WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Angel & Spike #16 by Zac Thompson, Hayden Sherman, Roman Titov & Ed Dukeshire, on sale now
The Boom! Comics reboots of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel have been more than willing to mess with the events and storylines of the original series, even turning longtime heroes into major unexpected villains. Now, the true scope of this new Slayerverse has been exposed -- and the multiverse may be opening up for the Scoobies and their allies.
Three figures with access to the multiverse were just introduced in Angel & Spike #16 -- including the magically empowered Mura and alternate-universe versions of Angel and Spike.
The story of Fred Burkle in the new Buffyverse has been far different from her original incarnation. Due to the mystical potential within her, Fred has found herself targeted by Baphomet, a demonic lord and the current director of Wolfram & Hart. After accepting his power into her to save Gunn, Fred has been dealing with his influence as well as his position at the top of the devilish law firm. But Fred has also been touched by the power of the Mura, a seemingly benevolent power that claims to be a true representation of Fred's full-self. Baphomet and Mura soon find themselves fighting for dominance within Fred, with Mura winning out and the young woman expelling the demon from her.
Transformed into the Mura, Fred even seemingly destroys Baphomet with a spell, ripping him apart. As soon as she's reunited with her allies and surrounded by the hordes of now demonic Wolfram & Hart employees, Fred teleports them away through an interdimensional rift -- landing the entire group within a version of the Hyperion Hotel, the headquarters of Angel and his allies in the original Angel television series. It's clear that the presence of the Mura ties into the ever-expanding Buffy the Vampire Slayer-multiverse, with Fred's new connection to her other selves potentially opening up a number of potential avenues for the young woman. Fred gets to see all the other versions of herself while embracing her newfound power.
It's also notable that the original Fred ended up becoming the host for an interdimensional figure with Illyria, a powerful Old One who ended up taking control of Fred's body in the fifth and final season of Angel before becoming an ally to Angel and eventually even sacrificing herself to help end the conflict within the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic-spinoff. It seems that across the multiverse, Fred is fated to be a host to a powerful presence of some sort, explaining why Baphomet was so invested in turning her to his service and even trying to take her body for his own.
The version of the Hyperion that Mura has brought Angel and his allies to isn't just any version of the Hotel, either. This version of Hyperion is the home to different versions of Angel and Spike, who are impressed to find the group a full ten years earlier than they were expected to. This version of Angel and Spike (both of whom have grown out their hair and appear to be surprisingly calm in the face of meeting themselves, speaking to potential years more experience than the current incarnations of the character) reveal that this is indeed a multiverse and that the group is going to want to sit down to fully comprehend the limits of interdimensional travel.
The current reboot of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise has been exploring a larger Slayerverse since the conclusion of "Hellmouth." Other teased realities have included one where Buffy abandoned her friends and was defeated by the Hellmother, while another introduced a version of Willow who was born the Slayer instead of Buffy. The arrival of the Mura suggests this will be a far larger battle than anyone could have expected before, with the entire Angel team learning the truth about the multiverse in short order. It'll be interesting to see how else the multiverse grows, and what exactly Mura means when she says "this is the end" -- which suggests that Angel and his friends reaching the multiverse will set some unstoppable events in motion.