Angel and Spike of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame has unexpectedly been canonized as a romance. Angel and Spike both pined for the affections of Buffy Summers, proving to be one of many reasons why one hated the other. They constantly fought over women and who was the better vampire. However, that hatred didn’t stop the wishful thinking of fans who wanted to see the two vampires with souls together.
Such a romance was once implied in the actual show, but outright confirmed in Joss Whedon’s canonical comic book continuations of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which were released after Buffy’s seventh season and Angel’s fifth season. In Angel #26 by Brian Lynch, Stephen Mooney, Tom Smith, Scorpion Studios, and Robbie Robbins, the official Buffyverse canon finally legitimizes a love affair between Angel and Spike, albeit in a Hollywood movie with Nicolas Cage in the title role.
Outside an unexpected big-screen lip-lock, the comics add fuel to the complicated chemistry between Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s favorite frenemies.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Favorite Frenemies, Angel and Spike, Finally Become an Item
In an In-Universe Movie Adaptation
The season five finale “Not Fade Away” of Angel served as the conclusion of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s overall universe, as the surviving members of Angel Investigations charge at a horde of monsters during the apocalypse. After the cut to black, the story continues in the comics. While Buffy had the Season Eight continuation, Angel had After the Fall, focusing on Los Angeles’ apocalypse that befell in the finale, sending Los Angeles to Hell. Angel saves the world, but on a public scale that garners attention from all sides of the Earth, even Hollywood.
Angel #26 marks part one of the “Boys and Their Toys” arc, which is something of an Epilogue to the After the Fall storyline. Now, Angel and his allies have become celebrities, being featured at sci-fi conventions and adapted to the big screen. Hollywood very loosely adapts LA’s ordeal with Last Angel in Hell, starring Cage as Angel and Lost’s Jorge Garcia as Charles Gunn. Spike (or “Sara”) is written in the movie as an amalgamation of Spike and Darla, Angel’s sire. “They could have gotten one fact correct,” Angel groans while watching Angel and Spike kiss onscreen. “Just one.”
Does the Show Ever Allude to Angel and Spike Being Together?
There’s Always “That One Time”
The idea of pairing Angel and Spike together dates back to their dynamic on the actual television show, as originally played by David Boreanaz and James Marsters. Angel debuted in Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s “Welcome to the Hellmouth” premiere episode, while Spike first appeared in Season 2’s “School Hard.” It didn’t take long before the two vamps appeared onscreen together for the first time, with “School Hard” establishing Angel as Spike’s sire (later retconned into his grandsire). They spent a majority of the second season together, with a revived Angelus having an affair with Spike’s lover, Drusilla.
All episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel are available to stream now on Hulu, in addition to prior DVD releases.
Save for Spike’s brief supporting roles in Buffy’s third season (before becoming a recurring character in Season 4) and Angel’s first season (before becoming a regular in Season 5), Angel and Spike spent years separated. Once Angel left Buffy to star in his self-titled spinoff, Spike became Buffy’s new love interest. Upon Marsters joining the Angel cast, the two characters frequently bickered, sharing tension over their past. Some read their chemistry like a brotherhood, while others interpreted a romantic or sexual relationship. In the episode “Power Play,” Spike claimed that he and Angel were never intimate – “except that one time.”
How One Throwaway Line Validated the Angel x Spike Shippers
And Weaved into the Comics
To say that those campaigning for a Spike and Angel relationship (or “Spangel” as some online fans have affectionately called them) latched on to that one throwaway line would be an understatement. After all, it makes sense, in theory. Alongside Darla and Drusilla, Spike and Angel spent centuries together side-by-side as part of the Whirlwind vampire gang. The comics already established that the Whirlwind’s members weren’t shy about exploring their queerness with others, even giant spiders. It’s very possible that Angel and Spike “hooked up” at least once in all that time together.
The throwaway line was a small enough implication that it doesn’t explicitly confirm a sexual relationship between the two as canon, but the comics allow the writers to at least play with that idea a bit.
The throwaway line was a small enough implication that it doesn’t explicitly confirm a sexual relationship between the two as canon, but the comics allow the writers to at least play with that idea a bit. Even if the suitors on-panel aren’t actually Angel and Spike, it’s hard not to view the Last Angel in Hell snippet of “Angel” and “Spike” kissing and not see it as a wink and nudge for the readers who want to see the canonization of that relationship. This isn’t the only time that Angel #26 plays with Angel and Spike’s unique bond.
Angel and Spike Are More Alike Than They Think
And the Comics Know It
The patrons at the sci-fi convention screening Last Angel in Hell undergo a makeover, as dark magic forces every cosplayer to turn into whatever costume or mask they’re pretending to be. Since Spike is wearing an Angel mask, he becomes an Angel clone. As Angel, Spike bemoans about being a once evil vampire turned good, making it his mission to do good in order to atone for his sins – which isn’t totally inaccurate to Spike’s actual story. Angel’s friend, Groosalugg, even mentions the similarities, referring to this version of Spike as “Spangel,” another notable wink and nudge to fans reading.
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When Spike reverts to normal, he reiterates Angel’s sentiment that they are nothing alike, but readers know they are two sides of the same coin. Despite Angel being more reserved and Spike being quite bombastic, both have identical redemption arcs that urge them toward enforcing justice. That’s why it’s so easy to compare them and even easier to toy with the idea of them being romantic with each other. While the notion that they ever have or ever will be in an actual relationship is left to viewer interpretation, their appearances on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel showcase their chemistry.
Angel #26 and #27 are available now from IDW Publishing.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a television series created by Joss Whedon, focusing on Buffy Summers, portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar, a young woman chosen to battle against vampires, demons, and other supernatural forces while navigating the complexities of teenage life.
