Question: Spike's Role in the Comics?

[fenderlove]

Quick word: I won't be responding with my own opinions to any comments left in this post, so feel free to answer honestly without fear that I shall pounce upon you. I may have further questions to ask.

How would you describe Spike's role in the comics in Season Nine? And to go further, what is his literal role in the comics? What has he literally been doing? What has been clearly asked of him by any other character or characters? The key words for all this are definitely- literal specifics. I'm looking for less interpretation "if you turn it sideways and squint and read between the lines" type of examples and more for just what has been presented.

Like I said above, I won't be responding with my own opinions. I'm just curious to find out if I've missed something in translation.

Comments

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Um....er...announcer of doom? I think under character archetypes that falls under 'herald'.

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

So he's a bringer of... portents... of doom? So sorta like early season Giles? "It's the end of the world" type of stuff?

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Basically. The 'Herald' announces/prefaces action. He's basically been the one announcing "something is coming for you Buffy" and looking for what's coming for her.

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

Okay. How did he know that something was coming for her in the first place? Did he just assume that with all the craziness and the fact that Buffy lives that something would eventually come after her (this is not a bad assumption to make on his part, if that's the case, really)?

[coalitiongirl.livejournal.com]

Scout, I guess? No one's asking anything of him, really (tbh it isn't that organized a Scooby gang in the comics and no one's asking anyone for anything, though Buffy does [canonically] appreciate what he's doing), but he's been hunting down "rumblings" (aka enemies or rumors of such) and reporting them back to Buffy as he learns more- and at one point attempts to bail her out of trouble when he finds out that she's under attack.

Oh, and the one time a Scooby meeting is called, he's texted, but unavailable to show up. It's a more major role than, say, Xander and Dawn's (and usually Willow's), and certainly a more pertinent one (especially considering that the next arc is apparently very Spike-centric and he'll start working with the SFPD), and he's been getting between 2-6ish pages exclusively devoted to his arc per issue in most of the recent comics.

Plus, hints of a bromance with a friendly demon! At least, he's confided in him and they worked together in #4 (and may continue to in the future, as this demon is tied to Buffy).

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

Has anyone directly asked him to stay in San Francisco, or is it more of a thing where he recognizes that he might be of some assistance in the future based on the "rumblings?"

I hadn't heard that he was going to be working with the SFPD. Is that from interviews with the DH staff?

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

"Has anyone directly asked him to stay in San Francisco"

No not really. The nearest we got was Buffy asking him if he was going to hang around now after coming back on the bug ship. Nothing out in the open as per.

Call me cynic but I don't think anyone would care If he was there or not.

[coalitiongirl.livejournal.com]

I'd think the latter, though he doesn't seem to have any desire to leave- we don't know where he's staying yet (with the bugs?) , but I'd assume it's somewhere nearby since he goes to hang out at Buffy's party in the first issue and tends to be wandering the city at night. So it looks like San Francisco is his home, now, too, and it'd be a big deal if he left (like it was when Willow did this past issue).

From the solicitation to #7:
Still seeking normalcy in the midst of zompire-stricken San Francisco, Buffy contemplates a life-changing decision the likes of which few Slayers have ever faced. Meanwhile Spike rushes to the aid of Detective Dowling, who’s in over his head with his recent investigation into the undead bloodsuckers plaguing the city.

(The cover to that comic also features Dowling and Spike facing a horde of demons, with Buffy standing in the background.)

[angearia.livejournal.com]

In the short webcomic by Jane Espenson, when Spike returns from outerspace, Buffy asks him if he's "home" for good now. So, I'd say she's given him strong implications for wanting him around. At least, in the sense that this is "home" aka where she thinks he belongs.

[joans-journal.livejournal.com]

Spike's role in S8 appeared to be as a support to Buffy. He does come to her aid to help her defeat Twilight, and supposedly sticks around to support her. He seems like the only person who understands Buffy's decision to destroy the seed. As for this season, I'm really not sure where the writers will take him. We know he'd play a big role in her life, so whether it will be helping her raise her child or continuing to fight by her side, we'll just have to wait and see.

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

We know he'd play a big role in her life

This is something I haven't yet heard. How does the audience know he'd play a big role in her life? I hear so many different viewpoints; I am trying to find some commonality or a consensus as to what exactly is going on.

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

People who are into the comics a bit more than I usually am follow the discussions on Dark Horse and any interviews that Jeanty or anyone else give. So it's possible to get hints of what's to come, if not specifics. Someone (who would know) has said somewhere that Spike will have a role in her life - we just don't know what it's to be.

[shapinglight]

I think he's chief cheerleader.

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

So, by that token, do you mean that he's there to assure Buffy that she's always right, that everyone else is wrong, and then he'll stick around in the shadows to "protect" her while she carries on her life?

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

To quote Grandpa Simpson "a little from pile A) and a little from pile B)".

[shapinglight]

Pretty much. Yes.

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

Yep suns It up well.

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

He seems to be somewhere between Buffy's sidekick and the more independent vampire he's been in the past few years. Not much seems to be asked of him, he's just kind of expected to be around.

ETA: Which, to me, speaks well of his role. Even though it may not be romantic (and I strongly suspect it won't), there is a relationship there that's as important as anyone else's - with the possible exception of Willow who is now gone for quite a while.

[stormwreath.livejournal.com]

This got long...


In 8.40 Spike tells Buffy that he's "keeping his ear to the ground" and has heard "rumblings" that "somebody's coming for you". He doesn't know who or what.

He tries to be supportive of Buffy, but she pushes him away with sarcasm. ("Wow. Thank God you've got my back." "Why did we ever break up?") Spike responds with a supportive talk about how wonderful she is, which causes Buffy to burst into tears (which she tries to hide) and leave hastily.

Skip ahead to the first issue of Season 9. Buffy invited Spike to her housewarming party by text. She flirts with him, but Spike is detached ("Hmm. Any chance I can make you beg?" "Not this year".). After that, she doesn't interact with him at the party at all that we see. He's shown to be on very friendly terms with Willow, talks to Buffy's male flatmate Tumble, and in one panel is apparently making out with a random girl.

Next night, Buffy and Willow are patrolling together when Spike joins them. He repeats that Buffy is being targeted, but has no new information. Buffy is impatient and dismissive; she doesn't like him "protecting" her. Later on, though, she admits to herself that she's started watching her back because of his warnings.

In 9.02, Buffy is arrested: the police are looking for a serial killer and suspect her. She goes on the run, hoping to find the killer herself. Spike tracks her down ("You'e a hard girl to find"). That's when they have the conversation where Buffy says "I'd probably miss you". She's looking away from him as she says that. Spike replies "Bloody hell you would" and says he's still planning to help her: at this Buffy smiles, turns to look at him and says, "Thanks, Spike".

Next issue, we see Spike at work trying to find who is "targeting" Buffy. He beats up a demon estate agent (!) until he reveals that a new demon came to town looking for Buffy. Spike tracks this demon down. (It's while he's doing this that Buffy texts him inviting him to a Scooby meeting.)

Spike finds the demon (Eldre Koh), but he turns out to be on Buffy's side. He wants to help her against "the Siphon", an entity which can "rip mystical energy from all he touches", and whose prophesied coming is feared. Spike and Koh team up, and engage in some male bonding on the way back to town.

Koh wants to know why a vampire would want to help a Slayer. Spike say that he and Buffy "go way back" and that he would "do pretty much anything to keep her safe". Koh pushes for more information on their relationship: Spike is defensive and avoids answering directly.

"Things are not as you'd like them with the Slayer."
"Sorry if you're looking for a supernatural soap, but there's nothing sudsy to tell here. After everything that Buffy's been through, she needs one thing, and that's normal. Which I am decidedly not."

Buffy, meanwhile, is fighting the Siphon. Just to make matters worse, the warehouse they're in is surrounded by the police. Spike and Koh make their way inside where they're confronted by Dowling, a homicide detective. Spike goes into vampface to warn Dowling to back off, then Spike and Koh join the battle.

It doesn't go well. The Siphon knocks Koh out with a single blast of his powers; Spike is conscious but down on the ground. He then grabs both Spike and Buffy and starts draining their energy at the same time - all the power he's draining makes him stronger.

Spike and Buffy are helpless, held at arm's length facing each other; she says, "Spike... don't...". he says Buffy's name, and a tear leaks from the corner of his eye. At this point Dowling comes back and saves the day by shooting the Siphon. (Which doesn't kill him, but disrupts his power enough for Spike and Buffy to escape.)

While Buffy is talking to the police Spike takes the opportuity to slip away. Koh tells him Buffy will want to talk to him, but Spike isn't willing, for the reasons he gave earlier - he thinks Buffy "needs normal".

And that's where we left it with Spike.

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I appreciate it! :D

Is it weird that Spike's behavior seems like Season One!Angel? It sounds like he's lurking, popping out for banter and sage-like words, and then disappearing back in the shadows to protect Buffy from unknown things without her desiring him to do so or asking for his help (and apparently being Guy #1245 to be deciding that he knows what Buffy needs out of life). Sigh. I just pray he's not human after this because... that'd be the last pin in my cushion, I think.

[http://users.livejournal.com/mad_brilliant_/]

I don't think he's human, but there's a theory that when he got Siphoned, his cold dead seed was "activated". And there's also a theory that he and Buffy had just had sexy times at the party. Which means: Baby Daddy! lol

[stormwreath.livejournal.com]

You're not the first to compare Spike's behaviour now to Angel in the first season; so no, not weird. :)

As for him "deciding he knows what's best for Buffy", that's true to a point but I think you need to consider the history of his interaction with her:

The very first time he met her again after a two-year absence, she was still in loved-up afterGlow mood after having sex with Angel - something Spike knew had happened. She was also abrupt and impatient with him (and everyone else, to be fair), having other things on her mind (like the apocalypse she'd just inadvertently caused).

Later on, they have a long intimate conversation. We see Buffy's internal dialogue/fantasies and see she's very much still sexually attracted to Spike, but he completely misinterprets her mood and assumes she's still thinking about Angel.

They meet the resurrected Master, who says he thought Angelus would be there too. Spike mutters "Don't worry, he'll be around later to take credit for everything."

Battle is joined. Spike fights alongside Buffy, it's all very spuffyesque. Then Angel shows up, Buffy's face lights up with a smile, and Spike sees this and says resignedly "Right then".

At this point, Spike returns to his bug ship. He therefore doesn't know about Angel killing Giles and Buffy breaking the Seed, but he does see when the apocalype is over, and he immediately assumes it's because of something Buffy did. But instead of rejoining her, he decides he needs to give the good guys "time to lick their wounds", and they should chase after a huge escaping demon instead because "somebodfy has to stop that."

You said you don't want interpretation here, just facts; so I won't suggest possible motives why Spike should choose to make himself absent, after several days of him misinterpreting Buffy's feelings to be all about AngelAngelAngel and not about him. :)

At this stage, Spike is gone for two whole months, because the bug's spaceship has a malfunction and they can't get back any sooner. He presumably finds out what happened, but Buffy is still being snarky and stand-offish. We, the audience, know she's conflicted emotionally, hiding her tears at his kind words and pretending to brush him off; Spike apparently just thinks she's being weird.

So what they've set up, it seems to me, is a situation where Spike has good reason to assume that Buffy has no stronger feelings for him than friendship. He can see she's acting strangely - at the party she flirts heavily with him, but the next day she's back to snark and insults. However, he seems to be putting this down to her being under stress, isolated and in a bad life situation.

Given all that - and here I am going to be guily of interpretation - I think his talk to Koh about Buffy "needing normal right now" is partly him deciding what's best for her, yes - but it's also very much him trying to rationalise his own feelings. Give himself an excuse not to pursue a relationship with her, because he thinks he'd only end up getting hurt if he did.

[lusciousxander.livejournal.com]

Buffy's main love interest. I think he'll have a story arc that's linked with Buffy later in the season.

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

Well, I was more looking for specifics about what has happened thus far, so do you think that Spike is the main love interest right at this moment or will be in the future? Buffy seems to have quite a few possible love interests available given her interactions with various people, but I haven't heard anything with specifics to lead the audience to believe that Spike and Buffy are anywhere close to restarting a relationship, so I'm interested to hear your thoughts.

[lusciousxander.livejournal.com]

I think that Spike is written to be her love interest. We see her flirting with him in #1 but Spike plays it cool. We see Spike as the only one having Buffy's back in #2. We see a scene dedicated to discussing Spike's feelings for Buffy in #4: He's been distancing himself because he believes Buffy needs normality right now after the whole thing with Twilight last season, but he still cares about her. We see a very powerful scene with Severin sucking both Buffy and Spike's powers, them staring at each other afraid for each other, not to mention a tear in Spike's eye.

There are also a couple of Spuffy covers for future issues: #6 has Spuffy fighting back to back. #7 has Spuffy looking like a normal couple.

I say Spike is her love interest this season. There might be – big emphasis on "might" - a triangle between Spike, Buffy, Detective Dowling, but I won't pay much attention to it. The season has been setting Spike as the best guy for Buffy.