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Angel is a fictional character created for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt. Angel is a vampire with a soul who played the romantic interest for the series lead character Buffy Summers. Angel eventually spun off a series of his own, Angel. In addition to the the two television series, the character also appears in several Buffy the Vampire Slayer Novels.
Biography
Angel was born Liam in 1727 in Galway, Ireland. His father was an Irish merchant who resented his son's laziness. As a human, he wasted his life on alcohol, women, and a lack of purpose other than to see the world. He was eventually thrown out of this house and not long after, came across a beautiful, seemingly wealthy woman, Darla, who proved to be a vampire who killed him and transformed him into a vampire. Freed of a soul and completely evil, he set to work murdering his entire community including his own family and eventually took on the name Angelus. Angelus spread terror throughout Europe and even Asia. He sired other vampires, Penn and Drusilla and was something of a role model to the vampire Drusilla sired, Spike.
In 1898 Angelus' reign of evil came to an end when he killed a daughter of the Kalderash Clan, a tribe of gypsies. In revenge, they cursed him, returning his human soul and conscience. Angel was struck with overwhelming remorse for the evil he did as Angelus. He nevertheless made a failed attempt to continue his old ways but was unable to commit the same evils he once had. He left behind Darla and his other vampire associates and lived in seclusion, avoiding life and people and the need to feed on blood.
United States
In 1902, he made his way to the United States. At the time of WWII, he was recruited by The Demon Research Initiative. He took on the task of rescuing the crew of an American submarine crew who stole a German submarine and along with it, its three vampire captives, one of whom proved to be Spike. In order to save the crew, he was forced to transform Ensign Sam Lawson into a vampire.
Angel eventually made his way to Los Angeles. In 1952, while visiting the Hyperion Hotel, a place where suicides and murders were unusually common place, he came across a young woman, Judy, who had recently robbed a bank. His attempt to help her and the hotel's other residents backfired on him and he was strung up, hung for his good deeds. He walked away and left Judy and the other residents behind to fend for themselves. Many years later, he returned to find Judy and old woman still trapped in the hotel by the demon responsible for the hotel's many tragedies. He forgave her and managed to dispel the demon from the hotel.
Sunnydale
In the 1990s, Angel moved to the town of Sunnydale, California located on a Hellmouth. He initially provided tips and occasional aid to the town's young slayer, Buffy Summers. The two eventually fell deeply in love and consummated their relationship which broke the curse placed on him by the gypsies. The one true moment of happiness caused him to lose his soul and brought Angelus back, in full evil form.
Anglus rejoined Spike and Drusilla, also in Sunnydale and he took great enjoyment from torturing Buffy's friends. He killed teacher, Jenny Calendar, also a member of the gypsy clan who had once cursed him, in order to prevent her from succeeding in reestablishing the curse. Buffy's friend, the budding witch, Willow , attempted to restore his soul and was successful in doing so but Buffy was nevertheless forced to kill him in order to stop an apocalypse Angelus had begun.
A year later, Angel returned from the hell dimension he'd been drawn into. He'd been reduced to a feral state but with Buffy's help he returned to full form. He realized his return was sign that he was meant to serve a higher purpose. He and Buffy attempted to reestablish their relationship but a talk with her mother, Joyce Summers led him to realize that it was in Buffy's best interest if he left Sunnydale. Buffy was devastated but eventually realized it was the right decision.
Los Angeles - Angel Investigations
Angel left Sunnydale for Los Angeles where he allied himself with the Irish half-demon, Doyle. Doyle, granted precognitive vision by The Powers That Be, was sent to help him in his role as their champion. The two were joined by Cordelia Chase a former classmate of Buffy's who arrived in LA with dreams of wealth and fame, derailed by her lack of actual talent. The three created Angel Investigations, a private investigations company whose goal was to defend those incapable of helping themselves.
Doyle was killed in a heroic moment but he passed his visions to Cordelia before he died. Angel and Cordelia were shortly joined by Wesley Wyndam-Pryce a former watcher turned "rogue demon hunter". Wesley left his roguish ways behind and joined the team and the group expanded further to incorporate demon-fighter Charles Gunn and former Pylean slave Winifred Burkle. Also assisting Angel was the demon owner of a Karaoke bar, Lorne.
In his quest to do good, Angel fell on the wrong side of the evil inter-dimensional law form, Wolfram & Hart who believed he played a key part in a coming apocalypse. The firm resurrected his sire, Darla, as a human and recruited Drusilla to transform her into a vampire. Angel's sense of failure for not having been able to save her caused him to launch a vendetta against the firm. It alienated him from his friends and eventually in despair, he slept with Darla, hoping he would lose his soul in the process. When that didn't occur, he came to terms with his purpose and returned to his friends though they were in no hurry to have him back. The group eventually reconciled with Wesley as the leader of the group.
Shortly after rescuing Fred from the demon dimension Pylea, Angel learned that the love of his life, Buffy was dead. Though she was resurrected months later, He didn't return to her. Instead, his relationship with Cordelia turned romantic. Any opportunity to develop the relationship was lost when Darla returned, pregnant with his son, Connor. His son was abducted by Holtz, a human whose family he killed centuries before as Angelus. Holtz took Connor to the hell dimension Quor-Toth and raised him as his own, telling him Angel was an evil monster.
A few days after his abduction, Connor returned as an adult, having spent years in Quor-toth. Connor vowed to destroy his father after Holtz set up his own death to make it appear as if he'd been murdered by Angel. Connor locked Angel in a coffin and sank him in the ocean. Cordelia ascended to a higher plane leaving no opportunity for a relationship with Angel.
Angel was rescued by Wesley who attempted to make up for his part in Connor's kidnapping. Their relationship was slow to mend, but Angel eventually came to understand and forgive him. Though Connor came to realize Angel may not be exactly what Holtz led him to believe, the two never developed a close relationship. Cordelia later returned but without her memory and came to mistrust Angel and the others choosing, instead, to stay with Connor.
The world seemed to be on the verge of ending when a seemingly unkillable demon known as The Beast arrived and brought with him endless night in Los Angeles. Angel was forced to strip himself of his soul knowing only Angelus knew how to defeat the creature. Angelus ultimately killed the Beast but realized an even greater evil was behind his appearance. With the help of Willow and Faith Angelus was recaptured and his soul restored only to face a greater evil.
A divine being, calling herself Jasmine, had conspired to create a means by which it could be born into the world through Cordelia and Connor. Cordelia birthed Jasmine who brought about world peace through the sacrifice of thousands and the ending of free will. Unable to accept the compromise, the team fought against Jasmine and it was ultimately Connor who was able to destroy her.
Wolfram & Hart
As a reward for ending world peace, Wolfram & Hart offered Angel the run of their Los Angeles office. Despite being aware of the lawfirm's inherently evil agenda, Angel and his team accepted the offer hoping to use the firm's power to do good. Angel asked for one special request for Connor and it was agreed that his memory would be erased allowing him to live a normal life with a new family. Angel also hoped he'd be able to find a means to free Cordelia from the coma she fell in following Jasmine's birth.
Despite their initial goals of using the firm's power to do good, the team found themselves compromising at every turn and the formerly clear line between good and evil blurred. The endless questions and doubts about his choice were made more frustrating by the arrival of Spike, initially as a ghost, but eventually a corporeal vampire, also with a soul, and also in love with Buffy. Despite numerous differences and years of bad history, Spike became a member of the team.
Angel eventually realized that his work for Wolfram & Hart was changing him for the worse. He and the remainder of his team managed to kill the members of the Circle of the Black Thorn which was the senior partners main means of political and economic influence. Angered by his actions, the partners sent an army against Angel . Having lost Wesley and Fred killed and taken over by Illyria, the only members of his team left were a wounded Gunn, Spike and Illyria. Their story remains unfinished.
Angelus
Angelus first appeared in Buffy when a sexual encounter with her granted Angel a moment of true happiness thereby breaking the conditions of the spell that kept his human soul bound to his body. The evil Angelus returned and rejected Buffy and later tried to kill her.
Angelus enjoyed free reign for many years before having his soul restored by gypsies. Angelus was a vicious and notorious serial killer and a mentor to Spike in his evil ways. Angelus traveled the world, with Darla, Spike, and Drucilla, leaving a trail of bodies behind.
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