Viva Las Buffy (Part 3 of 4), Act 3: Dueces
Wild
Plot: Scott Lobdell
Script: Fabian Nicieza
Pencills: Cliff Richards
Inks: Will Conrad
Colors: Dave McCaig
Letters: Clem Robins
Cover: Brian Horton & Paul Lee
The story takes place before Buffy the Vampire
Slayer's first season
Jeremy's Brief Synopsis:
Stuck in a "Twilight Zone"
episode, Angel fends against the colorless people
to find a computer in the manager's office, which
the manager of 1996 has been using to make
investments in the past to make huge profits off of
in the present. Meanwhile, Buffy and Pike meet with
the mysterious owners, which prsent touble trouble
to the slayer and her pal. This issue is full of
surprises and we don't wanna spoil them so go buy
the comic! And you won't believe your eyes when
Pike finally decides what to do about his situation
with Buffy!
Zinna's Review:
So in the last review I was
elusive in describing Angel's role in the whole
Vegas caper, well, I won't let you down this time
because Issue #53 is finally out and guess what?
It's all about Angel…well, most of it.
Hopefully, you got a chance
enjoy Issue#52 because I have to tell you in that
issue Angel's cover was blown (he was posing as a
casino manger's bodyguard) and the scuffle that
ensues ends Angel in the manger's closet. Turns out
the closet is the Twilight Zone or since Angel
doesn't really watch that show he figures it's a
temporal portal that zoomed him back to the 1930s.
I say it's the Twilight Zone because everyone is
depicted in black and white while Angel remains in
his Technicolor glory. If that weren't weird enough
this lovely black and white world contains a
computer. What on earth would people in the 30s do
with a modern-day computer? Well, that's exactly
what Angel wants to know, among other things like
what the hell is going on? How is he going to get
out of this mess? Most importantly, is Buffy all
right?
Yeah, so this issue is a little
more about Angel's crush on Buffy than Pike's,
except Angel isn't all about talking it over in his
mind. He's more about trying to find a way back to
her, so that he can watch over her and protect her
and whathaveyou, which leads me to believe that
he's pretty much accepted his crush. Something,
Pike has had a more difficult time accepting, but
it really isn't fair to compare the two. Angel is
hundreds of years old and he's known evil from both
sides and oh he's immortal (assuming he doesn't run
around in sunlight, drink holy water, or fall on a
wooden stake). While Pike, on the other hand, is
just teenage boy in love, just barely coming to
grips with puberty let alone the fact that vampires
are real and they all seem to want a piece of his
girl's action.
Oh another factor ruining my
ill-made comparison, is the little matter of Buffy
being completely unaware of Angel's existence.
Angel doesn't have to worry about distracting Buffy
from her duties. He doesn't have to contend with
the host of the problems that later arise when
these two really have relationship. If he did, if
Angel had worry about all those problems in the
very first minutes of realizing he was in love
would his internal struggle be much different from
Pike's? Oh there's that unfair comparison, again.
All I'm trying to say is … thinking of the
situation this way (the comparison way), I feel
more for Pike's dilemma. Pike wants Buffy but more
than that he wants her alive. Pike can't ensure
that if he sticks around he can have both. He can't
even be sure that Buffy's feelings are mutual. For
Angel, Buffy's feelings matter not… at least
not yet. She doesn't even know Angel nor is privy
to his feelings for her. Even when time comes for
them (Buffy and Angel) to mutually love each other,
Angel's got that super strength and lifetimes worth
of knowledge that make him useful, instead of
powerless when it comes to protecting Buffy from
what goes bump in the night. Here's the some fodder
for the mind remember back in the day when Buffy
and Angel (the shows) allowed cross-over events?
Remember when Buffy went to Angel to yell him and
they ended up killing this demon that resulted in
Angel being human? For like a day he and Buffy had
bliss until he realized that as human all he could
do was get in the way instead of help her fight.
Well, human Angel is a better comparison for human
Pike. Human Angel had to contend with all the
things that Pike is struggling with
now&emdash;being unable to fight with super
strength and as result having Buffy spend more time
than she can afford protecting him, realizing that
inevitably time is going to run out and he was
going to have watch Buffy die…fighting while
he would be powerless to stop it. In fact, in that
scenario Angel chose to give up bliss and revert
back to status a vampire warrior, because at least
then he wouldn't be powerless and while Buffy
wouldn't be his at least she'd be alive. Now, I see
why Pike's so conflicted.
Regardless, Angel's obsession is
different in that he fancy himself Buffy's guardian
angel (rather fitting wouldn't you say) and unlike
Pike, Angel isn't really worried that his
involvement in the slayer's life will ultimately
get her killed. Instead Angel feels responsible for
Buffy's well-being. Angel feels like he can swoop
in and make everything ok and maybe he could if he
weren't in a mess himself. Seems like Angel needs a
guardian angel or at least someone a little more
computer-literate.
Elsewhere, Pike's internal
struggle continues as he and Buffy are surrounded
by angry vamps. Buffy knows when she is outnumbered
so she surrenders. Suddenly their captors get a
call from the big guys. The big guys want to meet
the pretty little lady that's been causing all the
fuss. Once we see who the big guys are, it suddenly
seems like Buffy would have had a better chance
with the mob that captured her or at least a less
bizarre experience. Bizarre is putting it lightly.
I won't say what Buffy and Pike encountered because
the surprise is just too worth it. All I'll say is
the big guys prove to be a hand full.
Let's bring the focus back to
Pike for moment. As I said his internal struggle
continues as he watches Buffy try to handle the new
mess they are in. He instantly notices that Buffy
is having trouble staying focused on the task at
hand&emdash;kicking bad-guy butt. Her attention is
divided between the fight and seeing if Pike is ok.
Instead of taking solace in the fact the Buffy must
really care about him, he decides that her caring
about him makes him a liability. Here is where his
internal struggle ends. Does it help Buffy save the
day? This is only part 3 of 4, folks. Besides, I
wouldn't tell you even if I knew.
What I will tell you: Buffy is
got even bigger problems then her fight with some
bad guys? What could bigger than bizarre bad guys?
Her snooping little sister, Dawn. As you know,
Buffy is currently a runaway, which means there's
no one to stop Dawn from going through Buffy's
things. You remember how Buffy left in a hurry,
right? Do you think she had time to make sure she
hid or got rid of anything that might implicate her
secret slayer identify? Yeah, there's going to be
trouble.
Speaking of trouble, Giles finds
himself (along with his Council colleagues)
swimming in a world of trouble when he tries to
expose his competitor/colleague's dealings with
black majicks. And you thought Giles just woke up
one day and got a call to be to a watcher for Buffy
Summers. For these guys nothing's ever that
simple.
