WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Angel #7 by Bryan Edward Hill, Gleb Melnikov, Roman Titov and Ed Dukeshire, on sale now.
BOOM! Studios' new incarnation of the Buffyverse has been growing larger, since each new chapter of the Hellmouth crossover seemingly bringing another classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer character into the updated take on the franchise.
Sometimes this has led to the reintroduction of potential allies, while many major enemies have also been teased by the title. Angel #7, the newest issue of the crossover just did both, introducing the fan-favorite ally Lorne, as well as one of the most dangerous agents of Wolfram and Hart, Lilah Morgan.
FOES & FRIENDS
Most of the issue takes place away from the Hellmouth and the chaos that is growing underneath the Earth. It alternates between two groups - Spike and Gunn meeting with Lillith, and Fred being taken into a mysterious location in Los Angeles. Lilith is able to convince Spike and Gunn to work together to try and find Fred, hinting at the full magical potential importance present in the young woman. To do this, she requires the pair of them to head into a special spot inside Los Angeles.
Namely, they arrive at a karaoke bar where they meet the owner, Lorne. Once he reads their good intentions, he agrees to help them find Fred. Meanwhile, she's ended up in the custody of Lilah Morgan, a mysterious woman who seems to know more about Fred's potential than she does. She also seems to serve a demonic force known as the Wolfram and Hart. She's a devout follower of the demon and spends the issue trying to convince Fred to give into whatever magical connection she has.
LORNE
In the original series, Lorne was a green-skinned demon from another dimension. Ending up in the main reality, he discovered that he loved the way humanity had developed art. Lorne was born in the dimension of Pylea. He was an outcast in the barbarian warrior world because of his gentle soul. When a dimensional rift between his world and our own opened up, he found himself in Los Angeles. There, he learned to read the auras of others - if he heard someone sing a song, then he was capable of reading their intentions. Finding a home for himself, Lorne adjusted to modern society.
He opened a karaoke bar in Los Angeles called Caritas, creating a safe haven for the various demons, humans and other beings who lived in the city. Although he was initially reluctant to take part in the seemingly endless war Angel and his allies found themselves in, he provided them with sanctuary and assistance. But when Caritas was destroyed by Daniel Holtz during his crusade to destroy humanity, Lorne ended up living with Angel and his allies. Eventually pushed to perform worse and worse acts in the name of saving lives, Lorne left the group on bad terms at the end of the original series, although he played a role in the follow-up comics as a benevolent lord of Hell on Earth.
This new version of Lorne seems very similar to the original one, especially at this early point in the story. His first interaction with Spike even references his earliest moments with Angel in the original show, forcing the vampire to sing a song in front of the entire karaoke bar.
LILAH
Lilah was different in the show from her comics incarnation, however. Wolfram and Hart was a law firm that specialized in controlling the modern world through the legal system. She was one of the chief lawyers of the Los Angeles branch and served as one of the chief antagonists for many of the early seasons of Angel. But she was never portrayed as a true believer in the purity of evil. While other members of Wolfram and Hart were dedicated to the demons at the core of the law firm, Lilah was there more for the advantage it gave her in the world around her. She proved to be a consistent frenemy to Angel and his allies, even eventually forming a romantic relationship with Wesley after he had a falling out with the rest of the group.
When the Los Angeles branch of Wolfram and Hart was destroyed by the Beast summoned by Jasmine, Lilah ended up fleeing to Angel Investigations as the sole survivor of the office. But her time there was short-lived, as the Jasmine-possessed Cordelia ended up taking Lilah by surprise and murdering her. But because she'd signed on to Wolfram and Hart, her deal with the law firm continuing even after her demise.
The new Lilah is shown to be much more of a true believer in the demonic ideals at the core of the company. Wolfram and Hart is also shown to be more of a cult than a law firm. This makes Lilah more of a straightforward villain and less of the complex antagonist that she was in the original series. However, it remains to be seen how either of them will affect the events of the future in this new Buffyverse.
Hellmouth #3 releases on Dec. 11.