Dramatically Changed Characters in Comics

[vellavu]

Andrew
Tom Lenk in both shows did an extraordinary job in line delivery and comic timing. The character itself was more believable than Warren (a machiavellist who happens to know some nerd culture?) and Jonathan (a guy who already understands himself and the world so well that I don't know why on earth he chose to join the Trio in the first place). The character development was well handled and towards an interesting direction.

In the comics he messed up with everything. He never grew up and was constantly abusing the undeserved trust from the Scoobies. His lines are unfunny, and most of all, his (interesting) nerd points are less than Xander and even Willow. You truly fail, Andrew. Actually I felt a little sad when Warren collapsed to a bunch of meat in front of Amy, but I won't show the same sympathy if Andrew had died.

Kennedy
I can't stand watching her in the show. She was very much responsible for Chloe's death. She dismissed magic/wicca which she knew nothing about. She sit in the core Scoobies meeting as if she automatically had the right to. And she got away with all of them.

I like the comics Kennedy. This surprised me a lot when I recently realized it. I don't mind her showing up taking page spaces. I also enjoy what's happening to her almost as much as the actual Scoobies' story. She is the one who had the no-bullshit attitude and the least messed up now. And it is interesting/not arbitrary, because I can still see the side of a spoiled brat in her. She is a little similar to AtS S2 Cordy with more fighting skills and responsibility at this moment IMO.

Dawn
She was a whiny kid in S5, an annoying rebellious teenager in S6, a helpful Scoobies member in S7, a foul-mouthed whiny kid again in S8, a damsel in distress in S9, and then someone who ate the band candy with permanent effects in S10? Well at least she's always self-ware about her abandonment issues. That's something I guess.

Connor
He was a nice and confident young man in the end of the show, but no more than that. Then he became literally a flawless human being for his age. He was more level-headed and grown-up than Willow, Faith and Angel combined. This was even less realistic than Tara. At least Tara has cuteness/shyness/special sense of humor as her defining characteristics. What's Connor's? Hey, even the poor "having sex with much older women" quirk was abandoned!

I have no problem with the Scoobies and Angel Gang so far. The storyline may suck but they are more or less in character.

 

[gite63]

Andrew

I don't think Andrew dramatically changed – he is the same guy, but in the comics he has been able to put his hands on some very advanced technology (how it has became available to him I don't know).

He has always had this image of himself: he is a superhero who saves the day (that was well demonstrated after he drank the Asclepian potion and became the Hulk); plus, he is always wanting to make amends and be forgiven by the Scoobies for all his misdeeds.

So, he feels responsible for letting Simone on the loose and creates a ragna demon to find her; he thinks that Buffy is in danger and transfers her mind to a new and improved Buffybot; he is remorseful for having had a role in Tara's death and sees in the Vampyr book an opportunity to fix that. He is immature and desperately wants to be Captain America – that's the downfall of reading too much comics...

Kennedy

I know everybody thinks she was an annoying brat and nothing more; but I saw her as a girl who was strong, didn't allow anybody to put herself down and went for what she wanted. Yes, she was a spoiled brat, but that didn't make her such a bad person.

However, she decided to use her gift as a Slayer in the private sector, instead following the path of heroism, and she doesn't have any regrets or doubt about her decision. Kennedy isn't the only Slayer in the world, but I wonder if she was, would she have accepted the burden?

Dawn

Dawn decided that she wanted a normal life and started going to college, so she wasn't helping the others with research and stuff. She ended up coming back to the fight, though. So, I don't think she dramactilly changed.

 

[Blaze]

Mind you I've only read s8, but I thought the show had done a good job at keeping the characters in character. Of course, a few years have passed, so I do expect some changes. Kennedy did come off as more mature, but she was also younger, and therefore more brash on the show. But as far as her main personality trait, she was pretty much the same.

Andrew I always hated, both on the show and in the comic.

I guess the biggest character that seemed to change a lot from TV to comic for me would be Angel. I still don't really get the whole Twilight arc.

And other characters, such as Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Spike, are almost too similar, in some ways their characters feel like they've stalled. Whereas I think AtF, and A&F, do a better job at showing character growth.

 

[Buffy Summers]

I love Kennedy in the comics, but I hate her on the show lol

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I love Kennedy in the comics, but I hate her on the show lol

I said it before and I will say it againe. Kennedy is a great character. The actor that portrayed Kennedy.. eh.

 

[thetopher]

Andrew

Andrew's S7 arc works only if you ignore all the bad things he did in S6. He did help cover up the murder of a woman (a woman he was willing to rape) and then pin the blame on Buffy. He sent a demon to drive her insane, and he gleefully wanted Warren to beat Buffy to death. Plus he betrayed Jonathan.
So, if you think the only thing Andrew has to atone for is Jonathan's murder (and he barely does that) then yeah, okay, its not like its any worse that some of the others that season.
So I tend to think he's pretty bad on the show and just a lot worse in the comics. The transformation doesn't come out of nowhere for me because he never earned or learned his lessons from before. He's all about the 'easy fix' path to redeeming himself.

Kennedy

Kennedy got better after she got dumped by Willow. I think that gave he a little humility she was sorely lacking up until that point. Just the way she talks to Buffy and co. who we've known for 7 years- like she's their equal or something, plus her courtship of Willow, all really hack me off.

Dawn

Dawn is pretty much the same in the show as the comics- she's either whiny or she's ignored. I really want to know how we got from S7 Dawn (who's great) to S8 Dawn- who's regressed a whole lot.


Oh, and Buffy. Buffy is getting increasing cavalier with other peoples lives in the comics and is getting into the habit of forgiving herself whenever she screws up. In the show she always tended to blame herself for things going wrong (Riley leaving, the Spike relationship). Now she doesn't.

 

[gite63]

Kennedy did come off as more mature, but she was also younger, and therefore more brash on the show.

Exactly, I forgot to mention that!

I guess the biggest character that seemed to change a lot from TV to comic for me would be Angel. I still don't really get the whole Twilight arc.

I always had a hard time to believe that Angel would be sweet-talked by Whistler to do what he did - help killing hundreds of Slayers, and play an horrible game with none other than Buffy! But people keep saying that Angel is weak for the big gestures... I got when he wanted to go against the Circle of the Black Thorn and the Senior Partners - he along with 5 more people - but Twilight...

Buffy and co. who we've known for 7 years- like she's their equal or something

Well, she was young and imature, it is for the grow-ups to put her in her place...

plus her courtship of Willow, all really hack me off.

I, for one, think that Kennedy had a cute moment with Willow - when they were distributing the bed sheets and she made Will's eyes go wide...

 

[vellavu]

I always had a hard time to believe that Angel would be sweet-talked by Whistler to do what he did - help killing hundreds of Slayers, and play an horrible game with none other than Buffy! But people keep saying that Angel is weak for the big gestures... I got when he wanted to go against the Circle of the Black Thorn and the Senior Partners - he along with 5 more people - but Twilight...

Well I will try whitewashing him as best as I could here, to show how white it could get after washing. It's not what I believe in. It also doesn't change my opinion that the Twilight storyline is crap.

He was sweet-talked to give himself to the hands of the mystical power that made him much stronger. After that, the Angel persona's free will were at best in a partial state.

In AtS S4, Angel was sweet-talked by Wes/Gunn/etc to give up his soul. Would he be fully responsible for what Angelus did afterwards? It's up to debate I think.

Also he believed he can fix some of the damage when he took the decision since he fixed hell-LA not long before.

Besides that, the forced choosing between moral gray #1 and moral gray #2 was already all over the original AtS.
S1: Who can help counting how many civilians would be slaughtered by the gladiator demons Angel set loose in "The Ring"?
S2: He helped Darla/Drusilla kill people. He was also responsible for the getting way of Darla/Drusilla. If Buffy died in "Crush", it's definitely Angel's fault.
S3: Countless. Let's start from letting Gio die horribly, putting Fred in terrible danger for some petty money, performing extremely dark magic to endanger the whole LA.
S4: The whole actively "I'll become Angelus" thing, plus raping a bunch of people's memory.
S5: Well... Both joining W&H in the early season and abandoning the responsibility of W&H CEO in the late season are not nice.

 

[vellavu]

Andrew's S7 arc works only if you ignore all the bad things he did in S6. He did help cover up the murder of a woman (a woman he was willing to rape) and then pin the blame on Buffy. He sent a demon to drive her insane, and he gleefully wanted Warren to beat Buffy to death. Plus he betrayed Jonathan.

Well in some sense we are supposed to ignore many bad things in Buffy?

Giles' offscreen crimes in his dark ages. I believe that he already hurt a lot of people even before the Eyghon ritual. I believe that he was not appropriately punished because all cops in the Buffyverse are incompetent.

Lorne's guides for evil demons. The show explicitly pictured him helping a child-eater demon restoring its power. How many children got eaten due to Lorne's help? He joined the Angel Investigations and played the weak and the good one in the team. That also counts "totally got away with it".

 

[thetopher]

Giles' offscreen crimes in his dark ages. I believe that he already hurt a lot of people even before the Eyghon ritual.

It's fine to beleive that but we're never shown any evidence. All we know for sure is that the people who did the Eyghon ritual ended up getting killed, to Giles eternal regret. He also almost loses the woman he loves in the process.
I would say that since then, and in every season of the show, Giles has been invaluable help to Buffy and that, in a way, is making amends for his wayward youth. He made a mistake. Andrew made several- with the malicious intent to hurt others, unlike Giles- and continues to cause trouble.

Lorne's guides for evil demons.

Well, this is a good point. I mean, Lorne makes no secret to everybody that Karitas is neutral, so evil demons can also go there and find help (he's never banned anybody from his club except 'Orpheus dealers). Still, this is not being actively evil to the same extent that Andrew is.
Plus Lorne is like, useful to his friends.