He also has to know what that choice would cost her. Being exposed to that much power, that much temptation, of course she’s going to embrace it.
In order to counteract an event that Angel himself caused, the vampire embraces his own dark side and vamps out. The theory is that the bite will give her temporary euphoria, which will let her darkness slip just long enough for them to get her to safety. Good in theory, not so much in practice. They just traded one evil for another. Angel’s raw hunger is out in full force and there’s no clear way back. The only solution they’ve got left is for Faith to kill him, to save them all, which she is ready and able to do. Of course, this is what she’s been told is her burden throughout this whole process. Time and time again, Faith has been told that she has to watch Angel and make sure he doesn’t go too far. If he does, it’s up to Faith to make things right. Why should she have to carry this weight alone? It’s unfair to put her in that position and Angel knows it, but it doesn’t stop him from forcing her into it.
Willow, once again, has to be the one to step in and help them all regain control. While she will be hard-pressed to forgive Angel for the disastrous state he left the world in after Twilight, she’s also not going to hold onto the hate either. Things are bad, but she’s determined to make them better. That’s what this whole plan was about all along. And she sets out to do just that. While she helps Connor, Angel, and Faith make their getaway back to Earth, she plans to follow Connor’s minions to another magical realm in hopes that she can bring back magic when she returns. But before she’s off, she has one parting gift for Angel — the Scythe. There are still echoes of Giles in it and it will prove invaluable for Angel in his attempt to bring the Watcher back. As we saw when Angel touched it, though, he’s walking a very fine line and one that will prove dangerous if he’s not careful.
Leaving this issue, we’re introduced to another emerging arc. Over in London, we find out that the character of Marianne is dead and Patsy’s in the hospital, both of whom are friends of Nadira. You might remember her as the Slayer who has been swearing vengeance against Angel. When she finds out that her friend’s death was a result of Drusilla, and by extension Angel, she is determined to see them pay. What she was not expecting, however, was to find out that Faith is mixed up in that group as well. Will she go after the woman who helped her before, or will she see the reason behind Faith’s actions? That’s the decision we have to look forward to next time!
Rating: 4 / 5 Stars
