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Last Gleaming, Part One is the thirty-sixth issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight comic book series. It was written by Joss Whedon and illustrated by Georges Jeanty. Joss Whedon is the executive producer.

Synopsis[]

The Big Bad-Twilight finally stands revealed, and it's tearing the Scoobies apart, testing the limits of their friendship.

Seems like a perfect time for Spike to come back.

Joss Whedon writes the final five issues of Buffy Season 8, taking his greatest characters to places only he can take them! Teamed with series artist Georges Jeanty, Joss counts down to the biggest Buffy final ever — and it starts right here![1]

Summary[]

The issue begins with Angel, appearing some time in the past, in a portal in midair and crashing into the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles. He is then contacted by a higher power using a dog as a vessel. The power tells Angel that he's got a higher purpose. After a short dialogue, Angel (using his new powers for the first time) flies and saves a plane form Oceanic Airlines from crashing. After leaving the plane in the ground he's contacted by the power (now in the body of a woman), who thanks him and reveals his new powers are a reward which makes the Shanshu look like a bunch a' crap.

Some other time, Spike and a crew of giant bugs, appear from a portal in a flying ship, but crash into the Big Ben in London. While he drinks in a café, he reads in the newspapers the current situation of Slayers and vampires. To his disbelief, he reads news headlines like "Terrorist Buffy Summers," "Slayer Jihad," and “Harmony's F@#%king Beauty Tips."

We see as the power contacts Angel through various vessels until he finishes the creation of his Twilight alias. Spike, on the other hand, hears from a woman the repercussion of "Twilight's resistance." When Twilight is filmed flying in Edinburgh, Spike has no trouble recognizing Angel despite his masked appearance.

In the present, Angel and Buffy are fighting in midair the new demons while discussing what happened between them and about Spike. Angel says that he does not trust Spike, and is openly jealous over Buffy seeing Spike again. Buffy replies that she does not trust Angel but "you have my heart." She reminds Angel that Spike died saving her and her people. She also confesses to Angel that it was "the weirdest bestest weirdest best day of my life," that he gave her perfection and then gave it up. She proclaims that type of man is not just the love of her life, but “the guy I would live it with." Buffy then asks Angel to leave since she wants to find out Spike's agenda and he won’t open up around others. Meanwhile, the Scoobies still have a grudge and uneasiness about Angel being Twilight. At the moment, Willow helps in the air fight, angrily transforming Angel into a frog for a moment. Knowing the possible reaction of the rest of the Scooby Gang Angel flies to help Slayers in the rest of the world while Buffy and Willow go with the rest. Before Angel leaves, he tells Buffy that "I got more powerful, not remotely mature. I will find you soon." To which Buffy replied "you better."

The Slayer Organization, Warren, Amy and the General flee using Spike's ship. In the ship, Buffy tells Spike she knew he was alive, but didn't have time to contact him yet due to her responsibilities of leading a Slayer Organization. She then thanks him for saving her life from the Turok-Hans and closing the Hellmouth, calling it “crazy studly.” He informs her of the problems: a universe created by her and Angel and later abandoned by them, and demons pouring into our dimension, but tells them the solution: the Seed of Wonder. He continued saying it was buried in the ruins of Sunnydale, and that they're heading there.

The Master is currently the protector of the Seed in the church where he was trapped years ago, expecting for their arrival.

Continuity[]

  • The flashback takes place before Buffy and Angel encounter as the masked Twilight (A Beautiful Sunset).
  • Twilight refers to Buffy as a cheerleader, which she was in Hemery High School (The Origin, Part One).
  • Twilight mentions Angel being able to fly without riding a dragon, which he had done during the fall of Los Angeles (After the Fall, Part Five).
  • Spike had been running away from Wolfram & Hart Special Operations Team who was after the ship (Stranger Things), before being pulled by a portal.
  • Spike decides to crash into the Big Ben instead of turning the ship, thinking it'd be "funny", in reference to his tradition of arriving in Sunnydale crashing into its welcome sign ("School Hard", "Lovers Walk").
  • Spike catches up on the vampire craze that put Buffy and the Slayer Organization as terrorists (The Long Way Home, Part One) and Harmony a celebrity (Harmonic Divergence).
  • Buffy tells Angel that, the last time she saw Spike, he died saving her and her people, that she later thanks him for. ("Chosen").
  • Buffy asks Angel if he'd preferred Spike showed up a few hours before, in reference to the two having sex at the time (Twilight, Part Three).
  • Buffy apologizes for not being in touch with Spike, implying that she knew about his resurrection in Los Angeles for some time ("Conviction"), despite his efforts to not let her know ("Damage"), as Willow had already told him (Give and Take).
  • The Master has been resurrected as the protector of the Seed of Wonder, having died killed by Buffy in "Prophecy Girl".

Appearances[]

Individuals[]

Organizations and titles[]

Species[]

Events[]

Locations[]

  • Earth
    • England (Only in flashbacks)
      • London (Only in flashbacks)
        • Big Ben (Only in flashbacks)
      • Wiltshire (Only mentioned)
        • Stonehenge (Only mentioned)
    • Twilight headquarters
    • United States
      • Los Angeles (Only in flashbacks)
        • Hollywood Sign (Only in flashbacks)
    • Scotland (Only mentioned)
      • Edinburgh (Only mentioned)
    • Sunnydale
  • Twilight (Only mentioned)

Weapons and objects[]

Rituals and spells[]

Deaths count[]

  • Unknown number of Placenturian demons, killed by Willow, Buffy, and Angel.

Behind the scenes[]

Production[]

  • Georges Jeanty’s variant cover homages The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) film poster.
  • Angel saves an airplane from the fictional Oceanic Airlines, used in several works of fiction, more prominently in the TV series Lost (2004–2010).
  • Spike has a HARM magazine on his bedroom, with the same cover as the promotional feature.

Collections[]

Distribution[]

  • Last Gleaming, Part One was the 31st best selling comic issue in its publishing month, with 44,883 sales in September 2010 at comic specialty stores.[2]

Pop culture references[]

  • Angel first meets Twilight at the Hollywood Sign.
  • Angel mentions the serial killer known as Son of Sam, who in 1977 claimed to have been obeying the orders of a demon manifested in the form of a dog.
  • Spike crashes into the Big Ben in London.
  • Spike watches a video on YouTube video-sharing website, created in 2005.
  • Spike mentions the monument of Stonehenge as not the heart of magic on Earth.

Gallery[]

Cover artwork[]

Preview[]

Quotes[]

Spike: "Glorious leader to bug one…What happened to the wankers?"
Buffy: "This is the weirdest, bestest, weirdest best day of my life. What you’ve done for me, I can’t describe. I can’t pronounce. You gave me perfection, and you gave it up. Jesus, Angel, that’s not just the love of my life. That’s the guy I would live it with."

References[]

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