Spike/Willow Crossover Series

[Buffyverse Fan]

[I wasn't sure which area this thread belongs in since it's a Spike/Willow series without Buffy or Angel. Feel free to move it]

So I just finished #4 (of 8) from the canon Spike/Willow Series which is supposed to bridge the gap between Angel: After the Fall and Buffy Season Eight (it explicitly takes place after the former ends and latter beings).

What does everyone think?

Personally, I'm enjoying it. That said, Drusilla seems a bit out-of-character to me--very quippy like Buffy, Cordy, Xander, or Willow. And Groo seems to get more goofy, but I'm okay with that. The part I loved was the end of #4 when Spike was imagining the result of calling various different allies to help him--Angel stealing the spotlight, Connor bickering 😛

 

[Kean]

I've only read up as far as 3 so far, but it's enjoyable. Drusilla is awful, imo. Her voice is completely vacant and Lynch has just employed a totally random OFC to fill in. There hasn't been a single line of dialogue that I could actually hear the character say. Her whole "Spike is my soulmate" thing doesn't even ring through, she never made, or even alluded to, such claims on the show.

/rant

I stopped reading ATF after #16 so what has happened between then and now is a total mystery to me (from what I hear I'd be better keeping it that way) so how Spike ended up with the crew that he has is a big weird to me, but they work. He's appropriately snarky and entertaining.

The whole issue of souls and John is fascinating though, I'm looking forward to see where they go with that.

 

[Buffyverse Fan]

I've only read up as far as 3 so far, but it's enjoyable. Drusilla is awful, imo. Her voice is completely vacant and Lynch has just employed a totally random OFC to fill in. There hasn't been a single line of dialogue that I could actually hear the character say. Her whole "Spike is my soulmate" thing doesn't even ring through, she never made, or even alluded to, such claims on the show.

/rant

That's very true, and it's not just what she says, it's how she says it too. She had the most unique voice of any character in the 'verse, so it's glaringly odd having her speak so differently.

I stopped reading ATF after #16 so what has happened between then and now is a total mystery to me (from what I hear I'd be better keeping it that way) so how Spike ended up with the crew that he has is a big weird to me, but they work. He's appropriately snarky and entertaining.

The crew doesn't really figure into the main title, Beck & George aren't contributors with Angel Inc, and Groo appears VERY infrequently.

The only backstory you really need is that Spike has been OOC since the AtF maxi-series ended--having sex with an evil vamp before killing her, nonstop Joey Tribiani-esque sexual innuendo, and it was finally revealed that there was a problem with Spike's soul. That was semi-resolved just before this series began.

The pairings are because, right now Connor is in charge of Angel Investigations, battling a fake angel ("angel" as-in winged creature, not the character), and Angel is stuck in the future. In 2011, Connor's having Angel Inc. reestablish ties with Wolfram & Hart to take down the fake angel, while Angel's doing the same in the future.

So all the main characters are preoccupied with that while Spike's in Vegas.

And regarding Dru, she had an odd arc in the main title where she was in an Insane Asylum, which was briefly mentioned in #4 of this series. Nothing of note took place then though.

The whole issue of souls and John is fascinating though, I'm looking forward to see where they go with that.

I hope so, but this has to go bigger than a soulless human to be a challenge to Spike & Willow...

 

[Kean]

That's very true, and it's not just what she says, it's how she says it too. She had the most unique voice of any character in the 'verse, so it's glaringly odd having her speak so differently.

I finally got to read the 4th issue today and I have to say it was the poorest of the mini-series thus far. I don't know if it was because Dru was so prominent and her voice being so wrong, but everyone seemed "off". Even Spike.

With the whole Spike-John-Soul issue, is it that in order for Spike to get his soul, someone had to lose theirs?

I hope so, but this has to go bigger than a soulless human to be a challenge to Spike & Willow...

Yeah, I'm hoping Willow's cross-over isn't just going to amount to her breaking them out of Las Vegas.

 

[white avenger]

The thing that struck me as strange about this issue is that the Spike/Willow reunion was much more friendly than the Spike/Buffy reunion in #38, especially since the last we saw of the two was at the end of Season 7, and they were on somewhat less than friendly terms there.

 

[sosa lola]

The thing that struck me as strange about this issue is that the Spike/Willow reunion was much more friendly than the Spike/Buffy reunion in #38, especially since the last we saw of the two was at the end of Season 7, and they were on somewhat less than friendly terms there.

I don't think Willow felt anything toward Spike in S7. That's why she's okay with him now. Buffy is angry because Spike came back and didn't think she deserved to know. She thought she meant more to him.

I haven't read the new Spike series yet, until it's finished. I did hear that Willow insulted Xander in the latest issue and that's upsetting. Willow's lack of respect for Xander seemed to have started in S4 and grew from there, just because Xander doesn't have powers. It's so sad how Willow believes that power is everything and that she (and everyone else) without powers equal nothing.

 

[Kean]

To be honest I'm finding this a very strange series. Since when were Spike and Willow both so flirty with each other? Spike would flirt with a wall but Willow? Really? Do the words "Gay now!" mean nothing to anyone?

I'm still not crazy on the characterisation or voices. They just aren't ringing true, at all. I'm disappointed because I expected more from Lynch.

 

[Lyri]

I think the whole thing is completely OOC, especially Dru. She's just completely off the wall bonkers, more so than when she was on the show.

Spike and Willow's reunion was ridiculous, IMO. Did we EVER see Willow hug Spike on the show? Did she even want to? And now she's suddenly forcing it on him? Weird.

I've read up to #6, I think, so if anyone hasn't, stop reading now.

Okay, so we know that Spike was at least a little bit good before he got his soul back, and apparently it stuck, 'cause now that his soul was ripped out, he's maintaining he's good and he's still a white hat. But this whole thing about choosing who his soul goes to now? That's a little weird, and I'm thinking it's just some stupid plot point to get Dru her soul back. Drusilla with a soul? That's gonna be all kinds of weird.

 

[Kean]

I think the whole thing is completely OOC, especially Dru. She's just completely off the wall bonkers, more so than when she was on the show.

Spike and Willow's reunion was ridiculous, IMO. Did we EVER see Willow hug Spike on the show? Did she even want to? And now she's suddenly forcing it on him? Weird.

I've read up to #6, I think, so if anyone hasn't, stop reading now.

Okay, so we know that Spike was at least a little bit good before he got his soul back, and apparently it stuck, 'cause now that his soul was ripped out, he's maintaining he's good and he's still a white hat. But this whole thing about choosing who his soul goes to now? That's a little weird, and I'm thinking it's just some stupid plot point to get Dru her soul back. Drusilla with a soul? That's gonna be all kinds of weird.

I actually find Dru more lucid than we have ever seen her and that's why I find her so OOC. As far as I can see she is just a random OFC.

Speaking of, I think giving Dru a soul is one of the cruelest things that could ever be done. She already isn't of sane mind and then to add hundreds of years of brutality? It's heartless. Or incredibly ill conceived.

Also, the question must be raised, if Spike is so good without a soul, why does he even need one? I feel like Lynch gave very little thought to the matters of soul having in this arc.